CA to AZ - Route 10 vs 40

[longfella]

Originally Posted by LWBAZ

That being the case, I would be inclined to go with Verde Ranch RV Resort.

Take Exit 287 off of Interstate 17. When you get to the bridge over I-17, turn left on route 260. Drive a quarter of a mile or less and you'll enter a traffic circle. As soon as you do, be prepared to turn right. That will put you on a short length of pavement that will dead end.

Turn left at the dead end and you'll be headed north on Dreamcatcher Drive. Go a couple of hundred feet and you'll see the office building on your right. Turn right and park in front of the office to get your space number and map.

Sounds a bit more complicated than it actually is. See attached images from Google Maps. In the last image, the office building is in the center of the image and you'll see a long and not very wide "island" just north of the office building. Park between the building and the island.

Most of their spaces are nice long pull-throughs, but they do have some back-in spaces. So be sure to request a pull-through when you contact the park.

One other FYI for your awareness: Arizona doesn't do Daylight Saving Time, so this time of year we're on the same time as you are in California. The change to Mountain Daylight Time will occur when you cross the Arizona/New Mexico border.

This is awesome! Thank you SO much.

We will start making the changes now [emoji1303][emoji1303]

[bigchick]

i'll offer another route.

i-10 east through phoenix to the loop 202. take it east to az-87 (it is called country club drive on the exit signs). take it north to eagle view rv resort near the fort mcdowell casino for the overnight stop.

then continue north on az-87 to payson, then az-260 to heber, and then az-77-az-277, and az-377 north to holbrook where you can join i-40 east.

this route is slightly shorter than the i-17 to flagstaff route

[longfella]

Originally Posted by bigchick

i'll offer another route.

i-10 east through phoenix to the loop 202. take it east to az-87 (it is called country club drive on the exit signs). take it north to eagle view rv resort near the fort mcdowell casino for the overnight stop.

then continue north on az-87 to payson, then az-260 to heber, and then az-77-az-277, and az-377 north to holbrook where you can join i-40 east.

this route is slightly shorter than the i-17 to flagstaff route

Any recent findings/trips on the road conditions via this route? Thanks!!

[bevandtomH]

Meteor Crater RV park outside of Winslow is a good overnight or two.
We also stayed a night at Lavaland rv parkGrants, NM). Nothing redeeming about the park. BUT, it had its own micro brew pub and nice people[emoji3]

Not sure if you travel with a pet, but you will want to buy some booties for your dog. Too many goat heads. Painful for them and no fun tracking them inside.

[bigchick]

Originally Posted by longfella

Any recent findings/trips on the road conditions via this route? Thanks!!

we travel this route frequently, especially hwy 87 to the phoenix area. it is also a major route used by semis and all types of rv's getting from phoenix to i-40 east. as mentioned this route is about 50 miles shorter than i-17 through flagstaff.

from loop 202 to payson hwy 87 is a four lane divided hwy in good condition. from payson east on hwy 260 then up to holbrook the roads are two lane. we have not taken this route yet this year so i do not know how it survived the winter. but i have not heard anything about issues.

a caution, the hwy patrol likes to patrol hwy 87 with their radar. the posted speed limit is 65 but there are places where you can do much more.

a note about any of the routes you take from phoenix to i-40. phoenix is at about 1300 feet in elevation. i-40 from flagstaff east is over 6000 feet. so any route will involve going up some grades and going down a few as you go over several mountain crests.

we also take i-10 into orange county a couple of times a year to visit our son, who lives in mission viejo. we lived in huntington beach for 40 years before retiring and relocating.

one final comment. we have stayed in all the rv parks mentioned in camp verde. our favorite is zane gray. but you con't go wrong with any of them, especially for an overnight stay.

what ever you decide have a great trip and stay safe!

[RayandWendy]

Originally Posted by bigchick

we have stayed in all the rv parks mentioned in camp verde. our favorite is zane gray. but you con't go wrong with any of them, especially for an overnight stay.

We stay at Zane Gray last fall for a week exploring the area. It's a very nice small park.
Later...
Ray

[longfella]

Originally Posted by bigchick

we travel this route frequently, especially hwy 87 to the phoenix area. it is also a major route used by semis and all types of rv's getting from phoenix to i-40 east. as mentioned this route is about 50 miles shorter than i-17 through flagstaff.

from loop 202 to payson hwy 87 is a four lane divided hwy in good condition. from payson east on hwy 260 then up to holbrook the roads are two lane. we have not taken this route yet this year so i do not know how it survived the winter. but i have not heard anything about issues.

a caution, the hwy patrol likes to patrol hwy 87 with their radar. the posted speed limit is 65 but there are places where you can do much more.

a note about any of the routes you take from phoenix to i-40. phoenix is at about 1300 feet in elevation. i-40 from flagstaff east is over 6000 feet. so any route will involve going up some grades and going down a few as you go over several mountain crests.

we also take i-10 into orange county a couple of times a year to visit our son, who lives in mission viejo. we lived in huntington beach for 40 years before retiring and relocating.

one final comment. we have stayed in all the rv parks mentioned in camp verde. our favorite is zane gray. but you con't go wrong with any of them, especially for an overnight stay.

what ever you decide have a great trip and stay safe!

Thank you for the detailed reply!

Small world! We are in Mission Viejo too [emoji1303][emoji1303]

[Capt Steve]

Originally Posted by bigchick

i'll offer another route.

i-10 east through phoenix to the loop 202. take it east to az-87 (it is called country club drive on the exit signs). take it north to eagle view rv resort near the fort mcdowell casino for the overnight stop.

then continue north on az-87 to payson, then az-260 to heber, and then az-77-az-277, and az-377 north to holbrook where you can join i-40 east.

this route is slightly shorter than the i-17 to flagstaff route

This is a good choice {I live in Payson and just drove most of it last weekend} but know you will be dodging serious potholes on I-10 from Quartzsite to Phoenix and I-17 and I-40 {Kingman to Flagstaff} are even worse. The Beeline highway {87} is in good shape from Mesa to Strawberry but reported to be a disaster north of Strawberry... Good luck.

[longfella]

Originally Posted by Capt Steve

This is a good choice {I live in Payson and just drove most of it last weekend} but know you will be dodging serious potholes on I-10 from Quartzsite to Phoenix and I-17 and I-40 {Kingman to Flagstaff} are even worse. The Beeline highway {87} is in good shape from Mesa to Strawberry but reported to be a disaster north of Strawberry... Good luck.

Worse than just taking the original route via 40?

[longfella]

Originally Posted by Capt Steve

This is a good choice {I live in Payson and just drove most of it last weekend} but know you will be dodging serious potholes on I-10 from Quartzsite to Phoenix and I-17 and I-40 {Kingman to Flagstaff} are even worse. The Beeline highway {87} is in good shape from Mesa to Strawberry but reported to be a disaster north of Strawberry... Good luck.

Got deja vu when you wrote Beeline Hwy…

Kept thinking I knew that from somewhere. Turns out, that was the route for the AZ Ironman Triathlon I did several years ago. That was quite the 112 mile bike ride! [emoji15]

[longfella]

Originally Posted by bigchick

i'll offer another route.

i-10 east through phoenix to the loop 202. take it east to az-87 (it is called country club drive on the exit signs). take it north to eagle view rv resort near the fort mcdowell casino for the overnight stop.

then continue north on az-87 to payson, then az-260 to heber, and then az-77-az-277, and az-377 north to holbrook where you can join i-40 east.

this route is slightly shorter than the i-17 to flagstaff route

This looks to be the final route. Eagle View RV looks nice and it’s a good split for the drive to Santa Fe.

241 > 91 > 60 > 10 > 202 > 87 (overnight at Eagle View RV)

87 > 260 > 277 > 377 > 40 (destination Santa Fe)

We will head back home the same route.

Really appreciate the help from everyone!

[LWBAZ]

Eagle View is a very decent park. Not overly fancy, but plenty workable for an overnight stay. And great views of the surrounding mountains!

[edge68474]

Originally Posted by bevandtomH

Meteor Crater RV park outside of Winslow is a good overnight or two.
We also stayed a night at Lavaland rv parkGrants, NM). Nothing redeeming about the park. BUT, it had its own micro brew pub and nice people[emoji3]

Not sure if you travel with a pet, but you will want to buy some booties for your dog. Too many goat heads. Painful for them and no fun tracking them inside.

Whats a Goat Head??
Are those the things that gave me a flat tire on my bike when I was a kid in Tucson??

[longfella]

Originally Posted by LWBAZ

Eagle View is a very decent park. Not overly fancy, but plenty workable for an overnight stay. And great views of the surrounding mountains!

I liked the fact all the spots were paved. Just makes it a bit easier IMO [emoji1303]