Driving from LA to Dallas - Phoenix/Tucson - El Paso

[HFWR]

On my way back, I was thinking about taking 287 to Amarillo, then I-40 to Albuquerque, then Las Vegas, then back to LA.



Looks like Albuquerque to Las Vegas is a long ride, how is the condition of the HWY?



Is this a good route? Any place I should not miss?



MP

I’ve done the 287 to Amarillo leg, as recently as last September, but not I-40 west of Amarillo.

 

[meierlde]

On my way back, I was thinking about taking 287 to Amarillo, then I-40 to Albuquerque, then Las Vegas, then back to LA.

Looks like Albuquerque to Las Vegas is a long ride, how is the condition of the HWY?

Is this a good route? Any place I should not miss?

MP

It is 574 miles. I 40 is in good shape, then you turn north on us 93 at Kingman, to the new Hoover dam bridge. (mostly 4 lanes) google maps claims about 9 hours, but you might consider Grants NM a bit west of ABQ depending on how long you prior day was.

 

[Ronstar]

On my way back, I was thinking about taking 287 to Amarillo, then I-40 to Albuquerque, then Las Vegas, then back to LA.



Looks like Albuquerque to Las Vegas is a long ride, how is the condition of the HWY?



Is this a good route? Any place I should not miss?



MP

Just took 93 from Kingman to Las Vegas and I-15 from Las Vegas to Victorville, Ca last week. Also on I-40 in spots from East of Flagstaff to Kingman. All of this roadway was in great shape. Hoover Dam is cool to visit and on the route. Grand Canyon would be a couple hour detour. Maybe take old Route 66 instead of I-40 from Seligman, Az to Kingman.

I don’t know anything about route 287, but the rest of your route sounds goods.

 

[meierlde]

Now if you don't mind a bit longer route with more Scenery take us 89 north out of Flagstaff, then past Sunset Crater and Wupatki nation monuments, to us 89A (I.e. don't go to Page) thence past Lees ferry where you can watch folks set off for the journey down the river. up to Jacob lake, where there is the possiblity of driving to the North Rim of the Canyon (much more scenic and far fewer folks than the south rim), then down off the Kaibab Plateau, to Fredonia Az, take Az 389 to Ut 59 To Hurricane Ut, where you can turn off to visit Zion Canyon National Park, or go on to St George and then Las Vegas. (St George would be a good place to spend a night. with the night before in Flagstaff.) On I40 there is also Petrified Forest national park near Holbrook.

 

[mpeirce]

...how is the condition of the HWY?

Has anyone seen road condition listed on any of the GPS apps or devices?

Most gs apps let you select from various routes and can choose a toll free route (helpful in Florida!) rather than "fastest".

I'd love to have the option to take the "most scenic" or "best pavement condition" route.

I'd think the gps apps could collect data from the phone accelerometers to judge pothole frequency much like they collect data on speed to show traffic jams.

 

[HFWR]

Glad I-40 out west is good. From Nashville to Little Rock is pretty rough in places...

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Now if you don't mind a bit longer route with more Scenery take us 89 north out of Flagstaff, then past Sunset Crater and Wupatki nation monuments, to us 89A (I.e. don't go to Page) thence past Lees ferry where you can watch folks set off for the journey down the river. up to Jacob lake, where there is the possiblity of driving to the North Rim of the Canyon (much more scenic and far fewer folks than the south rim), then down off the Kaibab Plateau, to Fredonia Az, take Az 389 to Ut 59 To Hurricane Ut, where you can turn off to visit Zion Canyon National Park, or go on to St George and then Las Vegas. (St George would be a good place to spend a night. with the night before in Flagstaff.) On I40 there is also Petrified Forest national park near Holbrook.

Very beautiful there.

 

[Ronstar]

Has anyone seen road condition listed on any of the GPS apps or devices?



Most gs apps let you select from various routes and can choose a toll free route (helpful in Florida!) rather than "fastest".



I'd love to have the option to take the "most scenic" or "best pavement condition" route.



I'd think the gps apps could collect data from the phone accelerometers to judge pothole frequency much like they collect data on speed to show traffic jams.

There is a road condition field in the road database, but it is for pavement type - asphalt, gravel, dirt, etc. The condition isn’t used by nav systems unless you have the option for roadway type that you want to travel.

The nav system apps do collect phone data in order to show traffic congestion. It would be tough for the app to figure out if reduced speed is due to potholes or heavy traffic.

 

[Surewhitey]

I took a really scenic drive Northeast of Phoenix through Tonto National Forest and another time went through Sedona. I recommend both of these routes and the one through Tonto was coming back West after driving through the Petrified Forest. Other than these, both straight routes are VERY boring drives. I just did the boring quick route back in December and really didn't enjoy the drive scenery...

 

[mpeirce]

The nav system apps do collect phone data in order to show traffic congestion. It would be tough for the app to figure out if reduced speed is due to potholes or heavy traffic.

You don't use speed to gauge road condition, you use the accelerometer that is built into all smart phones.

I've used a specialized app that measured ride smoothness and it worked very well. Waze could add something like this if they wanted to.

 

[socaldonnan]

As DH and I are planning on driving across country from LA to FL in ten days, this is both timely and the information enlightening. We'll be spending a month in FL visiting my brother. We're planning on going I10 East and I40 West upon our return. I've been sharing the information you all have posted. We were planning on spending one night in El Paso but after reading some of the comments, we are rethinking that and may drive on through to Las Cruces. We are planning about 7-8 days driving stopping in San Antonio and New Orleans. May restructure the drive some.

 

[nwsteve]

Now if you don't mind a bit longer route with more Scenery take us 89 north out of Flagstaff, then past Sunset Crater and Wupatki nation monuments, to us 89A (I.e. don't go to Page) thence past Lees ferry where you can watch folks set off for the journey down the river. up to Jacob lake, where there is the possiblity of driving to the North Rim of the Canyon (much more scenic and far fewer folks than the south rim), then down off the Kaibab Plateau, to Fredonia Az, take Az 389 to Ut 59 To Hurricane Ut, where you can turn off to visit Zion Canyon National Park, or go on to St George and then Las Vegas. (St George would be a good place to spend a night. with the night before in Flagstaff.) On I40 there is also Petrified Forest national park near Holbrook.

+1
We have driven this route a couple times and the scenery constantly amazed us--maybe the same route but lots of variety each time