Drive from CO to Chicago (Denver, Grand Junction: renting, credit, motel)

[LisaCACO]

Has anyone done this drive? I'm wondering how long it took you to do it. it says it's about 1000 miles (I'm coming out of denver) and we'd have a 4 year old with us. roughly how long will it take realistically?

[wanneroo]

I've done it many times. You can do it in a day but it will be a long day.

The route is simple, I-76 to I-80 at the Nebraska to Colorado state line and then over to Chicago.

The speed limit on 76 and 80 in Colorado and Nebraska is 75, but I usually cruise at 80 and don't have a problem with the law. It used to take just over 2 hours from the Denver outskirts to the Nebraska state line, around 5 hours through Nebraska, just over 4 through Iowa and then 2+ in Illinois. Traffic is light by comparison with the east or west coast interstate driving.

There are plenty of fuel, fast food and motel stops every 20-30 miles in Nebraska and Iowa.

If it's too much of a drive, then I recommend stopping in Des Moines Iowa.

[TeamFoster]

Every couple of years we drive to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. We usually drive I80 sometimes we drive through Illinois and sometimes we go north through Minn. My dad used to start right after dinner on Friday and drive until he hit the WI state line. At which point he would stop and get us a motel room. He would sleep and we would play. That's a little further than Chicago so it's doable. He liked to drive at night because we would sleep most of the way. After we grew up we decided we didn't want to do the marathon so we stop in Des Moines or the Amana Colony. My son in law does Denver to Green Bay in 19 hours which I wouldn't do. Our trick with kids was to pack a bag with lots of snacks and toys for each kid. That didn't stop our son from talking the entire way one year. omg. Snacks seemed to do the trick. Be prepared for lots of potty stops though our kids seemed to need to stop at every single rest stop. It will really impact your time.

[Katiana]

My daughter went to college near Chicago for two years. wanneroo gave the correct route. 1000 miles sounds right; it was 1100 to her college in Indiana. Because we have relatives there, we usually stopped in Omaha, Nebraska, which is 550 miles from our home in Louisville, maybe a little different mileage from your place in HR. If you're traveling with a 4 yr old, I'd def recommend a stop somewhere, unless you're in a big hurry to get there.

[LisaCACO]

hey, we're now in sw aurora (The Farm)-left HR last year and bought a lovely bigger home. very happy. now if i can only get unpacked, lol

thanks for all the tips.

btw, we're vegetarians. does this mean we're bringing our own food? is it possible to find veggie stuff if we stop for dinner in a relatively large place? if we left CO in the am, where would you stop for dinner? would you wait til des moines?

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by LisaCACO

hey, we're now in sw aurora (The Farm)-left HR last year and bought a lovely bigger home. very happy. now if i can only get unpacked, lol

thanks for all the tips.

btw, we're vegetarians. does this mean we're bringing our own food? is it possible to find veggie stuff if we stop for dinner in a relatively large place? if we left CO in the am, where would you stop for dinner? would you wait til des moines?

It's about 8-9 hrs to Omaha (though you're a bit east of us); I'd probably eat there. You can certainly find a place that will serve you a grilled cheese sandwich, cheese pizza, etc in Omaha. Des Moines is another couple hrs or thereabouts.

[CosmicWizard]

If you want to make it easy on yourselves...take the California Zephyr (Amtrak ). It's a relaxing way to travel! I recently rode the California Zephyr round trip from Grand Junction to Colfax, CA ( about a thousand miles one way ). Except for a four hour delay departing Grand Junction on the westward journey, the entire trip was a great experience. What a great way to see the country. I highly recommend the experience. To Amtraks credit, they made up all but 2 hrs of the 4 hour delay. When taking the ailines, I'm tickled pink if I arrive ONLY 2 hrs late. With the airlines, I'm just happy to get to my destination on the same day as I was scheduled to arrive.

[LisaCACO]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

If you want to make it easy on yourselves...take the California Zephyr (Amtrak ). It's a relaxing way to travel! I recently rode the California Zephyr round trip from Grand Junction to Colfax, CA ( about a thousand miles one way ). Except for a four hour delay departing Grand Junction on the westward journey, the entire trip was a great experience. What a great way to see the country. I highly recommend the experience. To Amtraks credit, they made up all but 2 hrs of the 4 hour delay. When taking the ailines, I'm tickled pink if I arrive ONLY 2 hrs late. With the airlines, I'm just happy to get to my destination on the same day as I was scheduled to arrive.

I would take the train except we really need our car in chicago. cheaper than renting.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by LisaCACO

I would take the train except we really need our car in chicago. cheaper than renting.

Also, I think that route is evening/night. My in-laws came here on the train once, got on in Omaha at midnight. That means it probably left Chicago in late afternoon/evening. (It came from Chicago.)

[Coloradohh]

Lisa,
Its funny to see your post because I did the same exact drive you are doing but in reverse... We went from Chicago to Colorado last year.. This year i am going again i cannot WAIT!!! I LOVE COLORADO! .... my question to you is why do you want to visit Chicago? this city sucks! I hate this city! Im trying very hard to convince the wife to move but im not making any progress... IMO Chicago is the worst city out there, Gas prices are over the top here, I think we actually have San Fran beat out! houses are out of control, were up there in prices just like San Fran, and dont get me started on Taxes, i seen it as high as 10% in some places..... but in all fairness to you i bet you have family here? nothing to see on the way to chicago, actually you can just put your blinders on and just cruise... FLAT all the way accross... I remember when i left Colorado, I kept looking in the rear view mirror at the mountains and saying goodbye GOLDEN, GOODBYE!.... Have a safe Drive....