Los Angeles to Salt Lake City 6 – 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 Los Angeles and spend a few hours in Venice Beach and Santa Monica
Lodging location: Santa Monica or Venice Beach
Day 2 – Drive north to southern Route 1 and visit sites along the way, 4 hours drive
Lodging location: Morro Bay or Cambria
Day 3 – Drive and travel north along Route 1, 3 hours drive
Lodging location: Monterey
Day 4 – Visit Monterey and drive to San Francisco, 2 hours drive
Lodging location: San Francisco
Day 5 – Visit San Francisco
Lodging location: San Francisco
Day 6 – Drive to Yosemite National Park and visit Glacier Point and Mariposa Grove in south Yosemite, 5 hours drive
Lodging location: near Yosemite Valley
Day 7 – Travel and hike in Yosemite Valley and then 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: Mammoth Lakes
Day 8 – Drive east to Las Vegas and spend the afternoon in the city, 5 hours drive
Lodging location: Las Vegas
Day 9 – Spend the day in Las Vegas
Lodging location: Las Vegas
Day 10 – Drive to Zion National Park and visit the park, 2.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Springdale
Day 11 – Drive to Bryce National Park on scenic route 9 and visit the park, 2 hours drive
Lodging location: Bryce
Day 12 – Drive to Moab through Capitol Reef National Park (it is highly recommended to drive via scenic roads 12 and 24 and on the way visit Goblin Valley State Park), 5 hours drive
Lodging location: Moab
Day 13 – Visit Arches National Park, 1 hour drive in each direction
Lodging location: Moab
Day 14 – Go on a half day rafting tour on the Colorado River (out of Moab) and then visit Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky district), 1 hour drive in each direction
Lodging location: Moab
Day 15 – Drive to north to Jackson, 8.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Jackson
Day 16 – Drive north through Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone National Park stop for a visit to West Thumb Geyser Basin (on the shores of Lake Yellowstone), 3 hours drive
Lodging location: Canyon (or Lake Yellowstone)
Day 17 – Visit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and tour the canyon’s wonderful waterfalls and views and then drive north to the Lamar Valley and tour the valley and continue to Gardiner, 1.5 hours drive
Lodging location: Gardiner
Day 18 – Visit Mammoth Hot Springs and then drive south and visit the Midway and Upper Geyser Basin, 2 hours drive
Lodging location: West Yellowstone
Day 19 – Visit the Lower Geyser Basin and then drive to Salt Lake City, 6 hours drive
Lodging location: Salt Lake City
Day 20 – 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.
