Best Route NYC to SEATTLE in January?! (Yikes: Winter Road Trip Help)

[SimplySagacious]

Originally Posted by Momontheroad

So my family and I are doing the big move to the northwest in January. Our items are being shipped by truck through a service my husband’s company provided and we plan to take our big truck with our daughter and dogs and hit the road!

At first I was excited for this amazing cross country trip but when I realized it would be in the middle of winter I’ve been having panic attacks. Flying is not an option for us so I’m trying to figure out a safer yet still scenic/entertaining route to take avoiding the states up north that will most likely be slammed with snow and ice.

We are treating this trip/move like a vacation so there is not a strict time limit. We can take up to 10/12 days and plan to sleep/explore cities along the way. We take long road trips often so other than this experience driving West is New we are very use to long travel with our dogs and young daughter.

Any suggestions of routes from NYC to Seattle that may have nicer/safer driving weather? Has anyone had experience doing this long drive?

Would really love some suggestions, tips, help!
Thanks!

How many dogs? I doubt you will have many opportunities to explore cities with your dogs. You'll need to research and map out the pet-friendly hotels. Keep in mind that unexpected weather conditions may prevent you from getting to the next pet-friendly hotel. It will be too cold to leave them in your truck overnight, even on a southerly route.

Originally Posted by Momontheroad

Dd714

Good point! Thank you. Google maps is a life saver. Now my only other worry would be signal. And I never ever thought about possibly making it a “winter vacation” I guess there are lots of possibilities if we do decide to drive the northern route.

Another possibility is to make your way to Chicago and take a train to Seattle. You could do the straight 48 hour (approx) trip, or select a vacation package of 5-7 days. Look up the Empire Builder or snow train. If your dogs are small, you can take them on some Amtrak trips; check directly with Amtrak for those details. Options might be to ship your truck from Chicago - or ship it from NYC and use a rental to get to Chicago.


If you end up driving the whole trip, please keep your truck stocked with plenty of water, food, suitable outdoor gear and emergency supplies. Have a good map too; don't rely solely on GPS!

[Gardyloo]

I thought about Amtrak too but if their dog is bigger than 20 lbs it's out.

[Momontheroad]

Thank you everyone!! Sorry had a family health emergency that took my attention away from this forum.

I seriously appreciate everyone’s input on this subject and suggestions. It gave me a lot to think about and consider. Especially the points about possibly being stuck in below freezing weather or closed roads with a dog and very young child.

So we decided we are going to take the long southern drive cross country from NY to VA to TN to New Orleans then TX, Arizona, California , Oregon and then Seattle.

I would have never considered that route without your help����.

[GoCardinals]

Originally Posted by Momontheroad

So my family and I are doing the big move to the northwest in January. Our items are being shipped by truck through a service my husband’s company provided and we plan to take our big truck with our daughter and dogs and hit the road!

At first I was excited for this amazing cross country trip but when I realized it would be in the middle of winter I’ve been having panic attacks. Flying is not an option for us so I’m trying to figure out a safer yet still scenic/entertaining route to take avoiding the states up north that will most likely be slammed with snow and ice.

We are treating this trip/move like a vacation so there is not a strict time limit. We can take up to 10/12 days and plan to sleep/explore cities along the way. We take long road trips often so other than this experience driving West is New we are very use to long travel with our dogs and young daughter.

Any suggestions of routes from NYC to Seattle that may have nicer/safer driving weather? Has anyone had experience doing this long drive?

Would really love some suggestions, tips, help!
Thanks!

Make flying an option for you.

[fivenine]

Originally Posted by Momontheroad

Thank you everyone!! Sorry had a family health emergency that took my attention away from this forum.

I seriously appreciate everyone’s input on this subject and suggestions. It gave me a lot to think about and consider. Especially the points about possibly being stuck in below freezing weather or closed roads with a dog and very young child.

So we decided we are going to take the long southern drive cross country from NY to VA to TN to New Orleans then TX, Arizona, California , Oregon and then Seattle.

I would have never considered that route without your help����.

We are entering a mild pattern weather-wise across the lower 48. Long-term meteorologists using analogs (winters that are acting similar to this one) suggest this mild pattern will last till around the first of the year. My personal experience is when you see a mild weather pattern like this, especially during an El-Nino year like this one, it is usually a precursor to a more active winter weather pattern further on down the line.

If you could push this trip up to say just after Christmas and try to get to your location by New Years or perhaps a day or two after then you would be more likely to be able to transverse the country (perhaps even the more northern routes) without much issue. The later you wait in January the more likely it is for you to be caught on the road when the pattern flips back to a colder and wintry one (similar to November-Early December but even colder since it will be January).

That southern route is not fool-proof either. I-81 and I-40 are prone to occasional winter issues and VA and TN are not as equipped to deal with them compared to places in the Northeast. The winter chances do go down significantly once you are south of I-20 for the most part, but you still have a mountain crossing in West Texas on Interstate 10 (a lot of people forget about that) and I-5 from Northern CA to Seattle can occasionally see winter weather activity.

[droc31]

I would say going the most direct route which would be I 80 westward (which actually runs pretty much through the middle of the country). It avoids the far northern states but also won't take you out of your way like the suggested southern routes go. Keep in mind that if you drop south to head west on Interstate 10 or 40, you're adding 1-2 extra days to go back north to get to Washington. After about Warren Ohio, I-80 pretty much levels out until you get to Laramie/Cheyenne, Wyoming. 80 also bypasses much of Chicagoland to the south (running between Chicago and Joliet) so you'll hit minimal traffic along that corridor. From just before Salt Lake City, I'd recommend exiting 80 and going northwestward on I-84, which will lead you through Boise Idaho and up to Portland. From Portland, Seattle is only about 175 miles up I-5. I'd suggest I-80 over 90 also because of 90's track through the snowbelts of Western New York state and it also runs directly through the busiest section of Chicago. It's also tolled through almost all of New York State and northwest of Chicago as the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway. 80 does have tolls as the Ohio Turnpike and through part of Illinois.

[Hefe]

I took I-80 in early February when I moved from UT to DC, no problems at all, snow in the mountains but a straight shot, took 4 days maybe, bing-bang-boom no delays at all. Drove a U Haul Truck towing a sedan. I would just check out the weather maps before you leave to track any possible storms you might want to avoid. Unless you actually want to go the southern route for a nice, longer drive in relative dry areas.