Road Trip Rankings

 My park rankings 

1. Mesa verde 
2. Yellowstone
3. Capitol Reef
4. Rocky Mountain 
5. Arches
6. Great Basin
7. Teton
8. Sand Dunes
9. Canyon Lands 
10. Black Canyon

Camp Ground Rankings

1. Yellowstone- Canyon Campground
1. Large Sites
2. Clean Restrooms
3. Clean hot showers and Laundry 
4. Centrally Located within the park
2. Capitol Reef- Fruita Campground
1. Centrally Located within the Park
2. Clean Bathrooms But no Showers
3. Horses and Orchards
3. Lizard Creek (Teton)
1. Peaceful setting 
2. very Quiet
3. Great place to see wildlife
4. Not great bathrooms - No showers
4. KOA- Grand Junction
1. Clean Bathrooms with showers
2. Amenities and Wifi
3. Covered picnic area
4. Not designed for Tent Campers
5. Loud 
5. Sand Dunes
1. Very Buggy
2. Loud 
3. Inconsistent bathrooms
6. Mesa Verde
1. Far from the trails and sites of the park
2. Had showers, but they were not clean
7. Rocky Mountain
1. Far from all activities 
2. Bathrooms poorly maintained and no showers
8. Arapaho Valley Campground (outside of Rocky Mountains)
1. The site caters to it's glamping and cabin guests
2. They do have live music many nights which is nice
3. Smallest bar in the state - fun, but pricy 
4. No flushing toilets for campers, No showers 
5. People tried to break into my car 2x 
6. Very small tent site 

Best food inside a NP 

mesa verde fry bread- sold by the local Ute tribes not the national park

Capitol Reef- Gifford house cinnamon roll

Worst food- 

Teton - over priced sometimes spoiled over all poor quality.  

Best maintained (paved) roads- arches and Capitol Reef

Worst maintained roads- Yellowstone 

Ages I recommend your child be before visiting each park and why

Sand dunes- any age it’s a giant sandbox go have fun

Yellowstone and Teton- 5 and up. Many walking paths are 1 mile or less. Several visitors centers with young kid friendly exhibits. Tetons has water activities for kids ages 5 and up.

Mesa Verde 8 and up you know your kid best but they should’ve moved on from learning to read into reading to learn. There’s a lot of information that’s culturally significant at a the mark and you and your child will enjoy it more if the can do some of that exploring independently. Cliff don’t have railings so a slightly more mature child is important for safety.

Utah, Great Basin and Rocky Mountains 10 and up your child needs to be out of the phase where they ask you to carry them when they are tired they need to be able to carry a liter of water in their own backpack as well as snacks for themselves and should be able to walk two or more miles. You will enjoy these parks more if you wait for your kids to be able to enjoy them with you I saw so many parents dragging young children through things that they were not ready for and no one was happy. 

Great basin has tours that are accessible for all ages, but the hikes are at altitude and longer, which is why I gave it 10. They are restarting their crawl cave tour in a couple years and that is going to require children to be 12 and older so that’s something to be aware of if you’re interested in that. 

Black canyon 12 and up. Steep and long trails very little to do other than hike and camp. Minimal guard rails outside of the visitor center for Cliff drop offs. 

Hot Springs -

I went to 3 Hot Springs on this trip. I looked at more, but they were cost prohibitive or to little time to enjoy.  All 3 were very different 

• Symes Hot Springs Hotel- Hot Springs, MT
  
• Most Affordable $15 Day Pass - They only charged me the local fee $10. 
• Walk ups welcome
• 3 Pools
• 97 degree swimming pool - with mineral spring benefits
• a pool that ranged between 100 and 104 when I was there
• A REALLY HOT POOL that is actually tucked away that got up to 108 when I was there. 
• They also have private tubs inside that you can determine your own temp on. I didn't try this but would if I went back. 
• I liked that I could come and go as I pleased they are very much on the honor system- mostly locals or hotel guests. 
• Mystic Hot Springs, Monroe, UT
  
• $25 for a 2-hour window
• Reservation was required 
• No one to check in with had to call to "Check in" No-One on property if you need help
• They say the have 2 20x20 foot pools and 5 Cast iron tubs that hold 2 people- I call BS
• They have 1 20x20 tub, 1 slightly smaller but deeper maybe 15x15 tub and yes they do have 5 cast Irons but there is no way 2 adults are fitting in 1. 
• Not really hot, these were sun warmed tubs, but didn't meet my hot springs fix. 
• The Lodge at Hot Lake Springs, La Grande, OR
  
• Heaven on earth.
• $240 for 1 night in a queen room shared bath
• 5 tubs- each could hold up to 6 people but I pretty much had the place to myself
• Temp ranges from 101-105.5 when I was there. 
• Has a bar/basic bites restaurant on property 
• I soaked 5 times over the 18 hours I was there. 
• I already have plans to go back.