CA to MN

Last year I drove I94 from Detroit to Billings then hooked up with I90 to Seattle and down I5 back to the Bay Area. I was originally going to go down to Yellowstone and down Hwy. 93 to I80, but decided to go to Seattle to see the A's play. Have a Great Trip!

Bob in Calif.

safn1949 wrote:
Scenic route......I-94 to US-12 in Montana all the way across SD to MN.

I94 runs from east of Billings MT to MN and onto Chicago. It's I90 that runs all the way. Which part of US12 are you talking about?

have not done wyoming, salt lake or montana on our trips yet to MN.. I will look at those options and see what the distance differences are...

also thanks for the weather underground road map link!! sweet.

Scenic route......I-94 to US-12 in Montana all the way across SD to MN.

Friends went via Donner's Pass (Reno) to Salt Lake City... To Wyoming and across South Dakota to MN.

When you want to put a plan together go to Weather Underground.

http://www.wunderground.com/roadtrip/

Weather underground /road map

hmm, I forgot about wind.... and construction....

I70 is the highest route across the Rockies, but also the most scenic. I80 has a bit of a climb at the Utah end, but crosses the Great Basin part of the Continental Divide. So most of the Wyoming drive is relatively flat and level - and open to wind. I think there's recent thread about construction on I70.

Depends on where in MN you are heading. Most of my professional driver friends choose to go north out of Cali to I90 then east all the way or they go straight over I80.

Thanks! we could do either route actually. Wondering if we should go thru colorado or around it, either north or south...

For leaving the Central Valley, there are only 2 real options - I80 to Reno, or CA58 to I15/40. Which is closer to you?

Once you hit the Great Plains, most of the routes are EW or NS, so there are few opportunities to save miles by cutting a corner. Given the reputation of I90 across southern Minnesota, I'd suggest aiming form Des Moines, and take I35 north from there.