Boston to San Diego late July

[lelefeng]

Hello,

My family (two adults and a child) plan to drive our 2003 Toyota Camry (mileage: 38,000 miles) from Boston to San Diego late July in two or three weeks.

I think the first stop might be Buffalo, NY because we would like to see the Niagara Falls. The Grand Canyon in Arizona is also in our plan.

Are there any other places along the route that are worth visiting? Will there be problems with our sedan while we drive in the heat and especially when we climb the mountains?

Thank you.

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

Unless there is something amiss with your vehicle, you shouldn't have any problems in the mountains or in the heat with that car. It is fairly new and has quite low mileage on it for the year. As a general rule, it is a good idea to get your vehicle inspected by a competent mechanic before taking on a trip of any length, to keep your mind at ease.

In between Niagara and the Grand Canyon are so many great places to visit, it's hard to narrow them down. After all, much of the acreage of the US is in that range!

Are you looking to travel mainly on Interstates, or US routes, or county roads? What are the types of things that you and your family are interested in?

If you have three weeks to do this trip in, that will give you a much greater comfort level than trying to do it all in two weeks. It takes around five days to go from one coast to the other, so right there you have ten days of driving, without factoring in any multi-day stops en route.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Are there any other places along the route that are worth visiting?

Is there anything worth stopping at between Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon? No, I don't think so.

I'm kidding of course, there are a million things to stop and see or do between New York and Arizona. The tough part is narrowing it down. The first place to start is by looking at the kinds of things you find most interesting, be it nature, musuems, historical sites, oddities, cities, whatever it is that you personally find interesting. Give us some help there, and let us know if you already have a specific route in mind for this journey, so we can give some helpful specifics.

Will there be problems with our sedan while we drive in the heat and especially when we climb the mountains?

If your car is in good shape with no mechanical problems, then there's no reason the heat or mountains will pose any problems for your car. Make sure all your routine maintenance is up to date, and have your car checked over by a mechanic before you go to make sure it really is ready for a cross country adventure.

[lelefeng]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!
The first place to start is by looking at the kinds of things you find most interesting, be it nature, musuems, historical sites, oddities, cities, whatever it is that you personally find interesting.

Thank you very much! This forum is awesome.

We are foreigners and do not know the U.S. well. We prefer seeing different nature in different places and some historical sites. This is a one way trip in two or three weeks. Actually, we are moving to San Diego.

I know one route is Boston --> Buffalo --> Cleveland --> Chicago --> Denver --> Las Vegas --> San Diego. But maybe this is not the best route and I do not know what to see in addition to the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon. To the Grand Canyon, maybe we had better include Flagstaff or Williams.

Thank you for your priceless advice.

[lelefeng]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!
Are you looking to travel mainly on Interstates, or US routes, or county roads? What are the types of things that you and your family are interested in?

If you have three weeks to do this trip in, that will give you a much greater comfort level than trying to do it all in two weeks. It takes around five days to go from one coast to the other, so right there you have ten days of driving, without factoring in any multi-day stops en route.

Thank you very much! I find this site very helpful.

We would like to see different nature in different places and some historical sites. This is a one way trip in two or three weeks because we will move from Boston to San Diego.

One possible route is Boston --> Buffalo --> Cleveland --> Chicago --> Denver --> Las Vegas --> San Diego. But maybe this is not the best one and I do not know what to see in addition to the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon.

Is the Arch in St. Louis worth seeing? And how about the great sand dunes, and the Great Salt Lake? I look forward to your ideas. Thank you.

[PNW Judy]

The route you have laid out is one of the quickest, most direct route at about 3050 miles. However, you do have time in 3 weeks to veer off of it and see other things. In my opinion, and most of us at RTA, there are few things that aren't worth seeing. The St. Louis Arch is always highly recommended. As is the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. Salt Lake is interesting and Salt Lake City is definitely worth seeing for the tabernacles and other historical stuff. If these intrigue you, go for it!

Personally, I would advise you to skip the Grand Canyon this trip. It's only about 550 miles from San Diego and would make a great trip for a long weekend once you're living there. I would stick to sight-seeing things that aren't so close to San Diego on your trip moving out there.

Another interesting route would be Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, Glendale, San Diego. It's about 3030 miles. So the difference in mileage isn't enough to be a factor. It just depends on what you want to see.

[lelefeng]

Thank you, Judy!

[lelefeng]

... St. Louis Arch ... Great Sand Dunes ... Salt Lake .... skip the Grand Canyon.... Another interesting route would be Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, Glendale, San Diego....

In the hot summer, the northern part of the county might be a better choice than the southern part. So, how about going west to Nebraska/South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho after Chicago, to see the great faces, glaciers, mountains, craters, etc. and then heading south to the Salt Lake and Las Vegas? This means we'll probably have to miss St. Louis Arch and the Great Sand Dunes.

Any comments?

[Midwest Michael]

You really can't go wrong with any of those choices. As you are seeing, the hard part is narrowing down things into one trip.

But you also have a good amount of time, so while you won't have time to see everything, you don't have to worry about time preventing you from visiting any one plcce, if there is something you really decide you can't miss.

[lelefeng]

You really can't go wrong with any of those choices. As you are seeing, the hard part is narrowing down things into one trip.

But you also have a good amount of time, so while you won't have time to see everything, you don't have to worry about time preventing you from visiting any one plcce, if there is something you really decide you can't miss.

Thank you, Michael. This time we will focus on the nature in the north. Next time, possibly in winter or spring, we'll visit somewhere close to San Diego and other places in the south.