Driving from Boise to Moscow (Meridian, Lewiston: home, schools, college)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Taking my kid to Idaho the 2nd week of April for college campus visits. Going to fly into boise, and then planning to drive up to Moscow. Looking at google maps, looks like a pretty straightforward drive - roughly 5 1/2 hours. Neither Boise or Moscow will be snowing at the time, can I assume that the weather in-between the cities will be the same - i.e., no snowchains needed anywhere?
In general, October- mid-June, never assume any weather in Idaho, especially six weeks out. Snowchains extremely unlikely but I would not waste any energy until just before you get to Boise.
It is a great drive, but I would carry chains particularly through the McCall area. The year I went through on May 10th the lake was frozen over and there was two feet of snow in town.
The drive is great, lots of fun. But why are you flying into Boise when Moscow is just over an hour drive from Spokane???
We're visiting 3 schools in all, and coming from san diego. So... SD to boise to visit boise state, driving up to moscow to visit UI, and then driving all the way to pullman to see WSU, and then flying home to SD
At that time of year I wouldn't go through McCall, although it is beautiful. Play it safe, weather-wise, and go up 84 to 95 north. After New Meadows it gets spectacular, too. Riggins is a great place to stop for lunch/dinner. The only place you might want to check the weather forecast is the White Bird Grade, which is very steep. Stop and read the signs about the Battle of White Bird Canyon between the Nez Perce and the 1st Cavalry. The landscape hasn't changed at all...
If you're flying home from Boise, you could try McCall on the way back, depending on the weather. But it would be so much easier to fly home to SD, directly, from Spokane, a short distance from Pullman. Several direct flights daily!
April should be fine with weather. Yes, there can be weird abnormalities, but they are rare.
Boise to Moscow is definitely a drive where you have options. You could take it safe, and drive completely on I-84 to Pendleton, then Hwy 11 to Hwy 12 in WA, then over to Lewiston, then up the grade on US95 to Moscow.
However, if the weather looks normal, I would advise taking I-84 to either ID 55 at Meridian, or US 95 at Fruitland, both generally two lane highways (with passing lanes) up to Lewiston.
Any choice will eventually connect with US95 from Lewiston to Moscow.
The geography of the areas makes direct highway connections complicated. Depends on the weather, and your tolerance for two-lane highways. (I actually prefer the two-lane highways, but that is just me). In this case, those routes will be somewhat faster.
I drive down to McCall all the time (from Pullman) to go skiing in the winter. The roads are mostly fine Dec-Feb, so they will be clear in April. IDOT does a good job with de-icer and plowing. The only issue I tend to run into is on the Prairie just south of Lewiston (Grangeville to Cottonwood) and sometimes when crossing White Bird Pass (which is freakin' gorgeous, btw). But again, you shouldn't have an issue in April.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
