Trip - Montana/Colorado/Utah - need suggestions

Go North out of Durango, Colorado. Great ride (the Million Dollar Highway). You will hit Silverton and Ouray. Would recommend a night in Telluride too. It's beautiful.

Moab, Utah, and the Arches National Park is pretty cool. If you have a day, rent a Jeep and do a few trails.

Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon in Utah are pretty spectacular.

I've done a couple of motorcycle trips thru Utah and Colorado. Beautiful states.

MDS

 

All of the big Canyons in Utah are in the very south eastern part. Many hours away from Salt Lake City. It truly depends on which interstate you are taking to get into Utah. I have taken dozens of trips to Montana and Wyoming to see Yellowstone the Tetons and Jackson hole. Yellowstone is so freaking huge it will take much time to see many things and much time in traffic in the summer. I have only gone to Montana to fish and have seen many BEAUTIFUL sits but very far away from the park. (hours of dirt roads and camping) West Yellowstone is a great little town, Island Park is beautiful as well. Technically Idaho but around an hour or so from West Yellowstone. For The city's of Salt Lake and Park City there is too much to list. hope you enjoy the drive

Chris B

 

20 mph up the road but it is the best view in the park by far and an amazing feat of engineering to build that road.

 

West Yellowstone and Island park are awesome places! My grandmother owns a house there, and our family absolutely loves it. I've gone up there every summer for the past 15 years. I'm moving up there this summer while my parents build they're own home there. Island Park is only 25-30 from West Yellowstone. If you plan on heading south of Yellowstone, I HIGHLY recommend Mesa Falls scenic byway. One of the most breathtaking roads around, and there are a few awesome places to see along the way!

http://byways.org/explore/byways/2047

 

You're presumably planning on a day or two in Rocky Mountain National Park while in Estes? Great vistas, hiking and above-timberline conditions, although as someone else noted re. Yellowstone, the auto traffic is typically pretty heavy in summer.

Have you picked a route from Estes Park to Yellowstone? Since you're taking the family rather than one of your Ferraris, you might be less interested in the nature of the roads themselves rather than places to visit, but here are a few comments on the former if you're planning on a semi-direct run to Yellowstone from Estes Park. Some of these are definitely better than others in terms of keeping driving time to a minimum, if that's a consideration for the family (certainly would be for mine).

Highway 34 from Estes Park to Granby, and then north to Walden and then to I-80, picking up 287 all the way to the Grand Tetons and Jackson Lake and then on to Yellowstone is an interesting drive for a lot of the way. Much of 287 through Wyoming passes through grassland/sage brush territory with some interesting scenery, but it's best once you get past Dubois on 287, where the terrain starts transitioning to high alpine conditions, but with an easy, wide 2/3-lane road. In September there was a fair amount of construction underway though, with the road consisting entirely of dirt for a couple of mountain segments of a few miles each. Be aware also that the Estes Park to Granby leg ("Trail Ridge Road") is a fairly narrow high mountain pass road with steep drop-offs and switchbacks. Fun for the driver, but not so much for the passengers maybe.

Another option is to take 34 and 40 from Granby to Steamboat Springs and then north from Craig, Colorado to I-80 and a then bit east back to 287. The Granby to Steamboat section is a nice drive. I haven't been on the route from Craig to I-80 so not sure about that part. Or you could stay on Hwy. 40 into Utah and see some of the sights there before heading north.

The fastest option from Estes might be to head back east to 287 and then north, or further east to I-25 and then north. Less scenic and interesting though. If you did take that route, there's a guest ranch (the "2 Bar 7") along 287 just south of the Wyoming border that's worth considering (http://www.2bar7.com). It's basically a working ranch that takes in guests to help balance their budget so is a bit rough around the edges but (or because of that), is still a great place to visit.

Jim

 

I live about 200 miles from Yellowstone. What time of the year are you planning on being in yellowstone area?

Logan canyon over to bear lake, though Star Valley Wyo to Jackson Hole is a great drive to get to Yellowstone, you'll come in the South Entrance. Another Amazing drive is over the Beartooth hwy......one of the most amazing views drives in the USA....down to Red Lodge MT. You can access this by leaving Yellowstone parks NE entrance.

Shoot me an email or IM if you want more suggestions. Of things to do in the Utah, MT, Wyo ID areas.

Cheers,
GREG