Recommend a travel stop.

[Graham Piccinini]

This is about a year (or less) into the future. Planning to take a family roadtrip from Charlotte NC to Grand Canyon. Self, wife, and 2 kids, currently aged 4 & 1.

Still debating on staying in hotels VS buying a small camper to tow behind the Pilot. Likely will go the Hotels & Airbnb route, but not 100% yet.

Would like to have a fun family-friendly place to visit daily, while covering an average of ~350 miles per day or more. Obviously with kids the stops are going to happen every 2-3 hours, so that will limit the daily mileage some. But having a fun daily stop should give everyone something to look forward to daily, instead of just going straight there and back with only fuel/food/restroom stops. I'm considering taking one route there and a different route back, for change of scenery and whatnot...

What would be some "must see" places along the way, without breaking a bank? Free is great, but I know most nicer places have admission fees. Anything more than $40-50/person goes out the window, as $200 almost daily for 3 weeks just on attractions is not in the cards currently.

Looking forward to your recommendations. And yes - I've tried a couple "trip planning" sites. But their AI just keeps pushing the high priced places, and I'm sure there are fun things to do along the way and cool places to visit, without blowing all the savings on it. Hopefully some here can share such places.

 

[dumkid]

Bryce canyon is pretty cool, and there's a junkyard in Jerome that has a bunch of mining equipment and trucks from the 20s up until the 70s. Moab has good mountain biking trails, there's cinder cone mountains by Flagstaff that you can ride dirt bikes on, Sedona has cool rocks and lots of traffic. And even though the signs at the south rim of the grand canyon says don't pet the mules, the mules are friendly and the people who take care of them turn a blind eye unless you start feeding them chips. Pet the mules at your own risk, they have teeth.
They also have a steam train that runs from the canyon to Williams, it's fun to watch it chug away but expensive to ride on it. If you're taking the 1-40 across from new Mexico there's not that much stuff out there in North Eastern AZ, it's mostly desert and indians.

 

[Fredxt]

My recommnedations:
1.If you visit Dallas/FW then Goldies BBQ, it was TX #1 last time I checked
4645 **** Price Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76140

2. Beavers Bend State Park in OK

 

[Nick1994]

I'd hammer down like a 1980's trucker on cocaine without stopping through the entire middle of the country, but that's probably just me.

If you do that and buy more time, I couldn't recommend more going to Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park in California. Not expensive at all either.

That Pilot can't pull enough of a trailer that you guys would be comfortable in, then dealing with RV parks without being experienced in the RV game probably isn't worth it for a first time cross-country trip.

Utah and Colorado will be your top spots for scenery. Also Monument Valley is great.

 

[Oro_O]

Albuquerque is on one major route. when there, head north a bit to Santa Fe. It’s a special place. Los Alamos is nearby though I don’t know what tour or options like that are there.

Arizona itself is amazingly beautiful. You could come in one way, loop it south and then exit another. A few days on the back end just to tour a loop around it is time well spent. My brother and I did that on mc’s several years ago. I know motorcycle guys who retired there JUST for the riding and scenery.

 

[c502cid]

5 and 2? Good luck with that. You are a better man than me.

 

[edyvw]

I cannot remember how many trips did with my kids.
2017: COS-LAS-LAX-SAN-LAS-COS: 1 yrs old in BMW X5
2018: COS-NOLA-Cape-Homestade-ATL-MGM-COS: 5,200 miles with 2 yrs old in BMW X5.
2019: DFW with almost 3yrs old and 3 month old in Toyota Sienna.
2020: Rocky Mountain NP
2020: Yellowstone
2020: Las Vegas-Bryce Canyon-Zion
2020: Durango
With almost 4 yrs old and 1 yrs old, Toyota Sienna total all trips maybe 5,000 mls
2021: Chicago with 5yrs and 2yrs, Toyota Sienna
2022: LAS-SAN-LAX-LAS-COS in VW Tiguan.
2023: COS-Tahoe-Yosemite-LAX-LAS-Grand Canyon-Durango-COS, 4,200mls
2023 (October): Chicago
2023 in VW Atlas
And some other trips I cannot remember.

We ALWAYS brought a cooler with a bunch of fruit, and yogurt, and my wife always cooked soups for the kids (not since this year as they are 7 and 4). We would freeze huge amounts of chicken soups and I would warm up on a small gas stove at rest stops. My kids when they were small ABSOLUTELY refused junk food, which is good, but makes traveling a nightmare. Therefore, do not be on a deadline with such small kids as it is not going to be pleasant. We would bring a small grill to grill some Costco burgers, some Boars Head sausages etc. Camping chairs, plastic utensils etc. If you do not have a roof box like Yakima or Thule, GET IT! I have Pilot, Atlas is actually bigger than Pilot, and Sienna was bigger than both, yet, we always needed a roof box, especially when kids were still in diapers, strollers etc. This is the first year where I managed to drop strollers (although they have never been in them, we brought them just in case) radio flyers, etc.
With such a small kids, absolutely hotels! Forget that: My kids are tough etc. They need a shower and they need to jump after being coupd up in the car. If the hotel has a pool, excellent! We always stayed in the hotels as we can all have decent shower, they can jump from bed to bed and use some energy, or swim. They have cable, they can watch Bluey, Peppa Pig, aw patrol and other stuff.

Trip Planning? Forget planning sites. Stay in bigger cities on the way as there is an abundance of hotels which means competition=cheaper. Gas i cheaper in big cities etc. At those ages, I would stick to interstate going there, and going back, unless in AZ-UT-CO_NM, stick also to interstates as services are there, fast food joints etc.

Make sure your alignment is good! Make sure you have fresh engine oil, and this is ESPECIALLY important; your cooling system is good! Ambient temperature is non-issue, but you will be going over some high-altitude areas and lower atmospheric pressure will cause issues if you have a cracked hose, coolant reservoir etc. Altitude shows all the weaknesses of problematic cooling systems. So, give it a courtesy check.

Now, are you an outdoorsy people? Does your 4-year-old bike? Are you bringing bikes (we did)? If you go to Zion and Bryce, some of the best stuff requires a clearance and AWD (nothing special) but preferably good, strong tires, something like Michelin Defender, or mild A/T tires, like Continental CrossContact ATR, Falken WIldPeak or Nokian Outpost. You might make a trip and bcs. you have touring tires you cannot see Escalante caves etc., or worse, you puncture tire on gravel.
If you are going through Colorado back, the Rocky Mountain National Park is must see, the Pikes Peak here in the Springs. Grand Canyon, stay in Flagstaff as it is cheaper, and do not go at the meteor site as it is a theft. Colorado is not far from there and you have sand dunes and Ouray, CO is an absolute gem of a small town. It is uber expensive to stay in Ouray or Telluride, but Durango is not far from Ouray. If you are not afraid of heights, "Million dollar Hwy is a must-see," though, seriously, check with your wife.

 

[MrGraybeard]

Mesa Verde. North rim of the canyon is less crowded and a great place to stargaze.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Thank you all, that's a lot of great suggestions, and much quicker than I expected! Now I just gotta save them all in Google Maps, and we'll visit all we can and adjust as necessary. Keep them coming!

The Pilot is right at 200K currently (milestone!), does have the OEM roof box. It is FWD, and not much sidewall. I did take it on some forest trails recently, but don't want to push my luck too much. DO have to change the timing belt, so will use that opportunity for the cooling system inspection. VCM is disabled. Used to get 25MPG highway, but that roof box dropped it down to 24MPG. 19-20MPG average around town.

We do not plan to have any bicycles, but will definitely do some light hiking here and there. I love hiking for the views, all day and burning legs type of stuff, but my wife hates it, so we compromise by staying on easy trails and short distance. Plus with kids we can only go so far.
Great note about cooler, soups, and grills! Will definitely use that!!! Park picnics along the way should help with overall experience, and easy on the wallet. My inner cheapskate is rejoicing.

While on the interstate - kids will likely be busy watching classic cartoons and movies on the factory Honda flip down DVD. We recently took possession of a huge (300-400) DVD collection, so will pick some of OUR childhood favorites. None of that new woke Disney stuff...

 

[edyvw]

Forgot to mention this, since you will be hiking (regardless of how easy): get the bear spray (Costco has good ones in the spring, at least here) and a knife that WILL kill an animal like a mountain lion. Mountain lions are super sneaky and handguns generally won't work as most people have to fight off one. Unless it approaches you to scare you, then yes, the handgun is the best option to scare it away.
Make sure you ahve plenty of water! Here it is very dry, and bcs. altitude, you will dehydrate MUCH faster than Southeast etc.

As for FWD, what I found out is that generally, you could get away with it if good strong rubber. So, think about it.

 

[Nick1994]

Monument Valley is a dirt road loop that requires some ground clearance. No problem at all for your Pilot, but I wouldn't take a sedan there. 2 people had rental convertible Camaros there when I was there in 2018 and they were almost stuck going up a hill that you need some momentum. They beat those things up. Not really any services near Monument Valley. There's a hotel there (that's it) that has a restaurant, and a sketchy gas station down the road. Pack in food, drinks, snacks, and fill up with gas ahead of time.

Skip the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The South Rim is the way to go.

 

[edyvw]

Monument Valley is a dirt road loop that requires some ground clearance. No problem at all for your Pilot, but I wouldn't take a sedan there. 2 people had rental convertible Camaros there when I was there in 2018 and they were almost stuck going up a hill that you need some momentum. They beat those things up.

Skip the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The South Rim is the way to go.

^This. Also, do not forget, Horse SHoe is not part of the Grand Canyon. It is an hour or so North toward UT. Worth seeing. If summer, I cannot emphasize enough about water!

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Forgot to mention this, since you will be hiking (regardless of how easy): get the bear spray (Costco has good ones in the spring, at least here) and a knife that WILL kill an animal like a mountain lion. Mountain lions are super sneaky and handguns generally won't work as most people have to fight off one. Unless it approaches you to scare you, then yes, the handgun is the best option to scare it away.
Make sure you ahve plenty of water! Here it is very dry, and bcs. altitude, you will dehydrate MUCH faster than Southeast etc.

As for FWD, what I found out is that generally, you could get away with it if good strong rubber. So, think about it.

Hopefully won't ever get in those scenarios, but best be prepared. On hikes my Ruger is usually accompanied by a Buck 119, but now I wonder if a 25" machete should join the club.

 

[y_p_w]

Forgot to mention this, since you will be hiking (regardless of how easy): get the bear spray (Costco has good ones in the spring, at least here) and a knife that WILL kill an animal like a mountain lion. Mountain lions are super sneaky and handguns generally won't work as most people have to fight off one. Unless it approaches you to scare you, then yes, the handgun is the best option to scare it away.
Make sure you ahve plenty of water! Here it is very dry, and bcs. altitude, you will dehydrate MUCH faster than Southeast etc.

As for FWD, what I found out is that generally, you could get away with it if good strong rubber. So, think about it.

Why would anyone need bear spray? I'm not sure it's terribly helpful unless there are grizzly bears. And I went solo hiking in grizzly country where it was allowed. A park ranger advised me to just make a lot of noise going around blind corners since the bears avoided people but might not react well to being surprised.

Since the OP is visiting at least one national park, bear spray still considered a prohibited weapon in most national parks unless the superintendent has otherwise allowed it. As far as I can tell, that's only where grizzly bears are present, including Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier, and all national parks in Alaska.

 

[edyvw]

Hopefully won't ever get in those scenarios, but best be prepared. On hikes my Ruger is usually accompanied by a Buck 119, but now I wonder if a 25" machete should join the club.

LOL, nah. Something you can pull out easily and stab. I am always having something with me. We had just last year several attacks in the mountains, and they do come close to cities.
Bears are a bigger threat. I mean Colorado Springs is fairly big city, but we had bears breaking into downtown hospital, pizza joints. Finding them on hike trails is really no "problem."

 

[edyvw]

Why would anyone need bear spray? I'm not sure it's terribly helpful unless there are grizzly bears. And I went solo hiking in grizzly country where it was allowed. A park ranger advised me to just make a lot of noise going around blind corners since the bears avoided people but might not react well to being surprised.

Since the OP is visiting at least one national park, bear spray still considered a prohibited weapon in most national parks unless the superintendent has otherwise allowed it. As far as I can tell, that's only where grizzly bears are present, including Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier, and all national parks in Alaska.

Sorry, I do not hike without one, regardless of what NP ranger says and if they get scared by noise fine, but the spray is there. We had bears breaking into hospitals, pizza joints etc. So go figure how common they are. You lived here, you know issues with them. I have a friend living in Teller County, and she has visit by bears at least 3-4 times a week.

 

[y_p_w]

Hopefully won't ever get in those scenarios, but best be prepared. On hikes my Ruger is usually accompanied by a Buck 119, but now I wonder if a 25" machete should join the club.

Not sure about firearms. That's a complicated subject I won't get into other than you can look up the rules for places you choose to visit. However, if you're visiting national parks, they uniformly don't allow other weapons (granted utility knives are kind of a gray area) and may not allow the carrying of bear spray. I'm sure Grand Canyon NP doesn't allow it and in any case American black bears are rare there.

 

[y_p_w]

Sorry, I do not hike without one, regardless of what NP ranger says and if they get scared by noise fine, but the spray is there. We had bears breaking into hospitals, pizza joints etc. So go figure how common they are. You lived here, you know issues with them. I have a friend living in Teller County, and she has visit by bears at least 3-4 times a week.

I've never been in a situation where I thought I'd need bear spray. And I've seen bears plenty of times. Like the ones in my avatar photo.

 

[edyvw]

I've never been in a situation where I thought I'd need bear spray. And I've seen bears plenty of times. Like the ones in my avatar photo.

I do not take risks in the forest as I am usually with kids. When I am alone, I would probably forget it.

 

[Bighorn2500]

Buc-ee’s for brisket, jerky & beaver nuggets