Salt Lake City to Los Angeles 5 – A great, highly recommended, diverse route that combines many of the highlights of Western USA and includes ad visit to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion and Yosemite National Parks, in addition to Route 1 and the cities of Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. This trip includes driving the Tioga Pass road in Yosemite that is open for a relatively short period every year (see opening and closure dates here).
Day 1 – Land in Salt Lake City and spend a few hours in the city
Lodging location: Salt Lake City
(if you land early you may start driving north on this day, lodging on the way, for example here)
Day 2 – Drive to West Yellowstone and enter Yellowstone National Park and visit the Lower Geyser Basin, 6 hours drive
(you may postpone visiting the Lower Geyser Basin and move the visit to day 4 – instead of visiting Norris Geyser Basin, in this case 1 hour drive will be deducted to the total hours in this day)
Lodging location: West Yellowstone
Day 3 – Visit the Midway and Upper Geyser Basin, 1 hour drive in each direction
Lodging location: West Yellowstone
Day 4 – Visit Norris Geyser Basin and drive north to Mammoth Hot Springs and tour the springs, in the afternoon bath in the Boiling River, 2 hours drive
Lodging location: Gardiner
Day 5 – Drive east to the Lamar Valley and tour the valley and then drive to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and tour the canyon’s wonderful waterfalls and views, 1.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Canyon (or Lake Yellowstone)
Day 6 – Drive south to Grand Teton National Park through West Thumb Geyser Basin (on the shores of Lake Yellowstone), 3 hours drive
Lodging location: Jackson
Day 7 – Visit the southern part of Grand Teton National Park and enjoy activities around Jackson, in the afternoon start driving south to Park City, 4.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Park City
Day 8 – Continue driving south to Moab, in the afternoon go rafting on the Colorado River (out of Moab), 4 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 – Drive to Bryce National Park through Capitol Reef National Park (it is highly recommended to drive via roads 24 and 12), 5 hours drive
Lodging location: Bryce
Day 12 – Visit Bryce National Park and drive to Zion National Park on scenic route 9, 2 hours drive
Lodging location: Springdale
Day 13 – Spend the day in Zion National Park’s Canyon, short drive
Lodging location: Springdale
Day 14 – Drive to Las Vegas and enjoy the afternoon in the city, 2.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Las Vegas
Day 15 – Spend the day in Las Vegas
Lodging location: Las Vegas
Day 16 – Drive west to Mammoth Lakes, 5 hours drive
Lodging location: Mammoth Lakes
Day 17 – Cross north Yosemite National Park along the scenic Tioga Pass HWY (route 120) and go on short hikes along this route, 3 hours drive
(the Tioga Pass HWY is usually open from the end of May/June until October. See status here)
Lodging location: near Yosemite Valley
Day 18 – Travel and hike in Yosemite Valley, short drive
Lodging location: near Yosemite Valley
Day 19 – Visit Glacier Point and Mariposa Grove in south Yosemite and drive to San Francisco, 5 hours drive
Lodging location: San Francisco
Day 20 – Spend the day in San Francisco
Lodging location: San Francisco
Day 21 – Enjoy one more day in San Francisco
Lodging location: San Francisco
Day 22 – Drive to Monterey and enjoy the day in the wonderful coastal city, 2 hours drive
Lodging location: Monterey
Day 23 – Travel south along the most famous portion of HWY 1, 3 hours drive
Lodging location: Cambria or Morro Bay
Day 24 – Drive to Los Angeles and visit sites along the way, 4 hours drive
Lodging location: Hollywood or Santa Monica or Venice Beach
Day 25 – Spend the day in Los Angeles or visit Universal Studios
Lodging location: Hollywood or Santa Monica or Venice Beach
Day 26 – Fly home
– In order to fill this route with content – see our California, Southwest USA and Northwest USA destinations pages, where you can find articles that include suggestions what to do in various locations along this route.
