PSP-NY in good time

[NH87]

Hey guys,

I was just wondering how long would be a reasonable amount of time to allow to get from Palm Springs to NYC.. I might be making the trip in April/May and would love to be able to spend weeks or even months on the drive, but if I drove I would have to drive straight through (I'd be happy to take any scenic routes if they didn't add too much driving time). I would stop at motels/cheap hotels along the way, and drive as long during the day as comfort and safety would allow.

Thanks for the help,

Nicholas

[Mark Sedenquist]

and drive as long during the day as comfort and safety would allow.

Nicholas, For a solo driver you can complete that distance in five days.

Mark

[AZBuck]

The standard routing you'll get from most software packages, web sites, and probably AAA goes like this: I-10 to Phoenix, I-17 up to Flagstaff and then I-40/I-44/I-70/I-78 cross country into NYC. Now that's about 2730 miles, and I agree with Mark, it can be done in 5 days. People have probably done it in 4, but that's 700 miles a day and you would be exhausted, and an unsafe driver, long before the end of it. As to scenic options, to maintain a 5 day schedule you won't be able to change much from the straight through option, but here are two alternatives you might consider. First, is the "Wickenburg Cutoff" around Phoenix. For this, you'd leave I-10 just east of Quartzite, AZ and use US-60, AZ-71 and AZ-89 to Prescott and then AZ-69 and AZ-169 to tie back into I-17 well north of Phoenix. This is a little bit shorter than the pure interstate route and may save you time depending on what traffic is like in Phoenix, but you will have to go through Prescott. The second option for scenery over speed is to stay on I-40 east from Oklahoma City through Tennessee and then take I-81 up along the Shenandoah Valley, picking up I-78 into NYC just east of Harrisburg, PA. This later option adds about a hundred miles to your overall trip, but should not force you to add a day. One other thing, try to schedule your day's drives so that you are not hitting the larger cities at rush hour. That alone can save you many frustrating hours in traffic.

AZBuck

[NH87]

Okay thanks for that estimate. I was kinda figuring 4 days... so I'll just factor in an extra day..

What about jumping up to the I-70 through Colorado? I've heard alot about that road.. would that significantly add to the time needed for the drive?

[AZBuck]

Actually, jumping up to I-70 would not add too much to the shortest possible trip. It's only a shade over 2800 miles to do that. But it does mean that you start out by going west(!) to pick up I-15 to Las Vegas and Utah to make that connection. Still, you could do it in 5 days of steady driving that covered 560 miles each day.

AZBuck

[NH87]

Thanks AZBuck! Will have a think about which route to take..