Printable View
Hi everyone,
I'm new to this site but I was hoping to get some advice on the drive I'm taking the end of July. My husband and I would like a rather direct, but interesting route as we move from Los Angeles California to Raleigh North Carolina. Any tips or suggestions would also be appreciated
Cheers
I know EXACTLY what your going through, as I'll be making almost the exact same trip...but in June, and going all the way to the Coast of NC. So, here's what I've learned from the others on this site. Seems the two most popular routes are I-40 or I-70. Either one will take you from CA to NC in about 5 to 6days if you're driving 8-10 hours per day. The difference between your trip and mine is that I'll be driving the second vehicle, which is a rented moving truck, so sight seeing isn't much of an option for me. After reading many of the postings, both routes have great places to see. The I-40 route is more open plains and I-70 is more wilderness with bigger mountain areas. Most on here will tell you to check out the Site Directory on this webpage, as it has much information, as do the National Park links in the various states.
As for which is a better traveled or more cost effective route to take? I'm still waiting for that answer myself.
Good luck on your trip and once I've reached the East Coast I'll be sure to return and post my "lessons learned"....
Cheers,
Snugy
Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !
Snugy has given you a good idea of what it takes to cross the country, with I-40 being the most direct according to my mapping program. Searching the forums and roadtrip planning pages is also a good idea for finding things of interest to you, as we don't know what that might be. As well as your interests another big help would be to know how long you have. When you have put some ideas together pop back and we can help you "fine tune" your trip. To get you started this thread has a list of places of to visit just off Interstate.
Starlizzy and Snugly,
Welcome to Raleigh, my hometown. Surely you'll find Raleigh to be a much different living/working environment than SouCal, and hopefully all in good ways.
In order to accompany my son on his mission to take his vehicle to Port Hueneme following deployment, I traversed the country from Raleigh to Ventura County in late 2007. Being what is herein referred to as a "speed run", we took I-40 all the way, but with two side trips: Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. We took a half-day side trip from the East entrance to GCNP, drove through all of the view points, stopped briefly at the main entrance/Village, then back down to I-40. The next morning we left Kingman, AZ and detoured north to Hoover Dam. We skipped 'Vegas (sorry, Mark, I wanted to stop but my son said "Dad, I'm under 21 and have no money, what am I supposed to do in 'Vegas?).
Having traversed I-70 from the East Coast as far west as Green River, UT, and the aforementioned I-40 trip, I have to say I enjoy the I-70 route more. I haven't bothered to look-see what the distance difference is. The alpine scenery in CO and the redrock canyonlands along I-70 in UT are the closers for me, personally. I suspect the elevation change profile for I-40 is somewhat flatter but I doubt it's by much. I-70 causes you to encounter more and larger cities, a downside to me if I were driving a rental truck.
Many recommend the final approach route from the I-70 route being I-64 to Charleston, WV, thence I-77 south into NC, where I-73/74 then connects to I-40 at Winston-Salem, NC. I regularly discourage folks from taking that route, citing much elevation change and rough concrete Interstate surfaces in WV. Instead, I'd look at dropping down to I-40 at Nashville, TN. The trip through the Appalachians and the Cumberland Plateau is rather gentler from Nashville-Asheville than through WV, southwest VA, and northwest NC. I must surely would not take a rental truck down I-77 from Charleston, WV.
Snugly: If you haven't already thought of it, do yourself a big favor and pick up a pair of FRS radios. They're the modern version of a walkie-talkie and are nowadays cellphone-sized radio units capable of multi-mile distance clear communications between vehicles without the static and other users' traffic common to CB radio communications. I would not take a trip in a two-vehicle caravan without mine. They're inexpensive and available at sporting goods stores, big-box retailers, and vendors such as Radio Shack.
So, come on over to Raleigh this summer. Wear your shorts, it's liable to be a little muggy when you get here.
Foy
Downtown LA to Raleigh via 10/15/40 is 2550 miles. Via 10/15/70/64/57/24/40 it's 2715 miles. This will add about 3 to 4 hours to the trip.
you guys are seriously awsome! thanks for all the advice. I'd love to do some hiking/ moving my butt around during the times we pull over. I'm also a huge foodie and would love some great American meals along the way:)
Well, there are one or more brewpubs in Moab, UT, a short side-loop below I-70, and quite a number of short walks within Arches NP there. Go back up to I-70 by leaving Moab to the east up the Colorado River in Westwood (?)Canyon.
Not too much further east, but in CO, there is developing wine district near Fruita and Grand Junction. Short hikes available within Colorado NM to the south of I-70, again on a loop road basis allowing tie-in to I-70 east.
There must be innumerable hiking opportunities between roughly Beaver Creek, CO and Denver, as I-70 traverses the heart of the Rockies. I know for certain that cross-country ski routes have trailheads at Vail Pass and it seems quite likely some trails are easily accessible elsewhere.
On this end, look to the Blue Ridge Parkway's website for trail access close to the junction of the BRP and I-40 at Asheville. That's Cold Mountain territory, if you recall or are a fan of the novel and film. Asheville is also home to the Biltmore House with its winery, as well as being home to a growing arts community downtown. Surely a foodie would find pleasure somewhere in downtown Asheville. From there, it's only a half-day run in to the Triangle.
Oh, and please resist the urge to refer to your future home as "Raleigh-Durham". The national media is unfortunately stuck on that term, but it's downright offensive to denizens of both Raleigh and Durham, two distinctly different communities some 20 miles apart. We share an international airport, but that's about it.
Foy
If you go through Amarillo and are a foodie, the Big Texan is a must-stop.
Starlizzy,
Just found out some info I thought I'd share with you. I'm not sure if you and your husband are moving yourself or not. I will be, so I'll be driving a 24' rented moving truck (i.e. U-haul, Penske, etc...). Anyway, we had planned to stop in Vegas to visit friends and then catch Hwy 93 over the Hoover Dam to pick up I-40... Well....this has changed. Apparently there are long waits due to security check points at each end of the dam. And we even found out some trucks can't even cross on the dam. The truck we're renting is okay in size to cross, but according to their website they will want to inspect all the mess I've got boxed up in the back. The website goes further to state that, and I quote: "NOTE: These vehicles and their contents will be inspected thoroughly – also, at the discretion of the inspecting officer, a walkable “aisle” must be available inside the cargo area for a front to back inspection of contents."
Okay...I'm all for security but I'll have a 4 bedroom house packed up inside that truck and don't have time to make some stupid aisle just for some bored inspector to walk in. So...keep this info in mind if you and your husband are moving yourself when plotting your route. The website for Hoover Dam info is as follows: http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/crossingguide.pdf
Happy trails,
Snugy
Snugy, there is a well marked and traveled truck detour. That would be US-95 to CA-163 through Laughlin, then AZ-68 to US-93. You are kinda going to be out of luck if you want to tour the dam - you can't park a truck on the NV side, only the AZ side. You would probably be better off borrowing your friend's car and doing a day trip, there's a parking garage on the NV side for the tour.
I-70 is a more scenic drive, but if you take I-40 you can take a short detour through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After reading the following review from RoadsideAmerica.com, I felt like I had to take the side trip to drive through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge:
Pigeon Forge and sister tourist-trap-town Gatlinburg sparkle like junk jewels on a necklace choking Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Mini-mecca Cherokee applies torque from the North Carolina side). Sheer statistical density hampers any attempt to assess this mecca cluster (as with super-stuffed Wisconsin Dells and Branson). A hundred attractions crush your sense of proportion and dignity.
I love touristy kitsch, so it was worth it to take pictures of my car in front of Dollywood after admiring the more tasteful views of the National Park to the south.