Winter travel in the U.S. means one thing to me: obsessively checking weather.com in advance of my trip. Then, on the eve of my departure, the inevitable happens: my destination’s 10-day forecast is wall-to-wall rain or snow. Enter the umbrella. Exit half the sightseeing plans I’d made. 

This year I decided to give my OCD a vacation and hit the road for Death Valley National Park. In summer, the place is famously an inferno (daytime highs of 120-degrees are the norm). But in winter, the park’s high season, the desert days are warm and chances of a vacation rain-out are practically zilch. ... Read More

Question: Kathleen Michaelson asks:  I would like to plan a day trip in April with three kids from Las Vegas to Zion or Death Valley. What do you suggest?

Answer: Kathy Mackdanz, travel planner at the AAA office in Minneapolis answers: April is a great time to visit either of these areas. Death Valley National Park, a AAA GEM attraction, is a great day trip from Las Vegas. From the city to Death Valley is approximately 110 miles going via Mountain Springs and Pahrump, Nev. Take the Death Valley shortcut on CR 210 to US 190 into the park. Allow time to drive in the park and take the drive up to Scotty’s Castle, a AAA GEM attraction, which is approximately 55 miles from Death Valley on US 190 and the park road. My suggestion would be to come back south on the park road to Daylight Pass Road, and take NV 374 to Beatty, Nev., and south on US 95 to Las Vegas where you will have spectacular views of Mt. Charleston. The round trip would be approximately 330 miles.

Zion National Park, another GEM attraction, is approximately 320 miles round trip from Las Vegas, all interstate for the majority of the trip. From Easter weekend through October, the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is only accessible by the park shuttle bus. Another awesome day trip is to the town of Oatman, Ariz., on historic Route 66. Oatman is located southwest of Kingman, Ariz. The mileage round trip would be approximately 250 miles driving down across Hoover Dam to Kingman and then connecting on to historic Route 66 to Oatman. Leaving Oatman, I would travel back to Las Vegas via Laughlin, Nev., and north on US 95. In Kingman, be sure to stop at the Route 66 Malt Shop. In Oatman, there are burros walking around town. You can even hand-feed them!

Use TripTik Travel Planner to plan your route. Be sure to expand the Location Type field to find listings for National Parks. The drag-and-drop feature allows you to select the route you prefer to travel or to plan a different way back to Las Vegas.