Dallas to Lakewood Colorado - Late September 2024

The wife and I are planning to visit some friends in Lakewood Colorado in late September this year. We'll probably stop by Lubbock TX on the way there and visit other friends. But from Lubbock to Lakewood what are the best routes to take? We'd like to stick to the major freeways but are there any potential car camping/overnight stays on the way up? How about recommended hotels, safe, clean and not too expensive.
Any notable nature sites along the freeways as we drive up? Thank you so much. This is such a great site and have referred other friends and family to this site for advice and tips.

Lubbock to Lakewood is potentially drivable in 1 long day - take I-27 to Amarillo, then US-87 to I-25. However, you would probably want to break it up into a day and a half or 2 days. That's the closest you are going to get to freeways, the stretch from Amarillo to I-25 is a US highway but not a freeway. There are plenty of hotels along the route according to Google Maps.

Unfortunately, there is no all-Interstate route between Dallas and Lubbock or between Lubbock and Lakewood, but on the first leg US-84 is a four-lane divided highway between I-20 at Roscoe TX and Lubbock while US-87 is another such highway between I-27 at Amarillo TX and I-25 at Ratron NM. The first leg to Lubbock is 'only' about 350 miles and so could be driven relatively comfortably in a day. At 550 miles, Lubbock to Lakewood could conceivably be driven in a single, albeit hard, day of driving. But if you'd like to stop roughly midway Sugarite State Park is just off I-25, a few miles east of Raton NM. Raton also has the usual collection of moderately priced chain motels as well as a couple of local ones and a KOA.

As for scenic natural stops, Raton also is near Capulin Volcano National Monument, while just outside Colorado Springs is the Garden of the Gods.

AZBuck

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Originally Posted by Fred Jumayao

This is such a great site and have referred other friends and family to this site for advice and tips.

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Fred, thanks for the kudos. As GLC has already shared the most direct route, I thought I would share some of the locations that we've written about on this route -- These aren't exactly natural wonder-type places, but they are interesting. Click on the flag icons to see what other RTA roadtrippers have found on this route.

Fred, I was just in Denver for meetings and ate at Syrup in Edgewater the morning before I left. Edgewater is only about 10 minutes from Lakewood. The food and ambience were really fun.

And we commissioned a number of planned routes in the area. You might just cruise down the list and see if any of them would appeal to you as a side trip?

Rocky Mountains

And a couple in Texas, found in our "Southwest" group.

Fred, AZBuck has already pointed out Capulin Volcano and Sugarite State Park in northeastern New Mexico. I'd like to add that this area of the state is home to lots of pronghorn antelope.
I've seen herds of pronghorn along US Highway 64, southwest of Raton near Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge.

Yup, that's what we were thinking. Planning to take a break in Lubbock. Thanks

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Originally Posted by AZBuck

Unfortunately, there is no all-Interstate route between Dallas and Lubbock or between Lubbock and Lakewood, but on the first leg US-84 is a four-lane divided highway between I-20 at Roscoe TX and Lubbock while US-87 is another such highway between I-27 at Amarillo TX and I-25 at Ratron NM. The first leg to Lubbock is 'only' about 350 miles and so could be driven relatively comfortably in a day. At 550 miles, Lubbock to Lakewood could conceivably be driven in a single, albeit hard, day of driving. But if you'd like to stop roughly midway Sugarite State Park is just off I-25, a few miles east of Raton NM. Raton also has the usual collection of moderately priced chain motels as well as a couple of local ones and a KOA.

As for scenic natural stops, Raton also is near Capulin Volcano National Monument, while just outside Colorado Springs is the Garden of the Gods.

AZBuck

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Thank you, Sugarite State Park looks like a nice place to stop midway. Appreciate the tip!

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Originally Posted by Mark Sedenquist

Fred, thanks for the kudos. As GLC has already shared the most direct route, I thought I would share some of the locations that we've written about on this route -- These aren't exactly natural wonder-type places, but they are interesting. Click on the flag icons to see what other RTA roadtrippers have found on this route.

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Wow, thanks for those landmarks. I've always heard about Cadillac Ranch, didn't know it was there.

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Originally Posted by howard

Fred, AZBuck has already pointed out Capulin Volcano and Sugarite State Park in northeastern New Mexico. I'd like to add that this area of the state is home to lots of pronghorn antelope.
I've seen herds of pronghorn along US Highway 64, southwest of Raton near Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge.

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Thank you, some notable stops there to consider.

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Originally Posted by Mark Sedenquist

Fred, I was just in Denver for meetings and ate at Syrup in Edgewater the morning before I left. Edgewater is only about 10 minutes from Lakewood. The food and ambience were really fun.

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No, I have not, but I am a breakfast kinda guy, that looks so good. Thanks for that tip! My wife will love that.

If you’re up for a slight detour, you could swing through Santa Fe by taking I-40 west before heading north on I-25, adding some scenic charm to your drive. For overnight stays, Amarillo has options like the Drury Inn & Suites, or you could camp at Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Raton, NM, is another good stop, with Sugarite Canyon State Park for camping or the Raton Pass Inn for a cozy night’s rest. As you drive up, you can check out Palo Duro Canyon, Capulin Volcano near Raton, and the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

Just wondering if anyone has a preferred route between DFW to Lubbock. I'm in Denton county and Google is giving me two main options.

1. US-380 W and US-82 W
2. TX-114 W and US-82 W

Appreciate any advice.

Fred,

There are dozens of roads between Dallas and Lubbock. The most direct would be I-20 to US Hwy 84.

Given the parameters of the rest of your trip. Is this to be a "speed run" or are you looking for some alternative routes to mosey?

Mark

I think that this going to be a very personal choice, but here are my thoughts. There are actually three possible routes. All of them are within a couple miles of each other in length and are predicted to take pretty much the same amount of time. However, neither of the first two options you list are actually that simple.

(1) When fully written out, this would be: US-380 west to Decatur, US-287 north to just past Bowie, FM-174 west to Windthorst, TX-25 west to just past Archer City, FM-210 west for 10 miles, FM-422 west to Seymour, US-82 west to Lubbock.

(2) would be: US-380 to Jacksboro, US-281 northwest for 7 miles, TX-114 west to Seymour, US-82 west to Lubbock.

(3) would be: I-35W south, I-820 west and south, I-20 west to just past Sweetwater, US-84 northwest to Lubbock.

Option (3) has the advantage of being on major roads all the way, but would have you driving in the Fort Worth metro area at the beginning, which would be a consideration if you're planning to start during the morning rush hour. Given that the other two are very similar, I would probably opt for Option (1) as there is a short stretch of Interstate quality road that gets you through the Bowie 'metro' area, and even the Farm to Market (FM) roads have a 60 mph speed limit. Anyway, those are my thoughts.

AZBuck

Thank you both for the answers and the question.

Mark, you asking that question made me realize I just want to get to Lubbock the easiest and safest way. AZBuck thank you for the detailed response OMG!, I will go with option 1. Have a great week gents!