[surfsnowgirl]

I will be driving from Southern California to Fairfield County Connecticut in early to mid December. Its just me, my cat and my car with a ton of stuff in it. I have no furniture and don't want to do any sightseeing.

The "fastest" route is through Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Ilinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut.

My concern is that I have a convertible and want to avoid "serious" winter driving so going through Colorado and the "upper midwest" probably isn't the best route

I'll be leaving in a month or so and need to start getting my route in place. Any tips on routes and such would be appreciated

[Appias]

Take the southern route for sure. Having done both (to/from NorCali) I can tell you that it might be a little bit longer, but it is much more pleasant.

[pathfinda94]

I-40 from California to North Carolina all the way south east to I-85 then head up north to I-95
Good luck!

[GrotonMan]

If you are trying to avoid "serious" winter driving a month from now, then all of the states you just listed are not the way to go. I've driven through all but Iowa and Nebraska, and more specifically did the segment from Chicago to CT in the middle of the winter, and all of those states are notorious for harsh weather. I would advise taking the longer southern route if you are trying to avoid the weather.

[Lowerdeck]

If 40 don't work out for whatever reason: 10 out of Calif, pick up 20 in western Texas, take 20 all the way to SC, then up 95 the rest.

[kidyankee764]

Why don't you watch the weather the week before to avoid potential storms if you can wait a day or two? If serious weather stops you, grab a hotel for a day.

It seems very far out of your way to take the southern route. JMO though.

[Erin1264]

EW. I wouldn't do 95. We do the VA to CT route at least twice a year and I-81 North to I-84 East is MUCH more pleasant than 95. No major cities!

[Lowerdeck]

Originally Posted by Erin1264

EW. I wouldn't do 95. We do the VA to CT route at least twice a year and I-81 North to I-84 East is MUCH more pleasant than 95. No major cities!

The key with 95 is timing really. Weekends are not as bad as weekdays, holidays are pretty good too. If you can get an early jump, it's better than later in the day as more people are out.

I've been on numerous CT/MA to FL drives down 95 and back up. My family tries to shoot for weekends, holidays. Staying overnight just south of DC, then a Sat or Sun morning pushing north and the Capitol Beltway isn't so bad. The NJTP is far worse in the evening than in the morning or early-afternoon. Never go through NYC (Cross Bronx Xway and GWB) unless it's like 8 am on a Sunday.

81 to 84 is nicer and does avoid the major cities. Plus the route might not be so bad considering the OP is coming from the west and not straight south. But 95 is possible, and would be better in a case of winter weather situations. One trip back north from FL, it was snowing and icy on 81, where it was just plain rain on 95. Hence taking 95.

[surfsnowgirl]

I think I'll "shoot" for going the most direct route ie colorado, etc but will closely watch the weather. Someone pointed out to me that I could even hit weather going through Arizona and New Mexico and that way will take me extra long time anyway. I will have 2-3 plans mapped out (thank you you everyone for your suggestions), watch the weather and go from there. I'd love to go right now but my job stuff won't be finalized for another 2-4 weeks so that's why I'm looking at December.

[loveautumn]

I've driven across country 3 times from NY State to SoCal and took the route through Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, on through Ohio to New York. I personally would definitely not do the Utah, Colorado route because you will most likely run into rough weather and rough terrain. I would suggest the southern route...it's longer but you won't have as much of a weather factor. Especially if you are travelling alone...you don't want to be out there in the middle of a blizzard and they have already had some serious winter weather and it's only October. It's good to track the weather but it can change so quickly in December.

One suggestion, I always planned how far I would drive each day and stuck to it, made hotel/motel reservations in advance which helped knowing I had a place to go to that night.