West to East through Salt Lake City

[LeeB]

I know SLC can be a Zoo driving through on I-80 and hope to get there mid morning early afternoon. We will be staying in Wendover the night before.


We are pulling a 25ft Travel Trailer and I am wondering a couple things you may be able to help me with. What time do you think I'll arrive in the SLC area and where can we stay that night hopefully on the east side. So we can be on our merry way the next morning...…

Thanks LeeB

[Mr Mustang]

Sorry I can't help you with your question!
I will tell you what my experience was with SLC drivers in June of this year, they will not let you change lanes on the highway, a trucker told me ,he starts to move over then turns on his signal it works! I'm from Oregon,no trouble with drivers here.

[rk911]

google maps shows wendover to be ~2-hrs west of SLC. like any big city you’ll want to avoid rush hour. we try to time our passage thru big cities between 10a-2p. also consider bypassing downtown using I-215.

[saddlesore]

Originally Posted by rk911

google maps shows wendover to be ~2-hrs west of SLC. like any big city you’ll want to avoid rush hour. we try to time our passage thru big cities between 10a-2p. also consider bypassing downtown using I-215.

RE: I-215.... Yup ... Avoid downtown I-80 if you possibly can.
For "pulling parley and the canyon into WY... Just gear down (both up and down), stay in the right hand lane. and toddle along.

[dix39]

A lot depends on what time you leave in the morning and how fast you travel. It also depends on what kind of places you overnight in.

We are "opportunists" and usually overnight in rest areas, truck stops, Walmarts, and the like. Rand McNally says it is 122 miles from Wendover to SLC, and 560 miles from Wendover to Cheyenne, WY. We do that trip nearly every year going from OR to WV, or the reverse, and other places in between. I run about 70 and from Wendover we would go through SLC in mid/late morning and be looking for a place to overnight in eastern WY or western CO, depending on how things went.

IMHO, the most difficult thing about driving through SLC on 80, which is what we have always done, is knowing what lane to be in, and changing to that lane when possible. This is especially true during "rush hour" traffic. We've been doing this since the late '70's, and I will say that the addition of GPS has made navigating through SLC and other cities much easier.

Best of luck on your trip.

Steve

[Searching_Ut]

If you will be in Wendover on Friday or Saturday night you'll probably want reservations. Believe it or not, all the rooms often fill up there. It isn't much of a town, but you can drink, gamble, and party there so it tends to fill up on weekends with crowds from Salt Lake City. Wendover also tends to have pretty good concerts in the small venue there on the weekends.


As for drive time, from Wendover to SLC is mostly Flat desert (Salt Flats), about two hours for us towing and I hit that road often.


Can't help much with where to stay in SLC as I live in the area and thus don't camp here. Many seem to like the KOA however when staying in the area to visit Salt Lake itself itself.



As for timing/traffic, on weekdays, after 8:30 to 9am and prior to 4pm tend to be considerably lighter on traffic unless you want to roll through really early morning times, or later evening. Rush hours are stop and go. As mentioned, use of turns signals is apparently illegal in Utah, and results in folks immediately closing any gap so that you can be cut off. Also be aware that in Utah, use of the on-ramp to get up to speed prior to merging onto the freeway is frowned upon. You must merge considerably slower than the traffic flow in order to brake check as many vehicles as possible. Same goes for getting off the freeway. Slow down as much as possible before the off ramp in order to help folks verify their brakes work.


Seriously, the traffic is what you would expect from a bigger city (Think Seattle, Boise, Sacramento, Las Vegas), but not all that bad if you miss the rush hours. Have a great trip.

[NevadaNick]

I always take 215. Unless you have a reason to stay in Salt Lake i would keep going as its not far from Wendover.

[Jake21]

I think as long as you are not passing through during the normal rush hours, 80 or 215 is fine. Just check google maps traffic to make sure there are no accidents. East on 80, there are several towns with super walmarts that allow overnights. If you decide to stay in SLC, I would overnight at the KOA and dine at the Red Iguana. Yum.

[JFXG]

We spent a whole summer in SLC a few years ago. I don’t recall anything unusual about the traffic. Yes, there is a rush hour, but it is normal and predictable, as rush hours go. If you leave Wendover at 8-9 you should flow right through Salt Lake. Stay with I-80, and stay alert. There are lane changes, but also good signage.
X2 on the Red Iguana (on West North Temple). They call themselves “Pre-Hispanic Mexican”. Not quite sure what that means, specifically, but it’s the best you’ll find!

[YC1]

Use google maps and study the turns. Look for landmarks and then print some pictures.

I have done laps in that town. We used to go through there once a year. After the huge construction took us downtown the next year I had my wife video tape it. This was before all the great internet stuff and gps. The next year while laying over at Wendover we would watch the film. It was a big help.