Community Forums

Mikes47 · 12-01-2018, 07:48 PM

Looking for recommendations to get out of West Michigan after Christmas and head south the fastest way without using Interstates. Once we are out of the "winter", we will then head west for Sedona. I want to avoid as much "winter" as I can, thus the long approach. Thanks for any suggestions.

rk911 · 12-01-2018, 08:15 PM

the fastest way would be on the interstates.

Ray,IN · 12-01-2018, 08:17 PM

After watching the weather forecast for the coming week, heading West is directly into snow and wind. If you really want to get out of "winter" as fast as possible you might want head directly South unless you are in the UP. Also the fastest route IS interstates particulary I 69S,to I 65S to I 40W. From that intersection you should be in warm(er) weather and free to "avoid interstates'. I doubt you'll make good time on non-interstate roads until you do reach warmer weather. You may even need to continue South to parallel I 10 to avoid cold weather, but the plains states are getting hammered next week.

twogypsies · 12-01-2018, 10:10 PM

You most likely will not be warm in Sedona in January. It does get snow at times. Beautiful though.

Unless you're confident on the weather report coming in via I-40 to Arizona, I'd highly recommend you drop down to I-10 and take that across the states.

bydnar · 12-02-2018, 07:43 AM

I live near the I-94 and US-131 interchange and I also avoid I-94 and Chicago. Additionally, avoiding the Lake Michigan lake effect is vital. Here is my route:

US-131 south to Indiana 15 (southside of Middlebury)
West on 15 becomes US-20 continue west
South on US-31 (now a very good route)
West on I-465 around Indy
West on I-70
South on I-57
South on I-55
West on I-40
West on I-30
West on I-20
West on I-10

Yes, all interstates and not what you've asked for. Your choice on other roads. Once in TX, there are lots of good roads other than interstates, especially around Dallas.

I've heard it said "Drive south until there's no snow and turn right"

sbleiweiss · 12-02-2018, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twogypsies

You most likely will not be warm in Sedona in January. It does get snow at times. Beautiful though.

Unless you're confident on the weather report coming in via I-40 to Arizona, I'd highly recommend you drop down to I-10 and take that across the states.

We homebase in Sedona and I agree completely with the above quote. Our November has been colder than normal and that is continuing into December so far. With that said, we saw Sedona for the first time spending two weeks here in January and February a few years ago and so fell in love with the place we moved here. Snow only makes it more beautiful. But in the two full winters we have lived here there have only been two snows and most are gone by afternoon. If you would like any specific information about the Sedona area feel free to email me.

Mikes47 · 12-02-2018, 01:13 PM

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will take the interstates south until there is no snow and then aim west.

Busskipper · 12-02-2018, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikes47

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will take the interstates south until there is no snow and then aim west.

Keep an Eye and an Ear out for the Weather - Good Choice.

nothermark · 12-02-2018, 09:38 PM

It's amazing how folks ignore the question.

I looked at Google maps to see what looked interesting. It looks like you have several choices to get out of Michigan depending where you are starting out. It's not hard to miss Indianapolis. If I was doing it I would pick a route south and maybe ask for some specific route information for a given area. Other than that and watching the weather just keep dropping south until you hit Louisiana then ask for routes around whatever.

It looks like US231 will do a lot of heading south. Poking around if you move west to the Mississippi River area US 61 seems to follow the river at a distance and might be a nice scenic ride. Whatever you do should be interesting. Please post what you did or post as you go and get a chance. The latter might get you more local knowledge information.

Jsvelez1973 · 12-08-2018, 09:07 AM

Have a great trip to Sedona, one of the most magnificent places in this amazing country! We traveled from Grand Rapids to Tucson last January. The route suggested by “bydnar” sounds great. We also took US 131 south to US 31 to avoid the snow belt around the southeast corner of Lake Michigan and the traffic at the south end of the lake.

Whatever route you choose, keep an eye on the weather forecast for upcoming cities along your route and be prepared to hunker down if necessary. Being far south does not insure safe traveling weather. We had the worst road conditions of our trip in HOUSTON, believe it or not. The city was totally shut down - literally - when the temperature quickly dropped to 19 degrees F after heavy rain. All roads were ice skating rinks for 2 days!

BTW, the app “Allstays” has been invaluable when we’ve needed to find a place to stay unexpectedly. It shows a quite comprehensive number of facilities (RV parks) and services (rest areas, truck stops, etc) on the map, and has extensive filtering capabilities.