Vancouver BC to Phoenix AZ in March

[riceyz]

Hi all, thanks in advance for answering my questions.
It's my first time doing a roadtrip, so I'm not sure what to expect other than the long drive.
I'm planning to drive from Vancouver to Phoenix next week (mid March)
I wonder what the weather condition is going to be like?
Should I avoid the mountain roads? Will there be snow?
I'm planning to do it in three days.. What is a good place to stay overnight?
Many thanks..

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

No one can predict the weather this far in advance, particularly for such a changeable period as March. So your best bet is simply to be ready for whatever the weather is when the time comes for your drive. Fortunately there are two completely different routes that you can take and hopefully at least one of them will be experiencing dry and sunny weather. The (slightly) shorter of the two follows I-90/I-82 out of Seattle to Twin Falls, ID and then takes US-93/NV-318 south through the Great Basin to Las Vegas and on to US-60 into Phoenix. Overnight stops would be in roughly Baker City, OR and Sunnyside, NV. The second rout3e would just continue south on I-5 all the way to just north of Los Angeles, use I-210 across the northern end of the L.A. Basin and I-10 to Phoenix, with overnights around Roseburg, OR and Huron, CA. Take a look at both those routes. They both cross mountains and/or are otherwise subject to inclement weather, but as I say - One of them should be clear. Then decide just a day or so before leaving which way to go.

AZBuck

[glc]

I would recommend something slightly different to avoid the LA area traffic.

Take I-5 to CA-46 at Lost Hills. Take that to CA-99 into Bakersfield, then CA-58 to US-395. Take that to I-15 to I-215 to I-10 to Phoenix. Suggested overnights would be around Grants Pass and Bakersfield.

If you want to take the inland route, take I-90 out of Seattle to I-82 to I-84 to Salt Lake City. Take I-15 to UT-20 to US-89 to Flagstaff, then I-17 to Phoenix. Suggested overnights would be around Boise and Beaver or Panguitch.