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If you’re looking for road trip inspiration across the Western U.S.A., here are 10 great destinations to consider!
It’s no secret that the U.S. has some of the most epic road trip destinations in the world! The landscapes are just breathtaking, and vary widely from state to state. Road tripping might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s an amazingly affordable way to see the United States, and something that we personally like to do in between larger international trips.
Though there is still much more of The States for us to explore, here are some awesome destinations for those of you landscape enthusiasts that we think are worth putting on your road trip list.
1. Grand Canyon, Arizona
This beauty hardly needs an introduction. The Grand Canyon is one of the most iconic destinations in the Western United States and an incredible natural wonder of the world.
For us, it holds a special place in our hearts since we included it on our honeymoon road trip itinerary back in 2012. Las Vegas was our home base for our trip, but we decided to include a short overnight adventure to The Grand Canyon and Sedona, Arizona. Quite ambitious, but what can I say. That pretty much defines our travel style!
From Las Vegas, we got our kicks on Historic Route 66 and it was just a little over a four-hour drive to get to the Grand Canyon Village area. Being short on time, we only spent a few hours in the company of the Canyon, driving Desert View Drive along the South Rim, stopping at each viewpoint.
We were in the precarious position of trying to outrun a monsoon in the middle of summer and we beat it for most of the drive, but it finally caught up to us at the Desert View Visitors Center in the form of a torrential downpour and lightning storm. There was literally lightning striking in the parking lot. I will say that the monsoon at least gave us some pretty unique pictures of the canyon!
Trying to capture that perfect Grand Canyon moment, as the monsoon rears its ugly head around the bend…
2. Sedona, Arizona
Sedona is one of my favorite U.S. road trip destinations. As I mentioned above, it was one of our honeymoon road trip stops and we visited again briefly on a day trip from spring training down in the Scottsdale area.
I don’t know what it is about Sedona, but being there just feels magical. It’s also not too far away from The Grand Canyon, making it an easy stop to add to a road trip there.
If you have limited time in Sedona, a leisurely drive is easy to do in one day! I would suggest picking up a map at one of the Visitor’s Centers and follow the scenic routes to make sure you hit all the viewpoints.
3. Arches National Park, Utah
On our way back from a road trip to Colorado, we took an alternate route to include stops at some National Parks that we had yet to visit. Arches ended up being the last stop on that day’s itinerary but I’m glad it ended up that way (sunsets, hello!!!).
It really is incredible what nature has done to the landscape here! You do have to hike to get to some of the arches (such as the famous Delicate Arch), so if you plan on doing some hiking, you might want to give yourself two days for visiting the park.
There are campsites within the park (I would suggest reserving these in advance) or you can stay the night in the nearby town of Moab.
The best part of our visit here was being able to catch sunset in the park. The way the light hits the landscape is just too cool!
4. Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Canyonlands is so vast, it literally took my breath away to see it. I can’t even really describe to you what it feels like to stand above this landscape, nor can the photographs do it justice. The canyons stretch for miles and miles and it was so quiet and peaceful.
We took the time to stop and do the short hike (about a half hour) to Mesa Arch, which I definitely recommend, but many spots here are easy to see by car without having to get out and hike too much.
Canyonlands is quite close to Arches, making it easy to include both on your road trip itinerary!
5. Colorado National Monument
One of my favorite parks that we have visited so far is Colorado National Monument. It’s not quite a National Park, but it should be!
The morning light here is a photographer’s dream. This was a last-minute addition to our already busy one-day itinerary of seeing Canyonlands and Arches (I know, crazy right?) but it was so worth it. What a beautiful landscape.
My favorite part, being the animal lover that I am, was having the opportunity to see the big horn sheep in their natural habitat. I had spent this whole trip glued to my window hoping to see some of these in the wild, and they finally popped up just as we were coming to the end of the road.
6. Yosemite National Park, California
Yosemite is perhaps one of the most beautiful places in the Western U.S. I’ve had the pleasure of photographing. I kind of have a love/hate relationship with it though resulting from my attempt to hike Half Dome with a group some years back. It was the most physically and mentally challenging thing I have done in my life to date.
If you are thinking of doing the Half Dome hike, please please heed the warnings and be safe! It is an amazing and rewarding experience if you do it right. And my goodness, just look at this landscape. It is like no other.
If you aren’t into hiking, there’s plenty of opportunity to see both the flora and fauna on the valley floor, as well as countless waterfalls.
7. Hoover Dam & Lake Mead, Nevada
I know this is a man-made wonder, but I was just so impressed by it, I had to include it on the list. We passed over the dam in the early morning hours (why was it sweltering hot at 7:00 a.m.!) on our way from Las Vegas to The Grand Canyon.
I’ve never seen anything like the Hoover Dam before. What a load of concrete!
8. Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs
If you find yourself in Colorado and you like cool rock formations, The Garden of the Gods is a great place to spend a few hours.
We were staying with some friends for a few days in Colorado Springs, before we headed into the mountains, and were lucky enough to get to see this cool natural wonder.
Rock climbing is particularly popular here, and if you look close enough in the photos, you can see people doing just that!
9. Multnomah Falls & Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
And here come the waterfalls! Outside of Portland, Oregon is where you also find this beauty of a waterfall – Multnomah Falls. It’s about a half hour drive from the city, but definitely worth it.
And while you’re at it, be sure to get some pics of the Columbia River Gorge (great views from The Vista House in Corbett). Oregon landscape does not disappoint!
10. Snoqualmie Falls, Washington
Last but not least, we have Snoqualmie Falls. Visiting Seattle anytime soon? Do you like waterfalls? Take a little drive out to Snoqualmie Falls. We passed by here on a road trip from Spokane to Seattle and just couldn’t resist.
If you’re a fan of the 90’s TV show Twin Peaks, you’d recognize this waterfall from the opening sequence.
What are some of your favorite road trip destinations in the U.S.? We have quite a long list of places yet to explore!
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