OC to Eagle,id (Boise, Twin Falls: home, prices, floor)

[LR2E]

What is the best way to drive from Orange County, CA to Eagle, Idaho? Driving through Nevada is less miles but takes longer...any suggestions or past experiences?

[DESERTRYDER]

Trust me on this.
Leave OC at 3 am and head north on 5 to sacramento.
Then I 80 east bound to Reno. Past reno heading east.
Then stop in Winnamucca for a room and a nights sleep. Hit the BBQ place while your in Town.
Then north on 95 the next morning to Eagle.
18 hours total one way.

[ramenfan]

Takes me roughly 18 hours too (I think I did it in 17 once) by taking the shortest route (I-5/CA 14/US 395/US 6/NV 360/US 95/I-80/US 95). And when I drove to L.A. last summer during the insane gas prices, I was going 55 MPH max on the highways and 70 MPH max on the interstates. I don't dilly dally either. I chow down my fast-food meals quickly and get back on the road.

If you love to floor it, then by all means stick to the interstates. Conservation-wise, the other way is superior. Scenery wise? Depends. Taking the 5 up is, of course, miserable. But you do get to go through the Sierras on I-80. You're going through desert on the 14/395, but you're hugging the Sierras for most of the way. Beyond the Nevada border a bit on US 6 is where it starts to get miserable for me.

I'll never go via I-5 for one big reason: Bishop. Home to one of the best bakeries and THE best jerky store I'll ever come across. Mandatory pit stops at both places whenever I drive through.

[boisefan88]

Whenever I go to Los Angeles I always take the Nevada route, and it usually takes about 13-14 hours depending on the traffic from Las Vegas to LA. It's a much faster, less busy route than driving through California and northwestern Nevada, and far less police too.

If you drive to Las Vegas, you simply take Hwy 93 to a small town called Alamo, at which point Hwy 93 splits and you can take 318 to save an hour (they rejoin in Ely, Nv). Take 93 to Wells, Jackpot, Twin Falls, and then I84 on to Boise.

It's by far the quickest route.

[Jarndyce]

Driving on the I80 in Nevada is like skating on an ice rink. So quiet, smooth, fast...California Interstates are a mess. They are alignment destroyers. The I80 quality in California compared to Nevada is a complete joke.

If the I80 is any indication for how Nevada manages its highways...stay in Nevada as long as possible...