For spring break this year, the Fab Fam took a Southwest camping road trip across the US Southwest (from Austin to Big Bend Ranch State Park in West Texas, Page, Arizona for Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, and Zion and Arches National Parks in Utah). Click the links above for specific details on each destination, but today I am sharing our entire Southwest road trip itinerary, route, and recommendations. If you’re looking for a guide for a Southwest national parks road trip, you’ll definitely want to save this post!
Overall we covered five states, about 3,000 miles, and 48 hours of drive time over the course of nine days on our road trip through the Southwest USA. The road trip itinerary I’m sharing today is organized as a round trip from Austin, TX. If you start somewhere other than Texas (from the west coast or any other point along this route) just adjust the schedule to start and end accordingly.
Planning a Southwest road trip with kids
Our family has been road tripping since both our boys were babies, so we’ve come up with a lot of tried-and-true tips along the way. Check out my tips for having the best, low-stress family road trip (including lots of car activities for toddlers and young kids) to help you plan your trip. For our Southwest road trip with the kids, we especially loved breaking up the driving days with fun roadside attractions, like the world’s largest chile pepper, Billy the Kid’s grave, and other cool sights (you’ll see these all detailed in our Southwest road trip itinerary below). We find things like this by checking the Roadside America website after we determine our trip route to learn about all sorts of quirky sights to see along the way. Finally, make sure to print my Family Road Trip Packing List before you go.
Southwest road trip itinerary
BEND RANCH AGUA ADENTRO BACKCOUNTRY ZONE, YEDRA 1-PRIMITIVE WALK IN)
o Dave’s Pawn Shop (Pancho Villa’s trigger finger, conjoined twin skeleton): 216 S. El Paso St., El Paso, TX
S. Coppermine Rd., Page, AZ 86040)
2464, Page, AZ 86040
Hurricane, UT
George, UT. $6 entrance fee (adults).
Hollow Rd, Hurricane, UT 84737)
Lodge, Springdale, UT 84767)
Blvd, Green River, UT 84525)
to Arches National Park (45 min.)
Click here for more details, photos, and recommendations for Arches National Park.
Rt 66, Santa Rosa, NM 88435)
That’s it for this year’s spring break road trip! Remember to pin this one for planning your own family Southwest road trip.
Related posts for this Southwest road trip itinerary
- Family Camping Trip in Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas
- Visiting Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend in Page, AZ
- One Day in Zion National Park
- Family Trip to Arches National Park
More family road trip resources and itineraries
Interested in planning more family road trip itineraries? Check out these resources.
- Big Sur Coastal Drive Stops
- Family Route 66 Road Trip
- Road Trip from Austin to New Orleans
- Family Road Trip from Texas to California
- Southern USA Road Trip Driving Playlist
- Southern US Family Road Trip Route and Recommendations
- Itinerary and Recommendations for a Family Road Trip from Texas to Washington, DC
- Route and recommendations for planning the ultimate Midwest baseball road trip
- Connecting with my family and personal history in the U.K. with Kia
- One-Day Road Trip Through Wales – Seeking Ancient Ruins, Dragons, and Castles
- The Ultimate UK Road Trip Itinerary – Driving Around England, Scotland, and Wales with the Family
- Family Road Trip Packing List
- Tips for having the best, low-stress family road trip (including lots of car activities for toddlers and young kids)
- Super Easy DIY Hanging Organizer for Your Next Family Road Trip
- DIY road trip activities folder for toddlers and young kids
Anita | Fearless Captivations says
What an awesome trip! Those National Parks are beautiful! It's great how you all broke down the sights and driving. Thank you for sharing!