Greeley to Las Vegas in March

[scoops]

G'day from Down Under (Australia),
Would appreciate any help in planning a trip from Greeley Colorado to Las Vegas via Albuquerque and Flagstaff mid March next year.
Have allowed a week to get there and have picked this route to by-pass mountain snow. Not keen on driving in the snow.
Any places of interest and good accommodation along the way would be appreciated. Just my wife and myself. Thanks in Advance Scoops

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA forum!

Well, there is a big problem with your approach. The route you've picked certainly can see snow in March - just about as easily as if you took the more direct and exceptionally scenic trip across I-70. Simply put, there really is no way to drive between those point without having the risk of seeing snow.

Regardless of which way you go, a week is a whole lot of time for this distance (which could quite easily be done in 2 days). Since the only thing you've told us about your interests is that you don't want snow, its not really possible for us to say what stops might be good for you, so I'd recommend simply doing some research on the 4 corner states and see what things and places look most interesting to you.

[howard]

Hi, Scoops.

Using I-40 as an alternative to I-70 in the hope of avoiding snow is a subject that gets discussed here every winter. The problem with this idea is that just because I-40 is a more southerly route doesn’t mean that there won’t be any snow. I-40 is above 5000 ft. 2/3 of the way across New Mexico and Arizona, reaching elevations over 7000 ft. at several places. (see map below)

Clickable thumbnail


Also, I-25 sees plenty of snowy weather, as it runs right along the western edge of the Rocky Mountains.

Now, with all that said, in mid-March the weather might not be all that bad. There’s a chance that you could see some snow, but you never know. Springtime weather is very unpredictable around here, except for the wind -- you can pretty much count on that.

As far as places of interest along the way, the Grand Canyon springs to mind. There is also a good article about other places near the Grand Canyon here on RTA. You may want to look through this thread as well. Once you get some idea of places you might want to visit, come back and we’ll try to help you plan your trip.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Howard,

You've outdone yourself with this year's graphic.. Excellent work.

And to the underlying point.... If you are facing winter storms you really want to be dealing with a highway department that is one of the best in the nation -- Colorado has some of best gear and personnel for the quick and efficient removal of snow...

Mark

[scoops]

Looks like I need to clarify things.
Firstly we love snow and are looking forward to the scenery as we drive south. Just didn't want to take the chance of driving with snow/ice on the road whilst going thru the mountain pass in March. Thats one of the reasons we have decided to go via Albuquerque. 'The other is to see some historic sites, Colorado springs, historic cemetaries ( wife loves to read first hand the stories sometimes detailed on the head stones). We thought it might only take 2 days and need to find places of interest that might be just off the route we plan to take where we may spend a day here and a day there. Obviously we will spend a day in Albuquerque in the old township. Just a couple of 50 year olds going for a weeks drive. If you know of an interesting spot or a good hotel thats a start.Thanks

[scoops]

Thanks Howard,
Your advice was spot on will spend some time following your tips and get back.
Thanks again scoops