Winter trip through SD; travel advice needed (Sioux Falls, Rapid City: motels, cost)

[Reedsmit]

I need to drive cross country from Bozeman, MT to south Florida in January 2011. Mapquest has me driving 90 across MT, across SD to Sioux Falls than has me going south on 29 to Topeka.

Looking at the map an alternate route is 25 south through Wyoming than through Colorado, Texas than going east.

I could use some advice as to which of those routes is better that time of year.

I appreciate your help.

[ElkHunter]

I would be more concerned with roads being closed in Wyoming then South Dakota.

Both states do a good job of snow removal. So patches of snow or ice might be encountered. The biggest problem is visibility and in that case, most likely closed.

To predict what it will be in january is almost impossible. I've seen January's that had all roads high and dry. But I've also seen them snowed in. You might not find out what the roads are like until a day or so before travel.

But with your route, if the roads are clear all the way to Buffalo (where 90 and 25 split), chances are they'll be clear across Wyoming. Black Hills shouldn't be too bad. Would then have to worry about East of Rapid City when you start out across the prairie.

The other bad thing about I-90 is once you start East of Buffalo, you are kind of committed. There are not a lot of good roads going South should I-90 be closed. At least going down I-25, you have more choices for East-West alternatives.

[Chris19]

I would say to be flexible with routes when travelling in this part of the country in the winter. I would have a general route in mind, but have an alternate route or two if the weather gets iffy at some poing with your original route. Normally, the DOT in South Dakota is pretty good with clearing the interstates in the winter.

There are some years and times where driving through S. Dakota in the winter is not bad at all and some years like last year where it was more challenging at times.

The wintery conditions can vary from year to year. The advantages of going through Wyoming, Colorado, etc. is that you tend to avoid the bitter cold and their snow usually does not stick around as long (in the foothills and plains) as S. Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, etc. You would get south quicker going the Wyoming and Colorado way and would likely have more of the milder weather once you get to New Mexico/Texas. This way would be hillier, which would be an advantage going the S. Dakota way.

[Reedsmit]

Thank you both for your thoughts.

I drove across Wyoming & Montana this past June; there were a lot of areas that I would not want to drive through in a snow storm - staying out of the mountains and trying to stay out of trouble is a major concern.

[ElkHunter]

When I grew up in South Dakota, the highways were cleared around towns. Local and county snow plows would blade until they got out on the flat outside of town and they left the wind to clear the highway beyond that.

Now days, if the roads are open, the plows are running. If it's bad enough the plows can't run, the roads get closed.

The last company I worked for, I drove out of Sheridan Wyoming. I covered Billings/Laurel, Foresyth, Casper, Gillette, and over the top to Greybull. The mountains and foothills are not what you want to worry about. Sure, they get snow and sometimes it's nasty. But once you get away from the Big Horns in Wyoming, and the Black Hills of South Dakota, it's just you, WIND, and snow.

In recent years, snowstorms that close the roads are not that common in January. They happen, but not near as much as later in the spring. Snowstorms in January tend to be a dry snow that blows easily. Roads may get shut down for a couple hours and then open again. But later on in the spring, the snow tends to be very heavy and wet. When those storms hit, things shut down and sometimes they shut down for days.

I-90 going through Wyoming is desolate. From Buffalo to Gillette it's 60+ miles. Break down and there are only a couple farms/ranches that you can even see from the highway. Walking to them would be out of the question in a storm. From Gillette East, it doesn't get much better until you get down to the Black Hills. Sundance on East, there are towns a lot closer and motels (should you be shut down) are right there.

Rapid City East, you have New Underwood 21 miles out. Then it's a long lonely stretch (in winter) until you get to Wall. Then, running East you really have nothing until you get a LOT of miles behind you. First town you come to is Kadoka. A one horse town with little ammenities. Murdo, Chamberlain, Mitchell and then Sioux Falls. Long stretches to try and cover in a storm.

If you go South on I-25 from Buffalo, the only bad stretch you have is from Buffalo to Casper. Kaycee has some ammenities but not much. East of Casper I-25 follows the old stage line route. Some of those stage stops have grown through the years. So you have towns, with some ammenities, every 30-35 miles. From Cheyenne to Denver, it's all town now days. You have about 15 miles out of Cheyenne to worry about and then every exit is a town or has something to seek shelter.

Like previously mentioned, (not sure but I thnk it was in the Wyoming thread), I would hghly recommend heading straight on down 25 and get South as far as possible. There are always East-West roads so you can work your way East. But I-90 doesn't have much going South-North once you leave Buffalo. At least not much for winter travel.

[SD4020]

The mountain snows are manageable. The main roads are pretty much cleared first. I90 from Rapid east can be a major whizz cutter if the winds kick up and it starts to blow. Blowing snow and no visibility or it starts to drift in 90 can be terrible.

Along the east side of the mountains you are afforded a fair amount of protection and scenery too. I'd vote I-25 just for the view.

[marmac]

Head south as soon as possible ( IMHO)

Also, don't be on a tight schedule .

If you decide to head thru SD, if they close I 90 due to visibility, they don't make exceptions cuz you are on a tight schedule.

[Reedsmit]

Thanks everyone. I am pretty cautious - and don't mind taking more time to be safe. If there is bad weather expected; I will get out before it hits or stay put till it passes. I don't mind driving 10 - 12 hours in a day. But in snow; I will probably try to stick to day time driving and get south as quick as I can.
I have considered shipping my daughter's vehicle from MT to FL and letting her fly home. Any one have any experience with shipping a vehicle?

[AJTucson]

Not sure if this is even going to come to pass for us; however, after following this thread I have an additional question just in case...how are things in early to mid-December? It would be from WI to SD....so that long stretch would be part of the deal for sure.

Regarding shipping of the car....we wondered the same thing....and just perhaps fly. I can tell you that we did ship from WI to AZ ten years ago and it cost just under $1,000 to do so. Wish I had more recent info for you.

[Chris19]

early to mid December may vary from year to year. Some years, it is tame and other can be active with snow/freezing rain. One has to be prepared for adverse weather when planning to travel that time of the year.