NE Georgia to Lake Tahoe in Dec - What's the Best Route?

We are planning a trip from Northeast Georgia to Lake Tahoe (Heavenly Ski Resort) in December 2008. I've never done the cross country road trip thing before so we definitely would like to take in some "must see" sights on the way.

What is the best travel route for December weather while still being able to take in some "off the beaten path" sights? I know I want to see the Grand Canyon, but what are the other don't miss sights and how many days should I consider for first half of trip from GA to CA/NV?

Thanks!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

What things do you consider to be "Must Sees" and what sorts of places that would be "off the beaten path" are you interesting in finding along your "best" route?

You'll find those sort of wide open terms aren't particularly helpful, because they are so broad that the could include virtually everything. One person's "must sees" and "best route" could very well be another person's worst route full of things they'd rather skip. It will help a lot for you to give us a little focus about the kinds of things you are looking to see.

Based on what you've said so far, with the Grand Canyon being a priority, I-40 would probably be your most direct route going west. The route roughly follows old Route 66 once you get west of Oklahoma City, so that would be something you could look for. Once you get beyond the Grand Canyon, you could continue following I-40 into California and then take US-395 north, or you could cut up via Las Vegas and/or Death Valley.

Your entire trip would be about 2500 miles, which works out to 5 comfortable days on the road, plus any extra time you want to spend at the Grand Canyon or any other site along the way. You might also want to build in an extra day or two in case you run into winter weather that forces you to slow down or stop. During December, the possibility of snow and/or ice will be something you'll have to factor in, no matter which route you take.