Road Trip From NY to West Coast

[Simon B]

I have to be in NY at the end of April for a wedding, I'm then thinking of doing a roadtrip form NY to the West coast. Can't miss the Great Lakes so Detroit/Chicago is a must. What would be the best/most interesting route to get across down through Vegas to LA and San Fransisco ??
I'm coming from England so it looks like I'll have to hire a car which will cost a fortune but can't see any other way.
How much is a gallon of petrol at the minute ??
What will the weather be like around the Great Lakes in early May time ??

Any advice/websites/stories would be greatly appreciated.

See you all soon !!

Simon B

[kristy]

it depends on how much time/money you have to spend and what your interests are. cities or scenery? the fastest way would probably be I-80 from NY to Utah and then I-15 south to LA. this will take you right past the Lake Erie and Lake Michigan, past several national parks in utah and arizona including the grand canyon, through vegas to san diego or La. if you have more time and money you could either stay north and take I-90 through south dakota to the badlands, mount rushmore continuing on to yellowstone then head south. or you could go south from Ny in any number of ways depending on what you are most interested in( new orleans, nashville, the coast, texas) and across to La if it is a round trip you could do both? I just went cross country from Ny to seattle and the average gas price was $1.50 per gallon. assuming weather is close to the same in May as it is at the end of october it should be good at the beginning of May.

[Simon B]

Thanks for that !! The round trip sounds good !! Have to work out how much time I would need , do you think 6 weeks is enough or would that be pushing it ?? I'd like to keep away from the cities and spend more time in the national parks and see the scenary.

[kristy]

6 weeks would be plenty of time to do a round trip with lots of sight seeing when i dont stop for sight seeing i do the ny to seattle in three days if you want parks then i definatly recommend going through south dakota to the badlands and mt rushmore onto yellowstone then head south through utah hitting at least one of the parks there(zion, bryce are both great)then grand canyon natl park onto la and san diego i would plan those things that you really want to see first then if you are making good time or spend less time at a park than planned you can always add on if you havent taken a road trip before you might not be able to drive as many hours a day as you think or you might be able to do more if you are the type that falls asleep easily in teh car you might have to plan for more stops also you can leave room for some spontaneity most of all have fun and take lots of pictures

[Mike G]

I live in the Great Lakes area and they're okay, but the WEST is the BEST! My friend and I took a road trip out west this year and had a great time.

The Black Hills and Badlands are definite places to stop as they are geological wonders and unalike anywhere else. Mount Rushmore is great but Crazy Horse is incomplete and too expensive (Rushmore's free). If you decide to go north from Sioux City (if i can remember where 90 splits), Devil's Tower is a mysterious and awe-inspiring place to visit. The Wyoming countryside is absolutely beautiful and the long and winding roads weave through the landscape (straight out of a BMW commercial).

Finally, Glacier National Park is a must see if you continue north as this park is magic, you'll be one with nature if you go to Glacier, I guarantee it. It was extremely difficult to leave Glacier National Park.

[Mark Sedenquist]

All great suggestions from these posts. In our view, six weeks is pushing pretty hard if you really want to see as much of the country as you have suggested, (but many visitors try and to the same trip in 2 weeks so you are more reasonable than some.)

A round trip that covers most of the areas described in these posts will run about 7500 miles. That is a long haul in the early Spring due to late snow storms and generally tough weather to slog through. On the other hand, you will get to see natural wonders in the early Spring -- a rare treat anywhere.

I strongly suggest you get a copy of Andrew Vincent's book on roadtripping in the USA -- he is a Brit who has traveled much of the same roads you are considering. For our review and information check out: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/read/uk.htm

Mark

[Simon B]

Thanks All !!,

Loads of good information coming back and some good routes coming in !! The only probem I have got is that hire cars don't want to rent you a car for more than a month and if you drop it off the other side they want to charge you another 750 dollars for a one way trip !! Nobody knows of a rental firm that does extended periods so I can do a round trip of about 6-7 weeks ?? I looked into driveaway companies and that seems like a good idea but they don't seem to give you too many extra miles for sightseeing and make you drive about 350 miles a day. That must be at least 6 hrs driving per day. Problem using the train is that your stuck to somebody elses timetable and they always seem to take longer.

Thanks again,

Simon B

[Mark Sedenquist]

Another Driveway problem is that a driver is contractually forbidden from entering a national park and so some of the most scenic areas would be off-limits.

In regards to the rental car issue -- have you checked with brokers in your home country? Often times, you can get much better package deals "aboad" than can be found here in the USA.

Mark

[Aussie]

At those rates you'd be better off buying a used car!