Summer is just around the corner! Well, temperature wise it sure feels like it is here already! More we mean the summer holidays, when kids are out of school, and families are taking time off to spend with each other outside of schools and businesses. To that end, our entry this week on the Sunrise Asphalt blog we are talking… Roaaaad trips!
Note: These trips and listed times are assuming you’re setting out from Tucson, AZ. here are some amazing, unforgettable road trips to take this summer!
Arizona is home to such wonderful national parks and protected areas. Did you know Arizona is tied for 1st for the total area of designated National Parkland?
Monument Valley, AZ/UT
Just a little over 400 miles north and you can be in the landscape westerns have made famous for decades! While it is a desert climate, the higher altitude helps keep the temperature down ever so slightly, with the summer temps kept lower than a 100 on average. While there see Artist’s Point, the North Window, Elephant Butte, and the Navajo Hogan. There are numerous points to take in the stunning landscape. Visitors to the park can pay a fee and then move through the park on a 17 mile dirt road (the trek takes about 2 to 3 hours) and certain places are only accessible through a guided tour.
San Francisco, CA
Just over double the distance at a little under 1000 miles and your family can be in one of the oldest cities in the United States! With global attractions like the Golden Gate Bridge first opened in 1937, Alcatraz Island, the Muir Woods National Monument and more in America’s fourteenth largest city and home to the tech giants of today and tomorrow.
Travel the Mother Road
Route 66, or the Mother Road, is that famous highway route running between Los Angele and Chicago. Significant chunks of which go through Texas, New Mexico, and yes our very own Arizona! While the original Route 66 has endured road repairs and/or been replaced by newer interstates and highway systems, it can still be retraced to find and discover that old-school Americana and roadside curiosities. Arizona has the most extensive portions of the original route (not to mention the gorgeous scenery) and since we’re already here, what better rod to travel?
Looking to expand a trip into more than just a drive, add on some camping and backpacking? Look to Outside magazine for a classic road trip itinerary through Utah and Arizona
These are just a few, a small selection, of the hundreds of amazing trips the road can you and your family can embark on this summer. After all, what good is asphalt if it’s not out there getting used?
