Best route Houston to Denver (live in, moving to, land)

[ermo18]

We will be moving to Denver mid January from Houston. Does anyone happen to know the best driving route? We've heard horror stories about Amarillo and road closures due to snow. Any advice would be appreciated!

[TinajaCo]

The fastest route would probably be I-45 north to Dallas, then I-35 north to I-70. If you're concerned about snow, I would recommend checking the forecast a few days before you leave to see if there's snow in the forecase (since it's pretty flat and open terrain, I-70 does get closed if there's snow and wind). If you want to avoid even the chance of that, you could take I-10 west to El Paso, then catch I-25 north. Although they do get weather along there, it's much less frequently, and I-25 is closed much less often due to weather than I-70 is.

[BrianAggie95]

I have made the trip from Houston to Colorado many times. I always took the following basic route:

I-45 North to Dallas
Downtown Dallas switch to I-35E
At Denton take 380 West,
Then switch to 287.
Take 287 All the way to Amarillo, continue north on 287 to Dumas
At Dumas take 87 West to Raton
Take I-25 North from Raton to Denver.

There are several ways in the Dallas area to get onto 287, this one is relatively easy, and work pretty well, however I have family on the North Side of Dallas, so that's one reason I go through Denton. Another option, which is probably better, is to take I20 West just south of Dallas until you get to Fort worth and Get on I-35W, headed North. 287 Branches off of I35W just North of FortWorth. 380 is a Typical Texaqs country road, so using I20- to scoot over to 35W and then up to 287 is probably better.

This keeps you off the boring great plains a little longer than going up to I-70. Also I-70 can get closed down due to high winds/winter storms easier than the more southerly route I usually take. One trip we battled high winds in the Texas Panhandle and it was no fun, until we got to I-25, when we found out I-70 had been closed due to white out conditions of blowing snow.... Boy were we glad we went the way we did. Also you get Texas speed limits, which last I checked were higher than Kansas and Oklahoma.

The automated trip systems will usually give you the North to Kansas West to Denver route as they prefer Interstate highways, 287 is a major highway, divided almost the whole way, so it is as good as an Interstate highway and in Texas has the same speed lmiits as an interstate highway, except slowing down for towns now and then,,,, but there aren't that many towns up there so you don't have to mess to much with that...

[Victoria]

Whatever you do DON'T go through El Paso. Last time we took the trip we went up through OK City and across Kansas. It's fine if you want the interstate. I like going Houston to Weatherford over to Amarillo and then catching 287. I love the change in the land from 50 feet above sea level to the mile high snow covered city.

[jjsnyder]

whats taking you out of Houston? I left there in summer. I now live in pittsburgh, Pa.