Planning to road trip from the SF Bay area to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Got any good things to see on the way?

Oh wait the path I described actually skips out on Nevada. It goes down towards Socal/Riverside then into Arizona, through Flagstaff to NM.

You should either enjoy the California coast, see the Getty in LA and go to the Grand Canyon on your way, or go through Yosemite or Kings Canyon, hike for a while, then hit Vegas or the Sierras, and then hit the Grand Canyon anyway.

I'm from CA itself so I've seen the CA coast and some of the CA items. I haven't seen as much the other states though so if there are good suggestions there that would be great.

To the OP when is this trip? There is a ton of snow in the Sierras right now. You will need snowshoes to do any hiking.

I would not go all the way down into LA, unless there is stuff there you want to see. An alternative route would be to cut over through Bakersfield and take a detour through Vegas, if that's your thing. The Grand Canyon is also a relatively short side trip before you hit Flagstaff.

This trip would be sometime in the summer (definitely after May). Not that into Vegas/dessert.

suggestions? wrote:

This trip would be sometime in the summer (definitely after May). Not that into Vegas/dessert.

Ok, fair enough. If you are willing to spend a few extra days you could head NE from Flagstaff to the four corners area. There is Mesa Verde, and the San Juans have some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the U.S. Durango, Telluride, Red Mtn Pass, etc.

It's a pretty boring drive from Flag to Albuquerque - but maybe you are hoping to meet a girl in a flatbed Ford.

Definitely stop in Pie Town, NM. THE BEST PIE you will ever eat.

Area 51👍

Is there anything good to see on the way from California to Flagstaff? Seems like the part going through Bakersfield and then inland may not have much.

Would you recommend trying to get to Flagstaff quickly, and then spreading out to go up to Durango/San Juan Mountains and back to NM?

You must see Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park before you die. It will take your breath away. Spend at least a day there if you can.

If you're from California--why go down through California. Interstate 80 to Salt Lake, then drop down to Grand Junction, CO. From there, head south through Gateway Canyon-Hwy 141-Then drive over either US 550 to Ouray/Silverton Durango--or 491 to Cortez. All are gorgeous drives. Cortez is 60 miles or so from Durango, and Mesa Verde National Park is just east of Cortez. Definitely worth a stop. From there, there are numerous scenic routes to Santa Fe.

What do you like, deserts or mountains?

Only thing is that I have a bit of a deadline, can't do this longer than a week or so. So I would prefer to spend more time enjoying the area than driving. I do prefer mountains to desert so I know going through CA into Arizona will be all desert until Flagstaff. However, that seems like the shorter path than going up into Utah to Colorado and back into NM.

Also won't I be going through a large portion of Nevada anyway that is desert, to get to Utah?

Run a quick rim to rim to rim at the Grand Canyon. Just remember to bring a granola bar or two, bro.

San Juan Mtns, not Capistrano wrote:

If you're from California--why go down through California. Interstate 80 to Salt Lake, then drop down to Grand Junction, CO. From there, head south through Gateway Canyon-Hwy 141-Then drive over either US 550 to Ouray/Silverton Durango--or 491 to Cortez. All are gorgeous drives. Cortez is 60 miles or so from Durango, and Mesa Verde National Park is just east of Cortez. Definitely worth a stop. From there, there are numerous scenic routes to Santa Fe.

What do you like, deserts or mountains?

This is a good suggestion, and probably less driving than going from Flag up through the 4 Corners. I've lived in Utah, Colorado, NoCal and SoCal so I know a lot of these roads pretty well. This is probably the route I would go as well.

Yes, there is nothing to see from Reno to SLC - although the salt flats are kinda cool, but the route through SoCal, and AZ is mostly boring the entire way. And I5 makes me want to shoot myself.

I second taking the 80 across. I've done 40 from NM to CA about 20-25 roundtrips and it's not exactly exciting. There's a little bit of scenery but mostly it's just a "get it done" sort of drive. The 80 is much more scenic and there's a bit more to do along the way, albeit not that much more until you get to CO. You'll enjoy the trip down through CO, especially if you take a detour or three along the way. How about driving through Moab, Telluride, and Alamosa? Stopping at the Campus Cafe and enjoy all of Coach Vigil's memorabilia. One of my good friends won a (DII) national 10K championship, but he doesn't have the trophy. It sits on a shelf in the Cafe, no joke. pretty cool ode to the history of Adams State. Honestly, aside from a grand canyon detour and a couple days in flag, the 40 is not worth driving. It's a one day drive (takes about 18hrs from where you are) so if you really have a whole week, do the 80 down to 70 route through CO.

Great route, a lot of places of interest worth seeing on it (Kings Canyon, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, California Coast). I am going to make a similar trip after my academic year is over, planning to order a RV here https://travelsites.com/rv-rental/ .