Which Route's Better?

Hi all,

My name's Paul, and I'm leaving tomorrow to drive from Los Angeles to Chicago. I have 5 days (give or take) to make the trip. I need to be as expeditious as possible, and am currently considering two routes. The first will take me through Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska before getting to Iowa, then Illinois. This one seems quickest, and also seems to cover more interesting states.

The second one I'm considering is a more southerly route that will take me through Arizona, New Mexico before taking me up to Kansas to Iowa. This one is 95 miles longer, probably more driving time, but has the added benefit of allowing me to visit the Grand Canyon.

Being from Alaska, I haven't ever driven across the continental US much at all, save for some road-tripping around the south when I was a kid and my drive down from AK.

So I'd like you guys to weigh in; in your opinions, which route will be cooler?

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Really, you're the only person who can make this decision. You've laid out the pros and cons of each route pretty well. Both routes are essentially the same distance (within about 5%) and both will take pretty close to 4 days to drive. That leaves you about a day's worth of time to see stuff along the way. There are probably more places along the northern route you list, presumably I-15/I-70/I-76/I-80, including Las Vegas, Zion, Arches and Rocky Mountain National Parks and the Oregon Trail - but you only have a day to spread among them. The southern route has one of the world's most magnificent scenic wonders, the Grand Canyon, but is otherwise probably a little less visually interesting overall (unless you go by way of Four Corners and use US-160 across southern Colorado. It's a close call and only you should have the final say and in the end you really can't go wrong, but I think I'd opt for the northern route.

AZBuck

LA to Chicago is a 4 day drive no matter which way you go, so that gives you exactly 1 day to sightsee and spend extra time. This is pretty much going to result in "whistle stop" sightseeing out the car windows. If you have always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon, I'd go that way, and make that your extra day. From there, take I-40/I-44/I-55 to Chicago unless you wind up with extra time. You can make it from Flagstaff to Chicago in 3 days via that route, with stops in Amarillo and Springfield MO.