Best route...Pittsburgh to Denver

[JerseyCane]

There is a helpful website at: Interstate Exits Guide: Hotels Gas Food by Exit which has restaurants, gas & hotels for every exit on major highways. I will be driving from NJ to Denver on Route 80, and was nervous about a lack of places to stop in Iowa & Nebraska. Whichever route you wind up chosing, you can select the highway, and you will have an option to see all of the places by either a map view or a text view.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by JrzDefector

I'm making the same drive pretty much, and my Triple A TripTik says to take 70.

I disagree. 70 has few services in Mo outside of the St. Louis and KC areas, and very few across Kansas except in the little towns, which are widely scattered, especially in western KS. Look at a map. Virtually no cities >6000 people west of Hays, KS. Nebraska has cities >6000 all across the state on I-80.

[09marybeth]

Hi,, am driving a small u-haul truck from Pittsburgh to Denver - leaving July 4th - about how many days to expect

and where will I hit the first night assuming we drive 9 hours / day. Interstate 70 or 80, people seem to be split on opinion.

Thanks

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by 09marybeth

Hi,, am driving a small u-haul truck from Pittsburgh to Denver - leaving July 4th - about how many days to expect

and where will I hit the first night assuming we drive 9 hours / day. Interstate 70 or 80, people seem to be split on opinion.

Thanks

We always took 3 days, even when we didn't have kids.

I-70: Somewhere around Effingham, IL, maybe a bit west of there.

I-80: Somewhere west of Chicago, maybe LaSalle at I-80 and I-39.

[reed303]

By using I-70, you avoid the tolls on the stretches of I-80 on the Ohio and Indiana Turnpikes, and the congestion on I-80 near Chicago. There is a 50 mile stretch of I-70 in Kansas with a toll of about $3

[Katarina Witt]

I continue to suggest I-70 from Pittsburgh to Indy, pick up I-74 in Indy across Illinois (no tolls, little traffic), then pick up I-80 in the Quad Cities. You avoid Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City this way. The equivalents are 1)small Illinois towns, the largest being Champaign-Urbana, about 200,000; 2) Quad Cities; 3) Omaha. There are also WAY more services on I-80 through Iowa/Nebraska than Missouri/Kansas, especially farther west.

[reed303]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

I continue to suggest I-70 from Pittsburgh to Indy, pick up I-74 in Indy across Illinois (no tolls, little traffic), then pick up I-80 in the Quad Cities. You avoid Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City this way. The equivalents are 1)small Illinois towns, the largest being Champaign-Urbana, about 200,000; 2) Quad Cities; 3) Omaha. There are also WAY more services on I-80 through Iowa/Nebraska than Missouri/Kansas, especially farther west.

Wow ! That does look like the best of both 70 & 80. And yes, 80 thru Nebraska is preferable to 70 thru Kansas. You can even stop and visit the "Great Platte River Road Archway Monument"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_...chway_Monument