A road trip through Western America
Posted on February 10, 2023
For many people, a road trip through Western America is high on the wish list! In 2019, Iris and a friend made this road trip. The trip was booked through the Dutch tour operator Fox. Fox no longer exists and has become part of ANWB. In this blog all the highlights of the 21-day road trip!
Street art San Francisco
The road trip starts with three days in San Francisco. Getting used to the new time zone and recovering from the long flight! The city has a lot to offer and in our opinion it is a real must visit.
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Street art: there is a lot of street art throughout San Francisco. You will find most of the murals in the Mission District .
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The tram: when you think of San Francisco, you automatically think of the historic cable cars. We took the tram on the Powell-Hyde line. View the timetable here .
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Pier 39 & Fisherman's Wharf: The last stop of the Powell-Hyde line is near the pier. Here you can spot large groups of sea lions.
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Painted Ladies: These are without a doubt the most famous Victorian houses in the world! Definitely worth admiring the details in real life.
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Lombard Street: Car sick? This is your chance to admire 8 hairpin bends without getting sick.
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Golden Gate Bridge: One of the most famous and imposing bridges in the world is located in SF!
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Alcatraz: Take the boat to Alcatraz. From 1934 to 1963 the island was used as a maximum security prison for the most serious criminals. Immerse yourself in history with an audio tour.
Highway 1
After three days in San Francisco, the road trip really started! It was a real treat to start the trip on Highway 1. A beautiful road that runs along the California coast. Take your time to stop at the viewpoints.
Monterey
Via highway 1 you arrive in Monterey in just under three hours, a pleasant seaside resort and the place where various boat trips depart. Look for gray whales, humpback whales and blue whales! We saw a beautiful group of humpback whales.
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Yosemite National Park
After two days in Monterey we continued our way to Yosemite National Park. The park is about a 4-hour drive from Monterey. A beautiful park with streams, waterfalls and mountains. Check the park's website to see which entrance works best for you and whether there are any special announcements. Also keep in mind that the road to the park has many bends! We stayed in the village of Oakhurst, which is a 27-minute drive from the national park.
Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park
From Oakhurst it was a 3 hour drive to the next destination Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park. In the national park you will find the largest trees in the world: sequoias. We personally found this national park a bit disappointing and we didn't realize that we had been looking at the largest tree in the world for about fifteen minutes! Our hotel was an hour's drive from the park in Visalia.
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Death Valley
After spotting the largest tree in the world, we continued our route to Las Vegas a day later! A long day in the car with a very nice stopover: Death Valley! We were impressed by the temperature and the landscape. We say with certainty; don't skip this place!
Vegas
After a day of driving in the desert, Las Vegas suddenly appears! The city of gambling, The Venetian, the Bellagio fountain and excess! Experience it yourself and let us know what you thought of the city in the comments! Personally, I loved getting back into nature after 3 days in Las Vegas!
Zion National Park
From Las Vegas it is about a 2.5 hour drive to the next beautiful destination. Zion National Park! It is a versatile national park with hikes at different levels. In our opinion, highly recommended. Check out the park's website for more information. Our base was the village of Springdale!
Bryce Canyon National Park
Just a 2-hour drive away you will find my favorite national park: Bryce Canyon! A national park where you can indulge if you like hiking. The view is never boring because of the beautiful hoodoos that you find in the park. Pyramids formed by erosion. Want to know more about the park? View the website .
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Page
From Bryce it is about a 3 hour drive to Page! A place with various sights!
Horsehoe Bend: as the name suggests, this is a horseshoe-shaped bend in the Colorado River! You have a beautiful view from the platform overlooking the spot. Be careful not to get too close to the edge and fall more than 1,000 feet.
Lake Powell: Fancy a boat trip? Join one of the boat trips and enjoy the view of the steep rock walls on this reservoir!
Antelope Canyon: This canyon consists of a route of narrow roads along beautiful rock walls subject to erosion! The canyon is very popular, so make sure you book your time slot on time.
Monument Valley
After 2 days in Page it was time for the next destination! The beautiful Monument Valley which symbolizes the Wild West! With your car you can drive through Monument Valley and enjoy the beautiful views that this national park offers. Our base was the village of Kayanta.
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Grand Canyon
From Grand Canyon it is about a 2.5 hour drive to one of the most famous national parks in the world: Grand Canyon. From our base in Flagstaff we visited this gigantic national park in two and a half days. On the website you will find beautiful hikes, including to the Ooh aah point! We ended our visit with a beautiful helicopter flight above the canyon. One of the coolest things I've ever done in my life!
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Route 66 & Joshua Tree Park
From Flagstaff we made a small detour via Route 66 to Joshua Tree Park! On Route 66 we visited Seligman, here you will find all the vintage around route 66! We then continued our way to the beautiful Joshua Tree Park ! Here you will find teddy cacti - which are anything but soft - and of course the famous trees themselves!
Palm Springs
On the way to our last destination, Los Angeles, we made a stop in Palm Springs! It is one of the favorite destinations of Hollywood stars to escape the big city for a while. In Palm Springs we mainly enjoyed the sun!
Los Angeles
Our last stop was Los Angeles! In Los Angeles we visited, among others:
The Hollywood sign!
Venice Beach
The Santa Monica pier
And of course the Walk of Fame!
Personally, we were more impressed with San Francisco but certainly wouldn't have missed Los Angeles!
