Summer Road trip with 7yo Daughter East-West and back...

[IRWaller]

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a fairly big cross country and back trip (4-5ish weeks) with my 7 1/2 yo daughter. We will be combining camping, hotel stays and family hosted accomodations. We plan to leave the Philly / Bucks County area on June 21 or 22, head to Ohio (Dayton - Family), Chicago, Minneapolis, South Dakota (Wall Drug / Badlands, Mt. Rushmore & Black Hills, then Bozeman, MT (Family again), Yellowstone (N Entrance, Lamar Valley, East side (did west side 2y ago)), Grand Tetons/Jackson, Idaho Falls, Salt Lake City, then on to Duck Creek Village, UT for the night of June 30 (Family). We will then head over to Lake Powell (Family still) for two weeks on a Houseboat. The wife will join us on July 7/8 - 15 on the houseboat. We will disembark on July 15, and likely either head to Phoenix to take wife to Airport, or else she will fly from Page, AZ to Phoenix & home and we will go back to Duck Creek for the night. Then we need to plan the trip homeward. I'm thinking AZ, NM, Colorado & that's about as far as I have gotten. What are the must sees & do's, good campgrounds, etc on the route. We will be taking the '17 Tacoma DCSB Off-Road, Tent/Sleeping bags, Cooler (Yeti), porta potti, Camp Stove, Warm & Cool/Cold weather stuff, etc. Have a tonneau & bedrug in back. Still Stock wheels/tires & no lift. May try to take bikes too(if she gets better riding)? TY in Adv. for ideas!

 

[Rudyr03]

Don’t over plan or set certain time frames.. and just GO!!! That’s an awesome family experience.. I hope u guys enjoy it.. I did this last year for 2 weeks with no set destinations and we loved it.. u might like a place and stay longer.. u might go somewhere and be done with it in a couple of hours.. we really liked Zion National park/ grand Tetons and Jackson hole are awesome/ horseshoe bend is very nice and Yellowstone is a must..


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[Road]

Exactly - I agree completely with @Rudyr03 - some of the summer crowds different places may make it difficult to enjoy thing as much, so don't make such a firm itinerary that the rest of the trip is off-kilter if you mix it up here and there. A few definite stops will be inevitable when you have folks expecting you in certain places, though if they're flexible, makes your planning easier.

Not much fun to have to push hard and drive long hours to make a deadline, when there could be places along the way you'd love to see. I know one thing that has come in really handy when traveling with a kid that age is to have a cookie sheet they can keep paper and markers on for drawing. The edges of the cookie sheet keep things from rolling away. I used to take only a dictionary, blank paper, and colored pencils and markers. We'd play games with the signs we saw and look up words my kid wasn't sure of.

You'll have a blast if it's not overly structured. Stop often, take your time, don't try to crowd too much into each day.

Good opportunity to teach her about maps, too, with a regular old Rand McNally atlas of North America. Let her plan a day every once in awhile, within reason of desired destination.

Pick a small town off the route and go have lunch in some small mom n pop diner. Visit some local landmark or historical museum. There's tons of stuff to make it fun with a kid, and you'll no doubt learn a lot you may not have otherwise.

 

[IRWaller]

Exactly - I agree completely with @Rudyr03 - some of the summer crowds different places may make it difficult to enjoy thing as much, so don't make such a firm itinerary that the rest of the trip is off-kilter if you mix it up here and there. A few definite stops will be inevitable when you have folks expecting you in certain places, though if they're flexible, makes your planning easier.

Not much fun to have to push hard and drive long hours to make a deadline, when there could be places along the way you'd love to see. I know one thing that has come in really handy when traveling with a kid that age is to have a cookie sheet they can keep paper and markers on for drawing. The edges of the cookie sheet keep things from rolling away. I used to take only a dictionary, blank paper, and colored pencils and markers. We'd play games with the signs we saw and look up words my kid wasn't sure of.

You'll have a blast if it's not overly structured. Stop often, take your time, don't try to crowd too much into each day.

Good opportunity to teach her about maps, too, with a regular old Rand McNally atlas of North America. Let her plan a day every once in awhile, within reason of desired destination.

Pick a small town off the route and go have lunch in some small mom n pop diner. Visit some local landmark or historical museum. There's tons of stuff to make it fun with a kid, and you'll no doubt learn a lot you may not have otherwise.

The Wife and I like technology, but there is nothing like the good 'ol Rand McNally! I've been showing it to the kid and talking about where we'll go...

 

[IRWaller]

Don’t over plan or set certain time frames.. and just GO!!! That’s an awesome family experience.. I hope u guys enjoy it.. I did this last year for 2 weeks with no set destinations and we loved it.. u might like a place and stay longer.. u might go somewhere and be done with it in a couple of hours.. we really liked Zion National park/ grand Tetons and Jackson hole are awesome/ horseshoe bend is very nice and Yellowstone is a must..


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Sound advice!

 

[OffWheelin]

Here are a few suggestions.
In general, look up state parks and county parks along your route, because there are a lot of scenic and historic sites to stop at for a break.
AAA (auto club) maps are very good for western states for showing dirt roads as well as the paved roads, and the points of interest.
Near north border of Yellowstone. Must see is the Beartooth Hwy. Scenery is stellar. I found it more impressive than Rocky Mtn NP. https://goo.gl/maps/UfTGxMAxnFN2
Near east border of Yellowstone. In Cody is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a world class museum that is great for kids and adults. It is a must see. https://goo.gl/maps/jtydZcMVbcB2
There is more in Montana/Idaho/Nevada/etc. but your schedule seems limited due to hard dates.
Grand Canyon, of course. North rim is less busy, south rim has more viewpoints.
Zion Narrows hike is great fun. https://utah.com/hiking/zion-national-park/the-narrows
Henrieville to Kodachrome Basin to Hwy 89 via dirt road
Leaving Phoenix is the Apache Rd. Very scenic dirt road.
In New Mexico you could follow the Continental Divide trail to Colorado. There is another post with the gps info.
Chama, NM has a great train ride on a historic steam engine train. It is the train that was used in an Indiana Jones movie (when he was young and being chased on a circus train).
Colorado. Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Telluride area. Very scenic and lots of dirt routes.

 

[IRWaller]

Here are a few suggestions.
In general, look up state parks and county parks along your route, because there are a lot of scenic and historic sites to stop at for a break.
AAA (auto club) maps are very good for western states for showing dirt roads as well as the paved roads, and the points of interest.
Near north border of Yellowstone. Must see is the Beartooth Hwy. Scenery is stellar. I found it more impressive than Rocky Mtn NP. https://goo.gl/maps/UfTGxMAxnFN2
Near east border of Yellowstone. In Cody is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a world class museum that is great for kids and adults. It is a must see. https://goo.gl/maps/jtydZcMVbcB2
There is more in Montana/Idaho/Nevada/etc. but your schedule seems limited due to hard dates.
Grand Canyon, of course. North rim is less busy, south rim has more viewpoints.
Zion Narrows hike is great fun. https://utah.com/hiking/zion-national-park/the-narrows
Henrieville to Kodachrome Basin to Hwy 89 via dirt road
Leaving Phoenix is the Apache Rd. Very scenic dirt road.
In New Mexico you could follow the Continental Divide trail to Colorado. There is another post with the gps info.
Chama, NM has a great train ride on a historic steam engine train. It is the train that was used in an Indiana Jones movie (when he was young and being chased on a circus train).
Colorado. Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Telluride area. Very scenic and lots of dirt routes.

Thanks! Awesome suggestions!

 

[mclerran11]

Do you have any suggested camping locations near Kodachrome? The official campsites are all booked up and I would prefer something off grid anyway...

Here are a few suggestions.
In general, look up state parks and county parks along your route, because there are a lot of scenic and historic sites to stop at for a break.
AAA (auto club) maps are very good for western states for showing dirt roads as well as the paved roads, and the points of interest.
Near north border of Yellowstone. Must see is the Beartooth Hwy. Scenery is stellar. I found it more impressive than Rocky Mtn NP. https://goo.gl/maps/UfTGxMAxnFN2
Near east border of Yellowstone. In Cody is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a world class museum that is great for kids and adults. It is a must see. https://goo.gl/maps/jtydZcMVbcB2
There is more in Montana/Idaho/Nevada/etc. but your schedule seems limited due to hard dates.
Grand Canyon, of course. North rim is less busy, south rim has more viewpoints.
Zion Narrows hike is great fun. https://utah.com/hiking/zion-national-park/the-narrows
Henrieville to Kodachrome Basin to Hwy 89 via dirt road
Leaving Phoenix is the Apache Rd. Very scenic dirt road.
In New Mexico you could follow the Continental Divide trail to Colorado. There is another post with the gps info.
Chama, NM has a great train ride on a historic steam engine train. It is the train that was used in an Indiana Jones movie (when he was young and being chased on a circus train).
Colorado. Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Telluride area. Very scenic and lots of dirt routes.

ou

 

[OffWheelin]

In general it is easy to find places to primitive camp in the western states. Public lands such as BLM, National Forest, and National Monuments, allow primitive camping. Just be aware of fire rules and danger in forests. Often you can camp, but they don't allow fires other than stoves. South of Kodachrome basin there are many dirt roads. I camped there once. I would go down a main dirt road and then find some less traveled side road to go out and camp. Google Maps does not show national forest or BLM lands well at all, but you can determine it on other maps or on their websites.

More ideas:

Moab area

My favorite is the Schafer Trail because it offers spectacular scenery, takes you to a couple great spots, and is not difficult.

Map: From Moab to Shafer Trail to Grand View Point: https://goo.gl/maps/k4Xak2xA13r
Map: From Grand View Point to Dead Horse Point to Long Canyon to Moab: https://goo.gl/maps/cE4onUAKF9n

Arches https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/upload/ARCHmap.pdf
In order to make the most of a half day visit in Arches, I would go to these points:
Double Arch - short walk
North Window and South Window - loop trail
Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint (the view is good enough, the trail to Delicate Arch takes too long)
If you have more time: Landscape Arch
As you drive to these points, there are many other viewpoints you can see from the car.

Colorado

Animas Forks ghost town
https://goo.gl/maps/XHGwounpy9p
Cinnamon Pass
Engineer Pass
Imogene Pass

Gold Mine Tour
http://www.minetour.com/

Underground Mining Museum
https://www.undergroundminingmuseum.com/

Bachelor Loop
https://www.creede.com/recreation-activities/explore/bachelor-loop.html

Pikes Peak, just because it is so high.