driving from Pittsburgh PA to Las Vegas NV need route help!!

[brymar6]

Hi all, hope someone can help here. I will be driving a friends RV from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas on the 6th of December. I have only 5 days to get back to Vegas. Because of the time of year and weather I am wondering what the best, fastest & safest route would be. I know I could either do the northern or southern route...preferably southern due to the time of year but I am having a hard time finding a website with driving directions other than Mapquest. Mapquest doesn't give any alternate routes, just the one they generate. Any help would be so appreciated.

Thanks so much!

[RoadTripper Brad]

I can't elaborate much on what the route goes through, but my suggestion would be:

I-79 south from Pittsburg to I-70, I-70 West to St. Louis. I-55 south from St Louis to I-40, I-40 east to US 95 near Needles, CA, US 95 north to Las Vegas. Thats the route I would take.

[Robert Schaller]

My recommendation is always make your choice for a winter trip based on the conditions at the time of departure. Conditions today can be a total opposite of what they will be in 2 or 3 more days -- or last week.

You could find the direct route clear of winter conditions (I-70 to I-15 in Utah, then SW to Las Vegas) -- and it is not only the prettiest choice (my opinion) but also the shortest -- I think about 250 miles or more shorter. Brad's route is a good one also -- as are many other choices. But don't assume that I-70 won't be a great choice in winter -- it often is.

For free online trip planning, you might try Rand McNally's website. You can "force" the software to your choice of routes by choosing your stops carefully. For a trip next week, though, I'd probably go to the drugstore or grocery and pick up a paper atlas -- it's a down and dirty quick way to plan a trip. No bells and whistles of course, but it'll get you there. Happy planning! Bob

[Midwest Michael]

As the others have mentioned, the best route will depend upon the weather this time of year.

I'd take I-70 to St. Louis and from there take a look at weather forecasts. If the weather is clear in the East, you should be able to make it there in one good solid day of driving.

If things look good in Colorado and Kansas for the next couple days, I'd stay on I-70 and take that to I-15. It is the fastest and most senic route.

If the weather is looking better to the south, then I'd cut down to I-40, but instead of going straight south on I-55, cut across on I-44 to OK City (which is the general route of old US-66).

[brymar6]

Thank you all so much for your help and advice. I'm also trying to find cool things to do in different cities on the way back to Vegas. I am asking for help once again!!! Are there any books that have interesting places to visit on the route? I thought I'd get the road map you guys suggested, then break down the cities and research them on the internet to find "must see" places. I'm hoping there is a book for this as it would be much easier than hours of tedious web work. Again, thanks everyone, this is SO appreciated!!

[Robert Schaller]

Most book stores will have a selection of travel guides for different states or even specific highways. Or, you can find some travel guides and books linked here on RTA! One particularly useful book was recently highlighted on our home page (United States: On the Road) -- check it out here. Plus we review the best of the best in terms of road trip guides and road americana lore.

Personally, I've been using the web -- just a couple of key words along with the city or state name, and you can quickly pull up different attractions/ideas. Bob

[mk1]

that's a lot of driving to make it in 5 days in an RV.

granted that my trip was farther. it took me 5 days to drive from Wash DC to San Jose going up top on I-80. 85mph most of the way. and when the road was straight and clear, 100-130mph. this was in May.

on the trip back it took me 7 days since i took I-40 in hopes of avoiding snow. then cutting back up Missouri and then I-70, i got stuck in Thanksgiving traffic on Wednesday and some sleet & light snow. and lots of curvey roads too so i couldn't go too fast for too long like I-80.

and this is in a high perf car. i can't imagine slugging it along in an RV especially when you climb & descend mountains....worse if it snows.

i drove from 9am - 6pm usually, then looked for a Motel-6. 10-20 mins break every 180-220 miles.