Two Week Roadtrip in the American Southwest

The trick to making this trip work is figuring out where a rented RV can be picked up and dropped off, so likely no two trips will be the same. It certainly is possible to pick up and drop off the RV in the same location, however this will require one of two things 1) extending the trip or 2) visiting less locations. Both are good options, however, you can also make a phone call to any RV rental place. We used “Cruise America”. We knew we wanted a pickup location of Denver and ideally wanted to end up somewhere in Arizona. Most rentals require the same pickup and drop off location, however, Phoenix is a major hub so RV’s needing to be serviced oftentimes have to make their way to this location.

Stop One

We flew into Denver and knew we wanted to spend a few nights here as we had never been. We stayed at the Courtyard Denver Downtown which was very close to Larimer square and easily walkable to many of Denvers major attractions. We spent our first day exploring Larimer square which is a lively strip filled with shops, restaurants, bars and lots of live music. We found a vintage store that had a bar inside and looked around while having a couple of drinks. We also made a stop at the Denver Art Museum, Coors field and Union Station. We spent 2 nights total in Denver, which honestly felt like enough. Then, we ubered to the Cruise America location which was not far from downtown to pick up the camper. At the time, we were not travelling with children, but if we were, we would have likely had my husband uber to pick up the camper and then had him make his way back to pick both of us up at the hotel.

Stop Two

Once we had the camper, we made a stop at Walmart to get various essentials such as coffee, water, plates and other paper cutlery items, various food items as well as a bed set and a cooler that we donated to a local church after our last stop. Then we made our ascent through the Rockies. We headed West and made our first stop in Fruita at Monument National Park. We spent two nights here and used most of our time to go on a few hikes and just relax. This was not our favorite stop of the trip, but Monument National Park is a sight to behold and it was nice to have the time to relax.

Stop Three

We then headed south, our end destination was Dolores which is in the SouthEastern corner of Colorado, but we drove over the border into Utah on the way. This allowed us to easily make a detour to Arches National park which is amazing Honestly, just watching the drastic changes in the landscape between Colorado and Utah is pretty awe enspiring. The rock formations quickly turn from gray to orange and start to look other wordly, Moab is an excellent stop over. It is best to aim to arrive fairly early in the mornings to beat the crowds and spend a few hours hiking there. We then continued on to Dolores where we spent two more nights. Here, we spent our days hiking and our evenings relaxing and playing cards. We stayed at “The Views” ( https://www.theviewsrvpark.com) where there were many hiking trails that were easily accessible from the campground. We stayed in the end of October when the McPhee Resevoir was almost completely dry, staying in the summer months would allow for easy access to water activities. Nonetheless, we enjoyed hiking through the park and even walked across the dried up resevoir to an island to relax and enjoy the views. The campground had clean facilities, incredible views and all the necessary basic ammenities. Especially in the summer months we could have easily spent longer here.

Stop Four

We then made our way to the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and RV Resort (https://www.thetrain.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA9YugBhCZARIsAACXxeLrSDMNVEPKamdkhslY9PCc0XUG9V3hvCGtn6DKmenhLvNewiqBUrQaAhF1EALw_wcB). We stayed here for two nights as well. On our way to the campground, we stopped off at Horseshoe Bend which was amazing and something that cannot be missed during this trip. It was an extremely easy hike from the parking lot which had plenty of space for RV parking. This campground was a nice spot as well as it had many amenities such as a pool, two restaraunts, laundry, clean bathrooms and various other amenties and it was a short walk to historic Route 66 which is a cute little town with multiple restaurants, shops and tourist attractions It also had a short little play daily before boarding the train. The train ride to Grand Canyon was about an hour and a half and we booked our tickets on the glass enclosed car which was a great way to see the sights. Once at the Grand Canyon we had lunch at El Tovar Dining Room which was surprisingly very nice and the food was great. We hiked around the South Rim of the canyon a bit which was extremely easy to navigate and very child/stroller friendly.

Stop Five

We then drove to Las Vegas. This was in fall of 2020 so the strip was empty and everything was extremely inexpensive. Because the strip was empty it was very easy to park the camper right behind the strip. We stayed at the Flamingo and had a great time by going to dinner at Nobu and enjoying a pool party at the hotel. If doing this trip with children, I would suggest stopping at the Hoover Dam and the Four Corners. This stop was also a bit out of the way and could easily be forgone.

Stop Six

Next we made our way to Sedona. We stayed two nights in Sedona but arrived late on our first day and left early on our last day so we really only had one full day here. We could have easily spent much more time here. The drive down the Canyon was an adventure in itself and there were tons of hiking options ranging from easy to more difficult. The town of Sedona was also super quaint and had a ton of shops and restaurants.

Stop Seven

We then made our way to Pheonix where we returned the RV and checked into the J.W. Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort and Spa (https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/phxdr-jw-marriott-phoenix-desert-ridge-resort-and-spa/overview/). This was incredibly relaxing and a great way to end the trip.

This trip could easily be customizable to various starting and stopping locations, but this was a great way to see several spots in the southwest. Honestly, the drive was half the fun and there were so many stops along the way.