[gburke1]

I want to go on a road trip from KS to Las Vegas... just wondering what route I can take to avoid winter weather. I know going through the mountains is not going to be a good idea... I am driving a Mustang and it still has summer tires on it.

Advice would be appreciated!

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by gburke1

I want to go on a road trip from KS to Las Vegas... just wondering what route I can take to avoid winter weather. I know going through the mountains is not going to be a good idea... I am driving a Mustang and it still has summer tires on it.

Advice would be appreciated!

Really, you can't. You will be on the interstate 70 the whole way, which will take you through Denver, and those nearby mountains get up to really high elevations. I did the same drive years ago, but it was in the middle of summer. I would recommend flying instead.

[dynimagelv]

You can also drop south thru ALB and miss MOST of the winter weather and if you are really panic stricken about snow [an NO ONE from KS should be lol] drop south to I-10 thru El Paso......

[gburke1]

Is it not possible to go South and get around them?

edit: just saw above post... I am not really worried about a little snow, just don't need to be running into any super dangerous amounts of snow or ice

This is the route I came up with but haven't gone over it a lot yet...

http://tinyurl.com/y9aabbo (broken link)

[dynimagelv]

I 10 is the lonnnnnng way around but interesting just the same.......I70 is usuallyopen and a nice drive....I've done it maybe 20 times.....Denver to LV is doable in one day [easily] and if you drive the mountains early in the day it's usually pretty dry.......weatherunderground is your friend.......

[Buzz123]

When are you planning this trip? Right now you won't run into any snow on the southern route...probably. But I've hit blizzards several times near Flagstaff, AZ, at various times. Even Gallup, NM gets a lot of snow. And the Tijeras Pass at Albuquerque can get really bad. But even going way south (which would be crazy) through Texas you can hit snow. I'd say take I-40 and don't worry about it. You'll be all right. I-70 through Colorado reaches 11,000 feet, so you will be in snow for a long ways, but they keep it clear enough. It would be a beautiful drive. Parts of I-40 in winter can look sort of dreary, but if you plan to stop at interesting sights along the way I'd do I-40 through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

By the way, tire people tell me most tires are mud and snow now, but maybe you should throw some chains in the trunk just in case. Doubtful you'd really have any problems though. I've done I-40 many, many times in the winter, and only had to stop and spend the night twice, and that was around Flagstaff/Williams, AZ, at night. By morning they have the road cleared and you're good to go if that should happen.

[swagger]

I-40?

I agree that you don't want to take I-70 in the winter. I wouldn't. But dropping down to I-40 and then heading west should be a piece of cake, and won't add anywhere near the miles that going all the way down to I-10 would add.

[Tiger Beer]

I grew up in Michigan, have also lived in Minnesota...with 6 months of the year where snow falls and does fall. I've never put snow tires on my car.

I've also driven the far northern highways from Michigan to Oregon in Winter several times and it isn't a problem.

Pretty much every single major highway that exists in the Lower 48 is regularly plowed pretty much at the exact same moment the snow is falling. Considering most of the time it isn't exactly snowing at all in most places, the chance of encountering some major snowstorm or icestorm right at the exact time you're driving across a major expressway is pretty unlikely. Which basically means pretty much all highways are all clear nearly all of the time all winter long.

If you have any concern whatsoever, I'd certainly drop down to ABQ, NM and drive over. But I think you really have very very little to worry about.

[stingraynm]

I'd say I-40 as well, as someone who drove an '88 T-bird for the past decade (I understand the rear-wheel drive issue). While Colorado's snow plowing is notably more vigilant and timely than that in New Mexico, the overall odds of excessive snow are a lot less in New Mexico. As a gauge of feasibility, if Flagstaff looks passable during your last weather check before you leave Kansas, you're quite likely homefree on the rest of the I-40 stretch. Once you get around Gallup, if I-40 has even mildly hazardous conditions, or heavy clouds on the horizon if a front hasn't quite made it that far inward to the East, expect to spend the night at or before Flagstaff (and note there isn't much b/w Gallup and Flagstaff, so take what you can get).

[XFILESMULDER]

Originally Posted by gburke1

I want to go on a road trip from KS to Las Vegas... just wondering what route I can take to avoid winter weather. I know going through the mountains is not going to be a good idea... I am driving a Mustang and it still has summer tires on it.

Advice would be appreciated!

Ya know once you get into las vegas you wont be in kansas anymore.