Please help with flattest route...

[dmgreen]

traveling from Port Huron Michigan to Nashville. I had a scary experience a few years ago driving to Charleston...now I am terrified of encountering steep grades...and yes I know interstates do not have what most of you would consider steep...but for this flat lander I77 was terrifying. I am thinking I65 may be flattest route? Any info on any steep grades I may encounter would be greatly appreciated!! Please help calm my nerves I want to enjoy this road trip without worries. Thank you!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Indeed, I-94/I-75/I-71/I-65 through Detroit, Toledo, Cincinnati and Louisville (with the appropriate beltways and bypasses) is your straightest, flattest route. Now, while grades don't bother me much, I do know what you mean about 'I-77'. Parts of that (and I-64) were originally built as the West Virginia Turnpike which was NOT built to Interstate standards. Originally, it was one lane in each direction for long sections. It's been mostly brought up to current standards, but there's no avoiding the fact that it cuts through mountains, and across the grain at that.

By contrast, the route outlined above is as flat as you're going to find outside the Great Plains. You might just start seeing some rolling hill country as you approach Nashville, but certainly nothing to worry about.

AZBuck

[dmgreen]

thank you so much for easing my mind! Never knew this would frighten me until i hit I-77 unprepared lol. Some places i read that I-65 has some steep spots? Really, I didnt find 75 to florida too bad and im hoping 65 is even flatter than that.
Also, if you know of any halfway point interesting overnight stops that would be great!
thank you again.

[AZBuck]

Cincinnati is located pretty close to the halfway point. If you decide to spend the night there, you should try to arrive at some point other than evening rush hour, and stay on the far (Kentucky) side of the river so you won't have to fight the worst of the next morning's traffic either. Possibly more important than having interesting thing to do there (although I'm sure there's no shortage) is have a few place to stop and take a break during each day's drive. For bigger venues, Ohio has several air and space sites including the Neil Armstrong Museum in Wapokoneta and the Wright Brothers sites and Air Force Museum in Dayton, and Kentucky has the scenic (even if you stay above ground) Mammoth Cave National Park near Cave City/Park City. You only need to 'do' 300 miles a day, so you should have time to take it a bit easy.

AZBuck

[dmgreen]

Thank you so much! We were thinking about a Mammoth Cave stop. and we definately stop freqeuntly...i love to allow time to enjoy the ride and find new and interesting things along the way. I like to make the drive part of the "vacation".

[dmgreen]

Traveling from Port Huron, MI to Nashville next month. We really would like to take our time and stop somewhere overnight so that our first day in Nashville can be a full day. We booked a room in Elizabeth, IN at the Horseshoe Southern Casino.
Now, we can do the usual I94, I75, I71 route but we've done that many times and we're looking for something different. Thinking about taking I69 to Indy then I65 then next day continue to Nashville. Any thoughts? Recommendations? Thank you!

[dmgreen]

Anyone? Please :)

[glc]

Welcome to RTA!

Taking I-69 to I-65 only adds about 60 miles to I-94/I-75/I-65 and it keeps you away from Detroit. It does take you through Indy, but I'd much rather go through (around, use the bypass) there than Detroit.

Your overnight is quite doable, it's only about 500 miles. The second day will only be a half day.

[dmgreen]

thank you!

[AZBuck]

As with your previous routing (see above), you'll only have time for a few modest stops on your entire drive. Moving your overnight a bit farther south, from "halfway" to Elizabeth IN really means that you won't have time for much more than parks near the highway that I mentioned previously. But it still means that you'll need to devote a full five or so hours to getting from there to Nashville, meaning that you can't possibly make your first cay in Nashville a full day, unless you mean that you don't intend to arrive in Nashville until late on the second day ad make the third day of your trip the first in Nashville, in which case your best bet is to visit Mammoth cave National Park as previously suggested.

AZBuk