Learn about Olympic National Park’s ecosystem: alpine forests; sub-alpine meadows; rainforests; rugged Pacific Coast, and soak in hot springs overlooking glacial lakes.
This is a great drive in itself rounding Olympic National Park, but you must take some side trips into the park. Drive U.S. 101 all the way from Port Angeles to Quinault. There are several suggested excursions into the park that include Port Angeles up to the Hoh Rain Forest and the Hurricane Ridge.
You might also consider visiting Sol Duc Hot Springs, Queets, Lake Mills, and Graves Creek. The Olympic National Park surrounds 7,965-foot Mt. Olympus and Read more . . .
This is a gorgeous route, encompassing deserts, river valleys, and mountains. It also touches on historical themes like Indian conflicts, mining, exploration, trapping, and settlement. The5-hour, 196-mile cruise, accessible spring through fall, starts at Stanley, on the floor of the Stanley Basin, with spectacular scenes of Idaho’s largest peaks, the Sawtooth Ridge. The Stanley Museum, situated in a historic ranger station on Route 75, provides a comprehensive overview of the area’s past.
Colorado’s San Juan Skyway is a one- to two-day trip that circles from Ridgeway through Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Cortez, Dolores, Telluride, and Placerville. The “round” trip begins at Ridgeway State Park, four miles north of Ridgeway. Driving south on U.S. 550 along the Uncompahgre River brings you past a number of hot springs. The Ouray Hot Springs, a municipal pool, is at the north part of Ouray. Continuing on U.S. 550 reveals superb waterfalls which run off the cliffs into Uncompahgre Gorge. At the heap of the gorge lies a breathtaking view of the Red Mountains. At the top of Red Mountain Pass, you begin a 10-mile descent toward the town of Silverton. The pass bottoms out in the Animas River Valley, where a left turn onto Route 110 leads into the old mining town of Silverton. 
Route 7, from Hot Springs to Harrison, is a 160-mile stretch above wooded hills and through mountain towns. The daylong journey begins in Hot Springs, where President Bill Clinton grew up. Before leaving Hot Springs, drop by the visitors center for Hot Springs National Park. Take Fountain Street to Hot Springs Mountain Drive, which leads to Hot Springs Mountain Tower, where you can take in a picturesque overlook of the city and its surroundings.