Taking cross-US road trip, any route suggestions for great scenery/wildlife

I'll be leaving in late October and driving from near Baltimore, MD to Denver, CO, turning south and heading back via a gulf coast route. The desire is to see America up close, not simply from an airport terminal as I so often do. Needless to say, I'm planning on taking lots and lots of pictures along the way. Can I get some suggestions as to cities to hit, places of note, or things to see? As long as they're not too far out of the way, I'd like to see as much as I can. Thanks

A little out of your way but excellent for scenery and wildlife is far western South Dakota. Badlands, Custer and Blackhills Parks are fantastic. Even Mt. Rushmore is something to see. Try Alt 16 Highway for a unbelievable drive south of the Black Hills. Highway 34 west of Estes Park, CO is another fantastic drive. Oregon/Morman Trail in Nebraska has some good historical sites. My advice would be to avoid Kansas, unless endless prairie is your thing. Sounds like a fun trip.

I've driven through (or in) 49 states, and South Dakota and Utah are by far the best. Not just for photography, but for the overall experience.

But the best advice I can give you is to stay off of freeways. Stick to the remote, 2-lane highways and you'll see some great stuff.

If you have any questions about any specific states, I'll tell you everything I know about them.

Once you hit Denver, keep on going west on Hwy 70.
Colors in the mountains will be going off! Aspen, Vail, Leadville, Telluride, etc....

Keep going to Grand Junction and head south to the Four Corners, monument valley area.
Then head east.

You are in for a treat!

I don't know what your time requirements will be but, I would suggest staying off any interstate if possible. Look at US 40 as route out to Denver.


For a fun project look for roadside oddities, such as Muffler Men, huge cows etc. Anything that is a strange ad for a business along the way.

Great route. I've lived in the southwestern U.S. my whole life.

Colorado - the peaks are apt to have some snow on them by then, so watch for that to get some nice shots. Huerfano (the Orphan) near Pueblo is pretty interesting - a lava dome out in the middle of nowhere. As you take I-25 south, going into Trinidad you get into the high country (check the forecast) - beautiful area, with nicely placed scenic overlooks.

New Mexico - Raton Pass is another area with great views, but check the forecast. Coming out through Las Vegas, NM, through Glorieta Pass into Santa Fe is another pretty stretch. I love the area between Albuquerque and El Paso (assuming you're going that way) - that's where I grew up. High desert, nice and brown!

If you go through El Paso, and then take I-10 through Houston (a bit over 700 miles in the same state, I love Texas!) you'll go through a fascinating change in the terrain - high desert to plains to scrub oak and mesquite to pine/oak forests. Watch how the scenery changes as you drive - it's a pretty majestic experience.

Have fun on the trip!

get down to the florida everglades ..aligators, tons of birds and lots of things to "shoot". Also, big cypress is nice, the loop road is awsome...drive it dont walk it, first off its really long, secondly alligators sit right on the road side in the sun.... hate to get bitten! But try to go in the winter months, there is less water but also less bugs!!
-zacker-
PS, also on the other side of florida, in the pan handle, there is Wakula Springs...awsome boat tours in this really cool spring fed river... clear green water loaded wit gators, giant turtles and birds galore! See schools of Huge fish swim right beside the boat and they even have glass bottom boat tours...(its also where they filmed "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" even though its not black.. and "Tarzan". Google it to see if its near where your going. All along the gulf coast are dolphins too, sun rise and just before sun set you can see them fishing.. Boat tours will get you close to manatees (Sea Cows) and Dolphins!
-zacker-

Good choices - Vail pass on I-70 is pretty cool. Your 210 horsepower V-6 will start acting like a 50 hp tractor engine as you approach 11,000 feet above sea level. But it's very, very scenic. Make sure you plan some stops in those areas.

Keep going West to Moab, UT and spend a day or two there if you can. Rent a Jeep or other 4WD and explore a bit on the milder and more scenic trails (travel in groups when trailing - stuff happens frequently out there). Arches National park is near Moab, and is beautiful. The rocky Buttes are incredibly colorful in that area with their various layers of red, brown, and orange. I was there in 2000, and all I had to shoot with was an Olympus point-and-shoot 35 mm. But I still managed to fire off some nice shots.

At the east end of the country, Chattanooga and areas nearby are very scenic (and you might get a free lunch from yours truly if you pass through and I'm not working or out of town). There's a lot of Civil War history in this part of the country, with some pivotal battles having taken place close by. The city also has some very nice scenic parks and such. Downtown is pretty clean as well, though it is lacking the huge skyscrapers you'll find in Atlanta, or DC.

Get up into the Appalacians and enjoy a totally different kind of mountain scenery. I'd recommend the Gatlinburg area, but it's incredibly crowded. You might get a cabin up there for a decent price that time of year, and the cabins I've been in were all quite nice. The Ocoee area is particularly scenic, and if you have a penchant for white-water rafting, the Ocoee river offers that (check times and dates as the river is controlled by dams, with consideration to many factors including rafting, flooding, and draught).

If you like hiking, the Appalacian mountians have plenty of trails. Look at some hiking web sites to see what might be available in the various areas. October is very comfortable around here, though it can get rather cool as you head north, especially at night.

You might try some of Route 66 if you come near it.