Plan me an epic trip

[ThisLadyHunts]

OP, watch Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest before you go to Rushmore.

[MadHatter]

Have you hiked the Appalachian Trail? It is a “bucket list” item for me.

Pieces of it, never end to end.

[Quackerbox]

Definitely too many stops for the time frame.

Yep

lake city, steamboat, salmon idaho, lake san cristobal come to mind

[bullhead44]

I thought Wall Drug in South Dakota was very entertaining!

hell of a store aint it

[Casey]

Reflection Canyon in Utah on Lake Powell. I want to do that so badly.

[rjtkdplus]

If you love "adventure"(read high pucker factor), drive the 4wd trail from the end of the pavement at Arches. The sign reads 4WD low required, it definitely is. High clearance required, it definitely is. Technical driving required, it definitely is. My son and I did it in my stock Tacoma with Michelin Defenders 265-65-17 on it. We did have to manipulate(move rocks into low spots) the trail in many places to get through without damaging the vehicle and had to get out of the truck multiple times to plot a course. Took about 4.5 hours to do 14 miles. Be sure to carry plenty of supplies, water, food, etc. In case you get stranded. Or rent one of these and you wont have to worry about your truck. https://twistedjeeps.com/.

There are some paths you'll want to stay away from [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDa9OPB5nN0"]ROCK CRAWLING IN MOAB at EASTER JEEP SAFARI PART 1 - YouTube[/ame]

[MadHatter]

If you love "adventure"(read high pucker factor), drive the 4wd trail from the end of the pavement at Arches. The sign reads 4WD low required, it definitely is. High clearance required, it definitely is. Technical driving required, it definitely is. My son and I did it in my stock Tacoma with Michelin Defenders 265-65-17 on it. We did have to manipulate(move rocks into low spots) the trail in many places to get through without damaging the vehicle and had to get out of the truck multiple times to plot a course. Took about 4.5 hours to do 14 miles. Be sure to carry plenty of supplies, water, food, etc. In case you get stranded. Or rent one of these and you wont have to worry about your truck. https://twistedjeeps.com/.

There are some paths you'll want to stay away from ROCK CRAWLING IN MOAB at EASTER JEEP SAFARI PART 1 - YouTube

Nothing that extreme, but a TBH overland would be awesome!

[jshouse]

tag

[jlp04c]

We took 10 days just for Southern CO and the following - Arches, Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon.

We only stopped to "look" at Bryce and the North Rim and didn't really spend any time there. If I was you I would think about taking off Yellowstone/Mt Rushmore for another trip. Stop in Southern CO for a day or so to fish and make your way to Moab/Arches from there. You'll be spending a major amount of driving time up to Yellowstone.

That's one thing I'm noticing is that it is a poke from CO to Yellowstone.. but i've spent so much dang time in Colorado.. for this trip its just a drive through state for me.

[jlp04c]

Definitely too many stops for the time frame.

It's also important to note than I'm not looking to explore "fully" each of these destinations. Mainly cross them off the list so to speak. I've seen most of these places already once before, so it's a revisit! It's the filling in the blanks that I'm most interested in!

[jlp04c]

If you want it to be epic, leave the vehicle at home.
I caught Yellowstone, Zion, Arches, Bryce, Grand Canyon and a few more on this trip.

haha.. that is epic, but I'll have family in tow. But my trip aspirations are the same!

[TX03RUBI]

With camping gear in the truck, Start in Texas, my stops/destinations:

Mt Rushmore
Yellowstone
Arches
Bryce
Zion
Grand Canyon

Home.

Fill in the blanks.. Bonus points will be given for off the path fishing holes, campsites and eccentric places to check out.

2 week cap.

We did ArchesNP, Canyonlands NP, Glacier NP, Banff NP, Yellowstone NP, and Tetons NP in our epic trip. Of all those I’d absolutely recommend Glacier the most.

[3ChordTruth]

Great topic OP, will be keeping these posts for ideas, thanks to those who posted.

[PlanoDano]

Take the long way into yellowstone. At Cody go up the Cheif Joseph Highway 296 once you pass "Dead Indian Pass" the road goes along the "Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone" which is pretty good fishing. Turn West on the Beartooth highway towards Cook City still following the Clarks Fork. To your north is in my opinion on of the best mountain lake fisheries in the country as the beartooths are filled with mountain lakes but it would take your whole 2 weeks to hike in and enjoy. Continue going west on Beartooth highway until you get to tower junction then turn south on grand loop Rd which follows the Yellowstone river into the Park.
There are camping areas all along this route.

[Smart]

10k plus miles now .
I gotta break the cycle sometimes, it's healthy for my state of mind.

Dang man that's impressive!.... you are much more adventurous than me in this day and age.