Have you heard of the National Parks Pass for 4th Graders? The Every Kid Outdoors program gives 4th Graders (and their family in the same vehicle) access to National Lands in the United States for the entire year that they are 4th graders! (They do have to be with in the car for the pass to work!) So this trip was inspired by our 4th Grader! We have wanted to do a trip to the places we went to for a long time, and this was a great reason to choose to make the trip this year. I bid my leave for the whole next year in the fall and when I was able to get two weeks off in a row, in the summer, we decided to plan the trip!
We had to decide if we were going to just go to a park or two and really see all of the things to see in that area, or try to go to as many parks as we could and see a little at each one… there are so many amazing parks in that part of the country, so we decided to see as many as could! I was able to add one more week to the end of the original two weeks, and John always takes a week to work in Minnesota in June, so we planned the trip to end up there. Here it is!
- Day 1: EARLY flight out of Jacksonville, FL to Denver, CO (via Atlanta on Delta). With the time change, we left at 5am, and still arrived at Denver at 8am!
- Rent a one-way minivan (we used Thrifty) in Denver (returning to Minneapolis), stopped at Sonic for breakfast, and had a pickup at Target already set up to get on the road (planned sandwiches and snacks for our days in the park [especially for our lunches])
- Drive to Moab, UT via I-70 (about a 6 hour drive). It. Is. A. Gorgeous. Drive. So so pretty! There were a hundred places I wanted to stop! You’ll go by Vail, Grand Junction, and the Glenwood Canyon area (which I think is a place I definitely need to go back to visit). Winding along the Colorado River on this drive gives you the beginning glimpses of all the amazing things this river has done!
- When we were getting close to Moab, we could see this big mountain in the distance, so John found us a scenic route that went right into Moab, and it was absolutely stunning the entire way! The Highway 128 Scenic Byway will also wind along the Colorado River through the canyons.
- The city of Moab is mostly situated along one main road. The entrances to Arches National Park and The Island In the Sky District are close to Moab, so a great place to stay if you’re visiting either park! We stopped at the Rock Shop and geeked out at the fossils and rocks (dinosaur bones, shark teeth, and rocks galore!), ate dinner at the Sunset Grill (the former home of the Uranium King Charlie Steen) with the best view in town, stopped at Lions Park at the north end of town to check out the river, and stopped at a couple of shops in town. We stayed at the Aarchway Inn.
- Day 2: (Free) Breakfast at the hotel, and straight to Canyonlands National Park, Islands in the Sky District
- The entrance to Canyonlands is about a 40 minute drive from the hotel
- In Canyonlands, we stopped at the Schafer Canyon Overlook, hiked to Mesa Arch, stopped at the Orange Cliffs Overlook, and the Grand View Point
- We like using The GuideAlong App (formerly Gypsy Guide) when we go through the national parks. You download it before you go, since your signal likely won’t be great in the parks, and it talks you through the highlights, suggests places to stop, and tells history of the area. You can also download park information on the National Park Service App as well.
- Next stop was Arches National Park. It is about a half hour back to Arches from Canyonlands. We had sandwiches in the car for lunch (kids are the chefs). It’s just on the north side of Moab. To enter Arches, you have to have a timed entry pass. It’s pretty easy to go online and reserve your time slot. It’ll cost $1 and I’d suggest doing it as soon as you can because they do fill up! Our time slot was between 12 and 1.
- Our stops inside of Arches included Park Avenue (just to the overlook), Courthouse Towers, the Windows Section (hiked around the North and South Window and Turret Arch, and Double Arch is also in that area), rain started then so we drove around and took in the views from the car for awhile, made our way to the Devils Garden area and hiked to Landscape Arch, and then did the quick overlook to Delicate Arch before dark caught us and we made our way out of the park.
- A quick stop at Subway for dinner (not much was open late) and we made our way south to Monument Valley. We drove on the road that Forrest Gump finally stopped running on, but it was dark so didn’t see much! Well, we did see coyote, fox, and deer! But not the scene!
- We stayed at The View Hotel in Monument Valley, where your room’s balcony literally looks over Monument Valley. We had a pretty full moon that night and could see the formations in the dark.
- Day 3: The real show was sunrise at Monument Valley, coming up behind the monuments. Really amazing and worth waking up for! (Free) Breakfast at the hotel.
- Took the drive through Monument Valley. This area is on tribal land, so it isn’t a national park, but it was a bucket list item on my husband’s list! He had seen a picture of the area as a kid and always wanted to see it. You can pay to access the drive through the monuments. Be advised, it’s a gravel road with a few big bumps, so drive slowly!
- Next stop was Upper Antelope Canyon by Page, AZ. Be careful here as the times might be a little tricky. We started out in Utah in the morning on daylight savings time in the Mountain Time Zone…. However, during the summer, Arizona doesn’t change to daylight savings time, so make sure you know which time zone you’re in! We had a reservation with Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours so we wanted to make sure we were on time! Upper Antelope Canyon is gorgeous, but the light can really affect how it looks and there are prime times to see it depending on the time of the year.
- Next we headed to the Lake Powell area and rented a pontoon from Antelope Canyon Boat Tours for a couple of hours to check out the lake. Bonus: the Lake Powell area is actually part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, so that 4th Grade Pass gets you admission here too! You’ll cruise along the water between the canyon walls. The water was really low when we visited, so the walls were extra tall around us. We grabbed dinner at the restaurant at the Antelope Point Marina Restaurant.
- The next amazing site: Horseshoe Bend. Horseshoe Bend has a parking area that you have to pay to get into ($10) that the city of Page manages. I heard sometimes it was hard to get a spot, but we didn’t have to wait. We arrived just in time for sunset!
- We stayed the night at Best Western View of Lake Powell in Page. You can get a room that overlooks the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell.
- Day 4: Breakfast at the hotel and then we headed towards the Grand Canyon! On the way, we went past the Navajo Bridge and Vermillion Cliffs. The drive was scenic the entire way! We went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, with stops at Bright Angel Point and Imperial Point. There was so much snow the winter before we went, that the road had only opened 5 days before we visited! We visited on June 7 and the road didn’t open this year until June 2nd! Make sure you check that the North Rim will be open when you visit!
- Next we drove up to Bryce Canyon National Park, (sandwiches in the car for lunch) with the goal of being there for sunset… we did make it for sunset, but kind missed the peak time that the light would actually be hitting the hoodoos to light them up. Still gorgeous but not quite as colorful as we hoped! We stopped at Sunset Point, Inspiration Point, Bryce Point and Paria Overlook. We went into Bryce Canyon City to eat dinner at the Cowboy Ranch House Bar and Restaurant. Great food and great service!
- We stayed in the park at The Lodge at Bryce Canyon. While in the parks, your cell signal might not be that great (it wasn’t) and so you will want that Wi-Fi password at the hotel… it was dark when we finally made it to our room and would you believe that I forgot the password in the car! Well, I was headed out the back side of the building on what I thought was shortcut to the car, but in the very very dark, was a loud grunting sound! Eek! Was a a mule deer? Maybe? Was it a bear? Do they have bears in Utah? I wasn’t sure so I took the long way to the car and was a hero when I got back to the room with the Wi-Fi password! Well, at least I thought so! Our room had a balcony and when I told my story of bravery, you couldn’t hear the loud grunting from the balcony, so some of that glory was lost on my family! The stars were amazing though!
- Day 5: Up early for sunrise, and we watched from Bryce Point. It was amazing. The sunrise over the mountains to the east, the light hitting the hoodoos and lighting up all of their colors was 100% gorgeous! We stopped at the Lodge for breakfast then went back to get ready for the day. We did the Navajo Loop Trail down into the hoodoos. It was hot! We had gotten the Camelbak backpacks that carry water for our big adventure and they were so great to have! Highly recommend for hiking! We each had one and it was so convenient to not have to carry one backpack with the heavy water bottles.
- Lunch was sandwiches in the car as we made our way to Zion National Park. Again, the drive was pure gorgeousness the entire way! We entered the East Entrance of Zion National Park. You’ll drive through a tunnel, and as you exit, angels sing and you’ll see the most amazing view. I hate to pick favorites, but I have to say that Zion was probably my most favorite park of this trip. We drove through the park to the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. You can only drive into the canyon area if you are staying at the Lodge in the park. Otherwise you have to park in Springdale or at the visitor center and take the shuttle into the canyon. I was lucky enough to have gotten a room at the Zion National Park Lodge. I kept checking our date even though it was full, and about a week before our trip, someone must have cancelled, and I snatched it up! That evening, we hopped on the shuttle and made our way down to the last shuttle stop at Temple of Sinawava. The Riverwalk Trail starts there and leads to The Narrows. We just walked a little ways to the river near the bus stop and enjoyed the amazing (so amazing!) views in the canyon. We grabbed dinner at the restaurant in the lodge (I highly recommend reservations- we didn’t have any) and then headed back to our room.
- Day 6: Grabbed breakfast at the cafe/coffee shop at the lodge, and originally planned to hike the Canyon Overlook Trail, but this must have been the day that the fast pace of our trip caught up with some of us. I didn’t feel good in the morning, then each kid had a part of the day that the heat caught up with us… soooo… we hiked from the lodge on the Grotto Trail to the Grotto stop on the shuttle. Hiked the Weeping Rock Trail, made our way on the shuttle to the visitor center on the south side of the park and then Court of the Patriarchs shuttle stop. The Court of the Patriarchs stop has an area where you can walk down by the river (maybe skip a few rocks), and an overlook to see the Court of the Patriarchs on the other side of the road. Next we went up to the Riverwalk and walked to where the Narrows starts. Again, because of the unusually high amount of snow that winter, the water levels were too high to hike the Narrows. The walk just to that point though is absolutely amazing. By the time we were done with that, it was getting dark and time to hit the road again.
- We made it to Las Vegas and found a hotel just off the strip. Drove the strip just to see it and we stayed at a Fairfield Inn.
- Day 7: (Free) Breakfast at the hotel then drove the strip again so the kids could see it when they were awake! Stopped at Seven Magic Mountains just outside of Vegas. I was so craving a good coffee and at the last stop in Nevada was a tourist trap with crazy expensive gas, a casino, and a…. Starbucks! Which we paid dearly for (tourist trap!) and waited in line forever for. John’s cousin lives in Bakersfield, CA and we made our way there to stay with them for the night. We were served the most amazing homemade food- ribs and Chinese food, and had amazing conversation! What a blessing to have been able to visit with family!
- Day 8: The hospitality continues and we were able to do some laundry in the morning before heading back out on the road. Introduced the kids to Jack in the Box. We made another Target pickup to replenish our lunch supplies and made our way towards the South Entrance of Yosemite National Park. We visited the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias (you take a shuttle to get to the area), then drove through the park and through another tunnel that you exit and, once again, angels sing and you see the most amazing sight! Tunnel View overlooks the Yosemite Valley and it is amazing. An Ansel Adams picture in real life. By the time we were done there, it was getting dark and time to head to our hotel. We stayed at the Yosemite Cedar Lodge. You drive along the Merced River in the dark dark and when you think there just might not be any hotels, or anything at all, in the dark dark, you’ll come upon lights, and there it is! In the dark, dark, there isn’t a whole lot else out there and we arrived after the restaurant at the hotel closed, so parking lot sandwiches it was!
- Day 9: Yosemite National Park. We entered through the Central Entrance Gate by El Portal. We arrived pretty early in the morning and didn’t have a line at all. We headed up to tunnel view to check in out one more time, then we parked and ate breakfast at the Yosemite Base Camp Eatery. Walked to the Yosemite Lower Falls and hopped on the shuttle. The shuttle was sooo crowded (again because of the snow, a lot of the park’s high country wasn’t open yet, so maybe that’s why so many people were in the valley) so we hopped off at the next stop and rented bikes instead! This was an awesome way to see the valley. We rode around the park to the Mirror Lake Trail. The reflection of the mountains in the water is astounding. Biked back through the valley and dropped off the bikes. Grabbed dinner at the Mountain Room Lodge just in time, as the rain decided to join us as well! After we ate, we drove the loop through the valley and headed up one last time to the Tunnel View. We caught the sunset hitting the face of El Capitan and Half Dome making it look like glowing silver! As we drove out of the park, the sun was setting over the mountains, and we made our way towards San Francisco. We stopped at the Best Western Luxury Inn in Tracy, CA.
- Day 10: (Free) Breakfast at the hotel. Started driving towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Saw Alcatraz out in the Bay and drove down Lombard Street. Had a viewpoint for the bridge plugged into the GPS, took a wrong turn that was not in fact a short cut, and then drove through the Presidio grounds (kinda cool, wrong turn worked out ok) before getting to the viewpoint. Got lucky enough to get a spot in the parking lot right by the overlook and took some pictures. Drove north to the Pacific Coast Highway, cutting over near Point Reyes National Seashore. What a beautiful drive! Didn’t super plan this part of the trip, so a word of advice is to know where you’re getting gas and stopping! It’s a beautiful road, but a super windy road in an area that is pretty sparsely populated and takes longer to drive than you might have thought! (Here I thought California was crowded.) We drove for awhile wondering where the next potty stop was, and found it in Gualala! Our next destination was Glass Beach at Fort Bragg. What was once a dump for trash, has been cleaned up and now you can see some really beautiful sea glass! We ate at the Denny’s just down the road from the beach and had the best server! Hadn’t planned a hotel yet, and managed to call ahead and find a room at the Humboldt Redwoods Inn in Garberville. Had to drive through some windy mountain roads at night but we saw the cutest baby fawn and mama deer, a skunk, and a fox.
- Day 11: Garberville is a pretty small town, but really cute and they had a coffee shop right next to the motel! Grabbed breakfast at Getti Up and made our way north towards the Redwoods. The Avenue of Giants is a road through the redwoods that is just parallel to the road we were taking (Highway 101) so we took the scenic route. The redwoods are so impressive. It is truly magical to be among them! We made our way towards Orick and entered the Redwood National and State Parks. We made our way to the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway, and along that road we stopped and walked among the redwoods. This was the place that I thought had the most magical feeling on our trip. We kept driving through the park towards Crescent City. At Crescent City, we made our way towards the shoreline. The park ranger had told us that you could see some pretty cool things in the tide pools there. We found some, but looking back later, I don’t think we were in quite the place she had mentioned to go. Still pretty neat. There is a lighthouse there too. Our goal for the night was Portland, OR, so we kept driving north. When we got to Grant’s Pass, OR, there it was… the In-N-Out Burger John had been seeking! Stopped there, and kept going. Made our way to the Best Western Cascade Inn and Suites in Troutdale, OR.
- Day 12: (Free) Breakfast at the hotel. Hopped on the Historic Columbia River Highway and stopped at Multnomah Falls. You also need a reservation for entry here, ($1 online) but no one actually checked ours. Parking is kind of difficult but we did get a spot after waiting for a bit in the lot next to the falls. There is a shuttle that runs from another lot as well. Visited the falls and walked across the iconic bridge! Then continued down the Columbia River Gorge, making our way through Coeur d’Alene, ID (wanted to see the view down by the lake but there was a festival and tons of people with the streets blocked off) and ate at the Cracker Barrel next to the interstate. Eventually made it to Butte, MT and stayed at the La Quinta Inn and Suites.
- Day 13: (Free)Breakfast at the hotel, and on the road again. Mostly driving this day. My aunt and cousins live in Mandan, ND so we were able to meet up with them for dinner at Culver’s and made our way to Fargo, ND to John’s sister’s and stayed with her for the night.
- Day 14: It happened to be Father’s Day and John’s sister was gracious enough to host both John’s family and mine! What a great day to be together. Our ultimate destination was the Twin Cities. John was planning to work for the week. So we stayed at the Grand Stay Inn In Apple Valley, MN. Called that home for a bit. John worked and I visited with family and friends for the next couple of weeks. Eventually took a flight home to Florida with Sun Country out of Minneapolis.
What a trip! I’ll be writing up a bit about each of our stops, and I’ll link them with our itinerary when I finish them. Keep checking back to see more pictures and get more details about what we did! You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!
One more note about the Every Kid Outdoors Pass… we made a trip from Minnesota to Yellowstone National Park and back a few years ago. You can read about that trip and see our itinerary here!
