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Arkhamina posted:Anyone driven from Denver to Cortez to go visit Mesa Verde? Curious what the drive is like (would be solo) and if I should bother with anything bigger than the little flavor rental car. It’s a 7+ hour drive so I’m assuming your finding a place to stay down there. It’s a fine drive and you’re not going to need 4WD or anything if that’s what you’re asking. 285 is the most direct route but I like taking 70 across until you get to Glenwood Springs, then heading south through Montrose/Ouray/Silverton to reach Durango. It’s longer but it’s a more impressive drive through the mountains. I’d recommend going one way there and the other back to get a feel for both.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:43
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Yep .plan is to stay in Cortez maybe 3 or 4 days. Hit the park and do tours, hike about. I like the idea of two routes! I wish I could do it sooner, but the tours don't start until mid May.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:49
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I've hit all the major cross-state routes and it's hard to go wrong on that drive. I guess I-70 to Grand Junction then breaking south is the most boring way to do it.. but it's still a very pretty drive with mountain passes, canyons, and buttes. It's also the fastest option. If I was picking a route for pure scenery and no time restraints I'd probably do Sedalia->Deckers->Hartsel->Buena Vista->Gunnison->Durango->Cortez. But going south to Walsenburg and taking US160 west is pretty great too, and gives you great sand dunes as a possible stop. If you really wanna take the long way, Antonitio->Chama->Shiprock->Cortez is also a splendid route. Or go even further west and do Moab->Monticello->Cortez.  edit - all these routes are paved and fine for a city car xzzy fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Jan 21, 2024 |
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Jan 21, 2024 22:55
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Booked my flight, rented the car, now I just gotta wait till June 15th. Flying Saturday to return Friday, figure I'll explore the park hiking a bit too, beyond the tours. Coming from Wisconsin, I'm going to be way more impressed by like OMG IS THAT A LIZARD than the locals, at the small stuff. (I do like lizards though!). This park has been on my radar since I saw a big write up of it in some musty old National Geographic as a kid. Listened to an Audiobook of the pre-contact native cultures of North America too ("Ancient Civilizations of North America") and the Prof did a lot of his study on the Southwest cultures, and really got in pretty deep. Absolutely phoned it in for the Pacific Northwestern tribes, but he can't be an expert in everything, I guess.
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Jan 25, 2024 19:03
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Guess the only other tip I got is bookmark cotrip.org and hit the road conditions button. By your travel date the roads will all be in good shape but they also post construction closures and such there. Like if the region gets another wet spring and there's any road damage that's where it'll get marked.
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Jan 25, 2024 19:22
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I passed through Cortez once by chance on my way across the country, took a wrong turn, and ended up at Osprey HQ. That was neat.
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Jan 25, 2024 19:29
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Next time take a wrong turn in Steamboat and visit the Big Agnes HQ.
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Jan 25, 2024 19:37
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Ooh, I wonder if they have like an outlet or returns store. Most of my hiking gear is kind of the opposite though, I love Frost River, which is waxed canvas and all the weight. Leather and brass! My biggest pack weighs 11lbs... Empty. (That's more throw on the bottom of the canoe than day hike). Thanks for all the guidance!
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Jan 25, 2024 20:04
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Mesa Verde is really cool, hope you have a great trip! Route suggestion: Depending on how much time you have, if you drive past Montrose you may be able to swing by Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Deep canyon, cool rocks, really neat scenery, definitely recommend it. Also, the road from Montrose to Durango, US 550, is nicknamed the "Million Dollar Highway" and it is an absurdly beautiful drive, if you think you're up for it I'd recommend it in a heartbeat.
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Jan 25, 2024 20:37
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I wish we had gone to Black Canyon. It was just a little too far of an out and back drive for our road trip schedule
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Feb 10, 2024 14:20
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As a mild update, I decided to be a bit adventurous (will see if I regret this) and bought a small, plane packable two person tent. Dark Skies land, and expensive hotels - just going to camp at Mesa Verde. I have a lot of car camping gear, but mostly aimed at bigger groups. Going to sleep under the stars. I think it may be awesome. Will pack layers too, since desert gets cold? I've slept in a hammock at 10F, June desert probably won't hurt me. I am also going to start hitting the Stairmaster at the gym, because the Ouray Engineer Pass/Bear Creek Trail is 8500->10500ft above sea level in 3.5 miles!
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Feb 15, 2024 18:49
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Is it worth camping in Joshua Tree vs outside of the park? I have small kids, so I'm not planning on hikes more than a few miles round trip. And I have an America the Beautiful pass, so I'm not concerned about entrance fees. Also I'm open to campground recommendations. FogHelmut fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Mar 13, 2024 |
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Mar 13, 2024 06:08
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Anyone got a feel for Crater Lake in the last week of May? Have a chance to spend the night there on a road trip and the NPS site says the rim road doesn't open until June. I'm curious if that's a hard rule or they go ahead and open it whenever the snow retreats enough. Mazama campground opens the 24th and I'll be in the area on the 29th so I assume I'll at least be able to find a place to sleep. Available webcams kind of show a mixed bag, the crater itself doesn't seem to have a ridiculous amount of snow but some of the road cameras show 5-8 feet. Basically if they 100% won't open until July I'll pass the area by. But if there's a chance of getting in there I'll keep an eye on conditions.
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Mar 19, 2024 02:55
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xzzy posted:Anyone got a feel for Crater Lake in the last week of May? Have a chance to spend the night there on a road trip and the NPS site says the rim road doesn't open until June. I'm curious if that's a hard rule or they go ahead and open it whenever the snow retreats enough. Mazama campground opens the 24th and I'll be in the area on the 29th so I assume I'll at least be able to find a place to sleep. Rim Road usually opens in two parts. East Rim usually opens in July and never (as far as I know) before June. However, there is a major road restoration project that is ongoing and no one is going to be driving on it for a few years (I think maybe 2027?). West Rim drive sometimes opens in May but quite rarely. That being said, you are still able to get to Rim Village at any time of year as long as it hasn’t snowed too much. Walking around Rim Village is more or less what most people do anyway.
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Mar 19, 2024 17:59
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Great, thanks. I was hoping to get to Merriam Point for some night photography. Or the watchman peak parking area. So I'll pencil it in and if the road opens by that point head on up. Otherwise it's camping at Mt McLoughlin.. which will still be cool.
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Mar 19, 2024 19:17
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xzzy posted:Great, thanks. I was hoping to get to Merriam Point for some night photography. Or the watchman peak parking area. So I'll pencil it in and if the road opens by that point head on up. McLoughlin is indeed cool. I lived in the area for some time and there is much around that is spectacular and not well known to people from outside the area (obviously Crater Lake is): lots of beautiful kayaking in the rivers and creeks to the north of Upper Klamath Lake, hiking in virtually any direction, Lava Beds, Sky Lakes Wilderness, etc.; birding especially in Lower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake NWR.
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Mar 19, 2024 23:51
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xzzy posted:Anyone got a feel for Crater Lake in the last week of May? Have a chance to spend the night there on a road trip and the NPS site says the rim road doesn't open until June. I'm curious if that's a hard rule or they go ahead and open it whenever the snow retreats enough. Mazama campground opens the 24th and I'll be in the area on the 29th so I assume I'll at least be able to find a place to sleep. southern oregon just got a huge snow storm about 2 weeks ago. we've been getting really weird spring/summer winter storms the past 3 years or so, snow in april in the valley, freezing temps in june. the road in doesn't go too high above sea level, it's in good shape maintenance wise. you -should- be fine, but if we get a blizzard in mid may the road may be kinda sketch. looking at the site, the munsen valley road is open year round at goes up to the crater
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Mar 20, 2024 00:13
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King Hong Kong posted:Walking around Rim Village is more or less what most people do anyway.
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Mar 20, 2024 01:23
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It's a sad reality but that's why I'm doing this trip to begin with. The end destination is the coastal redwoods because I feel like I really need to see them before they go up in flames. I went to do some hiking in north cascades last summer and one trail I hiked burned up less than a month later. Hopefully this spring is a mild one.
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Mar 20, 2024 01:52
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it was 80 today. don't count on it
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Mar 20, 2024 03:10
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xzzy posted:It's a sad reality but that's why I'm doing this trip to begin with. The end destination is the coastal redwoods because I feel like I really need to see them before they go up in flames. I went to do some hiking in north cascades last summer and one trail I hiked burned up less than a month later. it owns that most of those forests will be gone in our lifetimes
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Mar 20, 2024 14:33
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I was there in late May a few years ago and there was still snow on the ground on the rim. It was pretty though.
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Mar 25, 2024 13:23
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I was looking to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park in October since the prices for cabin rentals nearby aren't too insane. I'm trying to decide between stay near the touristy Gatlinburg side or Townsend, since they have some great deals on cabins but it's farther from the center of the park. I've heard Cades Cove can get crowded in October so I'm not sure. We're going to focus mainly on day hikes, but I do love a good mountain coaster. Any recommendations?
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Apr 17, 2024 02:36
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Today I visited a national park for the first time. Petrified Forest National Park is amazingly beautiful! I stopped at every viewing point and all of them were worth it. It was today's big stop on the way to tomorrow's destination: The Grand Canyon. I don't have waking up at 4-5am in me but I'm going to hike as much of the rim trail as I can.
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Apr 17, 2024 04:56
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Grand Canyon is near and dear to my heart, if you have any questions just let me know! For the rim trail, one option you can potentially consider is taking the red route shuttle bus to Hermit's Rest and hiking back from there - less of the trail is paved out that way but it is much less busy out in that direction. Great for sunset, too: 
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Apr 17, 2024 05:11
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Acebuckeye13 posted:Grand Canyon is near and dear to my heart, if you have any questions just let me know! For the rim trail, one option you can potentially consider is taking the red route shuttle bus to Hermit's Rest and hiking back from there - less of the trail is paved out that way but it is much less busy out in that direction. Great for sunset, too: Thank you for the tip about Hermit's Rest. It's beautiful out here and I'm practically alone on the trail.
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Apr 17, 2024 18:10
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Tequila25 posted:I was looking to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park in October since the prices for cabin rentals nearby aren't too insane. I'm trying to decide between stay near the touristy Gatlinburg side or Townsend, since they have some great deals on cabins but it's farther from the center of the park. I've heard Cades Cove can get crowded in October so I'm not sure. We're going to focus mainly on day hikes, but I do love a good mountain coaster. Any recommendations? My sister runs http://www.campleconte.com and I think you should go there. The tree house is awesome. Greenbrier is the closest park access and it's a pretty good one that isn't too crowded. October is going to be crowded everywhere, but there isn't really a slow season like there was 20 years ago. Slightly farther up I-40, around exit 432, there is park access through the city of Cosby. Backwoods Sami moonshiner rough area and there are more bear attacks because fewer people, but there's never anyone there. I grew up in Gatlinburg and I can make some general recommendations, but that might be better in the Tennessee tourism thread.
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Apr 17, 2024 22:39
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8one6 posted:Thank you for the tip about Hermit's Rest. It's beautiful out here and I'm practically alone on the trail. If you get another evening, the Desert View spot at sunset is pretty stunning too. Won't be alone but it shouldn't be shoulder to shoulder either. You can see west all the way up the canyon and if there's a lot of dust in the air (I think there always is) the layering is bonkers.
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Apr 17, 2024 22:49
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xzzy posted:If you get another evening, the Desert View spot at sunset is pretty stunning too. Unfortunately I'm not in good enough shape to go back out tonight. After walking around at Petrified Forest yesterday and the (embarrassingly short) hike today I feel like I was kicked down the side of the canyon. All of the walking I've been doing in the past few months helped but today I was sucking wind after only two and a half miles. It was however the most beautiful two and a half miles I've ever seen. Tomorrow is about six hours of driving and then Friday I'm spending the day at Zion.
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Apr 18, 2024 00:09
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Well you are about 6500 feet of elevation and if you're not used to that it'll suck the energy out of you. As will the sun and dry air. Drink a lot and eat a lot, it'll help.
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Apr 18, 2024 00:53
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8one6 posted:Unfortunately I'm not in good enough shape to go back out tonight. After walking around at Petrified Forest yesterday and the (embarrassingly short) hike today I feel like I was kicked down the side of the canyon. All of the walking I've been doing in the past few months helped but today I was sucking wind after only two and a half miles. Hot tip: Assuming you're driving to Zion up Highway 89, divert onto 89A and take Navajo Bridge across Marble Canyon towards Jacob Lake. It'll take about the exact same amount of time and you'll miss seeing Glen Canyon Dam or Horseshoe Bend, but nine times out of ten when you stop at Navajo Bridge you can see California Condors chillin' out on the struts below the road. And then when you drive past Jacob Lake you can get some delicious cookies and an excellent shake. 
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Apr 18, 2024 04:15
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