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Drew
We'll be driving through Washington State, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado... What are the "must see" attractions in these states? (And, I don't know them all, so if you could tell me what states they're in, that'd be great!) Also, what are some "off the beaten path" attractions?
We'll be spending 2-3 months on the road and want to see as much as we can. My Father-in-law is very ill and we want to make this a memoriable trip for him and my husband.
Museums (unless they're nationally known) probably aren't a good option for us. FIL doesn't have the patience and gets bored easily =D
Answer
I spent almost all of last year camping and traveling all over the west- grew up in CA and am back here now, lived in Colorado 10 years and Washington 6 years... there is so much to see.
My favorite in Colorado: Cripple Creek and Victor (Victor is like going back in time 100 years, literally)- its west of Pikes Peak and Colorado Springs. I've written a couple of articles about the area that should help a lot:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1931036/cripple_creek_colorados_best_kept_secrets.html?cat=16
If your interested in haunted places, here's one about that as its one of the most haunted places in the US:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1988446/cripple_creek_colorado_one_of_the_most.html?cat=37
Also, you should go to Rocky Mountain National Park while your there. Its beautiful, lots of wildlife, elk and moose (usually on the west side of the park).
Utah- Moab is really cool, the red rock formations, etc. but very hot in the summer- better in spring or fall. Other than that I haven't spent enough time in that state to say.
Nevada- If you want off the beaten path, go to Ely- smaller town with a great old hotel for super cheap "Hotel Nevada" really nice rooms for $39... travel across highway 50 about 10 miles east of Austin, in the middle of nowhere, and go to Spencer Hot Springs- natural hot springs at no cost- someone built tubs around the springs. Beautiful views and you can camp there for free, if you like to camp. The Toiyable Mountain range south of Austin is amazing and really remote.
California- Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains are beautiful and a must see. The Redwoods, the Northern CA coast- Mendocino is a beautiful victorian town on the edge of the cliffs. Of course San Francisco and driving over the Golden Gate. Check out my Northern California weekend escapes article for good ideas here, and also the one in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is a great central California beach town, super nice people, lots of hippies, people watching:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2832920/great_affordable_weekend_escapes_in.html?cat=16
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5877712/the_best_hotels_in_santa_cruz_california.html?cat=16
Wyoming- Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, one of the most beautiful areas in the world.. definitely Yellowstone with all the geyers and really cool things to see like "paint pots" (bubbling pools of different colored lava). If you can, drive through the Big Horn Mountains on the way, remote and spectacular scenery. You can even see wild horses at Pryor National Reserve on the border of Wyoming and Montana.
Montana- also has Yellowstone, Glacier National Park is spectacular. I love the drive up all the way up Snake River Canyon Scenic Byway from Idaho to Montana then going to Hamilton and Missoula.
If your near Missoula and like to fish, Rock Creek is a premier fly fishing river. Also saw lots of mountain goats here.
Idaho- Stanley, Sawtooth National Forest, also Craters of the Moon National Monument- the whole area is really weird, all lava as far as you can see.
Oregon- the coast is the one of the most beautiful places in the world. Astoria is my favorite city. Bend is a really nice mountain town, and nearby the Cascades scenic byway is gorgeous- lots of lakes and really big mountain peaks. Crane Praire Reservoir has the most bald eagles, golden eagles, herons, cranes, vultures.. all types of birds I've probably ever seen and its less than an hour from Bend.
Washington- Seattle is a great city, do the usual Pike's Place Market. Don't go up the Space Needle unless you really want to its kind of a rip off. Snoqualmie Falls is well worth seeing. If you ever watched Northern Exposure, go to Roslyn, a tiny town on the east side of the Cascades where they filmed that show- it looks like a little Alaska town. The San Juan Islands are a lot of fun to visit and you can see orca whales there pretty often in the summer. The ferry ride out to visit is great too. Going across highway 2 or highway 20 through the Cascades is beautiful. Oh Olympic National Park and the rain forest is something you have to see!! Waterfalls, the greenest greens you'll ever see- moss canopies, beautiful rivers with cascading falls... not many people!
Okay, probably gave you way too many ideas there but that was kind of a fun question for me. If you want to see any pictures from all of those places we went to this year let me know..lol :)
I spent almost all of last year camping and traveling all over the west- grew up in CA and am back here now, lived in Colorado 10 years and Washington 6 years... there is so much to see.
My favorite in Colorado: Cripple Creek and Victor (Victor is like going back in time 100 years, literally)- its west of Pikes Peak and Colorado Springs. I've written a couple of articles about the area that should help a lot:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1931036/cripple_creek_colorados_best_kept_secrets.html?cat=16
If your interested in haunted places, here's one about that as its one of the most haunted places in the US:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1988446/cripple_creek_colorado_one_of_the_most.html?cat=37
Also, you should go to Rocky Mountain National Park while your there. Its beautiful, lots of wildlife, elk and moose (usually on the west side of the park).
Utah- Moab is really cool, the red rock formations, etc. but very hot in the summer- better in spring or fall. Other than that I haven't spent enough time in that state to say.
Nevada- If you want off the beaten path, go to Ely- smaller town with a great old hotel for super cheap "Hotel Nevada" really nice rooms for $39... travel across highway 50 about 10 miles east of Austin, in the middle of nowhere, and go to Spencer Hot Springs- natural hot springs at no cost- someone built tubs around the springs. Beautiful views and you can camp there for free, if you like to camp. The Toiyable Mountain range south of Austin is amazing and really remote.
California- Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains are beautiful and a must see. The Redwoods, the Northern CA coast- Mendocino is a beautiful victorian town on the edge of the cliffs. Of course San Francisco and driving over the Golden Gate. Check out my Northern California weekend escapes article for good ideas here, and also the one in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is a great central California beach town, super nice people, lots of hippies, people watching:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2832920/great_affordable_weekend_escapes_in.html?cat=16
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5877712/the_best_hotels_in_santa_cruz_california.html?cat=16
Wyoming- Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, one of the most beautiful areas in the world.. definitely Yellowstone with all the geyers and really cool things to see like "paint pots" (bubbling pools of different colored lava). If you can, drive through the Big Horn Mountains on the way, remote and spectacular scenery. You can even see wild horses at Pryor National Reserve on the border of Wyoming and Montana.
Montana- also has Yellowstone, Glacier National Park is spectacular. I love the drive up all the way up Snake River Canyon Scenic Byway from Idaho to Montana then going to Hamilton and Missoula.
If your near Missoula and like to fish, Rock Creek is a premier fly fishing river. Also saw lots of mountain goats here.
Idaho- Stanley, Sawtooth National Forest, also Craters of the Moon National Monument- the whole area is really weird, all lava as far as you can see.
Oregon- the coast is the one of the most beautiful places in the world. Astoria is my favorite city. Bend is a really nice mountain town, and nearby the Cascades scenic byway is gorgeous- lots of lakes and really big mountain peaks. Crane Praire Reservoir has the most bald eagles, golden eagles, herons, cranes, vultures.. all types of birds I've probably ever seen and its less than an hour from Bend.
Washington- Seattle is a great city, do the usual Pike's Place Market. Don't go up the Space Needle unless you really want to its kind of a rip off. Snoqualmie Falls is well worth seeing. If you ever watched Northern Exposure, go to Roslyn, a tiny town on the east side of the Cascades where they filmed that show- it looks like a little Alaska town. The San Juan Islands are a lot of fun to visit and you can see orca whales there pretty often in the summer. The ferry ride out to visit is great too. Going across highway 2 or highway 20 through the Cascades is beautiful. Oh Olympic National Park and the rain forest is something you have to see!! Waterfalls, the greenest greens you'll ever see- moss canopies, beautiful rivers with cascading falls... not many people!
Okay, probably gave you way too many ideas there but that was kind of a fun question for me. If you want to see any pictures from all of those places we went to this year let me know..lol :)
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Title Post: Going on a road trip across the Western US...what do I need to see?
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