january 2015 road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles

concerned about winter road conditions when trying to decide best route from Chicago to Los Angeles. Heading out in a week and a half and would like to see grand Canyon or santa Fe, depending on route we choose. How is I70 thru rockies west of denver? Is hwy 191 in Utah a good road in the winter to cut south off of I70? From hwy 191 we could tie into 160, head west to 89 in order to take 64 into the grand canyon. Is this route doable in the winter??? Another route would be to get to Denver and if weather is bad thru pass on I70, we could head south on 25 thru Santa Fe and Albuquerque and then hook into 40 and head west to CA. Is this also a doable route in the winter?? thanks!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

It actually is still too soon to say what kind of weather you might see - you'll really have to take a look at the forecasts about a week from now. It's entirely possible that all of the roads you're talking about will be perfectly clear, it's also possible that you could see winter storms on pretty much any of those routes.

Interstates are the best bet in winter, because they are the first to be plowed in event of a bad storm. I will note, however, that I-70 does go over the heart of the Colorado Rockies which does increase the chance of seeing a significant weather event.

Based on your goals of seeing Santa Fe and the Grand Canyon, the first route I'd be looking at would be I-55 to St. Louis, I-44 to OK City, and I-40 west to California, using the appropriate roads to take the short detours up to SF and GC. In good conditions, this route would also be faster than the other routes you've mentioned, taking 4 days to go directly from Chicago to LA, but then adding another day or two for your detours.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The roads you're thinking about using are all 'good' and 'doable' through the winter. In fact, they provide the only access to the cities and towns along them. But they are, of course, not snow free 24/7 for the entire season. On a trip of this duration and magnitude, you have to assume that you will see weather somewhere/sometime that will temporarily make it unsafe to continue driving. So assume that and plan for it. To simply make the drive you've outlined, you'd need four full days. If you want to stop and see things along the way you'd need five full days. To account for an almost certain weather delay, you'd need six. The road crews along much of that route are experienced professionals who routinely keep those roads open for vital truck traffic, but their work takes time. So should it come to it, just stay off the roads, let them do their jobs, and then get back on the road once, and only once, the roads are safe to travel again.

AZBuck

I70 west of Denver can be challenging at after sunset to morning. You just never know if mountain snow starts falling and have to pull over. It will be difficult. If you planning on starting day trip from Denver out to I70 west during day time then it should be OK. Given no extreme weather on that day.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jm98

I70 west of Denver can be challenging at after sunset to morning.

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It is never a good idea to be on the road after sunset, especially in the mountains and especially during winter. To plan a safe trip, be sure you make the most of daylight hours.

Lifey

Did y'all notice that this thread was from over a year ago? :-)



Donna

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DonnaR57

Did y'all notice that this thread was from over a year ago? :-)

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"Nope", says she........ red faced!

Lifey

Bummer... How did this thread managed to pop up on top of list?

It's just another proof when you are on the road or dreaming of being on the road you tend to forget time and date...

I think it popped up because someone spammed the thread, I see 3 deleted posts from 2/3.

Even those were from 2015 George.