Driving from Denver CO to Las Vegas NV.

[Flaigus]

Hi. Me and a friend are taking a trip from Denver to san francisco in september, we are picking up a car from the airport. We need some help for the 1st part of the trip, we are heading to sisco via the grand canyon and las vegas and was wondering wether you'd recommend from denver heading south to New Mexico then west to the canyon. Or from Denver heading west to Utah then south to the canyon? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

We are from england and have never been to the USA before
Thank you

[UK]

I dont know how well this will work, but if it does, the massive link below will show you a convoluted google maps route from Denver to Las Vegas that captures the majority of the places I would advise you visit between the two cities you mention if you have the time. There are more possibilities than I have listed here but I assumed time would be a factor.

Denver
Rocky Mountain National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Durango to Silverton Railroad
Mesa Verde National Park
Four Corners
Canyonlands and Arches National Parks (Moab)
Bryce Canyon National Park
Zion National Park
Lake Powell (Page)
Grand Canyon
Hoover Dam
Las Vegas

If you dont have the time for all of these, investigate each one and decide which ones to drop to shorten the drive.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Denver,+CO,+United+States&daddr=40.39694,-105.65056+to:38.52259,-106.07975+to:37.22296,-107.85634+to:37.33353,-108.60405+to:36.93266,-109.22604+to:38.92845,-110.00744+to:37.8212,-112.43562+to:37.22423,-112.71954+to:36.92728,-111.47226+to:36.04784,-112.09381+to:Las+Vegas,+NV,+United+States&geocode=FRJfXgIdgQ---SnPFx8jqoBrhzHWNoon-PSOEQ%3BFYxoaAIdgOaz-SlR5HrZ8HBphzEU8UT5XYkOZw%3BFd7OSwId-lmt-SlXlGwR8RUVhzHJDwCNGIu0vA%3BFTD6NwIdLD6S-SlhMG4Gyxw8hzEgK3j7CdS9MA%3BFRqqOQIdbtWG-SlhZgbn8G85hzHHdOyEnWBovg%3BFTSMMwIdyFd9-SkTqw3jWRg6hzHsncMi8d_Y1Q%3BFUIAUgIdcGtx-SllLej5_vRIhzErD_SrEyXb3Q%3BFRAbQQIdXF5M-Skja-XOhqhKhzGkWR7NZGDzgQ%3BFSb_NwIdTAlI-SnHqXi199HKgDEgstIv16S4iA%3BFTB3MwIdfBFb-SkBjUtZyhQ0hzGizqCKSjNPnA%3BFeALJgIdjpVR-SklLAVsfxAzhzGbE3PSMMwc3Q%3BFdYQJwIdMJoi-SnRffWkgre-gDGjebPV5tXMOg&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=10&sz=7&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10&sll=36.491973,-112.906494&sspn=5.245586,8.426514&ie=UTF8&ll=38.186387,-110.610352&spn=10.253474,16.853027&z=6
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Help and advice for UK travellers to the USA on fly drive holidays

[Wes Davidson]

I'm from Boulder Colorado and I highly recommend you check it out. Its only a half hour west of Denver. Look it up, there has been loads written about it. I also agree with Mesa Verde. One of my favorite places to visit.

[UK]

I forgot to ask. Have you looked a\t car hire costs ? It is extremely likely that you will face a stiff drop off charge for picking up in Denver and dropping off in San Francisco
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Help and advice for UK travellers to the USA on fly drive holidays

[Flaigus]

[UK]

[GuX]

It looks like a very long road trip to me. For example distance between from Denver to San Francisco is 1,269 miles / 2,042 km i.e. almost 18 hours, 34 minutes reach there. Are you ready for this long trip? You can try train services or airline to reduce time. It gives you more time to enjoy your trip and explore planned cities.
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[Flaigus]

Well we have 3 weeks to do the trip and TBH being on the road will be part of the vacation.... if that makes sense?

[lennyf]

for accommodations you can try out http://www.suitedcribs.com. there are decent house rental accommodations that might serve you better than a hotel

[alongston]

In my experience the drive to New Mexico is quite boring. There isn't much exiting stuff to see. At least maybe if you went to Utah you could hit Vegas or something.

[OnThePike]

Sounds like a nice road trip. I've visited those places, and much prefer the scenery and parks in Utah above all.

Please be advised, however, you can no longer drive across the Hoover Dam from either direction as a through route. Also note, should you wish to visit the dam, you will be subject to intense and somewhat lengthy inspection, depending on the time of year, etc.

It should also be noted, that although it may appear you can photograph the dam from the new bridge via US-93, the USDOI website says you cannot.

[Wes Davidson]

[M.Straus]

Oh man, that area is one of the prettiest in the US. I would definitely see the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the White Sands of Southern New Mexico, Zion National Park in Utah (if you decide to drive north instead of south), the Petrified Forrest is really cool too if you like nature type things, I would go stop in at least one Native American reservation (maybe look-up a ceremony of celebration that in a city you plan on driving through).

The continental divide is pretty spectacular when you cross it via car. I also really appreciate hiking in Colorado and almost any state or national park. It depends on if you are nature oriented or city oriented though .

[M.Straus]

Also, I forgot to mention, if you have never heard of couchsurfing, that is a great way to meet new people and have free accommodations on couches . They have a website called couchsurfing.org I believe... we actually had a couch surfer camp in a tent in our back yard this last week during sxsw (a big Austin, Texas festival). You might want to check it out if you are traveling with minimal $.

[CarlM]