Here & There

Road Tripping Through the American West: The Whats, Wheres & Hows of Our 16-Day Adventure

ThisDarlingAdventure

A few weeks ago, Andy and I packed up our Subaru and headed south from Alberta for a 16-day road trip through some of the most beautiful places in the American West.

Our route took us through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, with stops at Glacier, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Dinosaur National Monument, Flaming Gorge, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks. Along the way, we hiked through red rock canyons, camped beside mountain lakes, drove some incredible scenic routes, and spent a whole lot of time enjoying the beauty of God’s creation together.

After sharing bits and pieces of our trip on social media, so many asked about our route, where we stayed, and which hikes we did, so I thought it would be fun to put together a little recap of our itinerary.

This post is mostly the practical details of our trip, from where we ate and camped to the hikes and stops we made along the way. If you’re dreaming about a similar road trip through the American West, I hope this gives you some inspiration and a helpful starting point for planning your own adventure.

Here’s the route we took and how we spent each of our 16 days on the road.

The Trip at a Glance

Our general route was: Alberta – Whitefish – Glacier National Park – Idaho – Zion National Park – Bryce Canyon National Park – Dinosaur National Monument – Flaming Gorge – Grand Teton National Park – Yellowstone National Park – Great Falls – Alberta.

To plan our trip, we used a combination of Google Maps for planning our route, AllTrails for researching hikes, Expedia to book hotels, Recreation.gov to book most of our campsites and ChatGPT (yes, you read that correctly) for planning the general structure of our trip. We mixed tent camping and hotels throughout our trip, camping for several nights at a time before taking a break in a hotel. This worked well for us, especially when we needed a shower, laundry, or a good night’s sleep. In total, we spent 10 nights camping in a tent and 5 nights in a hotel.

Montana Itinerary

Day 1 – Drive to Whitefish, MT (7.5 hour drive)
Day 2 – Drive to Glacier National Park, MT (1 hour drive)
  • Eat: Folklore Coffee in Whitefish, MT (coffee/breakfast)
  • Hike: Apgar Lookout
  • Camp: Sprague Creek Campground in Glacier National Park (This is one of our favorite campsites of the entire trip. Our campsite sat atop a vista overlooking Lake Macdonald, which made waking up here pretty special)
Day 3 – Explore Glacier National Park, MT
Day 4 – Drive to McCammon, ID (9 hour drive)
  • Eat: Glacier Perks Coffee House in Lakeside, MT (coffee/breakfast) (This was one of our favorite cafes. Their breakfast sandwiches and coffee were absolutely delicious.)
  • Scenic Drive: Highway 93 & 28 through the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness area
  • Stop: Lake Como near Darby, MT for a picnic lunch
  • Camp: Indian Rocks Campground near McCammon, ID

Utah Itinerary

Day 5 – Drive to Zion National Park, UT (6.5 hour drive)
Day 6 – Explore Zion National Park, UT
Day 7 – Explore Zion National Park, UT
Day 8 – Drive to Bryce Canyon National Park, UT (2.5 hour drive)
Day 9 – Explore Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Day 10 – Drive to Vernal, UT (8 hour drive)

Wyoming Itinerary

Day 11 – Drive to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, WY (2 hour drive)
Day 12 – Drive to Grand Teton National Park, WY (5 hour drive)
Day 13 – Explore Grand Teton National Park, WY
Day 14 – Drive to Yellowstone National Park, WY (1.5 hour drive)
Day 15 – Drive to Great Falls, MT (6 hour drive)
Day 16 – Drive home (8 hour drive)

Frequently Asked Questions

Did you book campsites and places to stay in advance?

Yes, we booked most of our campsites and hotels about a week in advance. The only stays we did not book in advance were our campsite at Indian Rocks Campground near McCammon, ID (which is a free, dispersed campsite) and Stateline Cove Campground in the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (which is first come, first serve only). One thing to note is that booking a week in advance may not work for everyone, especially for camping in the national parks during the peak summer season. Most of our campgrounds were still at full capacity and we were only able to book our campsites a week in advance because of last-minute cancellations.

Did you feel like you had enough time at each stop?

Yes and no. For our particular trip and the amount of places we wanted to explore along the way, I felt like the time we had at each stop was sufficient. That being said, there are some places I would love to return to and backpack through, including Glacier National Park and Moab.

Isn’t admission to national parks in the U.S. expensive?

It can add up very quickly, especially if you are not a U.S. Resident and pay the $100 per person fee on top of the standard entry fee required for the most popular national parks. That being said, a more cost effective option to consider (which we went with for our trip and is particularly useful if you are planning to visit more than one national park) is the America The Beautiful Annual Pass, which costs $250 per vehicle for non-U.S. Residents and $80 per vehicle for U.S. Residents.

What was your favorite national park to visit?

This is a hard question because we loved them all for different reasons. But if I could only choose one, I would choose Zion National Park. The sheer rock faces are so unbelievably breathtaking and are almost other-worldly in their beauty. And hiking-wise, Angels Landing and The Narrows are two of the most epic day hikes I’ve ever been on.

What did you cook while camping & how often did you get groceries?

For breakfast, we typically kept things simple with either oatmeal or eggs and coffee. For lunches, we made either sandwiches or wraps with lunch meat, sliced cheese and veggies. And then for camp dinners, we rotated through either sausage with potatoes, steak and salad, or canned soup. We also stocked up on some snacks like baby bell peppers, apples, oranges, chips, nuts and granola bars. We stopped for groceries on day 2 in Whitefish, day 5 in La Verkin, day 8 in La Verkin, day 11 in Vernal and day 12 in Jackson (for a few things we couldn’t get in Vernal).

Did you shower while you were camping?

Yes and no. Most of our campsites did not have showers, so we mainly looked forward to showering at our hotels. However, we did take one quick “shower” in a river somewhere in the middle of Idaho and then paid for a camp shower at a different campground while staying in Grand Teton National Park.

Did you do laundry?

Yes, we did laundry once at the hotel in Virgin, UT.

What was your favorite part of the drive?

For most of our drive, we stayed away from the interstates and took the scenic route. And scenic it was. We were continually surprised and delighted at how beautiful most of our 6,500km drive was. But the part of our drive that stands out to me the most is the drive from Bryce Canyon National Park to Green River, UT along highway 12 and 24. It felt like every fifteen minutes, the scenery would change into something even more beautiful and extraordinary. It was honestly one of the most scenic drives we have ever taken and we were both so thankful to take that route.

What did you listen to while driving?

We listened to the radio, a couple episodes of the Bible Project Podcast, and a few of our favorite playlists on Spotify, but there were so many beautiful places to look at along the way that most of the time we didn’t actually listen to anything. We spent most of our time in the car chatting about what we saw or other thoughts / questions that came to mind.

Did you go to any churches while you were away?

Yes, we joined the Sunday morning worship service at the Ashley Valley Calvary Chapel when we stayed in Vernal, UT.

What do you wish you would have done differently?

There is not much I would have done differently and all things considered I think our trip went really well. On our second to last night, we did modify our plans slightly, as we were planning to spend two nights in Yellowstone instead of just one before heading to Great Falls. But nights were getting cold for tent camping and we were not sleeping the best, so we decided to cut our trip short by a day. This wound up being a really good thing as it gave us an extra day to recuperate at home before a busy week, but if I could do anything differently ahead of time (before booking campsites, hotels, etc.) it would have been this. Other than that, though, we had a wonderful trip and are so thankful for all the incredible places we got to explore and experience along the way.

Looking back, this trip was everything we hoped it would be and more. We saw so many beautiful places, experienced some incredible adventures, and made memories that we will be talking about for years to come. Thank you to everyone who followed along and encouraged us throughout the trip. It was so much fun sharing the adventure with you, and I hope this itinerary is helpful if you’re dreaming about a similar road trip of your own!

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