After road-tripping across Colorado, Arizona, Texas, and Utah nearly a dozen times, I planned the best itinerary through the Southwest
I love the Southwest, and I planned a road trip through all my favorite destinations.
It starts in Texas and ends in Colorado, covering 3,000 miles of forests, deserts, and mountains.
My years of road-tripping through the American West inspired this perfect itinerary.
There's something about the American Southwest that I just can't seem to get enough of.
I've taken at least 10 road trips around western America. I've visited eight states, seven national parks, and several state parks and national forests.
From Texas to Colorado, I made a dream itinerary for the most epic Southwestern road trip adventure.
Every time I traveled west, I was on a tight budget. I used freecampsites.net to find campsites like this one each night, and I highly recommend it.
Source: Free Campsites
These are some of the most beautiful campsites I've ever seen. And I think using this site will decrease the cost of your trip without compromising your experience.
Source: Free Campsites
The trip would include five states and cover approximately 3,000 miles of incredibly diverse terrain, including forests, deserts, red rocks, mountains, and valleys.
Start in Austin, the easternmost point on the trip. I think it's the best city in Texas. Austin has a great sense of community and plenty of outdoor activities that are cheap or free.
Some of my favorite free hiking spots are Spicewood Springs and the cliffs next to the Pennybacker Bridge in West Austin.
Cool off from a hike at Barton Springs Pool, a gigantic 3-acre pool fed by natural springs that's typically 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the City of Austin.
Source: City of Austin
It takes about seven hours to get from Austin to the second stop: Big Bend National Park.
According to Texas Monthly, Big Bend is one of the least-visited national parks in the US. My visits have always felt quiet and peaceful.
Source: Texas Monthly
The last time I went to Big Bend, I started off the trip with a sunset hike on the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail.
This half-mile hike with almost no elevation made it really easy to relax and enjoy the sunset ...
... and to take some beautiful golden-hour landscapes, of course.
For a more adventurous hike, check out the Lost Mine Trail. It's 4.8 miles in total, but many people turn around after the one-mile mark, where there are stunning views of Juniper Canyon.
Source: Planet Ware
But if you have the whole day, I highly recommend making the trek all the way to the top.
Source: Planet Ware
When I made it up there, I spent about an hour reflecting on this peaceful summit, and I was proud that I didn't turn around earlier. It felt good to work hard for this view.
The last time I was in Big Bend, I ended the trip at the Santa Elena Canyon Trail. This hike features some of the grandest sites I've seen at Big Bend.
This trail is absolutely gorgeous, and it's my favorite in the park. There are stunning 360-degree views throughout the entire hike.
After Big Bend, I would drive into New Mexico for a handful of epic sites — the first of which is Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
This drive will take about five hours, but the route is scenic. Be sure to make a reservation at the caverns before heading there.
Source: National Park Service
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is comprised of more than 119 limestone caves found underground below the Chihuahuan Desert. You can take an elevator down to the caverns.
Source: National Parks Service
It's cool and humid inside the caves. Although mostly dark, there are lights placed around the caves, so patrons can see the different shapes, colors, and textures.
The caves are inherently ominous and spooky thanks to the shapes found in the limestone and the overall darkness down there.
In my opinion, the best way to experience this surreal site is to have no agenda.
Just get down there with your pals and get lost.
About three hours west of the caverns, you'll find yourself in a place that is the complete opposite of these dark caves: White Sands National Monument.
Source: National Park Service
This area is very bright, and the sand feels like no other. It is soft and silky to the touch, and even on a warm day, the sand was cool.
After an afternoon in the sand, it's only a 90-minute drive to the next destination.
Lincoln National Forest is a scenic place to set up camp.
This forest has views that overlook south-central New Mexico ...
... and there are lush trails around the campsites to explore.
After camping in Lincoln, there's only one more stop in New Mexico, and it's a pretty long drive to get there.
The next stop of the trip is approximately six hours from Lincoln in another New Mexican forest called Gila National Forest.
While it's pretty during the day ...
... the awe of this place doesn't come until nightfall. Inside Gila, there is an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, according to the USDA Forest Service. This means it's one of the best places to view the night sky.
Source: USDA Forest Service
In the morning, head to Sedona, Arizona.
It's seven hours northwest of Gila.
Once you get close to Sedona, you'll start to see houses surrounded by cliffs and trees.
Sedona is a striking town embedded in red rocks.
To me, It almost feels like being on another planet ...
... until you get to the town, which has a downtown area full of shops and restaurants.
Just a few minutes from town, there are areas to camp for free.
The next stop after Sedona is the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
It's four and a half hours from Sedona.
The drive is this long because you have to drive north of the rim and then down to it.
But it will be worth it when you see this.
There is plenty to love about the North Rim, and the best views don't even require you to go inside the park ...
... but you'll want to pitch a tent.
Kaibab National Forest, which surrounds the North Rim, is home to my favorite free campsites.
Source: Free Campsites
The firepits are so close to the edge that you can feel the heat from a campfire while your feet hang over the side of the canyon.
Source: Free Campsites
There are trees all around this area — perfect for setting up a hammock.
The campsite is on Rainbow Trail, which is an ideal hike for finding spots to sit down and enjoy the view.
Source: Free Campsites
Sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon makes me feel small. While staring into such a vast, epic site, it's easy to live in the moment and forget about pretty much everything else.
Leaving this campsite is the hardest part of every trip ...
... but it gets easier once you're back on the road headed towards Zion National Park. It only takes about two hours to get to Zion, which is a national park in southwestern Utah.
The free campsites just outside of the park offer starry nights.
Unlike other national parks on this trip, Zion has public transportation that goes through the park. Because of this, a day in Zion requires a little more planning.
If I had only one day in Zion, I would hike the Narrows trail.
The Narrows is a trail that leads you into the river. The river gets deeper and deeper as you go ...
... and the canyons come closing in ...
... and that's why it's called the Narrows!
After a day in Zion, another national park in Utah is certainly worth the stop. Bryce Canyon National Park is about 90 minutes northwest of Zion, and it's one of the most otherworldly destinations on this entire trip.
Hike the one-mile Bristlecone Loop for spectacular views like this one, as Trip Advisor suggests ...
Source: Trip Advisor
... or just drive around and catch the viewpoints.
Just like Zion, the free campsites outside of Bryce Canyon offer a gorgeous view of the night sky.
After spending some time in awe of Bryce Canyon, it's time for the final leg of the trip, which just happens to be the longest.
The final stop of the trip is Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
The coolest thing about this park is that it includes four different ecosystems.
Source: National Park Service
That means there are four different groups of animals, plants, geological components, and naturally occurring cycles that work together to sustain their respective systems all in one park.
Source: National Park Service
Seeing this herd of elk grazing the tundra in the Rocky Mountains was an unforgettable experience ...
... and it would be a great way to end your epic road trip through America's Southwest.
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