Road Trip Itinerary: Out West
Have you ever taken a last-minute road trip? I did & it was one of the best experiences of my life. So I decided I share a bit about how I took a 9-day road trip with little to no planning. I convinced my sister to join and we decided to take a 9-day road trip with about two weeks’ notice. Often times I overthink, so I thought we’d really allow the trip to take us where it did without putting too much pressure on the planning process. The only planning we did was deciding the general area we wanted to drive to and making a list of the National Parks that were in that area. Everything else was decided day by day. We didn’t commit to keeping a schedule, making it to a certain place on time, or following a strict itinerary! I know last minute isn’t for everyone so I thought I’d share a recap of our road trip & any changes I would have made to make it more enjoyable.
Road Trip Itinerary
Day 1:
Left Michigan at 4 am
Drove to Badlands National Park
Arrived at 6:30 pm
Hiked Notch Trail
Stayed hiking until dark
Slept in a gas station parking lot
Day 2:
Left Badlands at 6 am
Drove to Yellowstone National Park
Arrived at 4 pm
Picture - Pull-Offs Along The Drive
Mammoth Hot Springs
Picnic for dinner
Slept in cabin
Day 3:
Started exploring at sunrise
Picture - Roaring Mountain
Picture - Geyser
Explored Midway Geyser Basin
Grand Prismatic Overlook
Hike to Fairy Falls
Norris Geyser Basin
Slept at Buffalo Bill State Park - North Shore Campground
Day 4:
At sunrise drove through Yellowstone National Park to get to Grand Teton National Park
Searched for Campground (Many are first come first serve)
We Stayed at Headwaters Campground
Then Headed Over to Colter Bay Visitor Center
Tried to Kayak on Jackson Lake (Sadly it was booked, would highly recommend doing this it is first come first serve)
Drove to Jenny Lake
Hiked to Hidden Falls at Jenny Lake
Hiked to Inspiration Point at Jenny Lake
Got Dinner at Colter Bay Visitor Center
Went Back to Headwaters Campground for The Night
Day 5:
Sunrise Drove from Grand Teton National Park to Arches National Park
Got to Arches about an hour before Sunset
Drove Up to Panorama Point to Cook Dinner
Watched Sunset & Stars at Panorama Point (Arches is one of the Dark Parks)
Left After Dark
Got a Room at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Moab
Day 6:
Woke up at Sunrise
Hiked to Delicate Arch (Do This Early Morning or Evening)
Drove to Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint to Eat Lunch
Drove Back Out of Park & Stopped at Viewpoints Along The Way
Went Back To Hotel For a Break
Got Dinner in the Town at Antica Forma
Went Back to Arches National Park
Drove Through & Stopped at Other Viewpoints
Hiked Sand Dune Arch
Hiked Skyline Arch & Watched Sunset Here
Went Back to Hotel for the Night
Day 7:
Woke Up Around 6 am
Drove to Colorado for Great Sand Dunes National Park
Went to Campsite at Sand Dunes Swimming Pool & Campground
Arrived Around 4 pm
Hiked Up Sand Dune
Rain Cleared Up To Make it Half Way Up Dune & Then We Had to Turn Around
Went to Dinner In Town - Rained The Rest of The Night
Day 8:
Woke Up Around 8 am
Drove Home to Michigan
Day 9:
Arrived Back Home in Michigan Around 3 am
I loved everything about our trip and we had an incredible time. Looking back there are a few things I would have done differently & I thought it would be helpful to share those things with you! Basically, don’t make the same mistakes we did on our trip haha.
In Yellowstone National Park, I would have skipped Norris Geyser Basin. Personally, I feel like once you’ve seen one set of geysers they all look pretty similar. Pick one or two you want to see and you should be all set!
I would have liked to spend more time in Grand Teton National Park. It was my favorite of all of the national parks we went to and I honestly could have spent so much more time there.
Skip the hike to Inspiration Point in Grand Teton National Park & instead opt for kayaking on Jackson Lake. We didn’t get to do this and I really wish we would have.
Overall, Great Sand Dunes National Park was my least favorite. I personally wouldn’t recommend going to the park at all, unless you have a goal [like me] of going to all of the national parks in the US. If you just plan to hit a couple, this one is skippable for sure!
If you are a planner or don’t like last-minute planning I would definitely try to book where you will be staying ahead of time. We chose all of our campsite, cabins, hotels, etc. the day of & we didn’t mind at all. However, I can see how that might be stressful and it is very doable to book your stay ahead of time. We liked the freedom of coming and going whenever we wanted & being able to spend extra time somewhere if we felt like it.
I hope that our itinerary is helpful to you when planning your trip. I love seeing how other people decided to take their road trips & what their favorite spots were so I knew I wanted to share ours. It is so helpful to get guidance, tips, and inspiration before beginning your road trip. Hopefully from our mistakes, you can make your road trip even better than ours!
