[skrizzle]

Hello...

Coming from KC to Las Vegas... and wanted advise on the route. Originally we were considering going through to Denver and basically I70 to I15, however I'm a bit worried about the car and driving through the mountains.

So now we are trying to decide between that and I35 to I40 in Oklahoma City and taking I40 through Albuquerque and then hitting US93 to Vegas....


Any advise would be great, thanks.

[Wing Feathers]

My experience is only with I40. It is fairly boring, but has plenty of fuel-food-lodging. You will still hit some mountains, but Flagstaff is worth seeing.

[horseplayer]

We did this a long time ago from KC to SD. You diagonal down across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles to 40. I see your delima. The trip through the Rockies is beautiful. You could go to Denver and cut down to 40 on I25, but I think that would be the long way.

[sheriwx]

Through Denver would be a longer drive, although prettier.

As far as car breaking down problems, the desert heat along the southern route might be as dangerous as the mountains. I guess it depends on what problems your car usually has. Ours usually has coolant problems.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by skrizzle

Hello...

Coming from KC to Las Vegas... and wanted advise on the route. Originally we were considering going through to Denver and basically I70 to I15, however I'm a bit worried about the car and driving through the mountains.

So now we are trying to decide between that and I35 to I40 in Oklahoma City and taking I40 through Albuquerque and then hitting US93 to Vegas....


Any advise would be great, thanks.

With either route being almost the same distance it really doesn't matter (southern Rt. is 21 miles longer). Both should be experienced at some time in your life. Both are very scenic and interesting. Both go through desert and mountains, but the mountains on the southern Rt. are not as high in altitude as in CO. Your car will only know the difference at one location, and that is the Eisenhower Tunnel at approx. 11,000 feet elevation when you cross the highest point out of Denver. BTW, be sure you are not the least bit dehydrated at that altitude or you might get altitude sickness.

If you are having car problems you might reconsider driving at all because either way you will be way out in the lonely desert far, far from help (sometimes as much as 100 miles) if you break down. The desert heat may be just as hard on your car as the altitude in Colorado. As for the people in the car, at least carry two or three gallons (or more) of water for drinking (I'd say at minimum a gal for each person), be sure your AAA membership is paid up, if you do break down DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WALK for help in the desert...the heat WILL KILL YOU within about 8 to 10 miles. Also, bring a cell phone although it may not work along the entire route.

You will probably have plenty of traffic on the Interstates, but don't count on it, especially at night, and don't count on truckers stopping to help.

Now that I've scared you, the point is, since you know you have car problems, if they aren't too bad then take precautions, and enjoy the trip. When you feel like you're being over cautious in the desert, that's probably when you have reached the minimum preparedness. If you know you're ready for anything then you can enjoy the drive.

Like I said, either way is OK, but I personally prefer the southern route. Depends on the mood I'm in. Oh, yeah. Keep your gas tank full. It's usually a long ways between gas stations, and we don't have a lot of little communities along the way like you're used to..

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by horseplayer

We did this a long time ago from KC to SD. You diagonal down across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles to 40. I see your delima. The trip through the Rockies is beautiful. You could go to Denver and cut down to 40 on I25, but I think that would be the long way.

That would add 300 miles to the trip, but if you had lots of time and were taking a driving tour of the west it would be a very nice trip. It wouldn't save a lot in high altitude or desert driving though. But you could stop in Santa Fe for some delicious green chili recipes and a look at some fantastic art.

[hockeygirl4]

I came from Buffalo in November and made the drive along I-70. We went from STL-DEN, overnight in DEN, then took 160 down through Durango, CO to Flagstaff, AZ, overnight in Flagstaff, then only 4.5 hours the next day to Vegas. We could have went I-70 through Denver and the Mountains, but the rental truck maxed out at 70mph and those mountains would have been tough. The toughest part of the 160 route was through the San Juan National Forest, elevation 10,000ft+.

If you go from DEN-LAS in one day, it's a very long drive, and you would arrive LAS very late at night, we figured leaving DEN at 6am, and we still would not have arrived here until 9pm. This didn't make sense as my apartment would have been closed anyhow....

[airics]

we have done both from cleveland, ohio... first we went cleveland to omaha, omaha to denver, denver to vegas... It was a god awful bore through nebraska and utah.. one of our dogs got queesy in the mountains and the driving (imo) was crazy in the mountains..
on our return trip we did vegas to amarillo, amarillo to st. louis, and st. louis to cleveland.. better ride thats for sure.. little longer...
we are driving back to vegas in the next 30 days so we will do the southern route, but i am going to attempt to go from cleveland to tulsa , and then into vegas but we will see..

[jfkIII]

head northeast to Chicago...and then take Route 66 all the way! Rent a shiny red 50's T-bird for maximum effect.

[delgadobb]

As someone who's made the drive several times in the last couple years, go through Denver. (Meaning take I-70 west all the way into Utah until it runs into I-15, then go south to Las Vegas.) Both ways have scenic elements, but it's a little better through the Rockies & this time of year is very manageable. (In winter months, definitely take the southern route.) West of Denver, there are three major rises (mountain passes) within about 100 miles (including the Eisenhower tunnel), then you'll hit some mountains in Utah.

The southern route is much longer (1471 mi vs. 1351 mi according to google maps, for me it was closer to a 200 mile difference - from Chicago). You still go through mountains either way & Oklahoma, Texas & the first part of New Mexico are boring as h-e-doublehockeysticks. Kinda like Nebraska for me when I come from Chicago.

Whichever way you go, make sure your car is tuned up, fluids topped up, etc - definitely have your car checked out before you go. Keep water & some snacks in the car, you probably won't need them but better safe than sorry. There are some very desolate areas either way you go & if anything does happen you'll want some food & water with you.

I'm kinda hard core with traveling, so I make the trip from Chicago in 2 days, stopping at Denver. (14 hours first day, 10.5 hours second day - avg a little over 70 mph for whole trip) The trip from Denver to Las Vegas is about 750 miles so it's doable in one day if you travel well - I've left Denver at 9 AM & been in Las Vegas about 6:30 PM thanks to gaining an hour with the time zone change. That's movin', tho, so if you can make it you might want to get close to Grand Junction, CO (west edge of CO, ~230 mi past Denver) the first night to make the next day easier. (Presuming you leave early enough to enjoy the scenery during daylight hours - easier driving, too.) Anywhere west of Vail is OK (i.e. Eagle/Gypsum) as you're past the peaks of the Rockies.

Be sure to gas up & check everything in Grand Junction, since the first 100+ miles into Utah looks like all the scenery in old westerns (movies). There's almost nothing - a couple very small towns with gas stations, not much else. You'll be 180-190 miles into Utah before you can find reasonably priced gas (near Richfield & Elsinore). Once on I-15 it's a fairly easy drive into Las Vegas, with a little over 20 miles cutting through Arizona on some twisty, winding roads.