Boston to Los Angeles please help

I am driving from Boston to Los Angeles this Sunday. Mapquest is taking me 90 - 87 - 80 -76 - 70 - 15.

I want to AAA today and they told me to fo 84 - 80 - 81- 80- 70-44-40 which is the southern route via OK, TX, NM, AZ, etc.

My question is which route is better this time of year? Which route is faster, Which route is more scenic. I have to make the drive in 6 days?

I was thinking the route via CO, and UT would be more scenic? Should I be worry about snow in the Rockies this time of year?

Any help advice would be sooo greatful.

John in boston

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You can really take any route you'd like. The difference between I-80, I-70, and I-40 is only a matter of around 100 miles, a tiny amount in comparison to the overall 3000 mile trip.

In terms of scenery, I'd have to go with I-70 through Colorado and Utah. Its probably my favorite section of interstate in the country. I haven't looked at a weather report, but it would be pretty unlikely that you'd run into any weather problems on the route this time of year.

6 days is a feasable amount of time to make this trip. You'll need to travel around 500 miles a day, which are long, but very reasonable, days of travel.

In CT, I would skip I-84, which has a weird North jog in NY (and I-81 can be pretty tight around Scranton, even on the weekends) and take the Merritt Parkway (no commercial vehicles), which has some interesting Art-Deco design elements and a nice, park-like feel. Just watch out for deer!

Then I-287 to I-80. There is no toll in this direction on the Tappan-Zee Bridge. You'll get to see Kittatinny and the Delaware Water Gap (toll) this way. I-84's highlight is the Hudson River crossing, but you get this on Tappan-Zee. This is a path of flight for NYC folk, several lanes wide, but on the weekend, it is generally wide open.

If this is a round trip, I'd take the Northern route out and the Southern route back. I won't forget that first glimpse at Utah coming out of Colorado.