best route, West to East?
Headed to Illinois in July from NorCal and wondering which route would have the least grades to climb the Rockies, I-80 or I-70?
Forum Discussion
freewayrandy wrote:
Headed to Illinois in July from NorCal and wondering which route would have the least grades to climb the Rockies, I-80 or I-70?
where in Northern Ca.- I-70 thru Denver has the Eisenhower Tunnel climb and descent. I-80 has the EB climb over Donner Pass and the EB climb over Parley Summit east of Salt Lake City. all are very doable and there is a much easier bypass around Parley Summit.
we headed back to Chicago from San Jose in August of '21 using I-80 in our 40' class A gasser towing our Jeep SUV. the EB climb up Donner Pass was a lot easier than the WB descent a few months earlier. the RV's cruise control actually held a steady speed going up. and the EB descent from the summit was a total non-event. but in hindsight I should've taken the I-15 bypass for Parley Summit. we made it to the top but at a crawl.
a lot will depend on the weather, road conditions (construction delays, etc).what you're driving and your experience driving that vehicle. you might want to get a copy of the Mountain Driving Directory https://mountaindirectory.com/. - In Utah on I-80, you'll encounter Parley's Summit east of Salt Lake City. There are long (6 mile) stretches of 6% grades. Vail Pass on I-70 in Colorado is a bit more severe with stretches of 7 miles of 7% grades.
Rob - 80 : From Salt Lake City to Rock Springs will be the most mountains you deal with on 80. More trucks on 80 and pretty boring ride - long stretches of barren countryside. I get nervous when fuel starts getting below a half tank.
70: Don't know how you will get from NorCal to 70 because it starts at I-15. Much more mountains from there until you get through Denver. THat is another PIA for me.
Personally, I would run 80 even if it might be more boring and fewer potential fuel stops.
