27 American Southwest Road Trip Ideas For A Summer Adventure
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It is time to kick your summer plans up a notch! One of the most beloved and visited regions of the United States, the American Southwest is a spectacular region to traverse and explore. Its wild grandeur, enormous expanse, and diverse geological features present outdoor beauty and recreation that is impossible to find elsewhere.
And what better way to see and experience the Southwest than from your own vehicle? By road tripping, you can cover so much ground, you have a ton of flexibility and independence, and you’ll have a world of outdoor adventures at your fingertips.
Nothing compares to the feeling of driving endless Southwestern highways that disappear into the setting red sun, surrounded by always-shifting and always-mesmerizing country that goes on as far as the eye can see.
If you are going to road trip through the Southwest, you have to do it right. There is so much to explore and discover—both famous landmarks and well-kept secrets—in the amazing Southwestern states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada.
Read on for the ultimate guide to an incredible road trip through the American Southwest!
Southwest Colorado
Photo by Maura Bielinski
Southwest Colorado is stunning and diverse, much drier than the northern, more-trafficked half of the state. It is occupied by desert terrain, the gorgeous San Juan Mountains, archeological treasures, superb outdoor recreation opportunities, and small historic mining towns packing a ton of personality.
Photo by Maura Bielinski
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde stands out amongst other national parks for its historical and archeological significance. It is treasured for its incredible Ancestral Puebloan cliff-dwellings, where ancient Native Americans built their homes right into the side of the cliffs. Don’t miss out on a walking tour, where you descend the cliffs to see these structures in person!
Durango
Durango is a treasure. Immaculately preserved, the Old Western village is picturesquely nestled in the San Juan Mountains by the side of the Animas River. It is known for its hot springs, scenic setting, historic preservation, magnificent skiing, and steam engine train that still runs to and from Silverton, bearing visitors everyday.
Million Dollar Highway from Silverton to Ouray
I can’t scream loudly enough how cool this drive is. Titled one of the most dangerous highways in the US, it is named so because it nearly cost a million dollars to build in the 1880’s (and because it is joked that you would have to pay locals a million dollars to drive it). The Million Dollar Highway (officially U.S. Route 550) is a 25 mile mountain passageway stretching from Ouray to Silverton, with hairpin turns, steep drop offs, and unbeatable panoramic views. The two towns are also gems, former mining towns turned into tourist hubs with preserved historic downtowns, natural hot springs, every type of outdoor adventure, and charming local shops.
Telluride
Telluride is an ideally placed mountain village, quaint but upscale, known for its posh flair, film and arts festivals, and magnificent skiing. While it has a very expensive air about it, you will also be drawn in by the familiar way the locals shout ‘Good morning!’ to each other on the street. You will love taking in the views from the streets, strolling around, and taking a gondola to the top of the nearest peak.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Awe-inspiring, sprawling, and deep, the Black Canyon is referred to as “Colorado’s Own Grand Canyon.” While most don’t venture past the rim, hiking down to the riverbed is an exciting, very steep trail that keeps you scrambling and vigilant. The most popular trail down is the Gunnison Trail (2 miles RT).
New Mexico
Most people view New Mexico as a pit stop to get gas, not as a destination, but little do most people know- New Mexico is extremely underrated! It has highly diverse terrain, beautiful landscapes, fascinating culture and architecture, and awesome national and state parks. From deep caverns to desert terrain to peacefully preserved wetlands to ancient adobe architecture to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Albuquerque to unique mountain ranges, New Mexico abounds with unexpected adventures.
Here are a few must-dos when you find yourself road tripping inside its state lines, taking you on a north to south route.
Sante Fe
Sante Fe is a unique and humble city. The historic downtown makes for a great stroll, as there are a plethora of quirky, cool shops to poke your head into and the stunning adobe architecture all around you will have you craning your neck to try to take in everything at once.
Turquoise Trail
Funky is the best way to describe the Turquoise Trail. Linking Albuquerque and Santa Fe, the Turquoise Trail is a 50-mile highway (New Mexico State Road 14) that runs through several exceptionally quirky small towns offering family-friendly pit stops, majorly funky arts and crafts shops selling art and crafts, historical mining sites, old saloons, music, and local food.
Photo by Maura Bielinski
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bird-watchers will have a meltdown here. If you can, visit in the winter, when bird season is at its height. One of the most mind-blowing sights you will ever witness is the “the fly in” at Bosque del Apache. At dusk, thousands of birds fly in as a unit to settle on the peaceful waters. Imagine you are standing by the side of a quiet pond and slowly, in the distance, a speck on the horizon slowly grows into a mass of birds. They begin to fill the sky, coming closer and closer, swallowing the sky whole, until they are drifting downwards into the water, circling and swirling like a massive ice cream cone, a living and breathing tornado! This natural phenomenon is equal parts scary and spectacular.
Las Cruces and the Organ Mountains
South of Bosque del Apache (meanwhile passing through humorously-named towns like Truth or Consequences, and Elephant Butte), Las Cruces sits within view of the Organ Mountains, an epic mountain range. Viewed from Las Cruces, the mountains have one of the most wickedly fascinating outlines you could ever see, due to their needle-like, steep peaks.
Photo by Maura Bielinski
White Sands National Park
Another New Mexico treasure, White Sands National Park, is your opportunity to go sledding on magnificent piles of glistening sugar. That’s right, mountains of sugar. Just kidding—it is gypsum crystals—but it sure looks like sugar until you put it to the taste test (please don’t). These stunning white sand dunes sit in what feels like the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, and the best part is, you can rent toboggans.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Another must-do! If you take the popular, short paved trail down into the depths of the cavern, your surroundings transform into an awesome underworld, and the caverns and stalactites get bigger and better with each foot you descend. Your destination is The Big Room, the largest cave chamber in North America, so prepare for your mind to be blown.
At sunrise and sunset, there is also a popular, epic bat flight program at Carlsbad. Since Carlsbad Caverns is a bit isolated, you could add the nearby Guadalupe Mountains to your itinerary.
Arizona
Arizona is a recreational heaven, and there is so much to explore and do in this awesome state. It is surprisingly easy to fall in love with the desert! Here is the must-do list running north to south to make it easy for you to plan a road trip route!
Horseshoe Bend
You’ve definitely seen a picture of this before. A stunning backdrop, featuring an enormous, U-shaped bend in the Colorado River. Jaws will drop.
Photo by Maura Bielinski
Grand Canyon National Park
You can’t talk about Arizona without involving the Grand Canyon, but you can’t even be mad about it, because the Grand Canyon deserves every bit of praise you’ve ever heard. Hello! It is one of the seven wonders of the world. For any experienced (!) hikers, do not miss hiking this. You can go halfway down to Indian Garden and back up for a nice day hike (9 miles roundtrip), commit to going all the way to Phantom Ranch and camping by the river (20 miles RT via the Bright Angel Trail), or—a personal favorite of mine—you can challenge yourself with a 13-mile hike that travels along the middle plateau at the South Rim, the Tonto Trail.
Photo by Maura Bielinski
Flagstaff
Flagstaff is a peaceful, hipster, outdoorsy town and remains the exception to the rest of the dry Arizona desert landscape. Flagstaff’s 7,000’ elevation is more than a mile above Phoenix, so it has pine forests and all the seasons. Humphrey’s Peak, the highest point in Arizona, offers wonderful hiking and skiing, and the town itself has an assortment of eclectic thrift stores, coffee shops, and a charming pedestrian-friendly downtown. Yes, I will be retiring here.
Devil’s Bridge; Photo by Ashley Rollins
Sedona
Sedona is renowned for its gorgeous red rock formations and terrain and is popular with both locals and travelers alike for good reason. It is a special part of Arizona, with amazing trails and outdoor recreation, landscapes, Southwestern and Native American-influenced jewelry stands, and shockingly-red rocks all around you. A few hikes not to miss: Cathedral Rock (1 mile RT), Devil’s Bridge (4 miles RT), West Fork Trail (7 miles RT), and Bear Mountain (5 miles RT).
West Fork Trail Photo by Ashley Rollins
Prescott
A cool and enjoyable stop, Prescott has a charming, small-town air with its old streets, open air markets, and grassy lawns. Watson Lake, 4 miles outside of Prescott, makes for a great, around-the-entire-lake hike (and swimming spot).
Payson
Another small and interesting Arizona small town, the drive from Payson to Phoenix is particularly memorable, as the highway winds through dry, dramatic mountainous terrain. Payson has hiking, camping, and super cool vibes.
Phoenix
The coolest thing about Phoenix is the fact that mountains pop up through the city like daisies. The city landscape looks like a heart rate monitor- urban, urban, MOUNTAIN, urban, urban, MOUNTAIN. People sprint up these various peaks (Camelback being the most well-known) for sunrise and sunset on the daily. Phoenix is a sprawling, youthful hub with a wide range of lifestyles and activities. Only head to Phoenix during the summer months if you’re cool with baking in 120 degree heat.
Photo by Maura Bielinski
Saguaro National Park
Either indulge in your love for cacti, or inevitably discover it, here at Saguaro! The saguaro forest wrapping around Tucson makes for eye-bugging loop drives and walking trails, with cacti that can live for a hundred years and grow to 40 to 60 feet tall.
Tombstone
A humorous tourist hub that is still worth a visit, any Old West admirers will get a huge kick out of Tombstone. The old town is impeccably preserved, with characters in full 1880’s dress, gunfight reenactments, and more. Tombstone is the site of the infamous O.K. Corrall gunfight and the dryly-hilarious Boothill Cemetery.
Bisbee
A sweet, artsy old mining town kept alive with quirky art galleries, jewelry stores, music, and well-preserved history, Bisbee is charming and will capture your heart.
Photo by Maura Bielinski
Chiricahua National Park
A very unique national park, you won’t be able to compare the bizarre rock formations you see here with anything else you’ve seen. You look over an eye-popping field of strangely-perched rocks that tower circularly and precariously.
Southern Nevada
Las Vegas
We all know the stories about Sin City! A wholesome road trip through the Southwest can be topped with a visit to Vegas for a change of pace. More than just the Strip, be sure to check out the famous vintage Las Vegas sign and the Fremont Street Experience.
Valley of Fire State Park
Similar to Sedona, this park is known for out-of-this-world red rock formations. It looks like Mars! In fact, several movie producers thought so as well—part of the Star Trek series was filmed here. One hiking trail not to miss is the Fire Wave (1.5 miles RT). Nearby, Lake Mead National Recreation Area is an immensely popular (and America’s first and largest) recreation spot.
Arizona Hot Spring
A well-kept secret, I am disclosing a hard-to-find but sooo-worth-it day activity when leaving Las Vegas, just south of Hoover Dam. An awesome hike through the desert leads you to a hidden slot canyon where natural hot springs bubble and pool in varying degrees of heat. Plan to hang out in the springs for the day, as you will not want to leave!
Southern Utah
Photo by Maura Bielinski
There is nearly too much to cover here! You could spend weeks and weeks exploring Utah’s many national parks, but just to keep this road trip manageable—we’re going to stick with a few favorites in Southern Utah. Southern Utah, simply put, is a recreational paradise. Here are two top-notch road trip stops.
Zion National Park
One of the most popular national parks in the U.S., Zion deserves all the praise in the world. If you can, visit in the off-season, because visitors come out in droves! Zion is bursting with magnificent scenery, gorgeous drives, and one-of-a-kind hiking trails. The Narrows, drawing many hikers each day, is a gorge where you wade through the river for miles (depth depends on time of year) while canyon walls towering above you up to 2,000 feet high (up to 17 miles RT). Angel’s Landing is another quintessential hike for the brave of heart that takes you over frightening footholds and drop-offs (4.4 miles RT). If you want to come face to face with your own mortality, try Angel’s Landing. I spent the entire hike swearing under my breath at my stupidity for getting myself into this, but loving every single second.
Photo by Maura Bielinski
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
It is difficult not to fall in love with this rugged vastness. This 1-million acre area feels intensely wild and unexplored. Grand Staircase-Escalante has amazing scenic byways, panoramic views, stunning cliffs, waterfalls, and slot canyons. Highlights include Peekaboo and Spooky Gulch, two side-by-side slot canyons (4 miles RT) and Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail (6 miles RT).
Wow! If this hasn’t flamed your yearning for adventure, then I’m not sure what will. Road tripping may be one of your best bets for traveling this summer, since other modes of transportation are still a bit complicated.
We hope you take these ideas for an epic road trip and run with it! (Straight to the Southwest, hopefully).
What are your road trip plans for the summer?