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Tips for making the drive from LA to Denver in mid-January in 24 hours?

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Jharp

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How stupid is this idea? We'll be leaving from LA on Thursday, January 14th in the evening and plan to arrive by Friday the 15th in the evening. We'll then be leaving there on Sunday the 17th in the morning to go back to LA.

The only experience I have driving in winter conditions is in California mountains, which isn't much. I know I need chains on my tires, and that I need to keep it slow, but beyond that I don't know much.

We can go straight there on Interstate 15 up to Utah, then take Interstate 70 into Colorado, but that puts us in colder areas, or we can take the long route, and head through Arizona into New Mexico, and up into Colorado through Denver, Boulder, and up into Estes Park. The more direct route is 17ish hours, and the longer round about drive seems to be about 24.

Is this possible? How safe is it? What do you guys recommend? My car is a 2012 Subaru Impreza with AWD and low-profile tires. I would of course acquire chains before the trip.

I was looking at the weather forecast for our drive times at various stops along the shortest (I-15 to I-70), specifically Grand Junction, CO, and weather looks great. Cold as fuck, for sure, but what appears to be no snow and no storms.
That's definitely encouraging.

EDIT: Not quite Denver, sorry for the title. The city we're going to specifically is Estes Park, CO, about 65 miles North West of Denver.
 
As someone who made this drive recently, well, from Santa Barbara to Denver, I wholeheartedly recommend that you do not drive through the Rockies at night. That shit is way too dangerous. I did this in the summer and I wouldn't recommend it then and I especially wouldn't reccomend it now, especially given the potential for snowfall.

I stopped in Grand Junction for the night, and boy oh boy let me tell you, it's a shit-hole. But it's still better than driving through the Rockies at night.
 
There might be a reason for it, but are planes out of the question? I did 12 hours to Memphis last march, and it was ungodly. Even worse was doing it again for the ride back. I can't imagine a 17-24 hour straight shot in any car.
 
1) Drive to LAX
2) Fly to Denver

You're planning on swapping drivers around at least once, right? Even then 17 hours seems damn rough. Beyond that you should be fine, but honestly I feel like you should break this into two daytime sprints if remotely possible.
 
Over 2000 miles in 5 days sounds like a bad idea especially if you have no experience with winter weather and the area itself. You'll be cold and tired, godspeed. Get an oil change
 
Yeah, don't do this. I did a Texas to Michigan trip without stopping and it was just too much - and that was over mostly flat terrain. I recommend that you only drive during the daylight hours and figure out a good place to stop at night.
 
Why would you do this? Gas would cost nearly as much as the plane ticket. Plus putting miles on your vehicle.

Edit: wait holdup how many people are going In your vehicle?
 
I used to do Tallahassee to New Jersey when was in college. 15 hours straight. Now I can barely make 6. Unless you have the energy o of a 20 year old, don't.
 
Alright, situation is:

1. Can't fly because tickets plus renting a car are way too expensive (it's not a matter of affordability, we're just not fucking paying it). If we had bought the plane tickets a few weeks ago, sure, but can't right now.

2. No, gas won't cost nearly as much as the plane tickets. In fact, gas will only get cheaper the further we get away from California.

3. We'll be driving in shifts, and swapping more than once.

4. There's two of us.

5. We have to get there by Saturday evening, but the earlier the better. We're leaving the soonest we possibly can, on Thursday night. I'll be sleeping all that day so we can drive through the night, and he'll be sleeping in the car and driving the next day.

6. Both of us have driven professionally. He did a few years ago for about five years, and I've currently been doing it for over four. Neither of us have ANY problem taking long drives. I did a 6 hour drive to Mammoth and an 8 hour drive to Tahoe last year entirely by myself with no stopping and no problem. These are considerably shorter drives than to Colorado, but they were also stupid easy. With another person, driving in shifts? We aren't worried there. He's driven to Portland several times (about 14 hours) by himself.

7. Coffee and cigarettes all day err day. And, like, real snacks and water and Gatorade.

Yeah, the long drive intimidates neither of us. The conditions, however, intimidate both of us. I don't mind long windy mountain roads, but long windy mountain roads WITH ice? That's a different thing entirely.

And looking at the forecast for our drive times, there's no mention of storms or even snowfall. We're looking at a few sunny places and a few cloudy places with high humidity, low precipitation, high temps in the mid 30's and low temps in the mid teens. But no mention of snow. I'm sure there will be some on the ground, but we shouldn't be running into any actually falling.
 
I'm backing up everyone who said hit the Rockies in the daytime. It's brutal at night, and bad weather makes it so much worse.

LA to Denver through the Rockies is easily the fastest way. Check up on that forecast before you leave, and try to leave at a time that'll land you in the mountains while the sun's up.
 
You don't need chains as long as you have good all season tires. If it's snowing or ice, GO SLOW. You have a AWD car so you're good, but don't get too confident because of it. I have a Subaru and it's not bad in the snow and ice as long as you're aware of the conditions. Hit the snowy parts during the day and you'll be good.
 
Kama_1082 said:
You don't need chains as long as you have good all season tires. If it's snowing or ice, GO SLOW. You have a AWD car so you're good, but don't get too confident because of it. I have a Subaru and it's not bad in the snow and ice as long as you're aware of the conditions. Hit the snowy parts during the day and you'll be good.
Click to expand...

I thought you got in trouble if you wipe out up there and don't have any chains?
 
You'll be fine; CDOT does a good job keeping I-70 plowed through the Rockies unless a storm gets crazy. Just go slow and don't be one of the types of the people who think you can speed through snow/ice because you have AWD/4WD.

Keep an eye on the weather when you get to Utah; snow storms can pop up really suddenly in the Rockies and it can be hard for forecasters to predict ahead of time. Check http://www.cotrip.org for weather closures; if shit gets bad and I-70 is closed, then consider taking I-15 to SLC then I-80 through Wyoming (which still gets snowy and windy, but far fewer mountains to cross), to I-25 south.
 
I've done 14 hours of driving in a day before and didn't think it was a big deal but I've been the driver on long distance trips for over a decade of such trips.
 
We just drove from Dallas to NorCal. I'm not intimidated by driving and I was the only driver. Maps driving time had it estimated at 24-26 hours drive time (1600+ miles). We had two ten hour days and about twelve hours on the last day. We also gained an extra hour on the first and third day. You'll lose an hour crossing into mountain time.

We took I-40 across to Barstow. Hopped on the 58 and connected with 99 in Bakersfield.

We had quite the weather in Flagstaff Arizona. There was already snow on the gound and another 12-18" was expected to fall that night we stayed there. It was a bit slow going in the morning on I-40. Even with plowed roads, I drove about 40mph through most of it.

Now in the summer time I've driven 900 miles straight through the night, but I wouldn't consider it in the winter time with snow on the ground. I'm not that experienced with winter weather to drive on it at night.
 
Colorado has been slammed with snow this year. I really don't recommend driving through the Rockies at all if you don't have some decent snow driving experience (Californians almost never do).

Imagine hurtling down a steep incline, picking up speed even without pushing on the gas and the roads are covered in ice and you can't really slow down because you have massive trucks bearing down on your ass the whole time and now there's a sharp turn in the distance.

It can be pretty risky.
 
In an ideal world...you would bring snow tires cause all season doesn't cut the job. It's been documented and there are videos all over YouTube showing the difference of all season and snow tires in light, heavy, and icy conditions. Good snow tires can make a rear wheeled car even perform better (depending on the type of car and balance it has) than a regular all season tire
 
Snow hasnt been too ridiculous in Denver area the past couple months, but I wouldn't recommend driving here from LA. The idea sounds stupid OP lol.
 
That's an easy drive. You can do it in 14 hours. I've done it three times this year--yes, even at night. LA to the I70 Junction is roughly 500 miles, and then it's about 500 miles to Denver after that.

Road trips are fun and don't let the naysayers prevent you from driving in the winter (except for when it's blatantly stupid to do so). Remember that I70 is a major commercial route, and it's usually kept in good condition.

Just make sure you get your car checked out prior to leaving and you should be in good shape. Also a good idea to check this site before embarking.

http://www.cotrip.org/home.htm

I personally like the Best Western in Beaver, Utah, if you plan on stopping.

http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwes...dise-Inn/Hotel-Overview.do?propertyCode=45060

Couleurs said:
You'll be fine; CDOT does a good job keeping I-70 plowed through the Rockies unless a storm gets crazy. Just go slow and don't be one of the types of the people who think you can speed through snow/ice because you have AWD/4WD.

Keep an eye on the weather when you get to Utah; snow storms can pop up really suddenly in the Rockies and it can be hard for forecasters to predict ahead of time. Check http://www.cotrip.org for weather closures; if shit gets bad and I-70 is closed, then consider taking I-15 to SLC then I-80 through Wyoming (which still gets snowy and windy, but far fewer mountains to cross), to I-25 south.
Click to expand...

This guy's advice is right on the money.
 
Man, so many conflicting opinions.

Let's say we don't hit snowfall or storms at all, would we be fine? I keep hearing conflicting things on chains as well. I've heard it's illegal NOT to have them, and now you're telling me it's illegal to have them. I also keep hearing they're unnecessary with an AWD car.

As for driving in the night, hopefully we won't be doing that in the Rockies. Taking the short way, it'll be about 11 hours, according to google maps, from LA to Grand Junction, CO. Let's call that 13 hours for stops, traffic, and the like. Figure we leave by 8PM thursday (hopefully earlier), that puts us in Grand Junction at 10AM their time. We then have at least 7 hours to get to Estes Park before it gets dark, and it should take us 5 hours according to google. It might cutting it close, but not by too much. It will be early evening at the latest, barring any complications.
 
Jharp said:
Man, so many conflicting opinions.

Let's say we don't hit snowfall or storms at all, would we be fine? I keep hearing conflicting things on chains as well. I've heard it's illegal NOT to have them, and now you're telling me it's illegal to have them. I also keep hearing they're unnecessary with an AWD car.
Click to expand...

It isn't illegal now; previously chains were only required for semis, but there is a new traction law that recently went into effect where there are two codes CDOT can declare when it's snowy; one of them doesn't require chains or snow tires if you have AWD/4WD; then a more severe one where chains are required.

https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/TractionLaw
 
Jharp said:
Man, so many conflicting opinions.

Let's say we don't hit snowfall or storms at all, would we be fine? I keep hearing conflicting things on chains as well. I've heard it's illegal NOT to have them, and now you're telling me it's illegal to have them. I also keep hearing they're unnecessary with an AWD car.

As for driving in the night, hopefully we won't be doing that in the Rockies. Taking the short way, it'll be about 11 hours, according to google maps, from LA to Grand Junction, CO. Let's call that 13 hours for stops, traffic, and the like. Figure we leave by 8PM thursday (hopefully earlier), that puts us in Grand Junction at 10AM their time. We then have at least 7 hours to get to Estes Park before it gets dark, and it should take us 5 hours according to google. It might cutting it close, but not by too much. It will be early evening at the latest, barring any complications.
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with driving through the Rockies at night. Barring a terrible storm, or car trouble, you'll be fine. What are you worried about, monsters?

The one thing I will mention is that some areas of eastern Utah are extremely desolate (especially 100 miles east and west of Green River, Utah), so don't get cute with the gas. There's also this asshole west of Green River that sells gas at $6.00 a gallon because he's the only station around for 20-30 miles.
 
"2 professional drivers ask members of video game forum about driving"

Does not compute.

My advice: wear a diaper and don't stop - NASA style.
 
I just drove from Camarillo CA (40 mins north of LA I guess) to Colorado Springs CO (hour south of Denver prolly) It was around 16 hours and some change with zero stops.

I had a wife, 2 kids and a dog. We had to break it up into two days.

Day 1 we left at 1:20 pm and arrived in Flagstaff, AZ around 11:45 pm.

Day 2 wasn't anywhere near as bad but LA traffic sucked.

If the wife and I were 10 years younger with no kids we could have went straight through no problem. The Rockies weren't bad but you sure as hell wouldn't want to plan going through that area at night.

I drove from Tacoma, WA to Washington DC 9 years ago and about died going through the mountains at night. My 98 Mustang GT died on me and I had to sleep in the car on he side of the road somewhere in the mountains at night.

There was 3 ft of snow on the ground and it was in the middle of winter.
 
Jharp said:
Man, so many conflicting opinions.

Let's say we don't hit snowfall or storms at all, would we be fine? I keep hearing conflicting things on chains as well. I've heard it's illegal NOT to have them, and now you're telling me it's illegal to have them. I also keep hearing they're unnecessary with an AWD car.

As for driving in the night, hopefully we won't be doing that in the Rockies. Taking the short way, it'll be about 11 hours, according to google maps, from LA to Grand Junction, CO. Let's call that 13 hours for stops, traffic, and the like. Figure we leave by 8PM thursday (hopefully earlier), that puts us in Grand Junction at 10AM their time. We then have at least 7 hours to get to Estes Park before it gets dark, and it should take us 5 hours according to google. It might cutting it close, but not by too much. It will be early evening at the latest, barring any complications.
Click to expand...

Also, you have to factor in the speed limitations with your snow chains.That might be a big factor on equipping them
 
Chiggs said:
There is nothing wrong with driving through the Rockies at night. Barring a terrible storm, or car trouble, you'll be fine. What are you worried about, monsters?

The one thing I will mention is that some areas of eastern Utah are extremely desolate (especially 100 miles east and west of Green River, Utah), so don't get cute with the gas. There's also this asshole west of Green River that sells gas at $6.00 a gallon because he's the only station around for 20-30 miles.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've actually found some good advice on where to get gas and where to fill up to the brim no matter what. Thankfully my car's got a 16 gallon tank and generally great fuel economy, and I have no intention of skipping a gas station if we're out in the boonies and I'm under 3/4 tank.

ZackieChan said:
"2 professional drivers ask members of video game forum about driving"

Does not compute.

My advice: wear a diaper and don't stop - NASA style.
Click to expand...

We're not long haul truckers or anything, he used to do bids for a construction company and often had to drive all over California and Arizona to get to properties. I'm a courier and drive for about 6 hours a day throughout Southern California, but I've driven up to 7 hours straight for the job. I was simplifying our occupations, as I was simply trying to get across that the long drive won't be an issue for either of us.

Chiggs said:
And seem surprisingly skittish about a well-traveled route.
Click to expand...

Talking to you guys has definitely bolstered my confidence, but when you hear of steep declines with icy road conditions and tumbling down them, gaining speed with a steel grate running up at you, the only protection from tumbling off the side of the mountain... it's hard not to be skittish as a California driver who's only ever driven in California conditions.

Speaking of which, there appears to be another slightly safer route that Couleurs recommended above, that only adds an hour and a half to the drive, and about 120 miles. Basically take the 15 up to Salt Lake City, then hop on the 80, cut through Southern Wyoming, and come down into Colorado at Fort Collins from the North. Any thoughts on that?
 
Personally I would go through New Mexico. We made this drive a couple years ago and you can't be too sure about the weather in the Rockies. Being from that area there had been quite a few times where the weather looked fine and then we get stuck hitting some freak storm.

Going through New Mexico there is only one spot that gets too bad north of Albuquerque on I-25, then you are pretty much in the clear. I-25 is usually kept up pretty well if there is any snow also.

Coming back, if you're leaving in the morning or early afternoon you will probably be pretty fine going through the Rockies since you'll be leaving from right in that area.

When we made the drive it was just me driving and we had a 5 year old so we did make quite a few stops. Took us like 30 hours but wasn't too bad. Arizona can surprise you with snow as well, but if you can put a rested driver in the seat you will probably be fine.

Have fun and be safe.
 
Start driving away from LA in the night around 10pm and that should carry you thru the desert during the night to avoid the heat and hit the Rockies about in the afternoon I think. I haven't done it in a while.

But this is what I normally do when I make that trip once per year. I drive solo with small naps in between and I average around 100mph. My record is around 15hrs but average around 17-18hrs. I've grew up in Colorado so I'm familiar with driving in different terrains. Just make sure to get enough rest during the day so you have the energy to drive at night.
 
My family regularly makes 24-26 hour drives several times a year. With how big our family is, it is incredibly expensive to fly from Minnesota to Idaho and back. Or from Minnesota to Texas and back.

Looking at google maps, your route is somewhere between 16 and 19 hours depending on the route. You've got two people, which means you should be able to make it in 24 hours without significant long stops.

I haven't driven through any of those places, but I've driven long durations before.

Tips:
  • Have food already made. Yeah, stop for breakfast/lunch/dinner if you really want, but have a sandwich or five packed and ready to go in a cooler in your trunk. Throw in a bit of ice and the ambient temperature of mountain winter will keep it cool enough to go. Convenient and saves you money
  • Don't make separate stops for bathroom and eating and filling up on gas. Do it all in the same stop. Even if you don't think you have to go to the bathroom, get out and stretch and walk into the bathroom and at least try. It's silly but it works and even if it is a little bit, it'll be more likely to hold you over until the next stop 3-4 hours later
  • Speaking of gas, don't let your gas tank get below half a tank. If you're in an area you don't know, in the mountains, in winter, you will want and need that reserve. It's more frequent stops but they should be quicker. If you don't want to be as cautious you can lower your threshold to 1/4th a tank, but don't do anything below that
  • Regarding sleeping, sleeping in a car sucks ass. At best you're looking at power naps of 2-3 hours, which means you'll be drowsy for lengths of time. When you're driving, your passenger needs to be sleeping or at least trying. Especially at night. Let them. They'll be driving later and they need the sleep. Don't blast music, don't try to keep them awake. Open your window and allow the cold air in and it'll wake you up. Same for when they're driving. At night, do your darnedest to sleep whenever you have the chance.
  • You cannot ride your brakes in the mountains. Manually shift your car into a lower gear, which limits the speed and makes your engine and car do the work for you. If you feel you're speeding up too much on the decline, gradually apply brakes until you are much slower than what you intend, then allow your car to speed up again by itself. Keep your foot on the brake but do not push down unless you really need to
  • Depending on your car you might not even need chains. I've never needed them. My family rarely needs them unless they are in a small sedan with a ton of stuff in it. Which is rare.
 
It's definitely possible to do, but you'll be pulling a 12-15 hour day just driving. Last time I made a trip like that it took me about from sun up to early morning to get from the Colorado border to Los Angeles, but it was at at fairly leisurely pace with a few stops.

Chicago to NYC is a 12 hour drive through much flatter terrain, and about two-thirds of the distance. Make sure you have a full tank before heading across Utah -- I remember the only gas stations in the eastern part of the state would soak travelers.
 
You don't want to be driving the sierras, let alone the rockies in a winter storm. If the weather's good, it might be possible; but I'd have a backup plan.

I did a cross country trip and the mountain passes in California got closed on us in Early October. We went south around Bakersfield and up to lone pine to get to our next destination.
 
As far as the chains/no chains thing, go to the source - https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/TractionLaw

If weather is clear you'll be fine, but you don't want the stress if it is not or the potential fines if you run into trouble. More than anything safety first though.

I-80 through Wyoming and then down I-25 usually isn't too bad and you'll be closer to Estes Park coming that way, but it can be very windy and couple that with a storm you get into whiteout conditions easily. What sometimes happens is there is zero visibility because of blowing snow, the road ices over and then the wind blows your car off the road. At night the ice weasels come.

In all seriousness though just keep up on the weather reports (the link above has other links to winter driving and where to stay up to date on weather) and don't drive through mountains at night. One other thing to consider depending on which route you take is avoiding traffic. I-70 has a ton of ski traffic during the weekend and while you probably would be going the opposite way it still could be a consideration.
 
Drive this phrase into your brain, especially when driving through the mountains..

"Keep right except to pass"

Takes one dipshit driving slow in the left lane to fuck up the entire flow of traffic in mountain driving, which makes it more dangerous.

Driving through I-70 in the Rockies with crappy tires could get you a fine (or in an accident). New law in CO, they're enforcing it. There is also a brand new toll lane, might want to use that, but only if you're comfortable keeping the pace.

edit:

I-80 through Wyoming and then down I-25 usually isn't too bad and you'll be closer to Estes Park coming that way, but it can be very windy and couple that with a storm you get into whiteout conditions easily. What sometimes happens is there is zero visibility because of blowing snow, the road ices over and then the wind blows your car off the road. At night the ice weasels come.
Click to expand...

I actually recommend this route. I use to work in a receiving department in Denver. We had one truck driver who would take I-80 through WY from Salt Lake in bad weather, while all the other drivers took I-70. I-80 guy always made it not only in shitty conditions, but on time.
 
I haven't heard of people using chains on their tires in 20+ years. If you're driving on plowed roads what's the point? You should definitely not be traveling in any condition that requires chains.
 
The biggest problem is that below freezing most summer and all season tires turn into hockey pucks. This can be dangerous if you have no experience in the cold.
 
UFO said:
I haven't heard of people using chains on their tires in 20+ years. If you're driving on plowed roads what's the point? You should definitely not be traveling in any condition that requires chains.
Click to expand...

My friend and I drove up to Seattle from Dallas. We crossed through Idaho. There were definitely some treacherous roads, and we had to put on chains in one particular area. They were selling them in all the gas stations in the area too. Definitely needed them. Sometimes you have to get from point A to point B and you have to go through some shit to get there. It happens.
 
When I was stationed in Colorado Springs, I used to drive home to southern California several times a year. You gotta prepare yourself though, driving through northern Arizona and New Mexico could not be duller. Also, it's nowhere near a 24 hour drive
 
Officerrob said:
When I was stationed in Colorado Springs, I used to drive home to southern California several times a year. You gotta prepare yourself though, driving through northern Arizona and New Mexico could not be duller. Also, it's nowhere near a 24 hour drive
Click to expand...

Shorter or longer in your experience? Looking at google maps, from LA to ABQ, to our destination is about 19 hours. Figure with stops and the like, that could get bumped up to 22 ish easily.
 
UFO said:
I haven't heard of people using chains on their tires in 20+ years. If you're driving on plowed roads what's the point? You should definitely not be traveling in any condition that requires chains.
Click to expand...

Sometimes when I go skiing they won't let you through unless you have chains, snow tires or at least AWD. It's happened on the way to both Big Bear and Lake Tahoe.
 
It's a 14 hour drive. From my opinion, that is nothing for two people. I've done 16 hour in a day on my own.

What's worrying is you have to ask. Have you driven through mountains before? On Snow? etc? Have you done long trips?
 
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