Los Angeles to Dayton Ohio

[mom4jj]

Hello Roadtrippers! My boyfriend and I are planning a roadtrip from LA to Ohio in August to visit family and see the country. We have given ourselves 2 weeks to travel, visit and sightsee...and the plan is to take route 70 up and route 40 back. We are looking for ideas for places to stop along the way to sightsee. We love to eat, visit small towns and take in the beauty that can only be found by being open to adventure. We would welcome any ideas that will make this long road trip even more enjoyable.

[Lifemagician]

Hi, and Welcome to the The Great American RoadTrip Forum.

You can turn this into a great trip by periodically getting off the interstates, and taking some of the old US highways, all of which pass through a plethora of small towns. Ones that come to mind, and which I have enjoyed are US6 through NE; US36 through KS and MO; and even though I-70 is a spectacular interstate through UT and western CO, you may like to experience some of the small mountain towns along US50 and US24 through that State. However, there are countless others for you to choose from, both on the way there, and on the way back. Get out a good map or road atlas, and see for yourself which suit.

As well as the interesting small towns - speak with the locals, ask them where they eat, where they like to go for a drive, etc. - there are other less visited attractions along these routes, upon which you may stumble. One which I found more than a decade ago is along US36 in KS - The geographical centre of the contiguous States. Keep your eyes open for signs along the way, you never know what you may see. It could become the hi-light of your trip.

And don't discount the accommodation some of these towns have to offer. Not the large chain hotel/motel type, but the smaller, individually owned and operated places.

Have a great trip.

Lifey

[Charlie H]

Two weeks for a round trip? How long do you plan on visiting friends and family?

[DonnaR57]

The fact is, two weeks for a round trip doesn't leave you a whole lot of time. One way on I-70 can be done in 4 very long days (stops in Richfield Utah, Burlington Colorado, Columbia MO and then in Dayton) of 600 miles -- 11 hours. Same will be needed from Dayton back to LA. (The mileage is very close, and where you stay the first night will depend on where you drop down to I-40. The second night could be Oklahoma City or El Reno, the third night in Santa Rosa NM, and the fourth night in Williams AZ.)

That leaves you 6 days to play with.

It was suggested above to get off the "blue highways" (interstates) and take the "black highways" (US and state highways). Realize that it will take far longer to make the same time. We've been traveling the "black highways" on this trip and it takes 8 hours to make 350 miles because of all the stop lights, stop signs, inability to pass slower traffic, and the speed limits are slower because of terrain.


Donna