Before you start reading...I realize it will be fast-paced. I realize that some of the spots require longer duration. This is a trip to check a bunch of boxes with my kids before they get too old. It will be a haul, but I am looking froward to it.

Day 1
Leave Baton Rouge at 1:00 and drive

Day 2
Great Sand Dunes NP
Stay with some friends

Day 3
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

Day 4
Canyonlands NP
Arches NP

Day 5
Golden Spike (Transcontinental Railroad Meeting Point)

Day 6
Grand Tetons NP
South Yellowstone

Day 7
North Yellowstone

Day 8
Glacier NP

Day 9
Glacier NP

Day 10
Banff

Day 11
Banff

Day 12
Drive

Day 13
Little Bighorn National Monument
Theodore Roosevelt NP

Day 14
Devils Tower NM
Wind Cave NP
Mount Rushmore

Day 15
Badlands NP

Day 16
Kansas City
National WWI Museum

Day 17
St. Louis
Gateway Arch
I leave the family via airplane to go home for work. Family resumes.

Day 18
Kentucky
Ark Encounter

Day 19
Creation Museum

Day 20
Travel Home


7,908 miles

I love it. When I was a kid we did a two week long road trip back to back summers. One to the western US (Grand Canyon, Vegas, Zion, Arches, Teton, Yellowstone, Rushmore, Pikes Peak) and one to the eastern US (Memphis, Nashville/Opry, tons of Civil War stuff in Virginia, DC, Philly, Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Gatlinburg, Vicksburg).

Some of the greatest memories of my childhood. It'll be a haul, there will be some rough moments, but y'all will cherish the memories forever.

Have fun!

2 Summers ago, we did;

Carlsbad
White Sands
Durango - Silverton Rail
Mesa Verde
Natural Bridges
Monument Valley
Zion
Bryce
Escalante
Capital Reef
Horseshoe Bend
Grand Canyon
Petrified Forrest

We had a blast! That trip was around 5,000 miles. Amazingly, all five us got along great. I do not remember any fussing, arguing, etc. It was great!

My poor minivan has 217,000 miles on it. I almost bought a new one recently, but the deal feel apart. I hope it survives.

Beast mode. I personally would spend Day 6 at Grand Teton and Day 7 at Yellowstone, but that's just preference. Whole trip sounds badass.

caleblyn said:

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Before you start reading...I realize it will be fast-paced. I realize that some of the spots require longer duration. This is a trip to check a bunch of boxes with my kids before they get too old. It will be a haul, but I am looking froward to it.

Day 1
Leave Baton Rouge at 1:00 and drive

Day 2
Great Sand Dunes NP
Stay with some friends

Day 3
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

Day 4
Canyonlands NP
Arches NP

Day 5
Golden Spike (Transcontinental Railroad Meeting Point)

Day 6
Grand Tetons NP
South Yellowstone

Day 7
North Yellowstone

Day 8
Glacier NP

Day 9
Glacier NP

Day 10
Banff

Day 11
Banff

Day 12
Drive

Day 13
Little Bighorn National Monument
Theodore Roosevelt NP

Day 14
Devils Tower NM
Wind Cave NP
Mount Rushmore

Day 15
Badlands NP

Day 16
Kansas City
National WWI Museum

Day 17
St. Louis
Gateway Arch
I leave the family via airplane to go home for work. Family resumes.

Day 18
Kentucky
Ark Encounter

Day 19
Creation Museum

Day 20
Travel Home


7,908 miles

---

You are averaging 400 miles a day for 20 consecutive days. F that. You might see something but you sure won't experience it. Why do you care about "checking it off a list" if you don't get to experience it? You can see it in a picture on the internet.

Your first day is a 17 hour drive plus stops. F that. On second thought, I would probably get across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana as fast as I could also.

At least you get to bail on the family for the last 1000 or so miles.

I don't understand a trip like this. What exactly are you expecting to see at Black Canyon (to pick one of your stops at random) in the 45 minutes or so you have? The north side is the better side and it is a beast to get to. You should also think about your time of year. Sand Dunes, Black Canyon, Arches... people die in those places in the summer because it is a hundred and fifty degrees in those places in the summer. I live a couple hours from GSDNP and you visit that in May.

And I just have to ask... why would anyone go to see a spike in the ground in the worst part of Utah? That is almost as boring as 4 corners.

Sorry if I am an a hole for saying it... I hope you have fun, I wish no ill will, but this looks like a beating.

Whoa that's a lot. Gonna be a Clark Griswold looking at the Grand Canyon kind of trip.

You have an incredible family. No way mine wouldn't complain or argue, especially me.

What an adventure.

During covid, I worked on a project for fun trying to create a road trip that hit all of the states in the least driving time, hit all of the lower 48 capitols in the least driving time, and one that hit all of the NPs in the least driving time. I did one visiting the 70 largest cities in the continental US as well.

Then I mixed some of those together for an epic theoretical trip.

Id love to do something like that. I wasted my youth.

I read the itinerary before your intro and got excited. You're taking kids? Forget that.

WW1 museum in KC is top notch

The dread Scott court house is right there by the arch in STL, not terribly long but historic.

Take the kids to the City Museum in STL. It is AWESOME!

How old are the kids ?

Your trip two summers ago was semi condensed and will be a tons better than this

this isnt a road trip this is suicide by car


i think that trip needs to be over two maybe three different two week trips over the next couple of years

You have some great sights to see ENJOY THEM not check them off a list

redaszag99 said:

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WW1 museum in KC is top notch

The dread Scott court house is right there by the arch in STL, not terribly long but historic.

Take the kids to the City Museum in STL. It is AWESOME!

---

City Museum is a must

St Louis Zoo is free also

Ted Drews for custard

This trip sounds amazingly awful! I'd join in.

Mount Rushmore is the most underwhelming part of this trip. Worse than the Golden Spike. At least there you know what you are going for, a railroad spike. Rushmore, just some small half finished carvings that we are told is yuge.

Badlands is great. You'll see lots of animals up close.

St Louis, get the toasted ravioli. Thought they were just pizza rolls, but they are great. We went to Favazzas. Piazza Imo down the street is worth a stop.
There is a park east of the Mississippi that has a great view, minus the power lines. Malcolm Martin Memorial Park.

I'd skip the golden spike and spend 1 day in Arches and 1 day in Canyonlands. It will be hotter than the face of the sun during the summer in some of these places and your best chance to get out and actually see what you are there to see will be in the mornings or evenings before sunset. Trying to skip through for 1-2 hours midday will mean missing most of what these places are all about.

I love the idea of a grand road trip and remember the ones I did as a kid very fondly, but part of the fun was being able to get out of the car and do something fun along the way each day. Try to keep that in mind as you plot your schedule. Tired exhausted people are cranky people and nobody wants to drive 8 hours a day with a carload of cranky people.

knoxtom said:

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caleblyn said:

---

Before you start reading...I realize it will be fast-paced. I realize that some of the spots require longer duration. This is a trip to check a bunch of boxes with my kids before they get too old. It will be a haul, but I am looking froward to it.

Day 1
Leave Baton Rouge at 1:00 and drive

Day 2
Great Sand Dunes NP
Stay with some friends

Day 3
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

Day 4
Canyonlands NP
Arches NP

Day 5
Golden Spike (Transcontinental Railroad Meeting Point)

Day 6
Grand Tetons NP
South Yellowstone

Day 7
North Yellowstone

Day 8
Glacier NP

Day 9
Glacier NP

Day 10
Banff

Day 11
Banff

Day 12
Drive

Day 13
Little Bighorn National Monument
Theodore Roosevelt NP

Day 14
Devils Tower NM
Wind Cave NP
Mount Rushmore

Day 15
Badlands NP

Day 16
Kansas City
National WWI Museum

Day 17
St. Louis
Gateway Arch
I leave the family via airplane to go home for work. Family resumes.

Day 18
Kentucky
Ark Encounter

Day 19
Creation Museum

Day 20
Travel Home


7,908 miles

---

You are averaging 400 miles a day for 20 consecutive days. F that. You might see something but you sure won't experience it. Why do you care about "checking it off a list" if you don't get to experience it? You can see it in a picture on the internet.

Your first day is a 17 hour drive plus stops. F that. On second thought, I would probably get across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana as fast as I could also.

At least you get to bail on the family for the last 1000 or so miles.

I don't understand a trip like this. What exactly are you expecting to see at Black Canyon (to pick one of your stops at random) in the 45 minutes or so you have? The north side is the better side and it is a beast to get to. You should also think about your time of year. Sand Dunes, Black Canyon, Arches... people die in those places in the summer because it is a hundred and fifty degrees in those places in the summer. I live a couple hours from GSDNP and you visit that in May.

And I just have to ask... why would anyone go to see a spike in the ground in the worst part of Utah? That is almost as boring as 4 corners.

Sorry if I am an a hole for saying it... I hope you have fun, I wish no ill will, but this looks like a beating.

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I agree with this guy. Cut the trip in half at least. I'm only half way through the parks and we are taking it easy. Older children can still go on trips!



But if you go through with it, to do some parks and things in them you need reservations. You won't be able to do much at any of them except touch them.

The trips is too short to enjoy all of those locations.

Also, returning to Baton Rouge really kills the entire trip.

Kids are 18, 15, 12.

Thanks for the recommendations.

There is a lot of driving, however, a good amount of it happens on 3 of the days where we go 800 miles each. My wife and I are good at splitting the time.

The spike is on the way and I have slotted 2 hours. Not a big deal. When I originally created it, we were not going to Banff. Adding Banff has compressed it, but we are within a few hours when we are at Glacier.

Thanks for the help at StL. I have not planned that day.

No matter what it is awesome that you are doing this with your family! I agree with others in recommending slowing down the pace and skipping a few stops.

I'm 43 and haven't check a lot of those boxes and I'm quite ok. They'll make great memories on this trip either way but I think you'll all enjoy it more without such a hectic schedule.

You forgot Carlsbad Caverns…

If you took Glacier and Banff off of the list, it would drop a ton of miles from your driving and you could spend a lot more time at some of the other places on the list. Maybe make the trip to Banff and Glacier a fly in trip for the future? I get wanting to make it an epic trip, but as others have said, it won't be the last trip you ever take with your kids and all of these places really deserve more time to really see what they are about.

For example, Canyonlands and Arches are two huge and dramatic parks where just driving through misses most of what the park is about. It takes about 2 hours just to drive the main road through Arches and back to the front, and you will only see maybe 2-3 arches in doing so. Most of the great views and easy to view arches take at least a 10-15 minute hike from a parking area.

Canyonlands is the same way. The very best part of Canyonlands is the majestic views out across the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers. You see almost nothing of that view from the road through the park. It again is probably a 90 minute drive in and out of the park, but all of the best views are had from parking and taking 15-30 minute hikes out to overlooks.

You currently have both of those parks crammed into the same day and haven't even accounted for the drive between the two or the drive to and from wherever you are staying the night. Arches has started limiting access to prevent overcrowding, and the best time to do any hiking and see the park in the best light will be early morning or early evening. If you are driving in from Montrose, CO that morning or driving out to get close to the Golden Spike location that afternoon, it is going to seriously short you on time to see anything more than the visitor center and a bunch of other cars.

Read my second post!

Also, on a side note...
I have used several road trip planning apps and sites. None are better than Furkot.

and...believe it or not, but I am actually listening. I am now considering cutting Glacier and Banff out and doing another trip to OR, WA, ID, Glacier, and Banff. We'll see.

Cutting down trip……I think that is a great idea for starters. Glacier deserves its own spotlight on a trip and can be combined with something like the sawtooths in idaho and maybe couer d'alene. You will still find that to be a massive amount of driving. But definitely give it time in the park and enjoy it to justify the drive alone. Sure some of your stops can be fulfilled in a short stop such as Little Bighorn and Mount Rushmore but places like Arches and Canyonlands NP need more time. Heck, that time of year there's probably gonna be a hour long wait or better just to get into Arches. I've done those trips trying to cover everything in one trip and now I want to go back to most and see what I missed.
Good luck and hope y'all enjoy it.

Also, while you are in that neck of the woods and if it happens to be mid to late July the Cheyenne frontier rodeo days are happening and there is all kind of awesomeness associated with that to include free USAF Thunderbirds show if there on right day. I hate to even suggest another stop on your already overbooked tour but that is right in the middle of a lot of you activities if it happens to be right time of summer it is well worth the stop in my opinion.

Quote:

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Day 13
Little Bighorn National Monument
Theodore Roosevelt NP

Day 14
Devils Tower NM
Wind Cave NP
Mount Rushmore

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If you're looking to go a BIT more leisurely, you could certainly add another day here.

That corner of SD is beautiful with tons of hikes and views.

The two highlights:
Custer State Park is gorgeous with great hikes around Sylvan Lake and Black Elk (Harney) Peak. Spearfish Canyon Highway is a gorgeous drive with some nice easy waterfall hikes.

I'll also mention on the way up to Roosevelt NP, you'll pass White Butte Trailhead which is an easy hike to North Dakota's high point. Pretty drastic difference between it and Black Elk Peak.

With all the driving you're doing, I think the south unit of TRNP would suffice. That would be about half a day of park time.

caleblyn said:

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Kids are 18, 15, 12.

Thanks for the recommendations.

There is a lot of driving, however, a good amount of it happens on 3 of the days where we go 800 miles each. My wife and I are good at splitting the time.

The spike is on the way and I have slotted 2 hours. Not a big deal. When I originally created it, we were not going to Banff. Adding Banff has compressed it, but we are within a few hours when we are at Glacier.

Thanks for the help at StL. I have not planned that day.

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With the ages City Museum in St Louis not as important FYI

What are you tring to accomplish with this trip? It sounds like you think this is the last trip you can do as a family and trying to fit everything in

Dont look at it that way...make it memorable with more time as the great spots and they will want to continue to do these things even if say the 18 year old if off at college they will want to do another trip for a week or two again I am sure

As for other things to see
some state parks are amazing on the route you suggested two that come to mind are Custer State Park in SD and Dead Hourse in Utah

Have you been to Pacific Northwest as a family??
Because i echo the sentiment of tring to add Idaho and parts of Washington maybe to a separate trip with Banff and Glacier.

what you are doing sounds amazing if given time to truly explore these great areas and national parks
I just think two or three separate trips makes it worthwhile


ALSO this is a national parks trip for the most part but what do your kids like to do that could make specidic things even more memorable? White water rafting? Hiking? Zip line? Sports ?

Quote:

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ALSO this is a national parks trip for the most part but what do your kids like to do that could make specidic things even more memorable? White water rafting? Hiking? Zip line? Sports ?

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Our previous trip was a lo of hiking that we enjoyed. Zip lines would be awesome, but I have one child that is a skardy-cat. Sports would be a nice added mix. This time of year would be KC Royals or StL Cardinals.

After our last trip, the kids got one of those scratch-off posters of the NPs. We have scratched of a measly 15 or so. This trip would allow for more NP visits.

I am definitely considering the remvoal of Glacier and Banff for this trip. This would allow for more time at parks, but more importantly...just simply more time. Every day would be trying to meet a schedule, "We need to be at the next place by 5:00PM...WE GOT TO GO!" Our family likes to eat, so added time allows for added restaurants. I have added time each day to have these enjoyable relaxing moments, but more could be good. Also, staying at a place for only one night, starts to remove Airbnb, which is nice on a long trip like this to deal with laundry.

Removing GNP and Banff would reduce 1600 miles and add 5 days back.

caleblyn said:

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Quote:

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ALSO this is a national parks trip for the most part but what do your kids like to do that could make specidic things even more memorable? White water rafting? Hiking? Zip line? Sports ?

---

Our previous trip was a lo of hiking that we enjoyed. Zip lines would be awesome, but I have one child that is a skardy-cat. Sports would be a nice added mix. This time of year would be KC Royals or StL Cardinals.

After our last trip, the kids got one of those scratch-off posters of the NPs. We have scratched of a measly 15 or so. This trip would allow for more NP visits.

I am definitely considering the remvoal of Glacier and Banff for this trip. This would allow for more time at parks, but more importantly...just simply more time. Every day would be trying to meet a schedule, "We need to be at the next place by 5:00PM...WE GOT TO GO!" Our family likes to eat, so added time allows for added restaurants. I have added time each day to have these enjoyable relaxing moments, but more could be good. Also, staying at a place for only one night, starts to remove Airbnb, which is nice on a long trip like this to deal with laundry.

Removing GNP and Banff would reduce 1600 miles and add 5 days back.

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I think that would be a wise choice. No matter what, it will be fun and memorable, but I think you nailed it with not wanting to be "on the clock" for everything you are trying to do each day.

Great now you have more time for Yellowstone and Teton, we went to both last year a month after the flood and there were still a lot of people. I would expect record crowds this year so just getting around will take a long time. Do a raft trip at Teton the kids should enjoy it.

Badlands was cool to drive through and you see a bunch of prairie dogs. I really enjoyed Mt. Rushmore. Call me old fashioned but I felt really proud and patriotic. Reading all about the construction was cool. If you can try to get there a little before sunset and watch as the colors change and the lights come on, it was cool. Kids can eat ice cream while you have a beer and check it out.

Well, it will certainly be the last trip they want to take with you. Good luck and hope there are no major surprises

I'm praying this is in an rv

"Day 6
Grand Tetons NP
South Yellowstone

Day 7
North Yellowstone"


Have you ever been to Yellowstone? Cause reading your itinerary you are basically rolling into Yellowstone on the end of Day 6 and departing on Day 8, giving you only one full day in Yellowstone. Its huge. And in the summer there are crowds and traffic. 3 days in Yellowstone would be the minimum, imo.

I guess you could do the Island in the Sky portion of Canyonlands as well as part of Arches in one day but again, you're taking the Clark Griswold head nodding experience. Give yourself a little more time, man.


Speed limits in NPs are usually 35-45 mph as well so it is (thankfully) slow driving, just keep that in mind.

Good luck with the road trip, however it shakes out.

Given his windows of time, I would skip the Needles portion of Canyonlands and focus on the Islands in the sky portion. Needles you pretty much have to hike to get any kind of decent view and I thought The Islands in the Sky area was just a way more spectacular view.

AgOutsideAustin said:

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If you can try to get there a little before sunset and watch as the colors change and the lights come on, it was cool. Kids can eat ice cream while you have a beer and check it out.

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The lightshow ruined it for me.

Last time I was there was June 2019. We were on a cross-country trip from Maryland to Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore was our first big highlight of the American West. As we entered the state of South Dakota from Iowa, we stopped at the visitor center for a bathroom break. Talking to the lady at the counter, she told us all the great things to see across the state, mainly the Corn Palace. Telling her we were going to Mount Rushmore, she said the lighting ceremony was worth going to. During the summer, the ceremony was at 9PM. We flew across the country at 85 MPH with a ginormous duffel bag on top of the car.

We arrived just minutes before the ceremony and rush across the parking lot to get a spot to watch this spectacle. At 9PM, the lighting ceremony started. A park ranger gave a short talk expounding on President Kennedy's Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. He talked about how the 4 Presidents on the rock before us as done just that. He closed asking us to do the same, including those who weren't American. We sang the National Anthem and then, the big moment arrived. The lighting of the faces.



That's it. Some white spotlights washing out any detail of the faces.

You drive out all that way and it's just some faces, an incomplete carving in the mountain. And the lighting ceremony, well, maybe they should look into something like they do at Stone Mountain in Georgia. George Washington talking to us might make it pretty worthwhile.

Wow. Complete opposite for us. We did Rushmore during the day and then caught the lighting ceremony. Thought the video was good and enjoyed the nighttime spotlights.