Road trip from New York to Los Angeles

[pabloconor]

I along with 5 other friends are planning on driving from New York to Los Angeles in 2 weeks in August. Firstly do you think it's doable? I see that it's 5000km! We want to go through the Southern States and then pick up route 66 along the way maybe in Texas. Some of the places we have decided are a must for us are Washington D.C, Graceland, Alabama in general and the Grand Canyon. We're a group of 23 year old Irish guys so we want some parties along the way along with culture and nice scenery.


I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks

[Xarsis]

Hey,

Me and a friend are doing the reverse trip, Los Angeles to Philadelphia through the southern states. We are planning on doing it in 9 days over the fourth of july holiday.

You may consider taking 95 South all the way to Florida seeing all the beaches along the way, pretty much any beach you stop at along the way there is going to be a party..

You can pick up Interstate 10 in Jacksonville FLA, and cross across the south, hitting Burbon St in New Orleans along the way. If you really want to see graceland at that point it is about a 400 mile jaunt north from Louisiana so it would add an extra day..

If you continue down I-10 you can hit Houston and San Antonio with a quick trip up to the Party town - Austin Texas. Also along the way is El Paso/Mexico and Tuscon, I am sure at some point along there you can pick up RT 66

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum, Pabloconor.

NY to LA is about 5 to 6 full days of driving, so making the trip in 2 weeks should give you enough time to see the sites along the way. You'll have to keep moving, but the pace will be pretty reasonable. The places you want to see are all basically on a nice line, so when you are traveling, you will always be moving toward your destination.

I wouldn't advise going all the way south to I-10 for your trip. While its a fine route in its own right, it only goes through about 10 miles of Alabama, and it is a long way from both Memphis, the Grand Canyon, and Route 66.

I'd take I-95 to DC, then head over to I-81 will take you through the Appalachians to Tennesee. Then, to go through Alabama, I'd take I-75 and I-59 to Birmingham, before heading towards Memphis on US-78 - or if you want to get an even closer feel for the culture, you could take a variety of other state 2 lane highways through Alabama before working your way back to Memphis.

From there I-40 will take you all the way to LA - following the path of Route 66 from Oklahoma City westward, and taking you within an hour drive of the Grand Canyon.

Good luck and have fun!

[AZBuck]

I tend to agree with Midwest Michael's general routing suggestion, but here are a couple of other possibilities that fit in with your stated goals. For scenery on your way down the Appalachians, I-81 down the Shenandoah Valley is fine, but take some time to slow down a bit and travel the two-lane roads along the mountain's spine such as Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Also be sure to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. If you're going to make the pilgrimage to Graceland and will be passing near northern Mississippi, why not see where it all started with a stop at Elvis' Birthplace in Tupelo, MS?

In return for the hospitality shown me one night in a small pub outside Cobh, I will also point you to a few guides to America's Brew Pubs:

Guide 1
Guide 2
Guide 3

Just be sure to save these for after you are safely done driving for the day, and Best of Luck!

AZBuck

[pabloconor]

Hey thanks XarsisMidwest Michael and AZBuck for all the suggestions!I really appreciate it.

You've certainly given me a lot of food for thought.Any time you might be thinking of any road trips in Europe ask away.

Cheers

P.S. glad you enjoyed Ireland. We'll check out those pubs for sure! Slainte

[tjv189]

The best route from New York to Los Angeles in terms of shortest, quickest, and most scenic (in my opinion) is I 78 W to I 81 S to I 76 W to I 70 W to St. Louis, then I 44 W to I 40 W all the way into California, then I 15 S to I 10 W. I used to drive truck, and from my experience, I can tell you this is definitely the best route to take, no matter what the time of year.