San Diego to Salt Lake City

[Twinmom413]

Hi everyone,
I am traveling this January from San Diego to Salt Lake City. I will have four kids and two dogs with me.

I have no idea what the drive is like past Las Vegas. I'm assuming I will be on the 15 the whole way. Will I be going through mountains? Snow?

Any experience is much appreciated.
Thanks

[DonnaR57]

Welcome to RTA!

Yes, you should probably take I-15 the whole way. It's the most direct, and in the winter, it is also the first to be maintained if inclement weather sets in.

From Las Vegas to St George UT is pretty much desert. When you are crossing thought the corner of Arizona, between Nevada and Utah, you will be going through the Virgin River Gorge....beautiful! Once you pass through St George, you will start to climb into mountains. The terrain will change a lot. Just before you get to Beaver, there's a 6,600 ft pass, and as you get to the junction of I-70, you are around 7,000 ft. So, there's where snow could be -- or then again, maybe not.

Do you have maps, or at least a decent atlas? If not, you can get an atlas from Walmart (or similar). If you're a member of AAA, go to the nearest branch and request a Nevada/Utah map, and get one for California if you don't already have one.

A few days before your departure date, start watching weather forecasts. It's 750 miles, and with four kids and two dogs, I'd suggest an overnight in St George -- about 450 miles, or 8-9 hour day on the road (depending on the traffic - LA to LV traffic can be horrible!). Now, if this were my husband and myself, we would leave San Diego at 3 in the morning and try to get through to Barstow by 6 am, then pull into a motel at noon. Our kids were used to this kind of stuff, but not every child is. (Ours would sleep in the car.)


Donna