Is it even possible?

[Linz]

My husband and I may be relocating to Seattle from the UK and we're considering cruise + roadtrip instead of flying, partly as a holiday, partly because we have a dog that would not cope well with flyign but adores boats and cars!

BUT...is it even possible (by which I mean safe and possible for USA road trip novices with a dog) to drive from New York to WA in November?

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Many people make just such drives every day. It will take you 5-6 days at best to make the drive, but there are plenty of motels along the way that will take a well-behaved pet and many places to let it get some exercise. Besides, this would also let you get a first hand look at a good portion of the United States. Late fall is actually my favorite time to be on the road, but qne thing to keep in mind, depending on exactly when in November you'll be traveling, is the possibility of snow. If you are not used to driving in such weather, you may want to sit it out for a day or so somewhere and let the road crews clean it all up, but even at worst, this should not cost you more than a day's delay at most. For a general overview of RoadTripping with pets, read Mark's article on the subject.

AZBuck

[Linz]

Thanks, that's really reassuring. We've done some snow driving before - not much but the odd days over here and then ski trips a few times.

I guess I'm just so used to British roads and drivers - if we get 2 inches of snow here roads get closed! But then that's because we don't have enough gritters and no snow ploughs.

[glc]

The highway departments in the northern states which customarily get a lot of snow are pretty darn good. They will have plows and salt/sand trucks out on the Interstate highways ready to go before the storm even starts. The Interstates are vital to commerce so they have to take care of them.

Not that you would really need it, but if it would make you feel more secure and you don't mind the additional expense, you could rent a 4wd SUV for the trip instead of a standard car.

[Linz]

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm glad to see no one on here thinks we're nuts to consider it!

I think we'd get an SUV as we'd have luggage and a dog plus two adults and I hate being cramped in a car and a week is a long time if you're not comfortable.

[glc]

The fastest, most direct route from NYC to Seattle is I-80 to Chicago, around the western suburbs on I-355 and I-290, then I-90 to I-94 through MN and ND, rejoining I-90 in MT for the rest of the way. However, do keep an eye on the weather and road conditions and be prepared to modify the route on the fly if necessary. You will have plenty of options if an early season storm decides to show up. Bring a wifi-capable laptop. All the states have current road conditions on their Department of Transportation websites, and weather.com is very helpful for current weather conditions and forecasts.