Boston to LA (Early October)

[Cunias]

HI all

First off - you guys have a great site here. It's already given me a lot of good information.

I plan to do a road trip in October from Boston to LA, and was hoping that you could help me out a little. The trip needs to be in 17-18 days. Rough itinerary is:

Boston
New York (stay with friends)
St Louis
Monument Valley
Las Vegas with a trip to Zion Canyon if time permits
Los Angeles

Routing I am looking at is I-70 from New York to St Louis, I-44 to Tulsa, I-40 to Vegas detouring to Monument Valley. Is there a better way to go? I am not particularly fussy about the route as long as it incorporates the above places.

Will I have time to do this road trip in the time frame, given that I wouldn't be comfortable driving more than 6 hours a day, though if there was a day that need a bit more that wouldn't be a problem.

Also, is there any part of the routing that would have unpleasant weather in October.

Thanks in advance for your help, and thanks for the great site.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the R.T.A. forums.

Driving across country for 6 hours a day would be achievable in 8-9 days. Keeping in mind that's a relaxed pace already it will leave you quite a bit of time for sight seeing.

Your route is fine for the above mentioned places and a lot will depends on your interests. For instance if Tulsa wasn't a must do you could carry in I-70 to Denver. In between Denver and Monument Valley you can drive through some of the best scenery to be found anywhere with numerous National parks on the way. A drive around Rocky N.P, Colorado N.M, Arches, Mesa Verde to name a few and which are all short detours on the way.
Through this region I personally think October is a great month to travel. The temperatures and visitor numbers begin to drop to a bearable level and you can enjoy your surroundings at it's best.

I notice the Grand canyon is not mentioned but really should be done between M/V and Vegas.

If you have more questions, ask away.

[glc]

I would take I-80 out of NYC to Youngstown, I-76 to I-71 to Columbus, and get I-70 there. This avoids the majority of tolls. Then you can break off the Interstates in or past Denver and explore the Colorado Rockies, head on into Utah and Arizona and on to Vegas.

[Cunias]

Thanks for the replies.

Dave, I have been to GC before but have been thinking about going in from the north this round, which would also make access to Bryce, Zion and other southern Utah parks easier. I take it that if driving through the Rockies at that time of year is pleasant that the North Rim will be open as well?

glc, thanks for the routing suggestion. I will look into that option.

[Southwest Dave]

The North rim visitor facilities normally close around mid October but access can be way after this dependant on when the first main snowfall begins.

The weather is unpredictable and I forgot to mention the night time temps can get cold at high elevation. The Rocky's could see daytime temps in the high 50's to 60 whereas at night are likely to be near freezing or below. Zion and Bryce are fantastic parks but again there can be large contrasts in temps. We were there in mid October and daytime in Zion was close to 70 [maybe higher] and the following night well below freezing at Bryce which is at a high elevation. You need to bring layered clothing for the cold nights but in the deserts you could still be seeing temps over the 90's.

[Cunias]

Okay rough itinerary at this stage

Boston - 3 days
New York - 2 days
New York to Denver 5 days (I-80, I-76, I-71, I-70)
Denver to Cedar City 6 days (NPs through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, NM)
Las Vegas 3 days
LA

What interesting and quirky things are there along the route. Interests are:
* sports in general - already plan on going to the Pro Foootball Hall of Fame in Canton, and hopefully catch an NFL/NCAA game
* quirky or out-there musuems especially anything sci-fi
* national parks - this is more for the eastern part of the trip as I have a fair idea of what I want to see between Denver and LA
* Music - rock/alternative/punk


Also are there any good college towns within easy reach, possibly for a night's accommodation?

[glc]

Have you considered the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY and the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA?

If you are into sci-fi, there's Quark's Bar & Restaurant in the Hilton in Las Vegas.

Ohio State U is in Columbus, U of Illinois is in Champaign/Urbana, K State is in Manhattan, KS.

[Cunias]

Thanks for the info so far.

This trip is definitely a goer now, so I've been doing a fair bit of research on places I want to see. I have a couple of more questions.

The following is a list of places I want to visit:
Boston, Basketball HOF, Gettysburg, Antietam, Harpers Ferry, Shenandoah NP, NFL HOF, Jim Beam Distillery, Dodge City, Rocky Mtn NP, Arches NP, Monument Valley, North Rim Grand Canyon, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Staircase-Escalante NP, Las Vegas. I also hope to catch an NFL or college football game most likely in Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana.

Am I being too ambitious trying to fit all of this in over a 20 day period?

For this trip, with the exception of Boston, I am planning on finding accommodation as I go rather than have a strict schedule of what town I need to be in on a given night. What are my chances of finding accommodation near the National Parks without reservations?