Travel from east coast to west coast

[BuddyL51]

My wife n I r traveling from New York to Santa Barbara to visit family. Last time we went to the west coast was to Seattle Washington. We traveled on I80 and I 90. On our return trip we took I10 to the coast and then up the coast to NY. We r looking to take I70 out to Denver n then to I15 thru Las Vegas into Calif. Any info u can give us regarding I70 thru some large cities n tolls will be appreciated. thanks

[twogypsies]

If you have time, why not travel off the interstates and really see the country?

We rarely used interstates with our 40' motorhome. Fuel and campgrounds are readily available and some smaller towns even have wonderful city or county parks.

For example, Hwy 50 across Colorado is excellent and even across Nevada.

[TonyDi]

A lot of people put down interstates just because they're interstates. I have driven I-70 through Colorado many times and it is a very scenic hwy. From Denver to Grand Junction is gorgeous.

[BuddyL51]

Thanks for the reply. When I tried to plan the trip thru Good Sam trip Planner it took us onto I 80 & I 90. I was wondering if there was a reason not to take I 70. It seem like a shorter route. We are pressed for time on the trip out to California. On the way back we would have about 4 weeks to get home. We would like to visit NP In Utah and Colorado any suggestions will be helpful.

[pagosajoe]

I would recommend I-70 through Colorado, then I-25 south to Las Vegas, then over to Santa Barbara. Beautiful scenery along the way. Colorado has mountain passes that will mean slow going - both up AND down - but otherwise an easy and beautifully scenic trip.

If pressed for time going to CA, visiting national parks may be difficult, as most are not located along I-70 in either CO or Utah. Rocky Mountain National Park is gorgeous, but a slow trip due to the twisty road. It's also well off I-70. In Grand Junction (far west CO), drive through the Colorado National Monument. It's located at the exit for Fruita, CO, then turn south a few miles to the entrance. Great hiking as well as drive-through site seeing.

https://www.nps.gov/colm/index.htm

Most of Utah's national parks/monuments are located in the south of the state, far from I-70. As you travel down I-25, you will be near Zion, which is close to St George, UT. Definitely a beautiful place to see. There's an RV park near the south entrance, and bus service that takes you into the park - no toad required/allowed inside the park.

Hope that helps!

[Big Dude]

I can only speak to I-70 from St. Louis to Green River, UT. I drove it this past fall and found it to be one of the better interstate road surfaces - except through St Louis.

[twogypsies]

I just checked on Google Maps. New Windsor, NY via I-84/I-80/I-76 into Denver then I-70, I-15 to 210/Los Angeles and north on 101 to Santa Barbara is 2890 miles and has some toll roads.

I-80/I-71/I-70, I-44, I-40 to Barstow, CA then I-15, 210 into Los Angeles and north on 101 to Santa Barbara is 2900 miles.

Take your pick. They're both around the same miles.

[dix39]

Originally Posted by BuddyL51

My wife n I r traveling from New York to Santa Barbara to visit family. Last time we went to the west coast was to Seattle Washington. We traveled on I80 and I 90. On our return trip we took I10 to the coast and then up the coast to NY. We r looking to take I70 out to Denver n then to I15 thru Las Vegas into Calif. Any info u can give us regarding I70 thru some large cities n tolls will be appreciated. thanks

I don't see anything wrong with your proposed routes.

I think Joe is thinking I-15 and writing I-25. I do that sort of thing sometimes.

We have traveled back and forth between OR and WV many times using I-80 and I-70, recently using 80E to 25S and 70E to WV.

Coming back (West) on 70 we usually drove straight through Columbus, OH, went South on 465 bi-pass at Indianapolis, IN to 70, took 270 and 370 to stay North of St Louis, MO, straight through KC, MO-KS, and straight through Denver, CO. Fairly steep up to the tunnel and down the other side with some interesting road engineering near the bottom on the West side.

The only tolls I recall on 70 are West of KC for a short distance, and they aren't bad.

Others may do this differently and I'm all ears/eyes if I can learn from that.

Best of luck on the trip.

Steve

[pagosajoe]

Originally Posted by dix39

I think Joe is thinking I-15 and writing I-25. I do that sort of thing sometimes.

Steve

Ummm...you are correct , sir! Can't tell you how many times I've done that. Indeed, it's I-15. Thanks for catching that goof!

Joe

[BuddyL51]

Thanks for your help. We r pressed for our trip out to Ca. Coming back we have 4 weeks. We want to come back via another route,a more southern route but not I 10 we did that last time. I would love to see some NP's and other sites that one would not see along the east coast. Last time we went to the west coast we stopped at the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Geronimo, Yellowstone and Devil's Tower and more. If anyone could give us some places to visit or explore would be helpful. Last time out to the west coast we had a 2002 Damon Daybreaker which had its problems, we traded it in and purchased a 2016 Thor ACE 29.3 and were looking forward to our first trip with the ACE.

[Cooperhawk]

We just drove I70 from West Virginia to west of Indianapolis. Coming over the Cumberland Gap is very scenic if you're not in a snowstorm like we were, but the rest of the route was fine.

[jmcarter]

Would be hard to visit Zion and not go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, not far at all. The campground at Jacobs Lake is nice, in case the park's campgrounds are full. While on I-70 take the trip over to Moab and visit Canyonlands and Arches. Both very scenic. On your return try to work in places like Durango (take 550 over to Ouray in your toad or a rental car), Sante Fe is nice (wife will love the shops) if you want to fit that in. If you take I-40 East it won't get very scenic until middle of TN but pick up I-81 for a nice drive or continue on to Asheville and work in some miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, it's fine for a smaller Class A; big DP's not so much.

[dix39]

You're welcome Joe. Now, please catch me when I do something similar, and I will/have. :-))

If I understanding correctly, the trip West is mainly to get there and the return trip is for sightseeing. If that is the case any interstate will do heading West. Take one you haven't traveled before. Your original plan still seems fine to me and IMHO, it is about as scenic as any.

Now you have a lot of good suggestions for places to visit on the return trip. We've done the trips Joe suggests and loved them. We've also done most of what Jim suggests except the N rim of GC and would second them. My wife bought bread from Pueblo women at Taos Pueblo which is N of Santa Fe planning to carry it back to WV to share with family there. I think she had eaten it all a day or so later. I guess that was her main attraction.:-))

There are also numerous cliff dwellings in the 4 corners area. We visited Mesa Verde years ago and learned a lot about the Anasazi culture.

If it were me, I would locate the places that had the most interest for me and my family. Then plan a route that would take me there without any more backtracking than necessary. There is a lot to see.

Steve

[BuddyL51]

Thanks to everyone for ur replies. I think its time to sit down with some maps and start planning this out. Thanks again.