Driving from NYC to LA, trip options?

My gf and I will be driving from NYC to LA for my job relocation. I drive a 07 Toyota Corolla and we%26#39;re going pack as much stuff in it as possible. My question is what is the best freeway to take, our goal is to get their in as little time as possible.

I googled my trip and it said to take 80 until we enter Colorado and split off onto the 76, then take 70 at Denver and 15 from Utah to LA.

Has anyone had experience driving this route and/or would you recommend it or to drive another way.

What cities are worth stopping along the way.

How long does a trip like this take?

I am thinking I can drive 9-10 hours a day with breaks. We%26#39;ve drove a 16 foot truck and trailer from San Antonio to NYC last Summer and it took us 5 days, but we could%26#39;ve done it in 4 if we chose not to stop in Allentown, PA since we decided hotels were cheaper than in NJ/NY. This time I will be driving a smaller car that can go a bit faster.

We also want to stop in Chicago, but if anyone can recommend a faster route we are flexible.

We are planning to leave end of Februrary.

Thanks!

Driving from NYC to LA, trip options?

This is our itinerary for the drive so far, please comment.

day 1.

NYC-Toledo,OH

556 mi – about 8 hours 51 mins

day 2.

Toledo-Chicago

245 mi – about 4 hours 3 mins

Chicago-Rockford,IL(visit a friend)

84.1 mi – about 1 hour 39 mins

day 3.

Rockford,IL-Omaha,NB

419 mi – about 6 hours 28 mins

day 4.

Omaha, NB- Denver

541 mi – about 7 hours 28 mins

day 5.

Denver-Las Vegas

749 mi – about 10 hours 47 mins

day6.

Las Vegas-Los Angeles

258 mi – about 4 hours 9 mins

Driving from NYC to LA, trip options?

I%26#39;ve never done a trip like that but I would think that a more southern route would bypas the Rockies and perhaps any other snowy areas.

Highway 77 to Hwy 44 to Hwy 40 perhaps??

Hi, thanks for the 77-44-40 idea. I hadn%26#39;t considered driving through the snow, since it is still winter. I really like the idea because it would give us a chance to visit Grand Canyon. thanks for the tip! keep them coming.

I find the driving times for the distances you%26#39;ve shown to be incredible. I%26#39;m not saying they%26#39;re wrong. What I am saying is that you oughtn%26#39;t rely on them. I%26#39;ve taken many a long distance trip and wouldn%26#39;t budget faster than an average of 50mph. Yes, you might have point-to-point speeds at faster than 60mph but your overall average is likely to be very close to 50mph and I strongly encourage you to budget your time accordingly. Ten hours a day, as you plan, at an average of 50mph is a quite reasonable five hundred miles.

From Chicago (from memory) to Oklahoma City to Denver to Salt Lake City to Las Vegas to Los Angeles is a good route but there are much prettier, and more interesting, ways to go.

Or you could take The Mother Road (66).

You are looking at close to 3000 miles. I think you need to be a bit more conservative on driving times. Driving on the flat lands in the east is nothing like driving through the Colorado Rockies. Add a blizzard anywhere along the route, delays and bad driving.

Your day from Denver to Vegas is way too long. I would drive to somewhere in UT. My sister usually makes it from Denver area to Cedar City or St George UT during her travels home to LA.

If there is snow, then I70 westbound from Denver can be bad, also if you drop to the south, I40 across NM can also be bad if there is a southern storm. I would make a good weather, and stormy weather plan.

Good luck with your relocation.

I%26#39;ve done LA to NYC in four days...though I didn%26#39;t go via Chicago. How fast it can be done is determined how hard you%26#39;re willing to press the accelerator and for how long.

At the time of the year you%26#39;re talking about, you want to avoid the Rocky Mountains. Here%26#39;s your route:

I-10/I-15/I-40/I-44/I-55 to Chicago. Then I-80 to NYC.

If your goal is to get there in as little time as possible, no cities are worth stopping along the way. Serious drivers can do it in just over 32 hours:

wired.com/cars/…ff_cannonballrun

I would really try to avoid Chicago at all costs. I have never found a good time to drive through Chicago.

You could take 80 across PA. In Ohio, 80 jumps to the Ohio Turnpike, but you could just stay on the same road and it turns in to 76. Take 76 until it tends at 71. Go South on 71 to Columbus then take 70 West to Indy and St. Louis and on to Denver from your original route. I have not taken 70 further than St. Louis, but I have to believe you would encounter less congestion this way.

Good luck - something I always wanted to do and wish I would have done when I was much younger. Too many other responsibilities now.

Well, 2800 miles in 32 hours. That%26#39;s an average of 87.5 miles per hour-lol- Hope there are no Jackie Gleasons watching your speed. My vote would be 70/44/40 and if you can reach an average of 60 mph you must be a very fast driver and no delays along the route.

Tet

I have done that trip a couple of times and you might want to think that rather than speed thru the country maybe take some time here and there to take it in.

I know you just want to get from point a to b, but really think when you would have that time again to do a cross country trip again.

Take a day or two, even in Chicago which is a great city and have a fun time doing so. Trust me, there will be enough stressfull times when you arrive in L.A. and dealing with a lot of things, so take this trip as an opportunity to unwind and see what this country is all about

Wow, i think i am watching to much Dr.Phill,lol, i mean it though!

In 1979 I drove from LA to NY in 5 days, by myself, during the summer taking 15 -%26gt; 70 -%26gt; 76 -%26gt; 80. I too would recommend stretching it out, but here%26#39;s where I stopped to do some sightseeing and would recommend the same to others. I didn%26#39;t stop much because I was trying to make time, so this selection is limited.

Las Vegas -- you may want to skip this since you%26#39;ll have ample opportunity to visit after you%26#39;ve relocated. Many, many people in LA visit LV -- flights are cheap, too, and the drive isn%26#39;t all that long.

Salt Lake -- much to my surprise, I loved Salt Lake. I%26#39;d been there for a week a couple of years before and really enjoyed it. The friendliest place I%26#39;d ever been in spite of the fact that I had a full beard and long hair (I assumed that the Mormon population would have a visceral reaction against me base on my appearance, nothing was further from the truth -- I was the one who was prejudiced).

Cheyenne, Wyoming. I spent an afternoon there and got a great taste of the old west. I%26#39;m not exactly sure which museum I went to, but I think it was this http://www.oldwestmuseum.org/info.htm. I%26#39;d be tempted to give it a day if I was to do it again.

I%26#39;d been in Chicago before so I didn%26#39;t stop but it%26#39;s a great town, I would stop there if I were you. In any case, you should stop somewhere to see one of the Great Lakes -- these are awsome. Just seeing a lake that looks like an ocean is wonderful.

If you%26#39;re into it, the Stratetgic Air Command has a big museum in Nebraska that you%26#39;ll go by, it%26#39;s right off 80 http://www.strategicairandspace.com/. The timing was wrong for me but I%26#39;ve always regretted not seeing it.