Independent guides to the U.S. national parks

Road trips in the United States

Eleven detailed itineraries, from the great loop of the Western parks to the Pacific coast, from Alaska to the volcanoes of Hawaii. Each is a complete story, with its map, its stages and its season.

A Western road running toward the horizon: the opening image of the road trip section.
A Western road running toward the horizon: the opening image of the road trip section.

America is not visited, it is crossed. Its wildest parks are rarely side by side: between two wonders there is always a road, and it is often on that road that the trip tips over. A gas station in the middle of nowhere, a straight line that never ends, a sign announcing the next canyon a hundred kilometres away. The country was built for the car, and its finest landscapes give themselves to whoever agrees to drive.

That is why we tell these trips as routes, not lists of sites. A loop has a logic: you start from an airport, string the parks in an order that holds up, and return without ever driving the same road twice. Each guide below is one of these logics, built on the official national park data, with real distances, driving times and the places where it is better to sleep.

The rest is choosing yours. The right route is not the most complete, it is the one that fits your time, your season and your way of travelling. The overview map shows the routes at a glance; the guide below helps you decide.

The routes at a glance

The eleven routes, as they draw themselves on the map. Each thumbnail is the official route of the trip; click to open its story.

The great Western loop The great Western loop Loop from Las Vegas, Utah and Arizona The West in 15 days The West in 15 days Loop from Las Vegas, Utah and Arizona The West in 3 weeks The West in 3 weeks From Los Angeles to the Colorado Plateau and the Sierra Utah and Arizona, the Grand Circle Utah and Arizona, the Grand Circle The Grand Circle, from Utah to Arizona The parks of California The parks of California California, loop from San Francisco Yellowstone and Grand Teton Yellowstone and Grand Teton Wyoming, Montana and Idaho The Pacific coast on Highway 1 The Pacific coast on Highway 1 From California to Washington State Alaska Alaska South, central and Arctic Alaska Hawaii Hawaii Big Island and Maui The Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies Colorado, loop from Denver The West by RV The West by RV The American West, loop from Los Angeles

All the routes, by family

The great West

The spine of the section: a reference loop and its variants, by duration, by state or by theme.

The reference route The great Western loop 12 to 18 days The park loop from Las Vegas: Zion, Bryce, Byway 12, Moab, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon and Death Valley. Two-week version The West in 15 days 15 days The great loop tightened to two weeks, the best of Utah and Arizona without rushing. Long version The West in 3 weeks 3 weeks The wide version from Los Angeles, with Yosemite, Death Valley and the return on Highway 1. By region Utah and Arizona, the Grand Circle 12 to 15 days The tour of the Colorado Plateau, from Zion to Mesa Verde by Page, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon. By state The parks of California The loop from San Francisco: Yosemite, Sequoia, Death Valley, Joshua Tree and Highway 1. The short loop Yellowstone and Grand Teton 8 to 10 days The geysers, the yellow canyon and the Lamar wildlife, in a loop from Salt Lake City.

The coasts

The other travel logic: no longer a loop, but a line you follow from one end to the other.

The long ribbon The Pacific coast on Highway 1 From Los Angeles to the Olympic Peninsula on Highway 1, with the worthwhile detour to Crater Lake.

Worlds apart

Off the continent, at altitude, or another way to drive: trips that resemble no other.

The far North Alaska 12 to 15 days The loop from Anchorage: the Kenai fjords by boat, Denali and the Arctic detour on the Dalton. The archipelago Hawaii The tour of Big Island and its volcanoes, then the hop to Maui for the road to Hana and Haleakala. Altitude The Colorado Rockies The loop from Denver: Trail Ridge Road, the Million Dollar Highway, Mesa Verde and Great Sand Dunes. Across the board The West by RV 15 days The same American West, lived at RV pace: Joshua Tree, Zion, Bryce, Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon.

Choosing your road trip

Three questions are usually enough to sort things out. Follow the one that speaks to you: it leads straight to the right story.

How much time do you have?

What season are you leaving in?

Who are you driving with?

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a special licence to drive in the United States?

A valid national driving licence is enough for a tourist stay. The international permit, a simple official translation of yours, is not required everywhere but stays recommended: it removes any ambiguity at a checkpoint and with most rental companies. Count on a driver of at least 21, often with a surcharge before 25.

Which way around the loop?

Most of our routes are loops: the direction mainly changes the order of the stages, not the distance. In each guide we state the direction we chose, picked to keep the best moments at the right time of day and to smooth the long stretches. Nothing stops you reversing it to suit your flights.

What is the minimum worthwhile duration?

Under a week on the ground, a tight loop like Yellowstone and Grand Teton beats trying to see everything. Two weeks is the right format for the great Western loop without driving every day. Beyond three weeks, you can chain two regions or take the whole Pacific coast. Each guide states its duration and variants.

What season should you go?

It depends on the region. The Utah and Arizona deserts are best in spring and autumn, when the heat drops. Alaska, the Rockies and Yellowstone only truly open their high roads in summer. The southern Pacific coast and Hawaii can be travelled almost year round. The season-by-season detail is in each guide.