02/16/2026
Colorado/Utah road trip
13th: drive all day to Denver, spend night
14th : Denver Zoo/Conservation Carousel, Museum of Nature & Science/planetarium, 4 Mile Historic Park/working farm, Hammondโs Candy Factory, Indoor Skydiving at Ifly, Rocky Mountain Zipline Adventure, The EDGE: Epic Sky Trek, Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park, Confluence Park, Denver Firefighters Museum, Denver Trolley, Childrenโs Museum of Denver, Morrison Natural History Museum, Butterfly Pavilion, Dinosaur Ridge, Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, Colorado Railroad Museum, spend another night
15th : 4 hour drive to Grand Junction on the western border of Colorado, features a red canyon with sandstone monoliths. Allow about half a day to cruise the 23-mile Rim Rock Drive and hop on short hikes like the Canyon Rim Trail, Window Rock Trail, Coke Ovens Trails, and Ottoโs Trail, all a mile or less. On the east side of the park, the Devilโs Kitchen Trail (1.5 miles) leads to a unique grotto of upright boulders. The nearly 50 mile Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway, as itโs called, follows the river gorge, with several parks and trails along the way. Allow 2 hours just for the drive between the two cities, stop at Cisco ghost town, grab a snack from JJโs Mercantile, visit the Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage (lots of movies were shot around here), and hike the Fisher Towers Trail (4.2 miles)., Dinosaur Journey Museum, Bananas Fun Park, Eureka Science Museum, Museum of the West, spend night
16th : 3 hour drive to Capitol Reef diverse range of features โ gorges, natural bridges, monoliths, domes, slot canyons. The park is located along the nearly 100-mile Waterpocket Fold, known as a geologic โwrinkle on the earth,โ where the rock layers have lifted some 7,000 feet higher on one side. 7-mile Capitol Reef Scenic Drive and hop out at trailheads to Capitol Gorge (1 to 2 miles) for an easy path to historic rock inscriptions, Cassidy Arch (3.4 miles) for a challenging climb to a rock span, and Grand Wash (up to 4.4 miles) to walk through a narrow canyon. The Hickman Bridge hike (1.8 miles) is another popular trail off state Route 24. Fruita, the historic district near the start of the scenic drive. Gifford Homestead, pop inside the Gifford House for some fresh pie and handmade souvenirs like quilts and wooden utensils. The Cohab Canyon trailhead (3.4 miles) near the homestead leads to a view over a landscape of lush green orchards at the base of soaring cliffs. The lookouts at Panorama Point, Goosenecks Overlook, and Sunset Point all have great sunset views to end the day., spend night
17th : 2.5 hour drive to Canyonlands National Park has four sections in different areas, but the Island in the Sky district is the closest entrance to Moab. The Needles section is 75 miles southwest of Moab if you want something less crowded. You can hike to Grand View Point (2 miles) for views of the Green and Colorado rivers, Mesa Arch (0.5) on the edge of a cliff, the sandstone dome of Whale Rock (1 mile), and Upheaval Dome (1 to 2 miles) to peek into a crater. Shafer Canyon Overlook, Buck Canyon Overlook, Green River Overlook, and Grand View Point. Dead Horse Point State Park outside of Moab sits on a dramatic gooseneck bend of the Colorado River. Pop in to watch the sunset from the Dead Horse Point Overlook., spend night
18th: Utahโs Arches National Park, just 5 miles outside the town of Moab. 17-mile Arches Scenic Drive, where youโll want to stop at lookouts like Panorama Point, Fiery Furnace, Park Avenue, Courthouse Towers and Salt Valley Overlook. Plan to spend at least one day in Arches National Park to hike to Double Arch (0.5 miles), the Windows (1 mile), Sand Dune Arch (0.3 miles), Skyline Arch (0.4 miles), Landscape Arch (1.9 miles), the Upper Delicate Arch view (0.5 miles), and Balanced Rock (0.3 miles). Windows, where you can see Double Arch, North Window, South Window and Turret Arch on easy walks from one parking area. The Devilโs Garden area at the end of the scenic drive has a thrilling hike along narrow ledges and sandstone fins to Double O Arch (4.1 miles), with arch spur trails for up to 7.9 miles of hiking. The path to Delicate Arch (3 miles) is perhaps the most famous in the park and leads up a rock slope and along a ledge to the base of the arch., spend another night
19th : 2 hour drive to Mesa Verde National Park has hundreds of Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings and other archeological sites. Long House and Cliff Palace ruins, drive the Mesa Top Loop for overlooks of more archeological sites, and stop at Park Point Lookout for sweeping views of this corner of the state. Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad through the San Juan National Forest and the Animas River Gorge to a historic mining town buried in the mountains., spend night
20th : 4 hour drive to Great Sand Dunes National Park reach up to 750 feet on a dune field covering 30 square miles. While the sand hills are the star of the show, the parkโs landscape also includes wetlands, alpine lakes and forests. The most popular activities include hiking on the dunes (which is hard work), sandboarding down the hills, and playing in the Medano Creek that forms at the base in spring only. Pikes Peak and hike through the massive red rocks at Garden of the Gods., spend night
21st go home
