Originally Posted by
amanuensis
Originally my wife and I were going to go to Moab, UT and CO in March. But we decided to change it up because you can't do the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings tours until mid-May. So here for your sanity-checking pleasure is the latest iteration of our plans. Enjoy,
Remember, my wife has mobility issues, so we are planning on doing very little hiking. One cliff dwellings tour will probably be the most exertion that we do. So our plan is to stop at scenic overlooks and visitor centers but nothing lengthy until Thursday.
On Monday, 13 May, go from our home in SLC to Moab (~223 miles). Tour Islands of the Sky part of Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point. Stay in Moab that night.
On Tuesday, tour Arches in the morning, then drive to Bluff, touring The Needles part of Canyonlands and Edge of the Cedars State Park on the way. (We will be staying two nights at the Bluff Dwellings resort -- if anyone else has stayed there, let me know what you thought of it).
On Wednesday (our short day), go to Natural Bridges, then Goosenecks State Park, then Valley of the Gods in Bears' Ears National Monument, Relaxing in the afternoon.
On Thursday, go to Hovenweep, then to Lowry Pueblo in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, then the visitors center and museum of that national monument in Dolores, CO. All of this in the morning, hopefully. In the afternoon, tour Mesa Verde NP. Stay the night in Cortez, CO
On Friday, go back home, ~337 miles.
Anything I should drop or add? We deliberately decided to not go the Four Corners or Monument Valley. Correct me if I am wrong, but they just have the tourist-trap vibe to me. And it seems a little out of the way to go to Navajo National Monument -- plus it seems that most of what there is to see there requires hiking. We only have the five days, so we will leave Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase/Escalante NM, and Capital Reef for some other time.
IMO, This is very ambitious and a lot of driving for a relatively short visit.
Last Feb, we did a similar geographic area visit centred out of Moab and found that there is a lot to see without a lot of hiking just within Arches and Canyonlands NP. We did not get to the State parks as there was not enough time. The NP website has maps that show where there are paths (paved, gravel) to help plan your stops.
Moab area also gives you access to a scenic drive along the Colorado River path along Hwy 128. Lots of scenic turn offs to see the river as well as the cliff areas around it.
Very easy to spend 5 relatively easy days without a lot of driving if you focus the geography a bit more.
Whatever you choose, enjoy this unique scenery.