Toronto to LA

[tkp]

Hi there,

I'm planning a roadtrip from Toronto to LA this summer, and was wondering if anyone has route suggestions.
Mapquest gives me the fastest way to get there, but If anyone has any other ideas, I'd love to hear.
What are good places to see and stop along the way??
Has anyone taken this trip before?

Also, I know sleeping in your car is not recommended... but if one must do it, what locations do you suggest?

Thanks in advance!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

There are three basic route to make this trip, following I-40, I-70, or I-80. They all will take a very similar amount of time to travel. The difference in mileage is just a tiny fraction of the overall mileage, and any one of them could be longer or shorter on any given day depending upon things like traffic and construction.

The best option simply depends upon what part of the US you'd like to see. And of course, you've gota few different options about how you can get to each of those highways from Toronto. If you've got more than 4-5 day (minnimum recommended time from Toronto to LA via the Interstates) your options expand even more, and you could get off onto some of the two lane roads, or explore some of the national parks along the way.

Sleeping in your car isn't always a bad thing. Mostly it comes down to individual comfort, and if you are traveling solo, you can often find ways to get reasonable comfortable inside your car. What I don't recommend is sleeping in a car with multiple people. there's just really not enough room in most cars for that to be comfortable.

If you are going to sleep in a car, make sure you find a safe, well traveled place to pull off to park. The forum members who sleep in their cars on a regular basis often recommend truck stops as a good choice, because they are well lit and have traffic all night. Just remember to get permission before you park at any private facility.

[warren-rt-USA]

A great place to visit towards the beginning of the trip would to drive south into the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore which is just west of the south Bend. If you are not a fan of wet scenery, when you get to Colorado on interstate 70 west of Denver, becomes a very scenic route, especially when you reach Utah because you go through the San Rafael Swell. Towards the end of the trip you’ll be passing through Las Vegas, where you can stop by for a couple of shows and gaming.

warren@rtUSA

[Mark Sedenquist]

A great place to visit towards the beginning of the trip would to drive south into the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! Nice post and nice to see the first of what we expect will be several trip suggestions from the Roadtrip USA Advice Team!

Mark

[Lillian-rt-USA]

I see that already a classmate of mine suggested sites along the Great Lakes and also the Las Vegas area I thought you might also want to know about some of the National Parks on the way. When you get into to Utah you can see Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks. You may even be able to reach the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

I hope this helps.

[tkp]

Thank you all for the sound advice...

I will probably be going through the I-70 and I-80 for my trip, but I'm still considering the possibility of going through route 66. Not sure how much longer it would take me to go that way, or if it would be more expensive.... any ideas?
Would it be a more interesting drive perhaps?