PA to Mesa Verde.

Once out of Pennsylvania, I-80 will take you well North of the most direct route to Mesa Verde. I prefer non-interstate routes, so usually take US-50 either from just West of Saint Louis or just East of Kansas City, but you could stay on I-70 to Kansas City. US-50 will take you through Kansas. You can then take CO-10 to US-160 at Walsenburg. US-160 will take you to Mesa Verde. Lots of things to see and do along this route.

AGC wrote:
Going to be driving out west this August. We'll be in our Class C going from PA to Mesa Verde. Based on google map, it looks like I can take 70W or 80W.

Is one road preceded over the other, any suggestion on which I should take

Thanks in advance

MAP

Living just south of you in Annapolis and having 4 Granddaughter's in Colorado this is the Route I'd advise. Faster - Gets' you on RT 36 so as to not be so boring - then will deliver you to Buena Vista - Montrose - Ouray - Telluride then Mesa Verde.

Easy enough - only one real Pass - Monarch - gets you into some of the Beauty of Colorado before delivering you to Mesa Verde.

Give it a look and it should compare well to most of the other route you will receive.

MAP

Best of Luck, if this works we can fill in a lot of the Blanks as you travel.

If taking the suggested route above on Rt 36, the town of Marysville Kansas has free camping in their town park. (Donations accepted). I know they have a few 30 amp and maybe 50 amp hookups. Good for an overnight stop to sleep with the air on.

Rt 36 across Missouri is a good road.Mostly 4 lanes and 65mph. There are 2 Missouri State parks, Long Branch and Pershing right next to 36. We stayed at Pershing last year.$19 a night with electric. I haven't traveled all the ways across Kansas on 36,but the portion we did travel was nice. If you have the time, Marysville,Kansas has a Pony Express Home State which is worth visiting if you have the time.Prairy Dog State Park is right at the turn off to I-70.They have a campground with electric and water.

Two years ago, we took US 36 from Hannibal, MO to I-70 in Colorado on our way home from a Great Lakes RV trip. As others have said, it's a good 4-lane road in MO, a somewhat hilly 2-lane road across KS, and a relatively flat 2-lane road in NE CO. Little truck traffic in MO and little any kind of traffic in KS and NE CO. We had planned to stay at Prairie Dog SP in KS, but it was late when we got to Norton, we were hungry, and the SP is a few miles west of town. So we made the decision to stay in Norton on a grass lot with FHU, pull-thru RV sites ($20/night) across US 283 from the football stadium.

We picked the "RV park" (neighbor: "just walk up to the house on the hill to pay") because the librarian said that it was across a side street from "the best restaurant in town and be sure to have their mashed potatoes!" After dinner, we sat on the sofa and watched a JV football game between Norton HS and Colby HS out our picture window. Hard to beat a FHU site, a good meal, and unusual entertainment for $20 plus the cost of dinner!

However, if you are planning to play tourist on the way from PA to CO, US 50 has more interesting towns, state parks, and attractions through KS and CO. This route approximates the Santa Fe Trail, so has sites like Fort Larned, Dodge City-Fort Dodge, and Bent's Fort that are worth stopping for an hour or two each. Helps break up the trip and see places you may have only read about in history books. And, if you use I-70 only to Kansas City, I-35 from KC to Emporia, and US 50 from Emporia, you stay off the expensive-for-an-RV Kansas toll roads.

When planning your route through the Colorado mountains, take a look at my new blog HERE.

fanrgs wrote:
Two years ago, we took US 36 from Hannibal, MO to I-70 in Colorado on our way home from a Great Lakes RV trip. As others have said, it's a good 4-lane road in MO, a somewhat hilly 2-lane road across KS, and a relatively flat 2-lane road in NE CO. Little truck traffic in MO and little any kind of traffic in KS and NE CO. We had planned to stay at Prairie Dog SP in KS, but it was late when we got to Norton, we were hungry, and the SP is a few miles west of town. So we made the decision to stay in Norton on a grass lot with FHU, pull-thru RV sites ($20/night) across US 283 from the football stadium.

We picked the "RV park" (neighbor: "just walk up to the house on the hill to pay") because the librarian said that it was across a side street from "the best restaurant in town and be sure to have their mashed potatoes!" After dinner, we sat on the sofa and watched a JV football game between Norton HS and Colby HS out our picture window. Hard to beat a FHU site, a good meal, and unusual entertainment for $20 plus the cost of dinner!

However, if you are planning to play tourist on the way from PA to CO, US 50 has more interesting towns, state parks, and attractions through KS and CO. This route approximates the Santa Fe Trail, so has sites like Fort Larned, Dodge City-Fort Dodge, and Bent's Fort that are worth stopping for an hour or two each. Helps break up the trip and see places you may have only read about in history books. And, if you use I-70 only to Kansas City, I-35 from KC to Emporia, and US 50 from Emporia, you stay off the expensive-for-an-RV Kansas toll roads.

When planning your route through the Colorado mountains, take a look at my new blog HERE.

Fangs,

Great Blog/Write up - Need to have more time to do more than the quick scan but this a a great resource for anyone traveling through Colorado - If you don't mind I'll add it to my list to refer others to when they travel in Colorado.

Thanks for Sharing,

We have travelled both US-36 and US-50 and enjoyed both. If you have the time there are interesting things to see and do along both routes. Here are some links that may help you if you choose to take either of these highways: US-36, US-36 Association, US-50, US-50 Loneliest Road

Busskipper wrote:

fanrgs wrote:
When planning your route through the Colorado mountains, take a look at my new blog HERE.

If you don't mind I'll add it to my list to refer others to when they travel in Colorado.

That would be fine by me. Thanks for asking!

I would love to take some of the suggested routes (i.e. RT36, RT50, etc.), especially if it has a more scenic drive but I don't have a lot of time off so was hoping to take the most direct/fastest route. We have 2.5 weeks off and plan to stop in Colorado, Utah, Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, with very limited time off I figured driving via interstate would be faster than state roads.

AGC wrote:
2.5 weeks off and plan to stop in Colorado, Utah, Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, with very limited time off I figured driving via interstate would be faster than state roads.

I agree, but even the Interstates are sometimes slow--Chicago metro area on I-80 and Indianapolis-St. Louis-KC-Denver metro areas on I-70. The fastest is probably I-80/I-76/I-25/US 160/I-40 to Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas, with a return on I-15/US 89 to Zion and Bryce, then I-70 and home. That avoids most high mountain passes except Wolf Creek, Vail, and the Eisenhower Tunnel, but those last two are on I-70, not a two-lane highway.

You might actually save some time and miles by using all US highways after leaving I-25 to go to Mesa Verde, then the North Rim of Grand Canyon (skip the crowded South Rim), Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, and possibly Arches and Colorado National Monument, then home on I-70. But that route would also skip Las Vegas, or "Lost Wages" as some people refer to it.

No matter which route you take, it's still going to be a real race to see it all.