2 Aussies going LA to NY in January road trip 2018 Recommendations?

[Crich944]

Hi there! I'm looking for some recommendations on our trip..

My girlfriend and I are looking to do a road trip starting in LA to NY during later December/early January 2017-2018. We're planning for around 30 days but we are flexible with days..

We're thinking of starting LA ->Las Vegas -> Salt Lake City -> Denver -> Kansas City -> Chicago -> Washington Dc -> Philadelphia -> New York.

Just wondering, is this a reasonable route for winter and if there are any spots along the way that are "must see/stop overs".. i like to take landscape photos so i love anywhere with natural beauty

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Yes it's a reasonable route for the time you have, but of course you can't predict weather and road conditions this far in advance so you will have to keep an eye on both during travel and be adaptable if need be. We don't do generic 'must sees' here as one persons dream destination could be another ones worst nightmare, so it's all about your interests. There are a million and one options of beautiful and amazing places but at the moment all we have to go on is a list of City's. There are more than enough natural wonders between LV and Denver that you would not get to see all of them in 30 days, never mind across the country, so it's a case of doing a bit more research and see what appeals, a good map and lots of searching around the RTA site will bring up lots of ideas. As you love landscapes I'd reconsider going up to SLC and look at some of the natural wonders in Arizona, Southern Utah and Colorado, the Grand canyon, Monument valley, Zion NP, Arches NP to name a few and check out some of the scenic drives in between. As I mentioned, the weather could play a big part in your trip so make up lists of places you would like to see and then stay flexible. Once you have moved forward with your planning and more specific questions arise, don't hesitate to ask.

[Lifemagician]

Hi, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

Any trip is possible, after all, the movement of goods around the country goes on all year long. The main difference for a winter trip is that you have sufficient time and that you keep an eye on the weather.

What you have planned is probably one of the most expensive way to go about a 30 day roadtrip. With 30 days you have the time to do a loop trip from LA to NYC and back again, taking in sights in the southern half of the country one way, and the northern part the other way. This could save you on air fares, flying into and out of the same city. It would also avoid the one way drop fee on the rental car, which can be quite significant when you pick up a car on the west coast and leave it on the east coast. (They need to pay to get it back to the west coast.) Considering that you can comfortably drive from one coast to the other in six days, I suggest you consider a loop trip. Such a trip would make sense.

As a photographer interested in landscape photography, are you only interested in cities? Your path could take in many of the great national parks and historical areas. Having winter pictures of these places, potentially with snow, they would be very different from most tourist's photos, which are typically taken in summer.

Do you have any good detailed maps for plann9ing this trip? They will show you much more what there is along the way, than what electronics will. If maps are not available locally, I would highly recommend that you purchase a Rand McNally road atlas (there is none better) from the RTA store, via the link at the bottom of this page. If you order it now you will have it in a couple of weeks. You could map yourself a route taking in the sights along the way which interest you. On RTA we really do not do must sees, as one person's must see is another's must pass by. The best route on any roadtrip is the route which takes you to where you want to go.

One thing I will suggest is that, no matter in which State you live, you take your automobile club membership - RACV, NRMA, etc. - with you. It will give you access to tourism information from the AAA all across the country.

Lifey.

[keithg]

Gidday. Welcome to RTA forum.

Would be great to have a white Christmas. Be different to our hot ones. As yet we havn't been to the east but definitely cant wait to do it. I would be worried about getting caught in to much snow and ice at that time of the year in the north east. As I said though, we havnt been over there yet. Done 9 states in the west twice. You are going to have an awesome time no matter when you go. There is so much to see and the people are very friendly. Makes it hard to leave some times :). The National Parks are out of this world for a photographer. Actually, not only the parks. We tried to stay off the interstates where we could and the scenery is magnificent. Even when on a Interstate Hwy, we still drove off them into a town to check it out now and then. You see and learn a lot. As Lifey said, good maps are great help. Have a GPS by all means but don't rely on it. Great for getting through cities and to keep an eye on as to how you are going but my brand new one at the time asked me to turn into a potato field and another time sent me over these mountains where today, I still havn't found the road on a map anywhere. Lucky we had a full tank of gas. Buzzards were hanging around. :)

What ever you decide, it will be a magnificent experience and you have come to the right place for advice. You have plenty of time to read the reports here of others and let us know what you want to do and see. You will get so much great advice. I know from experience. Made our trip great the expert advice we received.

Cheers. Keithg