Road Tripping in the USA!

[TW]Fox · 14 Jan 2014 at 12:14

So we've agreed on a destination, just need to work out a route. Going to fly into and out of Boston in September for 2-3 weeks. Not quite the Colorado trip I wanted but hey, it's still a US road trip

So far the only solid 'must do' things are Mount Washington, Toronto and Niagra Falls. I'd like to try and get as far over as Chicago, anyone else done a similar route and what was great/not so great/unmissable/missable etc?

tlrBeta · 14 Jan 2014 at 13:19

commited said:
I just ran the dates and rentalcars came back with £379 all in for 25/06-09/07 with a mustang through Alamo, pretty decent deal!

Regarding Dollar - I believe they also let you choose your car. I'll probably be renting something cheap and nasty off them for a week in NYC (still trying to work out the route!)

Agreed, seems like a good way of saving that ridiculous one-way fee.

Of course though, it does mean I'll have to pay for 3/4 days parking in San Fran, but I imagine thats $20-$30 a day? Still saving a lot of money!

Lethal` · 14 Jan 2014 at 13:21

commited said:
You say I can just swap, do I just call ahead and ask if they have a Mustang in their lot and if they do, I just rock up and say "I want that one"? If so, that's fantastic!

I'm not sure on the specifics for swapping a car but it gets mentioned a lot here, and I've heard people have managed it before. Personally, I've never had to.
Perhaps Fox knows more?

commited said:
We're not massive hikers, but will certainly walk a short distance to see something spectacular. When we travelled around Aus, most of the stuff was visible within a 30min walk from the car!

Okay, well you'll probably find enough spots from the road in Yosemite, although be prepared for how busy it gets. Consider getting up nice and early, and get a night view in for the stars! I was going to recommend a few longer hikes to get up into the mountains, but they would take you a few hours

As for Zion... basically you can't drive to most of the sights as the roads are restricted to Shuttle bus only during the summer months. I would really recommend hiking up to Angels Landing, it's somewhat challenging but the reward is an amazing view of the valley. Just don't slip and hold onto the chains!

tlrBeta said:
Of course though, it does mean I'll have to pay for 3/4 days parking in San Fran, but I imagine thats $20-$30 a day? Still saving a lot of money!

It varies from $15-$50+. If parking at your hotel, you'll likely be paying at least $40/night.

tlrBeta · 14 Jan 2014 at 14:10

Lethal` said:
It varies from $15-$50+. If parking at your hotel, you'll likely be paying at least $40/night.

$36 by the looks of it x 4 nights, still cheaper then that one-way rubbish!

Diesel · 14 Jan 2014 at 14:20

Lethal` said:
As for Zion... basically you can't drive to most of the sights as the roads are restricted to Shuttle bus only during the summer months. I would really recommend hiking up to Angels Landing, it's somewhat challenging but the reward is an amazing view of the valley. Just don't slip and hold onto the chains!

Angels Landing isn't as bad as they make out, those switchbacks are a killer on the legs mind! Great views at the end.

My favourite hike was to Double O Arch in Arches, although the Ranger guided one through Fiery Furnace was really good.

Lethal` · 14 Jan 2014 at 14:33

Diesel said:
Angels Landing isn't as bad as they make out, those switchbacks are a killer on the legs mind! Great views at the end.

My favourite hike was to Double O Arch in Arches, although the Ranger guided one through Fiery Furnace was really good.

Very true. I actually saw it on a list of dangerous hikes... with Half Dome also in the list. I'd say Half Dome was far more dangerous, and it certainly took a lot longer!

I didn't get time for Double O Arch as I only had an afternoon in Arches. Moab area in general was awesome though!

Diesel · 14 Jan 2014 at 15:29

We'd only planned a day for Arches but ended up doing almost 2 full days there. Moab is awesome.

commited · 14 Jan 2014 at 19:11

tlrBeta said:
$36 by the looks of it x 4 nights, still cheaper then that one-way rubbish!

Redwood Inn appear to have free parking and hotel seems reasonable if you haven't booked anything yet.

commited · 14 Jan 2014 at 19:15

Lethal` said:
I'm not sure on the specifics for swapping a car but it gets mentioned a lot here, and I've heard people have managed it before. Personally, I've never had to.
Perhaps Fox knows more?

Okay, well you'll probably find enough spots from the road in Yosemite, although be prepared for how busy it gets. Consider getting up nice and early, and get a night view in for the stars! I was going to recommend a few longer hikes to get up into the mountains, but they would take you a few hours

As for Zion... basically you can't drive to most of the sights as the roads are restricted to Shuttle bus only during the summer months. I would really recommend hiking up to Angels Landing, it's somewhat challenging but the reward is an amazing view of the valley. Just don't slip and hold onto the chains!

Thanks for the advice! Zion looks awesome, was considering doing more Zion and cutting out Bryce, or should I hit both?

Diesel · 14 Jan 2014 at 19:33

commited said:
Thanks for the advice! Zion looks awesome, was considering doing more Zion and cutting out Bryce, or should I hit both?

Both! Bryce is completely different to Zion but no less great. It's another place we spent more time than planned.

[TW]Fox · 14 Jan 2014 at 19:49

Grrr I want to do Utah

Lethal` · 14 Jan 2014 at 19:52

commited said:
Thanks for the advice! Zion looks awesome, was considering doing more Zion and cutting out Bryce, or should I hit both?

I agree with Diesel. Do both - the drive to Bryce is pretty mind numbingly boring (apart from leaving Zion via the tunnel!) but it is worth seeing. I did Bryce in a day, and had a little time left back at Zion to do a small hike

tlrBeta · 14 Jan 2014 at 21:22

commited said:
Redwood Inn appear to have free parking and hotel seems reasonable if you haven't booked anything yet.

I haven't actually but was looking at Clubquarters San Francisco, reasonable reviews and price. Thanks for the recommendation though

commited · 14 Jan 2014 at 22:09

Thanks for the replies guys. The only other thing we're contemplating is adding 2/3 days on and doing Arches and Monument Valley but I think it might just be too much driving overall.

[TW]Fox · 14 Jan 2014 at 22:21

I would consider scrubbing the drive to the Grand Canyon - it's not bad but it's nothing you won't already have seen on your drive up to that point. You can fly from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon in 40 minutes and tour the decent vantage points at the South Rim. This will free up more time for other things and perhaps make it feel like a bit less driving, too.

I think we paid about £120ish each for the tour. Left Grand Canyon North airport at 11am, arrived back at 3pm.

commited · 14 Jan 2014 at 22:37

I was thinking that someone might suggest that. I'd like to see Zion & Bryce but I guess that couls be a weekend trip from Vegas. Definitely something to consider. Did you book in advance? Looking around, it seems to be about $500 for two.

[TW]Fox · 14 Jan 2014 at 23:47

I only booked it about 2-3 days in advance, did it from the hotel in San Diego.

peter · 15 Jan 2014 at 09:24

Still not decided!

The thought of getting a seabring is putting us off convertibles, Anyone had a ford escape? they are about £550 for the 3 weeks in august. Only two of us with some camping gear, looks big enough.

Lethal` · 15 Jan 2014 at 09:30

peter said:
The thought of getting a seabring is putting us off convertibles, Anyone had a ford escape? they are about £550 for the 3 weeks in august. Only two of us with some camping gear, looks big enough.

I've driven one. Pretty boring but would be big enough for two with camping gear. It's basically a small SUV there.

Why not just get a saloon? You'll get better 'gas mileage' and it will likely be cheaper to start with anyway.

peter · 15 Jan 2014 at 09:36

Full size saloon is the same price, we had a Hyundai a couple of years ago and just wanted something different. We looked at luxury saloons and did not think the extra £200 was worth it.