5 weeks in the American West with family in summer 2026 (page 2 of 2)

Hi Ally, A really beautiful trip to do with family—I’ve done a large part of it in three 15-day road trips, and it was amazing every time. We always have to make choices based on our own constraints and desires, but the important thing is to do the trip that suits you. I’ve no doubt yours will be wonderful. To help you best, you could share what you’ve planned to visit day by day. That way, we can let you know if it’s doable or not and suggest additions. A few examples: on the road between Monument Valley and Durango, a quick detour to Goosenecks State Park is easy to do. It looks like Horseshoe Bend but in black. In Moab, a really pleasant hike to Corona Arch, especially great for teens with a cool echo near Pinto Arch. Grand Teton NP: We loved the Jenny Lake trail—Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls.

For choosing hikes, I use this site a lot: https://www.hikingproject.com It has descriptions, photos, difficulty levels, time needed, and ratings. On the ground, I use the free version of Komoot.

Happy planning!

Hello! Thanks to everyone for your messages! I’ll try to detail my itinerary—sorry if it’s a bit long... We’ll have a Pacifica minivan.

D1 - 7/12/2026 - Los Angeles Arrival around 6:30 PM - pick up rental Pacifica Night in Sherman Oaks (house swap)

D2 - 7/13/2026 - Los Angeles AM = Need to pick up a second rental car at Hertz Marriott (having two rentals was cheaper than one with a Sunday arrival) PM = Stroll around Venice (canals, beach, Santa Monica Pier)

D3 - 7/14/2026 - Los Angeles Universal Studios

D4 - 7/15/2026 - Los Angeles AM = Warner Bros. PM = Beverly Hills, Melrose Place, Walk of Fame, beaches near Malibu, Pacific Palisades

D5 - 7/16/2026 - Los Angeles Hollywood Sign with a walking tour, Griffith Observatory, Chinese Theatre... (I’m not sure how to optimize my visits on D4 and D5 or if I can add more on D3)

D6 - 7/17/2026 - Los Angeles / Kingman Stop at Joshua Tree Visitor Center, photo stops along Route 66 (Roy’s Motel and Café, Needles, Oatman via Topock, Cool Springs Station). Night at a motel (booked)

D7 - 7/18/2026 - Kingman / Grand Canyon Photo stop at Hackberry General Store, Seligman, Williams, and the Grand Canyon, then sunset at one of these spots: Hopi, Pima, Mohave, or Yaki Point. Night at Mather (booked)

D8 - 7/19/2026 - Grand Canyon / Page Sunrise at Mather or Hopi Point, then a walk along the rim (or a short hike to Ooh Aah Point) Dinner at Big John’s. Night at Wahweap (booked)

D9 - 7/20/2026 - Page Loop around Lake Powell, then Horseshoe Bend and Lower Antelope Canyon (booked). Night at Wahweap (booked)

D10 - 7/21/2026 - Page / Monument Valley Relax at Lake Powell, then drive to MV with a walk on the Wildcat Trail and stay at The View cabin for sunset (booked)

D11 - 7/22/2026 - Monument Valley / Durango Guided tour of MV with a Navajo guide Stops at Goosenecks State Park, Four Corners, Mesa Verde Visitor Center, and arrival in Durango (house swap)

D12 - 7/23/2026 - Durango Relax and explore the town on foot

D13 - 7/24/2026 - Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (steam train out, bus back)

D14 - 7/25/2026 - Durango Relax or hike in San Juan Forest (still planning) Evening at Durango Hot Springs

D15 - 7/26/2026 - Durango / Glenwood Springs Stop in Ouray via the Million Dollar Highway, Ridgway, and Glenwood. Night in a house swap

D16 - 7/27/2026 - Glenwood Springs AM = Rafting PM = Loop around Aspen (scenic overlook, Grotto Trail, Independence Ghost Town, and lookout)

D17 - 7/28/2026 - Glenwood / Moab AM = Explore Glenwood on foot PM = Drive to Moab Night in a house swap

D18 - 7/29/2026 - Moab Island in the Sky Evening = Shafer Road (just the paved section)

D19 - 7/30/2026 - Moab The Needles + short walk

D20 - 7/31/2026 - Moab Explore Arches (viewpoints, Double Arch, Devils Garden Trail, Delicate Arch Trail)

D21 - 8/1/2026 - Moab Still planning!

D22 - 8/2/2026 - Moab / Vernal Drive through Dinosaur NM via Scenic 128 and explore Dinosaur NM Night above Vernal (booked)

D23 - 8/3/2026 - Vernal / Grand Teton Stops at Flaming Gorge, Welcome to Utah sign, Rock Springs, and Jackson with a walk around town Night at Gros Ventre Campground (booked)

D24 - 8/4/2026 - Grand Teton Stop at the Mormon Row and various spots, then Jenny Lake Lookout and Inspiration Point / Hidden Falls Night at Colter Bay (booked)

D25 - 8/5/2026 - Grand Teton / Cody Yellowstone West Thumb area, visit Cody and the Buffalo Bill Museum if still open, then a rodeo in the evening Night at a hotel (booked)

D26 - 6/8/2026 - Cody / Yellowstone Stops at Beartooth Scenic Highway, Rock Creek Vista, Lamar Valley, Tower Junction Visitor Center, Tower-Roosevelt area Night at Canyon Village (booked)

D27 - 7/8/2026 - Yellowstone AM = Loop around the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone PM = Loop around Mammoth Hot Springs Night at Canyon Village (booked)

D28 - 8/8/2026 - Yellowstone AM = Norris area PM = Madison area Night at Madison Campground (booked)

D29 - 9/8/2026 - Yellowstone Madison area + anything we didn’t get to Night at Madison Campground (booked)

D30 - 8/10/2026 - Yellowstone / Salt Lake City Drive and explore SLC (still planning) Night in Murray (booked)

D31 - 8/11/2026 - SLC / Bryce Canyon Drive to Bryce, then combo Queen and Navajo Loop trails Night at North Campground (booked)

D32 - 8/12/2026 - Bryce Canyon / Zion Horseback ride on Peekaboo Loop at Bryce Stops at Coral Pink Sand Dunes and Canyon Overlook Trail Night in a house swap in Springdale

D33 - 8/13/2026 - Zion Relax, then hike Emerald Pools Trail / The Grotto

D34 - 8/14/2026 - Zion Hike The Narrows

D35 - 8/15/2026 - Zion / Las Vegas Stops at Grafton Ghost Town, Valley of Fire scenic drive, Red Rock Canyon (optional), Bass Pro Shop, and Las Vegas Outlets Evening at the Neon Museum and Fremont Street Night in a house swap in Henderson

D36 - 8/16/2026 - Las Vegas Tour of the Strip’s casino hotels, then a show (TBD) and some casino time

D37 - 8/17/2026 - Las Vegas / Los Angeles Stops at Nelson, Peggy Sue’s Diner in Yermo, Bagdad Café, Calico Ghost Town Night at a hotel in Lake Forest (booked)

D38 - 8/18/2026 - Los Angeles Laguna Beach and drive up the coast to Manhattan Beach Night at a hotel in Manhattan Beach (booked)

D39 - 8/19/2026 - Los Angeles / Brussels Pack up, return rental car around 2 PM

D40 - 8/20/2026 - Brussels / Home

Hi Ally, here are a few notes (underlined) for you to consider or not!

D3- 14/7/2026- Los Angeles Universal Studios Option to do Mulholland Dr (with nice views over LA) in the late afternoon

D5- 16/7/2026- Los Angeles Hollywood Sign with a walk, Griffith if you're not too tired after the Hollywood Sign, it's possible to walk to Griffith Observatory from the lower parking lot, Chinese Theatre... (I'm not sure how to optimize my visits on D4 and D5 or even if I can add things on D3) Little idea: since Route 66 will be your common thread for the first few days, check out the points of interest in LA: End Point / Ending Point (on D2?) then along the same axis or nearly: Chicken Boy - Colorado Street Bridge - Astro Motel - Denny's - Mr D's Diner - Cucamonga Service Station - First Original McDonald's Museum.

D6- 17/7/2026- Los Angeles / Kingman Stop at the Joshua Tree visitor center you’ll probably do the Scenic Drive too?, photo stops along Route 66 (Roy's Motel and Cafe, Needles, Oatman via Topock, Cool Springs Station). Night at a motel (booked)

D7- 18/7/2026- Kingman / Grand Canyon Photo stop at Hackberry General Store, Seligman, Williams, and the Grand Canyon, then sunset at your choice: Hopi, Pima, Mohave, or Yaki Point. Night at Mather (booked) Long day since you can spend quite a bit of time in Seligman (especially with teens), so you might need to adjust with D8 depending on your arrival time and fatigue. For the West Rim, you can adapt by doing some parts on foot and others with the shuttle.

D8- 19/7/2026- Grand Canyon / Page Sunrise at Mather or Hopi Point, then a walk along the rim (or a short hike to Ooh Aah Point) Dinner at Big John’s. Night at Wahweap (booked) If you like pretty bridges, a small detour to the Historic Navajo Bridge (the northern one is for pedestrians only) Possible sunset spot: Wahweap Overlook

D9- 20/7/2026- Page Loop around Lake Powell, then Horseshoe Bend and Lower Antelope Canyon (booked). Night at Wahweap (booked) Option to go canoeing

Part 2:

Day 15 - July 26, 2026 - Durango / Glenwood Springs Stop in Ouray via the Million Dollar Highway, Ridgway, and Glenwood. Night: house swap I didn’t do it, but along the way there’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, which looks interesting.

Day 17 - July 28, 2026 - Glenwood / Moab AM: exploring Glenwood on foot PM: drive to Moab Along the way and easy to do, we really enjoyed Colorado National Monument (with a great echo at Upper Ute Canyon View)Night: house swap

Day 18 - July 29, 2026 - Moab Island in the Sky We had time to do: Mesa Arch - Upheaval Dome - Green River Overlook - Murphy Point - White Rim Overlook - Grand View Point, ending at Dead Horse Point Evening: Shafer Road (just the paved part)

Day 19 - July 30, 2026 - Moab The Needles + short hike There are lots of possible trails; we loved the one from Elephant Hill to Chesler Park, even though the path wasn’t always well-marked.

Day 20 - July 31, 2026 - Moab Exploring around Arches (viewpoints, Double Arch, Devils Garden Trail, Delicate Arch Trail) We did this over 2 days to really enjoy it—don’t rush if you’re doing it in one day Day 1: Park Avenue Trail - Balanced Rock - The Windows Trail - Double Arch - Delicate Arch Day 2: Skyline Arch - Devils Garden Trail / Primitive Trail - Broken Arch Trail - Sand Dune Arch

Day 21 - August 1, 2026 - Moab Still under construction! Don’t miss it—we really loved the trail to Corona Arch. It’s a bit technical with great views of the Colorado River, plus a little detour to Pinto Arch for a nice echo. We also did: Grandstaff Canyon, which is worth it mainly for the Morning Glory Arch site—it’s really pretty Mill Creek North Fork Trail to the waterfall—fun to do, you’ll get your feet wet. Do it if you have time left and aren’t too tired In Sal Valley, we enjoyed the Clark Lake Loop Trail from Oowah Lake

continuation: Grand Teton / Yellowstone, long days but there’s so much to see...

D25- 8/5/2026- Grand Teton / Cody Yellowstone west thumb area, visit Cody and the Buffalo Bill Museum if it’s still open, then a rodeo in the evening Sit in the stands opposite the entrance if you want to see all the prep and setup Night at a hotel (booked)

D28- 8/8/2026- Yellowstone AM = Norris area PM = Madison area It might be a good idea to do the Fountain Paint Pots and Firehole Lake Drive that day, otherwise there’ll be too much to do the next day.

D29- 9/8/2026- Yellowstone Madison area + whatever wasn’t done Grand Prismatic Spring: to get the best view, don’t forget to hike the Fairy Falls Trail It’s a bit of a trek to Morning Glory Pool, but the colors are so pure it’s totally worth it. On the way, you might get lucky and see the regular geysers (there are approximate schedules at the visitor center). Waiting for Grand Geyser can take a while, but it’s a real fireworks show. Night at Madison Campground (booked) No comments on the rest—you’ve picked the best trails for Bryce and Zion. Near Bryce Canyon, you can take a short walk in Red Canyon.