Denver to Salt Lake City 3 – A beautiful route for nature lovers that features spectacular, diverse, scenery. This route combines the glacial peaks of the Rocky Mountain Mountain National Park with the deserts of eastern Utah (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks) and with Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, in addition to few breathtaking National Monuments and State Parks.
Day 1 – Land in Denver and spend a few hours in the city
Lodging location: Denver
Day 2 – Spend the day in Denver
Lodging location: Denver
Day 3 – Drive to the eastern part of the Rocky Mountain National Park and visit this area of the park, 2 hours drive
Lodging location: Estes Park
Day 4 – Hike and travel in the eastern part of the Rocky Mountain National Park, 1 hour drive in each direction
Lodging location: Estes Park
Day 5 – Enjoy one more day in the eastern part of the Rocky Mountain National Park or join activities (such as rafting) out of Estes Park, 1 hour drive in each direction
Lodging location: Estes Park
Day 6 – Cross the Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road and stop and hike along this scenic route, 1.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Grand Lake
Day 7 – Spend the morning in Grand Lake and then drive east to towards border between Colorado and Utah, 4 hours drive
Lodging location: Grand Junction
Day 8 – Visit the Colorado National Monument and in the afternoon drive to Moab via scenic route 128 (see map here), 2.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Moab
Day 9 – Visit Arches National Park, 1 hour drive in each direction
Lodging location: Moab
Day 10 – Visit Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky district, 1 hour drive in each direction
Lodging location: Moab
Day 11 – Go rafting on the Colorado River (out of Moab) or join other outdoor activities (bike trails, ATV and more)
Lodging location: Moab
Day 12 – Drive to Vernal (in case of early arrival you may add to this day activities from the next day), 3.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Vernal
Day 13 – Suggestions for this day: a. drive to Dinosaur National Monument – to Harpers Corner (circled in blue in this map) which has extraordinary scenery. b. visit this site next to Vernal. c. hike to this Arch next to Vernal
Lodging location: Vernal
Day 14 – Visit Dinosaur National Monument’s Quarry (circled in red in this map), and then drive north and add a short rafting trip in Flaming Gorge, 2 hours drive
Lodging location: Flaming Gorge
Day 15 – Drive north in Wyoming and on the way stop at the small town of Thermopolis (which has hot springs and petroglyphs), 5 hours drive
Lodging location: Cody
Day 16 – Visit Cody’s wonderful museums and then drive north to Red Lodge, Montana, 1 hour drive
Lodging location: Red Lodge
Day 17 – Drive west on the scenic Beartooth Hwy (not suitable for RVs) and then through the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park, 3 hour drive
Lodging location: Gardiner
Day 18 – Visit Mammoth Hot Springs and then drive south, 2 hours drive
(you may add to this day outdoor activities near Gardiner)
Lodging location: West Yellowstone
Day 19 – Visit the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone, less than 1 hour drive in each direction
Lodging location: West Yellowstone
Day 20 – Visit the Midway and Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone, less than 1 hour drive in each direction
Lodging location: West Yellowstone
Day 21 – Drive to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and enjoy this canyon’s wonderful waterfalls and views (on the way to Canyon you may stop for visit in Norris Geyser Basin), 1 hour drive
Lodging location: Canyon (or Lake Yellowstone)
Day 22 – Drive south to Grand Teton National Park through Hayden Valley and Lake Yellowstone, 3 hour drive
Lodging location: Jackson
Day 23 – Visit the southern part of Grand Teton National Park
Lodging location: Jackson
Day 24 – Enjoy one more day in the southern part of Grand Teton National Park or in activities around Jackson
Lodging location: Jackson
Day 25 – Enjoy activities around Jackson, in the afternoon drive south to Salt Lake City, 4.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Salt Lake City
Day 26 – Fly Home
– In order to fill this route with content – see our Southwest USA and Northwest USA destinations pages, where you can find articles that include suggestions what to do in various locations along this route.
