From Atlanta to Marshall, Minnesota--HELP!

[rloosier]

My eldest child is getting married Oct 27 in Marshall, MN...but I and the rest of our family live way down here! No problem...we LOVE road trips but admit that this one seems quite daunting. For one thing, time is an issue...as much as I'd love to take the backroads and byways and take our time and meet people and see stuff, no can do. This is going to be one of those drive "straight-through" kind of deals. Need a route that will get us there and back as efficiently as possible. We went through AAA and got trip-tiks that will take us through Chattanooga, Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City and from Kansas City, I-29 N to Sioux Falls, SD, and from there, head back east towards Marshall. Looked great and we're excited but I just spoke with my daughter up there and she said it would be quicker to go towards Chicago and then Minneapolis and break west for Marshall. Looking at the map, one way looks about the same as the other to me. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I think the trip via Kansas City up to Sioux Falls, and then back east on I-90 to MN-23 would be the route I would take. I think it would be a little bit faster and its probably going to be the most direct route with the most interstate.

The distance isn't going to be all that different from approaching Marshall from the West, but instead of going up to Minneapolis, I'd just take I-90 across Southern Minnesota and then either pick-up US-14 at Rochester or take I-90 all the way to Worthington, and go north from there. If you went this way, you'd still also want to stay West of Chicago, by taking I-39 through Illinois.

There actually are several other options that would take you more diagonally through Iowa. They could actually be shorter in distance, but I don't think it would save you much time. It could be a nice fun detour is you want to get off the beaten path a little bit.

While I think the I-29 option will be your fastest route, the advice I'd take, which is one I use anytime to options are pretty similar: I'd take one going there and take another option coming back!

[RedCorral]

it is over an hour quicker to NOT go via Chicago. And given the reputation for traffic and road construction around Chicago it might be even faster than that.

The route they recommend is the same that AAA suggested. I hope you have a little more time going home to enjoy the trip, though the route you'll be taking has some very scenic parts.

Everyone around here says to anyone going through St. Louis to stop at the arch, and I agree. I didn't expect much, but it is one of the most amazing structures I've ever seen. And the Museum of Westward Expansion under the arch is impressive as well. Worth your time, if you can squeeze a couple of hours out of your roadtrip.

Enjoy,

Craig Sheumaker
co-author of the travel guide: America's Living History-The Early Years

[rloosier]

Why thank you gentlemen! I especially like the idea of going one way and coming back the other. My youngest daughter is going to be missing three days of school for this trip and a marching band competition (what can we do--it's her ONLY sibling and she's the maid of honor at that!--We're GOING!) so I would really like to make the journey itself a bit of an eye-opening, educational experience and not just an 18-20 hour endurance test.

Thanks for the input, I REALLY appreciate it. Great site!

oh yea, I've seen the Arch one time and that was over 30 years ago on a road trip to Kansas with my dad at the wheel. I still fondly recall that trip. He made roadtrips so much fun.