best route, driving from Florida to Salt Lake City mid November (Spanish Fork: dangerous, safer)

[HildaROTB]

We will be driving from Florida (Orlando Area) to Salt Lake City around mid November.
What would be the best route????
AAA gave us the southern route going through Las Vagas but it is very long...others suggest the northern route but St Louis is in bad shape full of detours for road work.
We would like to avoid cities but still have decent roads...also we worry about snow and ice.
Thanks for your help!!

[skibarbie]

In a nutshell, this is the route that I would probably take...
All Interstates
10 to 75
75 to 20
20 to 35
35 to 40
40 to 25
25 to 80
80 to SLC.

I have done this trip several time from OKC to SLC-there are a few passes once you get into Colorado, and Wyoming but I would much rather be on the Interstate if it is snowing than any of the secondary roads. I would rather poke my eyes out than travel I70 through Colorado in the winter. Lots of curves and elevation gains etc. I80 across Wyoming can be a struggle at times with the wind but that being said, I have not been stuck there ..yet! Make sure you have a Winter "go" bag in your car with water, gloves, hat etc. in case you need it!
Have fun and it sounds like a great road trip.

[dcisive]

I think I posted on a similar thread a week ago regarding a drive from SLC to North Carolina in the winter. As you said about poking your eyes out! I would avoid I-25 at ALL costs. It is nothing but a death trap from Colorado Springs up to Ft. Collins. Can be an ice skating rink, but worse yet if the weather is bad some of the worst drivers are on that road racing North. Stay off it believe me. You would be better served to head North many other ways than that. I'd just take I-40 West and hop on I-35 North in Oklahoma City to I-135 and take I-70 (all flat at that point) West and when approaching the metro Denver area BYPASS it by taking the new I-470 which will dump you off well North of the major metro area. Just take I-25 where it intersects and you're on your way to I-80. A lot less traumatic (having been there and done that). The only place you'll have to really watch it if the weather gets bad is the stretch between Cheyenne and Rawlins. The winds up that way can whip the snow across the roads icing them up pretty bad. But then after Laramie they will generally close the road if it's that bad. All in all a highly doable drive.

[Poqui]

I would take I-10 to El Paso, Tx, north on I-25 to Albuquerque, west on I-40 to Gallup, north on US491 to Monticello, UT, north on US191, west on I-70, north on US6 to Spanish Fork, north on I-15.

I have done the Albuquerque to Salt Lake route many times in November and December and as long as there is no storm it is okay, even a day after the storm it is clean.

[dcisive]

Poqui has a very good suggestion if you're paranoid of any possible snow or ice. I've done that route and indeed they are right. It may take longer but less stressful not having to worry about weather as much.

[sp2007]

We drove from FL to UT in Jan of 2008.

We took I-10 from the FL panhandle thru to Baton Rouge, then I-49 to Shreveport then I-20 to Dallas, I-35 on the way to Amarillo then over on SR 87 to Raton NM and I-25. From there it was straight up to Cheyenne and I-80 then to SLC.

It was a little crazy but we we spent most of the trip in warmer climates (straighter would have been to go up I-75 thru TN and MO then to I-80 in NE).

The only problems we ran into was snowstorm on I-80 in Wyoming, but that was safer still than taking I-70. And we could have gone all the way to Vegas and went North on I-15, but it snowed more on I-15 south then it did in I-80 in Wyoming (if you can believe it) the weekend we did it.

Good luck!

[diablo234]

Just so you know I-80 in Wyoming is notorious for whiteouts and ground blizzards which can dangerously reduce visibility and occasionally close the road down, in addition to being sparsely populated resulting in fewer services between towns.

[SRWILLI1]

I-40 is probably your best bet, then cut up through Gallup, NM.