Driving from Las Vegas to Tucson

[helenmwelch]

Hello,
Does anyone have any ideas on the best route from Las Vegas to Tucson.

My boyfriend and I are travelling from the UK in Setember and spending a few nights in Vegas and then going to a Dude Ranch in Tucson.

I looked at flying but my other half has been watching too many movies and really wants to do a 'Road Trip' !!

I understand it is approx 400 miles which should take about 7 hrs but wanted to know if there is anywhere to stop off on the route or anything to see.

Many Thanks
Helen

[Quebec Gen]

Greetings Helen and welcome the RoadTrip America Forum!

I looked at flying but my other half has been watching too many movies and really wants to do a 'Road Trip' !!

Ok then, let's make this Thelma & "Louis"...without the guns!

wanted to know if there is anywhere to stop off on the route or anything to see.

From Vegas, you can either take US 93, I-40, I-17 and I-10 OR US93 all the way to Phoenix and I-10 to Tucson.

I'll be back later with some suggestions.

Gen

[Quebec Gen]

Here are a few suggestions of things to see in the area you'll be travelling through :

-Hoover Dam;
-Old Route 66 from Oatman to Williams, AZ;
-US 93 becomes the Joshua Tree Parkway west of Wickenburg, AZ;
-If you take I-17, check out Slide Rock State Park in Sedona;
-Jerome is a nice old mining town perched on the side of a mountain (have lunch at the Palace Haunted Hamburger or at the Red Rooster Café);
-For good Mexican food in Phoenix head to El Bravo on 7th Street or La Parilla Suiza;
-If you're looking for a quiet place for a picnic in Phoenix, South Mountain Park is a huge municipal park with lots of tables and short hiking trails;
-Historic Prescott;
-Apache Trail;
-Mission San Xavier Del Bac a.k.a. White Dove of the Desert just south of Tucson;
-Kartchner Caverns State Park and Colossal Cave;
-Biosphere 2;
-Saguaro National Park;
-Old Tuscon Studios;

Have a great trip!
Geneviève

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America forum.

If you plan on driving from Las Vegas to Tucson in a single day, then you won't have time for much more than enjoying the road and a few quick stops. It's about 410 miles by the shortest route (US-93 to Phoenix and then I-10 to Tucson). Now US-93 is a quintessential western 2-lane road once you get into Arizona with great scenery but few roadside attractions, and should fulfill your boyfriend's thirst for the road. Take the time to stop in Wickenburg and walk around a bit. There are also a few off-the-wall kind of roadside stands to the northwest of town along the highway. But if you can add a day to this transit, then you can really start to do a RoadTrip by kind of circling Phoenix to the north and east and seeing places like Clarksdale (Tuzigoot National Monument), Sedona (Red Rock Country), and Payson (Mogollon Rim) before dropping down into Tucson. You still won't have a lot of time to really explore, but you will see more of Arizona than just the desert.

While in Tucson, be sure to see Saguaro National Park, the Desert Museum, and Kartchner Caverns. If you or you're husband are into planes at all, there is also the Pima Air and Space Museum. Your dude ranch should be able to direct you to any or all of them.

AZBuck