Lansing MI to Seattle, WA at the end of this month

[cchronix]

Hi everyone! I'm happy to have stumbled upon a great website to better prepare myself for this awesome journey ahead of me! At the end of this month, I will be traveling from Lansing to Seattle with a friend of mine.
A few things that I already have planned:
We are renting a car, already booked for Monday to Saturday.
We are looking to take I-80 towards Salt Lake City and then up to Seattle from there.
We only plan to drive around 7 or 8 hours a day so we have plenty of time to stop if needed and explore the cities we find.

I suppose my questions focus mainly on 1. Is I-80 a better choice? Going on I-70 would be an option too, and I would be able to stop in St. Louis that way. And 2. How bad is weather predicted to be on either of these highways and when we reach the mountains?
I'd also like any recommendations for cool attractions along these highways. Anyone who has made this trip, I would love to hear how yours went!

[Lifemagician]

Hi, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

You are fortunate, there have been a few discussion of similar trips in the last month or so. These might help you -

Eastern NC to Seattle
A similar trip in reverse
A trip report

As you look through the winter forum, you might find more which are relevant to your plans.

Lifey

[Midwest Michael]

I suppose my questions focus mainly on 1. Is I-80 a better choice? Going on I-70 would be an option too, and I would be able to stop in St. Louis that way. And 2. How bad is weather predicted to be on either of these highways and when we reach the mountains?

It's impossible to say what the weather might be on any route a few weeks from now. You won't be able to know that until just a few days before you leave, when you can look at accurate weather forecasts.

As far as routes, first, is there a specific reason you are looking to go to St. Louis? If you really want to go there, you could probably make it work, but it's a big detour - as would any route that involves I-70. That really would soak up pretty much any "extra" time you've got.

The direct route options are I-80 to I-84 or using I-94/I-90. I-90 (or I-94) is actually a good 100 miles shorter than I-80, and has the advantage of being significantly lower in elevation than I-80, which often makes it a better choice in winter weather. (Don't fall into the myth that going south somehow improves your odds of seeing good weather) If all things are equal, I'd lean towards using I-90, but again, if there is a storm forecast in Montana or the Dakotas that you can avoid by going through Wyoming and Nebraska, by all means, then use I-80.

As it is, you need a solid 4-5 days on the road in good conditions, and it's always good to have an extra day available to wait out a storm, so the Monday-Saturday you've got planned right now is pretty good, but it actually might not give you as much extra time as you were thinking.