Utah/Arizona Road Trip

Heading to Lake Havasu in October and just wondering what's worth a couple hour detour on the way. I'm coming from Canada and will be skirting the east edge of the Rockies. It will just be my wife and I, and we like to hike and camp and always like a good vista.

Any ideas to make the road trip a little bit more interesting??

 

Swing thru Moab, UT.
Canyonlands, Arches, plenty of sights.
Havasu my old high school stomping grounds.
London Bridge and take the Jet Boat from Havasu to Laughlin. CoperCove is a good time too!

 

Monument Valley, AZ.
Route 550 in western Colorado.
Moki Dugway, Utah.

 

Valley of the Gods from east to west, up the Moki Dugway, then to Muley Point. All 3 will not disappoint. Back toward Monument Valley you can hit Forrest Gump Point.

 

Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Canyon.
Go scuba diving in lake mead, maybe you'll find someone who tried to skip out on their gambling debts back in '63? or just wait a few weeks for the water levels to drop

 

Second Zion. Amazing.

 

Grand Canyon North Rim. Less touristy & much less crowded than the South Rim, surprisingly green since it’s in the middle of Kaibab Forest. If you time it right, you can camp under trees less than 50ft from the edge like I often do. The weather there in Oct will be sublime too.

If you’re a hiker, Havasupai Falls is an extraordinary option too. This is also in the Grand Canyon.

Ouray, Colorado is also a wonderful stop. You’ll drive the super scenic 550/Million Dollar Hwy and there are a TON of ridiculously scenic high-altitude 4x4 trails. The photo below is me on a shelf road on my way to a lake near Ouray/Silverton at about 12,000ft.

Valley of Fire outside of Vegas is also amazing.

 

I love to camp in Silverton. Engineer Pass and Animas Forks are amazing!

 

Pretty much everything is amazing up there. Ever done Alpine Loop? That’ll give you the full spectrum. I try to make it to Durango/Ouray/Silverton every summer for a break from Phx heat.

 

Agree with Moab, then south on 191 to Blanding, Utah. West to Natural Bridges State park. Down the Moki Dugway in the a.m. (see the fog in the Valley of the Gods if you are lucky). Into Monument Valley on your way into the Grand Canyon.

 

I have no desire to leave the country when sites like these exist in the US, and are made in America. USA! USA! USA!

 

I had plans of going back to do several more passes in the alpine loop in June. Then on to see some family in Phoenix. I think that trip is cancelled due to my arthritis in my spine and hip.

 

Not sure you want to (some people would be less likely to face this chapter of US history), but there are WWII Japanese Internment Camp remnants maintained for those who wish to visit and remember. From the scale on the map, about 50-60 miles south of Havasu along the Colorado River edge.

 

While not quite the patriotic angle, but ...

I have flown to Europe on the commercial planes but after a while I found cities to be just cities, and only a couple of places that are worth going back ... if I wanted the 8 hours trans-Atlantic travel ("travel" came from the French "travailer" which means "to work").

US has far too much variety between Rockies and Gulf Coast and the desert southwest and the forests of Pacific Northwest and Maine ...

 

I've never heard of this, I'm actually looking for it on the map. Between Parker and Blythe?

 

Yes. Get an Arizona Road and Recreation Atlas (Benchmark Maps, ISBN 978-0-929591-18-6), page 70. Black bar across top of front cover. They publish these for many states.

Also one just south of Phoenix, if that is closer. The one in Phoenix is mostly desert now with just building-base foundations. I can PM you specific directions as it is harder to find on the Pima Indian Community on gravel roads. From the posted memorial the Pima Community never wanted it and seem to want it gone (no disrespect, but ...) even now but have not torn down or denied access to outsiders.

Photos of the one south of Phoenix ... white marble on a hill standing out for miles ... the camp layout plaque clearly does not demand respect from all ...

 

You’re better off skipping Phx in June/July anyway. Obviously, summers aren’t much fun in the desert. I spend a lot of summer weekends in the White Mountains near Greer, AZ. High elevations, lots of rain, great temperatures. While it’s 115° in Phx, Greer or Alpine will be 60° & emerald green. This is Greer in the dead of summer last year. Where I was camping between Big Lake & Reservation Lake, it was 60s during the day & low 40s at night.

 

It is beautiful up there!
My dad used to take us kids camping at Diamond rock campgrounds every summer, grandparents were camp hosts, it was great. My parents live up in nutrioso now but spend the winters in SanTan, kind of a switch haha

 

lots of fun places!

 

Some friendly advice if you decide to hike down into the Grand Canyon. Walk down the trail for 5 minutes, then walk back up for 3 minutes. Then decide just how much uphill you can handle to avoid the $8000 helicopter ride out of the canyon if you are wrong.