Dallas to Lakewood Colorado - Late September 2024

[jesspw]

If you’re up for a slight detour, you could swing through Santa Fe by taking I-40 west before heading north on I-25, adding some scenic charm to your drive. For overnight stays, Amarillo has options like the Drury Inn & Suites, or you could camp at Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Raton, NM, is another good stop, with Sugarite Canyon State Park for camping or the Raton Pass Inn for a cozy night’s rest. As you drive up, you can check out Palo Duro Canyon, Capulin Volcano near Raton, and the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

[Fred Jumayao]

Just wondering if anyone has a preferred route between DFW to Lubbock. I'm in Denton county and Google is giving me two main options.

1. US-380 W and US-82 W
2. TX-114 W and US-82 W

Appreciate any advice.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Fred,

There are dozens of roads between Dallas and Lubbock. The most direct would be I-20 to US Hwy 84.

Given the parameters of the rest of your trip. Is this to be a "speed run" or are you looking for some alternative routes to mosey?

Mark

[AZBuck]

I think that this going to be a very personal choice, but here are my thoughts. There are actually three possible routes. All of them are within a couple miles of each other in length and are predicted to take pretty much the same amount of time. However, neither of the first two options you list are actually that simple.

(1) When fully written out, this would be: US-380 west to Decatur, US-287 north to just past Bowie, FM-174 west to Windthorst, TX-25 west to just past Archer City, FM-210 west for 10 miles, FM-422 west to Seymour, US-82 west to Lubbock.

(2) would be: US-380 to Jacksboro, US-281 northwest for 7 miles, TX-114 west to Seymour, US-82 west to Lubbock.

(3) would be: I-35W south, I-820 west and south, I-20 west to just past Sweetwater, US-84 northwest to Lubbock.

Option (3) has the advantage of being on major roads all the way, but would have you driving in the Fort Worth metro area at the beginning, which would be a consideration if you're planning to start during the morning rush hour. Given that the other two are very similar, I would probably opt for Option (1) as there is a short stretch of Interstate quality road that gets you through the Bowie 'metro' area, and even the Farm to Market (FM) roads have a 60 mph speed limit. Anyway, those are my thoughts.

AZBuck

[Fred Jumayao]

Thank you both for the answers and the question.

Mark, you asking that question made me realize I just want to get to Lubbock the easiest and safest way. AZBuck thank you for the detailed response OMG!, I will go with option 1. Have a great week gents!