San Diego - San Fran - Black Rock Nevada - Vegas - Phoenix??

[Mark Sedenquist]

Is there a way to drive accross from the Burning Man to Bryce canyon or the Grand Canyon? ...or would we have to pass through Vegas anyway?

Heading to San Diego from Burning Man via Bryce could take you through Las Vegas -- but if you are still headed to Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon, then you will bypass Las Vegas.

Your east-bound highways from the Black Rock Desert will be either US-50 or more likely I-80 to I-15 to US-50 to US-89 to Byrce NP and from there you can continue on south and east on US-89 to the Grand Canyon and on to Flagstaff. Depending upon how much time you have left you can either head immediately west on I-40 to I-15 and back to San Diego or proceed on south to Phoenix and then take I-8 back to San Diego.

Or you can go to Las Vegas -- it's really just a matter of where you want to go.

Mark

[AZBuck]

There are almost always alternative routes that let you see or avoid any particular city if you are of such a mind. So yes, you could drive across Nevada and Utah on US-6/UT-21 to I-15 and approach Bryce Canyon and Zion from the north and then use UT-9/US-89 to swing around north and east of the Grand Canyon. All of that would let you avoid Las Vegas. But the stretch across Nevada is rather stark. Don't get me wrong, such areas of 'desolate beauty' really appeal to me, but they're not for everybody and there is a much more scenic, albeit slightly longer, alternative. That would be to head south from Reno on US-395, a gorgeous road in its own right, which also allows access to Yosemite via Tioga Pass, and then use CA-190 through Death Valley to US-95 into Las Vegas. If the Strip is not your cup of tea, then there are plenty of other motels up around Nellis Air Force Base that are less 'glitzy'. From Las Vegas, it would be a simple matter to take I-15 north to Zion and Bryce and then follow UT-9/US-89 as above to get to the Grand Canyon and the other attractions of northern Arizona.

AZBuck

[eticat]

Hi again,

I'm hoping someone can help me out with some information and tips on the leg of our trip from Burning Man to Vegas.
I've currently scheduled just 1 day for this leg, leaving Reno on the morning and arriving in Vegas fof the evening.

Is Highway 95 the best route to take?
Approx how long should this take?

Thanks,
Anne

[Southwest Dave]

Hi welcome back.

Is Highway 95 the best route to take?

This is your most direct route.

Approx how long should this take?

With stops for gas, a stretch of the legs and some lunch e.t.c I would think you will be looking at close to a 10 hour day.

[eticat]

ok, thanks... hmmm 10 hours seems like a veeery long day of driving for someone coming from the UK where everything is within a couple of hours....

Basicallly we're planning to go from Burning Man to Vegas, then Vegas to the the Grand Canyon...

..perhaps we should cut out Vegas.. Is there a more direct route from Gerlach/Reno to the Grand Canyon?

a

[Southwest Dave]

For the south rim of the canyon the most direct route is through Vegas.

Was you just stopping the 1 night at Vegas, or have you got a couple of nights? There is so much going on that arriving after a long day on the road and trying to see part of it will be exhausting, although if you havn't been before it is quite spectacular.

[eticat]

yes, just the one night in Vegas at this stage although I'm going to go back to studying our itinerary and see if I can shuffle things around a little now that I know how long the Reno-Vegas leg is...

There are so many amazing things that we want to do and see in the US. We may just have to accept that we'll have to save some for another trip.

Thanks again for your help. Really appreciate it.

a

[Southwest Dave]

We had the same problem when planning ours, we would of needed 3 months instead of 3 weeks before we had started cuttiing back the list, lol!

Depending on how you feel about driving, [some find it a chore but I really enjoy doing it] it is not like the U.K. the roads in general are long and straight and once out of the cities are much less congested compared to the U.K, making it a whole lot more enjoyable than we are used to, especially with the scenery passing by, much of which we are not used to seeing.
All these things and time for short stops to stretch the legs, take some photo's e.t.c make the journey in between much less tiring than home and a big part of the holiday.

Keep asking all the time you need to. :o)

[eticat]

Thanks. I can't wait to be in those Huge open landscapes!

a

[Mark Sedenquist]

I'm hoping someone can help me out with some information and tips on the leg of our trip from Burning Man to Vegas.
I've currently scheduled just 1 day for this leg, leaving Reno on the morning and arriving in Vegas of the evening.

From Burning Man it's going to take you 2-3 hours to reach Reno.

Is Highway 95 the best route to take?

US-95 is the most direct -- Tonopah is very interesting and has one of the best mining museums in the West. Goldfield was home to the Wyatt Earp brothers and still pretty interesting -- if falling down a bit. Like Southwest Dave mentioned -- you need to plan a full day's journey between Reno and Las Vegas (8-10 hours).

Mark