[aal3]

Hello,

I am traveling from OKC to San Diego, CA and I don't want to go through I-40 West because in Northern Arizona theres lots of snow and it might be hard to drive in. Any suggestions on what route I should take?

[foonman50]

The main southern interstate route would be to catch I-10 east though Tucson, El Paso then catch I-20 towards Ft Worth. You could cut north at Abilene to Wichita Falls and pick up I-44 but that is a turnpike in Oklahoma and you have non-interstate roads to Wichita Falls but pretty decent ones.
It is kind of a little out of the way to go Ft Worth to OKC but that just depends on how bad you want to avoid snow. I've gone I-10 to Tucson several times from the OKC area.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by foonman50

The main southern interstate route would be to catch I-10 east though Tucson, El Paso then catch I-20 towards Ft Worth. You could cut north at Abilene to Wichita Falls and pick up I-44 but that is a turnpike in Oklahoma and you have non-interstate roads to Wichita Falls but pretty decent ones.
It is kind of a little out of the way to go Ft Worth to OKC but that just depends on how bad you want to avoid snow. I've gone I-10 to Tucson several times from the OKC area.

I drive that route once or twice a year to visit family in Phoenix, and when I lived in Tucson it was an annual thing to drive back to OK. A couple years ago I had to take the southern route. I-44 to Lawton, US-62 west to US-83. Or take I-40 west to US 83 at Shamrock, TX. At TX 256 go west through Memphis to Silverton, TX 86 west to US 60 at Bovina outside Clovis, NM, then 60 to US 70. Those TX highways are 70 mph roads, too. US 70 goes through Roswell and Ruidoso to Las Cruces, I-25 five miles to I-10 and then to Tucson, Eloy and I-8. The one choke is US 70 at Ruidoso Summit. There are alternates further south through Artesia to Alamogordo. (US 285 south to 82 west) It's tough to avoid higher elevations unless you go way south.

I found that the NM road conditions web site is an excellent source of info. At the Clovis and Roswell visitor centers (real visitors in Roswell, not alien visitors) they use this site as well.

Currently AZ 377 and AZ 260 are a wintry mess, but I-40 looks OK on the AZ web site.

[aal3]

Originally Posted by SluggoF16

I drive that route once or twice a year to visit family in Phoenix, and when I lived in Tucson it was an annual thing to drive back to OK. A couple years ago I had to take the southern route. I-44 to Lawton, US-62 west to US-83. Or take I-40 west to US 83 at Shamrock, TX. At TX 256 go west through Memphis to Silverton, TX 86 west to US 60 at Bovina outside Clovis, NM, then 60 to US 70. Those TX highways are 70 mph roads, too. US 70 goes through Roswell and Ruidoso to Las Cruces, I-25 five miles to I-10 and then to Tucson, Eloy and I-8. The one choke is US 70 at Ruidoso Summit. There are alternates further south through Artesia to Alamogordo. (US 285 south to 82 west) It's tough to avoid higher elevations unless you go way south.

I found that the NM road conditions web site is an excellent source of info. At the Clovis and Roswell visitor centers (real visitors in Roswell, not alien visitors) they use this site as well.

Currently AZ 377 and AZ 260 are a wintry mess, but I-40 looks OK on the AZ web site.

Thank you very much. Also is this route "alive". Like does it have lots of rest stops and cities? Also its a 2 lane highway right? Also it would be nice if u can give me a couple of Rest areas or nice places to stop by close to the hwy

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by aal3

Thank you very much. Also is this route "alive". Like does it have lots of rest stops and cities? Also its a 2 lane highway right? Also it would be nice if u can give me a couple of Rest areas or nice places to stop by close to the hwy

From OKC to Lawton it's turnpike on I-44. From Lawton to Altus to Hollis to US-83 on US-62, not much to see and no significant rest stops except what's on Broadway in Altus. Once on TX 256 there's not a lot until between Memphis and Silverton, when you climb through the Caprock Canyons State Park. While no Grand Canyon, it's a nice drive if the sun's out. Rest stop, etc. From Clovis to Roswell on US-70 there is pretty much nothing. I am usually on that part after dark so I'm not missing anything. Roswell is interesting, the climb to Ruidoso is pretty, and US-70 has some Billy the Kid and Lincoln County War sites right on the road. Ruidoso to Tularosa is downhill but 45 mph in the reservation. There's a giant pistachio between Tularosa and Alamogordo (must have made an impression on me for me to write that). Lots of pecans and pistachios there. I spent a fair amount of time at Holloman AFB a few years ago so I generally bypass Alamogordo these days. White Sands National Monument is right outside of Holloman right off US-70. After that there's practically nothing until Texas Canyon outside of Tucson on I-10, a good 4 hours from Alamogordo. I-10 to I-8 is just a desert interstate, some rest areas but mostly not much to see.

[aal3]

I also found another route. The route I found takes you I-44 South to Wichita Falls, from Wichita falls take the 82 all the way to Lubbock, Then from Lubbock I go south on the 87 then I take the 380 through Roswell. Then from Tularosa I take 70 South through Alamogordo to Las Cruces. Then from Las Cruces I take the I-10 West through Tucson, then I take the I-8 and get to San Diego.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by aal3

I also found another route. The route I found takes you I-44 South to Wichita Falls, from Wichita falls take the 82 all the way to Lubbock, Then from Lubbock I go south on the 87 then I take the 380 through Roswell. Then from Tularosa I take 70 South through Alamogordo to Las Cruces. Then from Las Cruces I take the I-10 West through Tucson, then I take the I-8 and get to San Diego.

I was on US 82 from Lubbock back to Lawton over the Labor Day weekend... construction and quite a few slower stretches. Also more towns to slow in.

Alternate #2: Since you're in OKC, take I-40 to Amarillo, I-27 south to US 60 to Clovis, US-70 to Las Cruces, etc. How we used to do it visiting family in NW OK.