Flaming Gorge reservoir

Visit five states, a dozen national parks and monuments, and the most spectacular scenery in the Southwestin one epic road trip.

Back in the 1800s, everyone who was anyone did the Grand Tour, a cultural odyssey around continental Europe to experience the highlights of Western Civilization. Modern travelers have a closer and quicker option: the Grand Circle, a spin around the highlights of Southwestern civilization that strings together eight national parks and a bevy of national monuments, designated scenic byways and happenin’ towns.

Shaped more like a circulation system than a circle, the Grand Circle encompasses sections of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, offering almost limitless possibilities. Here’s our rundown of the best road trip in the West.

Flagstaff to Las Vegas
Begin in Flagstaff on the Mother Road herself, Route 66, and head west. First up is Williams, where you can mingle with the Flintstones at Bedrock City (bedrockcityaz.com) and the gunslingers at Wild West Junction (wildwestjunction.com).

Sidetrip option: From Williams, ride the Grand Canyon Railway (thetrain.com) to the big ditch and back.

Scenic drive through Zion National Park

Get back to the blacktop and continue west through towns that time literally bypassed when I-40 supplanted Route 66. Fill up on burgers and malts at Snow Cap Drive-in in Seligman, stock up on memorabilia at Hackberry General Store in Hackberry and bone up on road history at the Route 66 Museum in Kingman (kingmantourism.org).

Then beeline for Las Vegas, baby.  Stay in the west end at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa (redrocklasvegas.com) and visit nearby Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (redrockcanyonlv.org), cruising or hiking the 26-mile round-trip scenic drive.

Las Vegas to Cedar City
 Next, drive to Utah’s Zion National Park, a mazy canyonland of 1,000-foot-tall russet and copper walls slung with waterfalls and hanging gardens. Camp or stay at Zion Lodge (zionlodge.com), spending days canyoneering, hiking and horseback riding. Or just sample the scenery on the easy, paved Pa’rus Trail and drive on to Cedar City.

This historic college town dubs itself Festival Town USA due to its back-to-back summer events. Its Tony award-winning Utah Shakespearean Festival (bard.org) runs this year from June 28 to September 4 and features Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and Much Ado About Nothing. Après play, sleep, perchance to dream, in the charming Amid Summer’s Inn (amidsummersinn.com).