Grand Tour of the West (November to June)

San Francisco’s iconic streets twist up and down its many hills and scenic bridges connecting it to the mainland – chief among which the red Golden Gate. San Francisco is a charming, multi-faceted city, regarded as a liberal, enlightened oasis in a rather conservative America.

Leave the great city by the bay and continue towards Sierra Nevada – the core of the 1849 Gold Rush. Yosemite National Park, nested amidst the Sierra Nevada mountains, is one of the most famous national parks in the world. The altitude of its peaks ranges from 600 to 4,000 m. The park boasts more than 4 million visits per year. It is divided in four areas: Yosemite Valley – the area that draws more visitors – , with its granite Half Dome, the sheer rock formation of El Capitan, and the famous waterfalls; Wavona, the park’s historic core; Mariposa Grove, close to the southern entrance, with the giant sequoia cluster of Mariposa, and the Grizzly Giant, one of the largest trees in the world; and Tuolumne Meadow, in the hidden heart of the park, a favourite destination, brimming with paths, lakes, forests and granite massifs. The park is criss-crossed by the Tioga Road, the only way to cross the Sierra Nevada (Tioga Pass, more than 3,000 m) and to go in and out of Nevada.

famous for their giant sequoias, soaring mountains, deep canyons, and roaring rivers, this tandem set of parks have plenty to see, even though they are less well known than Yosemite, roughly 75 miles/120 kilometers north.

Death Valley takes you back to what Earth looked like millions of years ago. In the summer the weather is especially scorching, reflecting on the names of the places in the area: Funeral Mountains, Furnace Creek, Dante's View, Coffin Peak, Devil's Golf Course.

Just 125 miles and the change of scenery couldn’t be more striking: from to Death Valley, land of extremes to the man-made oasis of Las Vegas. You pass Death Valley Junction and through Pahrump, bordering the clear springs and streams of Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Just before entering the city, another short diversion passes Red Rock Canyon, featuring huge sandstone cliffs and colorful eroded rocks, that you can oly see entering the Park by RT 159. Las Vegas is beyond words. It shines like a diamond the middle of the desert, dazzling with its extravagant luxury hotels, bustling with all sorts of shows and revelry. A place – but can such a place even exist? – without equal in the whole world.

Today you leave glittering Las Vegas behind and climb up the Nevada desert until you enter the amazing Bryce Canyon scenery of red pinnacles and verdant forests. Before leaving the desert we suggest a detour to visit Valley of the Fire State Park. From I-15 exit 75 takes you at this wondrous little park of red rocks and petrified dunes. Entrance is $10. Re-enter I-15 following RT 169. You want to leave again I-15 after St George, to go through the spectacular Zion National Park. Bryce is less than 2-hour drive from Zion, so even if you don't have the time to leave your car at the Visitor Center and take one of the frequent shuttles that run along the Zion Canyon, you can still enjoy stunning scenery as you drive along RT 9. Make sure to make a stop at the lookout at Checkerboard Mesa, one of the icons of the park, before heading further east. For refreshments and refuelling, stop at Mount Carmel Junction: grab a slice of Ho-made pie at Thunderbird Restaurant, try the strawberry rhubarb. Bryce Canyon is, in fact, not a canyon: it’s a breathtaking natural amphitheatre full of spires and arches and pinnacles, jutting out in dazzling colours against the sky, moulded by the rain and frost in bizarre shapes to create a unique mountainscape.

The road from Bryce Canyon to Moab (about 5 hours) will be one of the most memorable of your trip if you take Scenic Byway 12. Scenic Byway 12 crosses extremely varied landscapes: remnants of ancient seabeds, the highest alpine forests on the planet, stunning red and pink rock spires, and expanses of wild sagebrush. The village of Moab stands at the very heart of the canyon region. Moab is the starting point to explore the national parks of Arches and Canyonlands, or to go rafting down the rapids of the Colorado river.

The Utah scenery gets more and more impressive as you proceed southwards. The road twists up and down a primeval rocky landscape, through petrified dunes, bizarre shapes – like the sombrero stone that gave the town of Mexican Hat its name – , and the serpentine meanders hollowed out by the San Juan River. Monument Valley is arguably the most famous landscape of the American West – and possibly the most breathtaking one. The red sandstone crests, jutting out from the desert, were the iconic setting of numberless blockbusters – above all “Stagecoach” (1939). The park stretches over the land of the Navajo Nation, between Utah and Arizona.

State Route 98, the Navajo Mountain Scenic Road, is a 58-mile route that stretches across part of the vast Navajo Reservation. The road takes its name from Navajo Mountain, a peak that is sacred to several tribes including the Navajo, Hopi and Paiute. The road begins at U.S. 160 a few miles northeast of Cow Springs and makes its way across desert grasslands punctuated with sandstone formations and views of Navajo Mountain. Along the way, sheep and horses graze lazily under bright blue sky. Vegetation is sparse but many of these plants play a significant role in Navajo culture. Yucca plant roots are used to make shampoo and the fruits are boiled and eaten. Other plants are used as dye for wool or to make medicinal teas. At approximately mile 18, the road continues past the Shonto Plateau and the turnoff to Navajo Mountain. A pullout provides scenic views of Navajo Mountain and the surrounding area. From here, the road curves west with more beautiful views of windswept bluff and red sandstone formations. The small community of Kaibito is located just off the road and has a small general store. The final section of the road heads northwest toward the town of Page and breathtaking Lake Powell but don't rush the journey. This scenic route feels like a step back in time and captures the incredible stark beauty of Navajo country. Before arriving at Page you should make a stop at Horseshoe Bend, just 5 miles south of downtown Page. The outlook at Horseshoe Bend is easily reached on a gently graded 2.5-km trail from a free parking lot. The path is mostly sand over hard-packed dirt. Bring water. Lake Powell was formed when the Glen Canyon Dam was erected on the Colorado river. The reservoir, surrounded by an immense desert, makes for a striking landscape – its turquoise water clashing with soaring cliffs made of red sandstone.

Your destination today is Grand Canyon National Park, a 3-hour trip across a great variety of natural landscapes, from the desert to ponderosa pine forests. As you leave Page, consider stop at Horseshoe Bend, just 5 miles south of downtown Page. The outlook at Horseshoe Bend is easily reached on a gently graded 2.5-km trail from a free parking lot. The path is mostly sand over hard-packed dirt. Bring water. You follow the Route 89 to Cameron, one of the Southwest's truly historic trading posts. Less than 2 miles after Cameron you turn right onto RT 64. Make sure not to miss the Little Colorado River Gorge lookout to enjoy the view of the deep canyon. From here in about 20 miles you get to the Grand Canyon East Entrance. You are now on Desert View Drive, is a scenic route to the east of Grand Canyon Village, which follows the south rim for 25 miles (40 km) from the Desert View Watchtower. Along the way you find a number of viewpoints; Desert View, Navajo Point, Lipan, Moran e Grand View Point should not be missed. The Grand Canyon is the most famous and most spectacular example of river erosion - an inconceivable abyss formed by the wear of the Colorado River. The Canyon is 1,500 m deep, 450 km long and 16 km wide. Its layers disclose the geological history of the last 2 billion years and its rocks change color according to the time of the day - your first glimpse of this majestic landscape will leave you speecheless. The Grand Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a truly unforgettable sight.

The long drive from the Grand Canyon to Lake Havasu has a few interesting places to stop and explore. You drive down Route 64 through the ponderosa pines of the Kaibab National Forest to Williams. We suggest a stop here, before entering Interstate I-40 to Las Vegas. Williams' Main Street is the most well-preserved stretch of Route 66 in the entire country. Today, old, dated gas pumps, diners, jukeboxes, and 50s era memorabilia can be seen on just about every corner. You enter I-40 and drive to Kingman, a railroad, mining and ranching town that sprang to life in late 1800s . Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, two of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars, were married here, in the St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1939. From Kingman you can reach Lake Havasu City via the I-40 and US 95, or you can take the old Route 66 to Topock via Oatman. This 52-mile section of the Route 66 is the most spectacular remaining in the whole Southwest. In places the road is very steep and winding and it crosses empty, cacti-strewn desert and the rugged Black Mountains, passing several old mining towns and other evocative ruins. Lake Havasu, the southernmost of four large reservoirs on the Colorado River in Arizona, was formed in 1938 by completion of Parker Dam in a then uninhabited part of the Mojave Desert. For much of its length the lake is rather inaccessible, though highway 95 runs quite close to much of the eastern edge. The city of Lake Havasu covers a large area of the gently sloping land on the east side of the lake. Most facilities in town are found along the main road (AZ 95), from a newly constructed mall near the north edge to the English Village shopping center on the south side, next to London Bridge. This famous stone structure, originally built in 1831 and imported from England in 1968, spans an artificial channel separating the mainland from a peninsula now known as Havasu Island, site of one of the city's four golf courses, and an air strip.

To reach Los Angeles from Lake Havasu, without getting back to I-40, you can drive south along RT 95, RT 62 and RT 177 before entering I-10 that will take you to Los Angeles via Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs (480 km). Before getting to Palm Springs you pass Indio, where since 1999 the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly known simply as “Coachella”), has been held. The massive three-day rock and alternative music festival is packed with big-name artists and is wildly popular, despite the high cost of attending. Los Angeles – the land of Hollywood, Disneyland and Universal Studios, where life is as carefree as can be. With its ever-shining sun, palms in the breeze, movie stars with their fancy houses in Beverly Hills, wonderful museums, futuristic buildings, and surfing spots, Los Angeles truly makes for an unforgettable destination.