USA National Parks Explorer — Self-Launched

Land at LAX, pick up a budget rental car (book well ahead — a compact from LAX is roughly £25-35/day, split between travellers if you're a group of 2-4). Drive east on the I-10 to Twentynine Palms or Joshua Tree town (~2.5-3 hrs). Stock up on groceries at a supermarket before you leave LA — food options near the park gates are limited and pricey. Check into a hostel or budget motel, grab dinner, and get an early night ahead of a hot day in the desert.

🚌LAX car rental pickup; self-drive I-10 east ~130 miles (2.5-3 hrs)

🛏Joshua Tree hostel/budget motel (private room or dorm, ~£25-35 shared)

• →Pick up rental car at LAX
• →Self-drive to Joshua Tree
• →Grocery shop for park picnics

Full day in Joshua Tree with your $30 park pass (valid 7 days) — buy America the Beautiful Annual Pass (~£64 / $80) instead if you're doing all the parks; it pays for itself fast given non-resident surcharges are being introduced from 2026. Hike the Hidden Valley loop (1 mile), scramble the boulders at Skull Rock, and drive to Keys View for panorama over the Coachella Valley. Sunset from Cap Rock or the Cholla Cactus Garden is superb. Carry at least 3-4 litres of water per person; there is no shade.

🚌Self-drive within park (free entry with annual pass)

🛏Joshua Tree hostel/budget motel (~£25-35 shared)

• →Hidden Valley Trail hike
• →Skull Rock & Cholla Cactus Garden
• →Keys View sunset

Long driving day. Head northeast to Las Vegas (~3 hrs), park cheaply or walk the Strip for a few hours, grab a buffet lunch, then continue on the I-15 north to Springdale, Utah, at the gates of Zion (~2.5 hrs). Springdale is walkable, has a free town shuttle to the park entrance, and plenty of budget motels and a couple of hostels. Sleep early.

🚌Self-drive ~300 miles total (5.5-6 hrs driving)

🛏Springdale budget motel/hostel (~£40-55 shared)

• →Las Vegas Strip walk
• →Drive I-15 to Zion gateway

Catch the free Springdale shuttle to the park entrance, then the free Zion Canyon Shuttle up the scenic drive. Hike the Riverside Walk to the start of The Narrows and wade a section of the slot canyon if flow and weather allow (check the flash-flood forecast). Alternatively, the Watchman Trail (3.3 miles) gives classic views without the crowds. Angel's Landing requires a permit via the NPS seasonal lottery — apply weeks in advance if you want it. Bring lunch; food inside the park is limited.

🚌Free town + park shuttles

🛏Springdale budget motel/hostel (~£40-55 shared)

• →Zion Canyon Shuttle scenic drive
• →Riverside Walk / The Narrows wade
• →Watchman Trail hike

Drive UT-9 through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel to Bryce Canyon (~2 hrs). Check in near the park entrance in Bryce Canyon City or Tropic, then spend the afternoon walking the Rim Trail from Sunrise to Sunset Point and hiking down the Queen's Garden Trail as an out-and-back (the Navajo Loop is currently closed due to rockfall and mudslides — check NPS alerts). Stay for sunset over the hoodoos and then the stars: Bryce is an International Dark Sky Park, so this is a genuine bucket-list night sky.

🚌Self-drive ~90 miles (2 hrs)

🛏Bryce Canyon City/Tropic budget motel (~£45-60 shared)

• →Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel drive
• →Rim Trail walk
• →Queen's Garden out-and-back hike
• →Sunset & stargazing

Drive to Page (~2.5 hrs). Pre-book an Antelope Canyon tour direct with a Navajo operator (Ken's Tours, Antelope Canyon Tours, Dixie Ellis — roughly £85-100 / $105-125 pp for Upper Antelope; book weeks ahead, especially for the midday light beams). Then do the short 0.7-mile walk to Horseshoe Bend overlook (parking ~£8 / $10 per vehicle). Overnight in Page — a standard motel will also let you shower off the red dust.

🚌Self-drive ~150 miles (2.5 hrs)

🛏Page budget motel (~£45-60 shared)

• →Antelope Canyon guided tour (book direct)
• →Horseshoe Bend overlook walk

Drive to Monument Valley (~2 hrs) on the US-163 — stop on the Arizona/Utah border for the classic Forest Gump Point photo. Book a Navajo-guided sunrise or morning jeep tour direct with a local operator (Monument Valley Safari, Dineh Bekeyah, ~£65-80 pp) — it's the only way to see the backcountry loop. Then push on to the Grand Canyon South Rim via the Cameron Trading Post for lunch (~3 hrs). Arrive for sunset at Mather or Hopi Point on the Rim Trail.

🚌Self-drive ~250 miles (4.5-5 hrs)

🛏Grand Canyon Village / Tusayan budget motel or hostel (~£55-75 shared)

• →Forrest Gump Point photo stop
• →Navajo-guided Monument Valley jeep tour
• →Cameron Trading Post stop
• →Grand Canyon sunset on the Rim Trail

Full day on the South Rim. Hike the Bright Angel Trail down to the 1.5-mile or 3-mile resthouse — turn around by 11am, it's hotter coming back up than you think. Or take the free Kaibab/Rim shuttle to viewpoints and do short bursts. Optional splurge: a South Rim helicopter flight (~£230-290 / $285-350 pp) booked via GetYourGuide or Papillon/Maverick direct. Water refill stations exist on the rim but not down in the canyon.

🚌Free park shuttles

🛏Grand Canyon Village / Tusayan budget motel (~£55-75 shared)

• →Bright Angel Trail hike
• →Rim Trail viewpoints
• →Optional Grand Canyon helicopter tour

Drive back to Vegas via the Route 66 towns of Williams and Seligman (~4.5 hrs) — a proper Americana road-trip detour. Drop onto the Strip in the evening: see the Bellagio fountains, wander Fremont Street, and take advantage of cheap eats and a hostel or budget motel off-Strip (the Strip itself is brutal on the wallet). Remember you must be 21 to drink or gamble in Nevada.

🚌Self-drive ~280 miles (4.5 hrs)

🛏Las Vegas off-Strip budget motel/hostel (~£45-60 shared)

• →Route 66 stops at Seligman & Williams
• →Bellagio fountains
• →Fremont Street evening

Leave early for Death Valley (~2 hrs), where summer temperatures regularly exceed 45°C — do not hike after 10am in summer and carry 4+ litres of water. Hit Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin (the lowest point in North America), and Furnace Creek. Do NOT rely on your rental car's AC or the GPS distance — fuel up in Pahrump or Furnace Creek. In the late afternoon drive west to Bakersfield via Ridgecrest (~4 hrs), where budget motels are plentiful.

🚌Self-drive ~400 miles (6.5-7 hrs driving)

🛏Bakersfield budget motel (~£45-55 shared)

• →Zabriskie Point
• →Badwater Basin salt flats
• →Furnace Creek visitor centre

Drive to the Sequoia park entrance at Three Rivers (~2.5 hrs from Bakersfield). Take the Generals Highway up to the Giant Forest and walk the half-mile trail to General Sherman — the world's largest tree by volume. Continue along the Congress Trail loop for more giant sequoias. Stay in Visalia or Three Rivers; accommodation in the park itself books out months ahead and is expensive.

🚌Self-drive ~140 miles (2.5-3 hrs)

🛏Visalia/Three Rivers budget motel (~£50-65 shared)

• →General Sherman Tree trail
• →Congress Trail loop
• →Giant Forest Museum

Second day in the giant trees. Drive to Grant Grove in Kings Canyon for the General Grant Tree and the easy North Grove Loop. If you want a view, the Buena Vista Peak trailhead is a 2-mile round trip with 360-degree panoramas over the High Sierra. Note the Generals Highway closure windows between Sequoia and Grant Grove — check NPS road status before setting out; if it's closed, the Kings Canyon route via Fresno adds 1.5 hrs.

🚌Self-drive in-park (~40-70 miles depending on route)

🛏Visalia/Three Rivers budget motel (~£50-65 shared)

• →General Grant Tree
• →North Grove Loop
• →Buena Vista Peak hike

Long scenic drive via Fresno and the CA-41 Wawona entrance into Yosemite (~4-5 hrs). Park at Curry Village or use the free Yosemite Valley Shuttle (Summer only). Walk the Cook's Meadow loop and the Lower Yosemite Fall trail for classic Yosemite Valley scenes. Note that cars entering Yosemite on busy weekends may need a reservation in peak season (check nps.gov/yose) — booking a valley campsite or lodging provisionally solves this. Sleep in the valley if you can book it, otherwise in El Portal or Mariposa.

🚌Self-drive ~200 miles (4.5-5 hrs)

🛏Yosemite Valley campsite or El Portal/Mariposa budget motel (~£45-75 shared)

• →Lower Yosemite Fall trail
• →Cook's Meadow loop
• →Valley shuttle tour

The big Yosemite day. Hike the Mist Trail from Happy Isles past Vernal Fall (2.4 miles round trip to the footbridge; 6-8 miles all the way to Nevada Fall if you want a challenge). In the late afternoon drive to Glacier Point for the classic Half Dome view, or do the Valley Loop on a rented bike (~£28-32 / $35-40). Getting Half Dome's subdome cables requires a permit via the NPS lottery, months ahead — not worth planning around unless you're committed.

🚌Free valley shuttle + short drives

🛏Yosemite Valley campsite or El Portal/Mariposa budget motel (~£45-75 shared)

• →Mist Trail to Vernal & Nevada Fall
• →Glacier Point sunset
• →Optional bike rental

Drive out via Big Oak Flat and the CA-120 to San Francisco (~3.5-4 hrs). If you want to skip the car, take Yosemite Area Regional Transit (YARTS) from Yosemite Valley to Merced and connect to Amtrak's San Joaquins to Oakland/Emeryville (~£35-45 pp, ~6 hrs) — then drop the rental in Yosemite. In SF, walk the Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge; ride a cable car (~£6 / $8) and eat at a Mission District taqueria. Stay in a hostel in the Financial District or near Union Square.

🚌Self-drive ~200 miles (3.5-4 hrs) or YARTS bus + Amtrak

🛏San Francisco hostel dorm or budget hotel (~£40-70 shared)

• →Golden Gate Bridge walk
• →Cable car ride
• →Mission District food crawl

Return the rental car (check whether a one-way fee applies at SFO or downtown — it can add £40-100, so compare pickup/drop-off options when booking). Do a final morning in Alcatraz (book independently on cityexperiences.com, ~£35-45 pp, sells out weeks ahead), or simply get coffee in North Beach and fly home. If you're flying out of SFO, the BART train from downtown is about £7 / $8.50.

🚌BART to SFO (~£7) or rideshare (~£30-40)

🛏—

• →Optional Alcatraz tour (book direct)
• →BART to SFO