Looking For Advice For Our June Trip AZ-CO-SD-UT

[AzScorpion]

I guess I'll be the first to use this new section. We're headed out on a month long road trip in June. I have the hotels booked and a few of these areas we've been to but I'm looking for some insight on what to do in several others we've never been to. I'm open for suggestion on anything from good places to eat, off roading spots, sight seeing (especially if it's off the beaten path) and any other ideas you have if you've been to these areas. Mark @txquailguy has already been a HUGE help this past week helping me plan this out through CO but I'm always looking for others opinions. Mark, we're looking forward to meet up with you and your wife and I appreciate all the time you've spent on the phone helping me plan this!

Sorry but this is a long post due to the length of the trip.

1st stop is Durango, CO - We'll be here for 6 days and were here in 2019 and really like the area. We're going to take the train this time up to Silverton and on another day drive back up there and do some off roading.

I'm still undecided on whether I'm taking the Ranger or the Jeep so what are some good trails up in Silverton to take? We did this last time in a side x side and the Alpine Loop was only partially open due to avalanches, it was July 3rd too.

Any other good spots to off road in that area I should look out for?

What about restaurants or other things to do or see in either Durango or Silverton?

Leaving here we're heading up 550 through Silverton to Montrose then to 50 over to Salida where we'll spend the night. Any places of interest along this route?

From here we'll head north up to WY and stay over in Torrington, WY then on to Custer, SD the next day. We'll spend 7 days there so I'm looking for places to go/see along with any advice on restaurants. We'll be doing the usual going to Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Badlands, but any suggestions on other stuff to do would help.

Now we'll head back south to CO to meet up with Mark and explore his area for the day. After that we're going down to 70 and staying at a casino in Central City overnight. The next day we'll head west through Breckenridge and Aspen then north up to Parachute, CO to rest for the night. The next day we'll head up towards Rangely, CO where we'll stay in a cabin overnight but we're thinking of going to the Dinosaur National Monument for the day. If anyone's been there is this worth going to?

We're heading to Moab, UT now for 7 days and will do Arches NP and of course out through Moab off roading. What are some good trails out in Moab that aren't to crazy? I'd like a mix of medium trails to rock crawling but nothing to extreme because it'll only be the two of us. I'm sure I can find a group to hook up with but I'm not looking to climb a vertical wall. lol As with any of these places we're looking for other cool stuff to do and restaurants to go to.

From Moab we're heading south down towards Zion and will be staying in another cabin in Hurricane, UT for 7n days. We were also here back in the fall of 2020 but could use a few suggestions from those who know the area. We had someone give us some really cool places to check out the last time that only locals really know about so stuff like that would be great.

Last but not least we'll hit Flagstaff, AZ for the 4th Of July weekend. I know this area like the back of my hand as we go there every summer to escape the heat. But there's always that one place someone knows about that's not all that well known to others so please chime in here too.

If you made it this far you really need to find something better to occupy your time. lol ? Seriously any help/suggestions would be appreciated!

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[halligan1201]

I've done Black Hills many times, both for vacations and for work. There are some great fire lookouts to drive to - Cement Ridge is a nice drive on some rough forest service roads and back roads. They get you way off the beaten path. Check out a YouTube channel called Judith the Jeep for some great trails in the area. Badlands NP has some good gravel road drives that get you into areas of the park not normally seen and do the Notch Trail and Castle Trail hikes. Spearfish Canyon is best seen driving it north to south. Minute Man Missile site isn't that cool but the grasslands around it are gorgeous. Keystone is mostly owned by Russians now and can't recommend much in the line of food but there's some cool artists selling stuff. Kevin Costners restaurant in Deadwood is neat I'll go through some of my trip logs for other ideas.

 

[halligan1201]

Ironically we'll be crossing over our trips - I'm doing ND-MT-WA-ID-CO-WY-NE at the end of June and first part of July.

 

[WV_Ranger]

I'm headed on a 10 day trip this summer to see ND and sd. Very excited about the badlands!

 

[AzScorpion]

I've done Black Hills many times, both for vacations and for work. There are some great fire lookouts to drive to - Cement Ridge is a nice drive on some rough forest service roads and back roads. They get you way off the beaten path. Check out a YouTube channel called Judith the Jeep for some great trails in the area. Badlands NP has some good gravel road drives that get you into areas of the park not normally seen and do the Notch Trail and Castle Trail hikes. Spearfish Canyon is best seen driving it north to south. Minute Man Missile site isn't that cool but the grasslands around it are gorgeous. Keystone is mostly owned by Russians now and can't recommend much in the line of food but there's some cool artists selling stuff. Kevin Costners restaurant in Deadwood is neat I'll go through some of my trip logs for other ideas.

Thanks John that's exactly the stuff I'm looking for!! I love going out and exploring different areas and don't mind rough trails/terrane, I just have to be more careful when it's only the two of us. I'm so torn as to which vehicle to take. On one hand the Ranger will have more room for gear and luggage and gets a little better mpg. But the Jeep will be way more fun when we're in Silverton, Badlands, Moab and Hurricane. Every day I change my mind and need to figure this out soon but now that it type this is sounds like the Jeep is winning. lol

 

[AzScorpion]

Ironically we'll be crossing over our trips - I'm doing ND-MT-WA-ID-CO-WY-NE at the end of June and first part of July.

That was the time frame I wanted to go but my gf has to have her vacation days used up by mid July. She can only carry over so many and right now she has 5 weeks to many and she'll lose them. We were going to go through WY after leaving SD and head over to Yellowstone NP. The more I looked at it I felt like I was going to be pressed for time as we wanted to take our time and see most of Yellowstone.

So next year we're going to start planning earlier and I'm thinking when we leave here we'll head straight up north to Glacier NP just stopping a few nights to sleep. Spend a week there then head down to Yellowstone for another week or so then through ID and back through UT.

 

[halligan1201]

Thanks John that's exactly the stuff I'm looking for!! I love going out and exploring different areas and don't mind rough trails/terrane, I just have to be more careful when it's only the two of us. I'm so torn as to which vehicle to take. On one hand the Ranger will have more room for gear and luggage and gets a little better mpg. But the Jeep will be way more fun when we're in Silverton, Badlands, Moab and Hurricane. Every day I change my mind and need to figure this out soon but now that it type this is sounds like the Jeep is winning. lol

I think you'll be fine in the Ranger for getting over and through the stuff in the Black Hills and Badlands - I got into some pretty rough spots when there for work in rental Tahoes and made it through, although we did bang up the under carriages pretty good in spots. Some of them are pretty tight though so you'll probably get some scratches. Now if you decide to go after some of the stuff on the Judith the Jeep page, the Jeep will definitely be the way to go - he gets off NFS roads and into legit trails. GPS drops quite a bit in the Black Hills so I recommend downloading the maps on Gaia beforehand and getting a paper map too.

 

[AzScorpion]

I'm headed on a 10 day trip this summer to see ND and sd. Very excited about the badlands!

So am I Mike! I was originally supposed to get my Jeep (in IA) in March or April this year and we planned on driving back through all these areas, now we'll just do it in reverse. I've watched so many YouTube videos on Badlands I cant wait to go there. When are you heading there?

 

[AzScorpion]

I think you'll be fine in the Ranger for getting over and through the stuff in the Black Hills and Badlands - I got into some pretty rough spots when there for work in rental Tahoes and made it through, although we did bang up the under carriages pretty good in spots. Some of them are pretty tight though so you'll probably get some scratches. Now if you decide to go after some of the stuff on the Judith the Jeep page, the Jeep will definitely be the way to go - he gets off NFS roads and into legit trails. GPS drops quite a bit in the Black Hills so I recommend downloading the maps on Gaia beforehand and getting a paper map too.

I have the Gaia app already and good point about pre-downloading the maps. I'm not to worried about the Ranger making it through certain areas (I've been through some rough areas already with it) it's just I really wanted to see what the Jeep can do. In the lower valley here it's mostly desert and sand so it's not all that challenging until I head up north a little way. I guess the lack of room might be a blessing as it'll limit the amount of cloths my gf can bring and buy while we're traveling. lol. I'll definitely be checking out his videos!

 

[Grumpaw]

Dave, you don't say how long your in Wy, but if you have an extra day, Grand Teton NP is a must see.
We have been to every NP you've named, and many you haven't, and Teton is one of the most scenic and beautiful of them all.
And, just south of the park is Jackson, Wy, a very nice town with lots to see, great food, plenty of shops.

 

[WV_Ranger]

So am I Mike! I was originally supposed to get my Jeep (in IA) in March or April this year and we planned on driving back through all these areas, now we'll just do it in reverse. I've watched so many YouTube videos on Badlands I cant wait to go there. When are you heading there?

Planning on heading there June 3. Hoping to drive straight through. Stay the night in sioux falls then start our 8 day road trip!!!

 

[AzScorpion]

Dave, you don't say how long your in Wy, but if you have an extra day, Grand Teton NP is a must see.
We have been to every NP you've named, and many you haven't, and Teton is one of the most scenic and beautiful of them all.
And, just south of the park is Jackson, Wy, a very nice town with lots to see, great food, plenty of shops.

Thanks Steve! I was trying to route the trip over that way but I just don't have enough time to get there and enjoy the area without rushing. There's some really nice places in Jackson and being an ex skier I cant wait to go there. So next year that's part of the plan for next years trip (see post #6) and the Tetons are high on my list. There's so much to see out west there's no way we could do it all in one trip with only 4.5 weeks time.

 

[WingShot]

Here is the best Mt. Rushmore advice you will get...approach from the SE via 16A from Custer SP. It's an incredible road. Several tunnels that frame Rushmore through the openings in the distance, a wooden spiraling bridge that helps you down a canyon wall. Amazing. And not too far out of the way from Custer, seems tough to convince folks staying in Rapid City to take this road.

We'll be in Moab next week and might have more current advice after that. But check out Gemini Bridges Road, we hope to camp there. And the route to Canyon Lands into the Isle in the Sky and down into Shafers Canyon to Potash Road (Thelma & Louise Point). You will see the start of the White Rim Trail there also. In June it will be pretty warm, head into the Manti-La Sal Mountians SE of Moab to cool off (Porcupine Ridge).

Sounds like a great trip!

 

[AzScorpion]

Planning on heading there June 3. Hoping to drive straight through. Stay the night in sioux falls then start our 8 day road trip!!!

That sounds like a great trip! We should be in SD towards the end of your trip. We will be in SD on 6/10-6/16. We're staying in Custer, SD, I figured it was central and could get to most areas from there.

 

[AzScorpion]

Here is the best Mt. Rushmore advise you will get...approach from the SE via 16A from Custer SP. It's an incredible road. Several tunnels that frame Rushmore through the openings in the distance, a wooden spiraling bridge that helps you down a canyon wall. Amazing. And not too far out of the way from Custer, seems tough to convince folks staying in Rapid City to take this road.

We'll be in Moab next week and might have more current advice after that. But check out Gemini Bridges Road, we hope to camp there. And the route to Canyon Lands into the Isle in the Sky and down into Shafers Canyon to Potash Road (Thelma & Louise Point). You will see the start of the White Rim Trail there also. In June it will be pretty warm, head into the Manti-La Sal Mountians SE of Moab to cool off (Porcupine Ridge).

Sounds like a great trip!

Awesome, Thanks Andrew!! This gives me a lot to look at now and if you have any more after your trip that'd be great too.

I don't mind going out of the way to take a better route or see better sights. That's why I asked the Admin if we could add this section (the Jeep & Bronco forums had one) because with all the members here now this info will be very helpful. Have a great trip and post some pictures when you return!

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