Scenic Drive: Sand, Soak & Ski
Days 1-2: Salt Lake City
The tours of the Mormon Tabernacle, Temple, and other facilities offer fascinating windows into this church and Utah history. Plan a day for tours and downtown walking, and a second for hiking in the foothills (easier) and Wasatch Range (tougher). If it’s snowing, add a few days to ski Alta, Snowbird, or Brighton.
Days 3-5: Flaming Gorge
An early departure will get you to Green River for lunch, and to this national recreation area in time to set up camp and toss a few lures. A huge reservoir created by a dam on the Green River, the gorge is full of monster lake trout and is a popular spot for houseboating, sailing, water-skiing, and jet skiing. Best info: utah.com/nationalsites/flaming_gorge.htm
Day 6: Dinosaur National Monument
T. Rex fans rejoice: This park’s dinosaur quarry has reopened after 5 years of rehabilitation. Along with thousands of Jurassic fossils on display, there’s excellent hiking, backpacking, camping, and rafting. Info: nps.gov/dino
Days 7-8: Glenwood Springs
Turning south, our route heads down the western slope of the Rockies to the healing waters of Glenwood, where we recommend a diet of hike-soak-raft-soak-ride-soak…and so on. Optional: Midway through the drive from Dinosaur, at the town of Craig, you have the option of diverging from this itinerary and joining the Yellowstone drive, which is a more direct route to Grand Lake—and passes a pair of hot springs itself.
Day 9: Vail
More than 1.7 million people skied this epic resort last year, and millions more took runs at sister properties Beaver Creek, Keystone, and Breckenridge (all located along I-70 east of Glenwood). And you should get a pass if it’s snowing. But the crowds disappear in summer, and savvy travelers will find lower prices and outstanding natural beauty. Stage out of these communities to hike Colorado’s famous Fourteeners (peaks over 14,000 feet), mountain-bike aspen country (at the resorts or in the national forest), and fish trophy trout streams.
Day 10: Winter Park
Less-crowded skiing and outrageous mountain biking are key attractions here, along with ballooning, fishing, and more. Grand Lake and RMNP are 1 hour away.
