Southwest USA roadtrip

The US is such a beautiful and diverse country and the best way to explore it is definitely by car. It might sound easy enough, but you need to do so much research before organising this trip. There are so many things to see and so many miles to drive! If you feel lost, you can start by reading my 17 days Southwest USA road trip itinerary.

This itinerary is based on the road trip I took in May 2019 – feel free to use it for some inspiration. If you try it, don’t forget to let me know how it went!

When to go.

You can visit this part of the US basically all year-round. However, I suggest avoiding the hottest months as in some parts (e.g. the Death Valley, Arches National Park etc.) can get pretty hot during summer! I personally went there the last week of May and the first week of June and the weather and temperature were perfect.

What to pack.

If you follow this Southwest USA road trip itinerary, you will have to pack for different seasons, especially if you go at the same time I did (May/June). This is because you will experience the heat of the desert in the Death Valley but also the cold of a 4000+ metres high mountain when you go all the way up to Pikes Peak!

Fun fact: I actually didn’t think this through. While I was in Colorado Springs, I was wearing shorts, and the only thing I could put on was my leather jacket as the temperature in the city that day was very warm. Of course, when I got to the top of Pikes Peak (without thinking that I would be more than 4000 metres above sea level) it even started snowing – not ideal!

So yeah, my advice is to pack both warm and cold weather clothes and – typical tip – dress in layers!

Itinerary at a glance.

States you will see: California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado.

What I did is a round trip departing from Los Angeles. Of course, at the beginning my idea was to rent a car in LA, get on the road and finish my trip in another city – ideally San Francisco. However, when my partner and I looked at the price for car rentals, we realised that renting a car from a location and returning it to a different one costs more than double than renting and returning it in the same city.

As such, I reorganised my trip to fit a departure and return to LA. Don’t worry, there’s plenty to see in any way you organise your road trip!

Save it for later!

DAYS 1-2 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: LOS ANGELES

Two days is all you need to see the highlights of the City of Angels.

Day 1.

Take your first day to get organised: rent your car, sleep off the jetlag (if any!) and start exploring.

You can start by seeing Downtown LA – though to be honest the most exciting thing about this part of the city are the skyscrapers and the fact you can easily drive around and find where to park the car.

After a quick look at Downtown, move to more interesting grounds. Drive up the hill where the Griffith Observatory is and enjoy the view of the whole Los Angeles basin, including Downtown, Hollywood and the Pacific Ocean. Take your time to visit the observatory and the various exhibits inside it.

Tip: the parking around the observatory is limited and quite pricey (around $10 per hour). You can opt for different ways to get there: you can hike, cycle or take one of the shuttles that depart from the Vermont Sunset Station metro stop (around $0.50 for the bus ride).

Day 2.

Time for Hollywood! Walk around the famous Walk of Fame and take a peek at the various colourful shops, bars and restaurants.

When you’re done with your showbiz tour, move onto another iconic part of LA: Santa Monica Pier. Have a stroll, enjoy the sound of the ocean and – why not, try a ride on the roller coaster!

DAY 3 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: ROAD TO LAS VEGAS

Time to say goodbye to the Golden Coast and move onto your next stop: Sin City! The drive should take around 4 hours, so leave in the early morning to be there before the afternoon!

If you leave early, you will have time to visit the famous Strip in Las Vegas. Just walk down the street and enjoy the vibrant energy coming from this extravagant city. You can enter the most famous hotels (like the Bellagio!) and have a tour. You can check out their casinos – but play safely if you intend to!

Fun fact: I never gamble and it’s not really my thing. So my partner and I tried the slot machines instead – we won $2! But we lost $10 in the process so… yeah maybe don’t do it 😊

DAY 4 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: DAY TRIP TO THE DEATH VALLEY FROM LAS VEGAS

 Time for the desert’s heat! If you don’t know what Death Valley is, I guess the name itself it’s a good indicator of it. Make sure your car is full of petrol and you have plenty of water as once inside the park it’ll be hard finding civilisation!

Also, make sure to download any map you will need as there is no phone service in the whole area.

If you are visiting in the summer, make sure to avoid the hottest hours as it gets intense in there!

Top things to see:

• Badwater Basin
• Ubehebe crater
• Dante’s View
• Artist Palette

For more information, visit their website.

DAY 5 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: ROAD TO FLAGSTAFF, AZ

Let’s move onto your next destination: Arizona! I know, when you hear Arizona the first thing you think about is Grand Canyon. However, there are not many places where you can sleep around Grand Canyon Park and most of them are very expensive. That is why we will use Flagstaff as our base for the next few days.

It’ll take around 4 hours from Las Vegas to Flagstaff. Once you are there, you can visit the city or opt (as we did) to take a walk to Snowbowl, the Arizona Alpine ski resort. If you go there in the same period as me, there still will be snow!

DAY 6 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: DAY TRIP TO THE GRAND CANYON

Do you know what is never missing in any Southwest USA road trip? A visit to the Grand Canyon! If, as me, you only heard of it and only seen it in movies, it’ll be quite the day.

For a day trip, first of all, you need to choose if you want to visit the South or the North Rim. The South Rim is definitely the most visited. Then I suggest going on their website and plan your visit following your needs. You can hike, you can drive around the rim or take the shuttles that will drive you around the rim and stop at the different scenic view areas.

Also, you can check out my blog post about my experience hiking into the Grand Canyon – lots of laughs alert!

DAY 7 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: DAY TRIP TO SEDONA

The second day-trip you will take from Flagstaff is to Sedona. Sedona is less than an hour driving from Flagstaff and there is plenty to do. You can find numerous trails you can hike, various things you can do such as off-road tours, cycling and so much more.

Have a read at this list of 100 things to do in Sedona on their Visitor centre website.

What my partner and I chose was to hike to the Devil’s Bridge and then enjoy some off-road driving (he had to basically force me to do it as I’m such a loser, but it was definitely worth it!)

DAY 8: ROAD TO AZTEC, NM AND STOP AT MONUMENT VALLEY AND HORSESHOE BEND

As you are on a road trip, time to hit the road again and move onto your next destination: Aztec, New Mexico. As the journey from Flagstaff would be quite long, you will make two wonderful stops: Horseshoe Bend and the Monument Valley.

Horseshoe Bend is 2 hours driving from Flagstaff and it will be your first stop for the day. As soon as you get there, there will be a large parking area where you can park your car and start the short hike to the actual viewpoint. The first part of the hike is steep, but really it takes 10 minutes to get there. Once there, you can enjoy the view of the Colorado River and the bend that it has created over the centuries and explore the area.

After getting back on the road, the next stop will be Monument Valley. If you have ever seen a cowboys’ movie you know what I’m talking about.  Once you get to the visitor centre, you can start the tour with your own car and explore all the majestic sandstone masterpieces.

Note: the Monument Valley is actually situated in the Navajo Nation so please be considerate of the Navajo people traditions!

When your tour is done, time to get back on the road towards Aztec, New Mexico (around 3 hours driving).

DAY 9: AZTEC RUINS, FOUR CORNERS AND MESA VERDE

On your ninth day on the road, you will have the opportunity to visit several places.

Start off with the Aztec ruins, where you can have an insight into the Pueblo society – you can visit 900-year old ruins!

To continue your trip into the ancient Pueblo society, you can then move to the Mesa Verde National Park where you can visit the incredible Cliff Dwellings – actual villages built on cliffs!

To finish your day – don’t miss the opportunity to take one of the most touristic pictures standing on the only spot in the US where four different states meet – the Four Corners Monument.

Insight: you will have to queue to get a picture like the one I took! As there is no shade in the area and it can get quite hot, make sure to wear a hat while queuing!

DAY 10: ROAD TO COLORADO SPRINGS AND STOP AT GREAT SAND DUNES

Time for your next destination on your Southwest USA road trip: Colorado! As the journey from Aztec to Colorado Springs would be quite long, the best choice is of course to stop at the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

It’ll take you around 3 hours and a half drive to get there, but once there you will be amazed by what in front of you. As you will be approaching the site, you will see these giant sand dunes (the tallest dunes in North America!) just at the bottom of snowy mountains.

There are several things to do, you can hike up the dunes or just relax and enjoy a beachy-like environment at the creek at the bottom of the dunes.

Hidden gem: just three miles from the dunes, there’s the beginning of a trail that will take you to the Zapata Falls. The hike is around 1 mile long round trip, and it’s very easy to follow the signs. Not many people know about these 30-foot-tall cascades, especially because they are not easy to find: they are hidden in a cave. For this reason, be prepared to be having to walk inside the stream of water to reach the waterfalls – not dangerous at all, just freezing AF as the waterfall originates from a glacier.

And that’s it – let’s get back in our car and resume our drive to Colorado Springs.

DAY 11 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: COLORADO SPRINGS

After driving so much and being in the second half of our journey, my partner and I decide to take this day slower and just enjoy our holidays – also, the weather wasn’t great. What we did though, was having a guided tour inside the Cave of the Winds cave system.

If you have more energy than what we did – you can have a read at this post about things to do in Colorado Springs to fill up your day. Don’t choose the Pikes Peak though – that’s for tomorrow!

DAY 12: PIKES PEAK AND ROAD TO GRAND JUNCTION

Time to get to that mountain! If you’re passionate about cars, you probably already have heard about Pikes Peak – it hosts an annual race. But don’t worry- you can get to the summit without having to race! (sad joke).

You will have to drive up until a certain point where you will be directed to car parking. Here you will have to queue to get onto the shuttle that takes you to the actual summit. Once there, you can have a walk around, enter the shop and café and have a look at the astonishing panorama. Be prepared: the Pikes Peak is 4302m high so it’s normal if you feel like you’re struggling to breathe – especially if you’re not used to these altitudes!

After you’re done, time to get back on the road and head towards Grand Junction. And yes, we are starting to drive back towards LA sadly.

DAY 13 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT

Colorado National Monument is just 10 minutes’ drive from Grand Junction. The best way to visit it is by driving along the 23-mile-long Rim Rock Drive. The road winds up switchbacks onto the mesa tops and then along the canyon walls before descending back into the valley.

While driving on it, you can stop and park whenever you see a trailhead and start your hike into the canyons.

DAY 14 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: GRAND MESA NATIONAL FOREST

The Grand Mesa is around 45 minutes’ drive from Grand Junction. It rises 3000 metres above sea level and has a stunning view of the mountains and the Grand Valley below. It features more than 300 lakes and spreads across 500 square miles.

The Grand Mesa is the perfect outdoor setting for any activity you like: hike, fishing, camping, scenic drive and so much more.

Be prepared: here the snow can linger into July at peak elevations! Also, expect to encounter wildlife – we even found bear’s footprints on the trail we were hiking!

DAY 15 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: ROAD TO MOAB AND ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Time to get back on the road and head towards Moab and Arches National Park. This park is by far definitely one of my favourites of this trip – it features over 2000 natural stone arches and giant balanced rocks. Wherever you look, the view is just stunning.

Be prepared: parking (especially in peak months) can be a pain! Lots of visitor and not many parking spaces close to the main arches. If you don’t mind a hike, you can park far away in a quieter location and hike to the most popular arches.

DAY 16 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: ZION NATIONAL PARK

After spending the night in Moab, you can resume your drive back to LA and stop at Zion National Park. Full disclosure: I actually didn’t stop at this park as we had to be in LA in the evening (our flight was mid-morning the next day). I thought I would include this stop as from my research looks like it is a popular one. Also, you won’t have to drive all the way from Moab to LA without stopping on the route as we did – which can be quite long and tiring!

Here is their website that will help you plan your visit.

DAY 17 OF YOUR SOUTHWEST USA ROAD TRIP: ROAD BACK TO LOS ANGELES

And as all good things come to an end, so does your Southwest USA road trip. Take this day as the last day to fully enjoy the time on the road and to take in for one last time the fabulous landscapes this part of the US has to offer. If you have time, why not have one last ice-cream at the Santa Monica Pier – which is also the end of the infamous route 66?

That’s it guys, this is my itinerary for a Southwest USA road trip. As you can see, there is a lot to see and do in this area but I tried to fit everything worth seeing. I’d also like to mention that another thing worth seeing is the Antelope Canyon – which unfortunately I couldn’t see due to lack of time. However, if you can fit it in your itinerary you won’t be disappointed!

 I hope you liked this travel guide and – as usual if you try it don’t forget to let me know in the comments below or by directly contacting me!

Same goes if you have any questions – don’t be shy and ask 😊