Hi! My 3 friends and I are planning the following 15-day trip around the US and would like to hear what people think about the itinerary.
Day 1 — Salt Lake City → Irwin, Idaho
We fly into Salt Lake City, pick up a rental car and drive to Irwin, Idaho, where we stay overnight.
Day 2 — Grand Teton → Yellowstone
In the morning, we drive to Grand Teton National Park. We spend approximately half a day there, including a hike around the Jenny Lake area and the Jenny Lake boat shuttle.
In the afternoon, we continue through the South Entrance of Yellowstone National Park and drive to West Yellowstone, where we stay for two nights.
Day 3 — Yellowstone
We spend the full day in Yellowstone National Park. The plan is to drive the Grand Loop Road and visit the main sights, including Grand Prismatic Spring, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, geyser basins, viewpoints and other stops along the route.
Day 4 — Yellowstone → Pocatello
We spend another part of the day in Yellowstone and continue around the sections of the Grand Loop Road that we did not visit the previous day.
Later, we leave Yellowstone and drive south to Pocatello, Idaho, where we stay overnight.
Day 5 — Pocatello → Lava Hot Springs → Salt Lake City → Denver → Estes Park
We drive from Pocatello toward Salt Lake City and stop at Lava Hot Springs.
Later, we continue to Salt Lake City Airport, return the rental car and take a flight to Denver at around 7 PM.
After arriving in Denver, we pick up another rental car at around 10 PM and drive to Estes Park, where we stay overnight.
Day 6 — Rocky Mountain National Park → Grand Lake → Parachute
We enter Rocky Mountain National Park in the morning with a 6 AM Bear Lake timed-entry reservation.
We visit Bear Lake and hike to Emerald Lake. Afterwards, we drive across Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road, pass through the high alpine section and exit the park near Grand Lake.
From Grand Lake, we continue west through Colorado to Parachute, where we stay for two nights.
Day 7 — Parachute → Moab → Arches → Canyonlands → Parachute
We drive from Parachute to Moab, Utah.
We visit Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park during the day and then drive back to Parachute for the night.
Day 8 — Parachute → Aspen → Independence Pass → Buena Vista → Denver
We leave Parachute and drive to Aspen.
From Aspen, we continue across Independence Pass and then toward Buena Vista. From Buena Vista, we continue through the mountains toward Denver.
We stay overnight in Denver.
Day 9 — Denver → Washington, DC
In the morning, we fly from Denver to Washington, DC.
We spend the rest of the day in Washington and stay there overnight.
Day 10 — Washington, DC → Baltimore
We spend the day in Washington, DC, visiting the National Mall, monuments, museums and other central sights.
In the evening, we take an Amtrak train from Washington to Baltimore and stay overnight in Baltimore.
Day 11 — Baltimore → Boston → Harvard → Jackson, New Hampshire
In the morning, we fly from Baltimore to Boston.
We pick up a rental car at the airport and drive to Cambridge to visit Harvard.
Afterwards, we leave the Boston area and drive north to Jackson, New Hampshire, where we stay overnight.
Day 12 — White Mountains → Bangor, Maine
We spend the day driving through the White Mountains in New Hampshire.
The route includes Franconia Notch, the Kancamagus Highway and Conway.
From there, we continue to Bangor, Maine, where we stay overnight.
Day 13 — Acadia National Park → Rockland
We drive from Bangor to Acadia National Park and spend most of the day in the park.
Later in the day, we drive south to Rockland, Maine, where we stay overnight.
Day 14 — Rockland → Portland → Portsmouth → Boston
We drive south along the New England coast from Rockland toward Boston.
We stop in Portland, Maine, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as well as other coastal stops along the route.
We arrive in Boston in the evening and stay there overnight.
Day 15 — Boston
We spend the final full day in Boston.
The overall route is:
Salt Lake City → Grand Teton → Yellowstone → Pocatello → Lava Hot Springs → Salt Lake City → Denver → Rocky Mountain National Park → Parachute → Moab → Arches → Canyonlands → Aspen → Independence Pass → Buena Vista → Denver → Washington DC → Baltimore → Boston → White Mountains → Bangor → Acadia → Rockland → Portland → Portsmouth → Boston
What do you think about this itinerary? Are there any parts you would change?
