Seattle to Boston in 5 days

[Student]

A best friend and I will be driving back to school in Boston at the end of the summer. We're hoping to take 5 days...which we know is speedy, but we can't spare any more time. What are the best routes? Must see sights? Suggestions for timing, pace, etc? I've been on many a road trip, but nothing this quick or far. Any road trip tips and suggestions for this path are much appreciated!

:)

That really doesn't give you much time at all to enjoy the trip!

But, given the option to see only one thing on the way, I'd choose Yellowstone National Park.

[Robert Schaller]

Figure your total mileage, divide by the number of days you have, and you can come up with how many miles you need to cover each day and apply that to a map to see about where you should have gotten to by the end of each day. That way, you'll keep track of how you are doing overall and you won't get behind!

[Rocky Royko]

Stop by Chitown if you can!

[PNW Judy]

Well, MS Streets & Trips says that your trip is 3064 miles via I-90 all the way.

You will need to drive roughly 9.5 hours per day (of course, this will vary depending on speed/traffic/etc.)

Suggested areas to stop each night are:

Night 1: Three Forks, MT (roughly halfway between Butte and Bozeman)

Night 2: Driscoll/Steele area of North Dakota (about 40 miles east of Bismarck, ND

Night 3: Madison, WI, area

Night 4: West Portland, NY (about 25 miles east of Erie, PA)

Hope this helps!

If you only have 5 days, you really aren't going to have any time to see much of anything. My husband and I drove from Boston to Seattle last summer, I-90 all the way, averaging 8 hours of driving a day with little to no stopping, and it took us 7 days. One of us was driving a rental truck, so that did slow us down a bit, but still... 5 days is pretty tight!

We stopped and saw Mt. Rushmore - cool, if you've never been there. Also saw Devil's Tower in Wyoming. I would avoid Butte, Montana.

I wish we had more time to spend in Wisconsin, which surprised me - but it was a beautiful part of the drive. Crossing the Mississippi River is great as well.

Have a fab. drive!

[sdobler]

Hey there, I'm driving from Seattle to Boston as well! Although I'm going on to NYC for school after a wedding in Boston and I'm taking almost two weeks to do it. I'm writing to you from Winnetka, just a bit north of Chicago. I have to say that I agree with the Wyoming assesment, plus the speed limits are high and still not adhered to. I would reccomend state routes. They turned out to be just as fast as I-90, even faster in some places because there wasn't much city traffic. Plus I found it way more scenic and entertaining. If you know when you'll be where Priceline and Orbitz is a great way to get good deals on hotels. I didn't plan much and only once found a hotel/motel for under 50 dollars (in a scary Quality Inn off the freeway in Gillette, WY). The friend I was with knew a week or two ahead of time when we'd stay in Denver (she had to fly back to Seattle for work and left me on my own)and was able to reserve a Courtyard by Marriot room for 35. It was outside of Denver and not at all scenic (Stapleton) but very easy to access and get back on the road from. I found that having a AAA book with hotels and rates was handy when I found myself getting tired and wanting to stop for the night. Usually rates are 10 or 20 dollars cheaper after 8 or 9 when hotels would rather have a discounted rate than no rate at all. Good luck and have fun! Steph