US-50 Coast to Coast

We drove US-50 from our place(I live 2 miles off of it) west to US-385 in Colorado back in '02 just to be different on our trip to the Black Hills. Would do it in a heart beat again some time. Nice drive.

If you are looking for routes across the US other than the interstates (and that is an excellent idea) check out the US Highways website for routes.

I've crossed on US2 a couple of times, as well as US50, US20, and sections of US212. All are a lot more fun than driving the interstates! Don't forget the north/south roads...

You can easily drive coast to coast without driving interstates (but not necessarily freeways) - if you are willing to use a mix of highway numbers, both federal and state (and even local). If sticking with one number, then your options are more limited. US50 is one, though it doesn't have kitsch and songs associated with US66 ('it runs from Chicago to LA ...', coast of Lake Michigan to the Pacific).

But one thing to be aware of is that most through highways have divided stretches between major towns, and many have limited access bypasses. Think for example of US31 and 131 in your part of the country.

The closest cross country route for you is US2. Across much of Minnesota and ND it is divided. In Montana is generally is not. In Washington there are a few divided limited access pieces.

Other choices for leaving the Washington coast include WA20 (joining with US2 in Idaho) and US12 (in Montana you many have to switch to MT200).

In Oregon, US20 is your best option for avoiding I84. And it will take you on to the city streets of Chicago. If you tried to follow US30 you'd have to drive I84 in a number of areas, but in Indiana and Ohio it is a mostly divided alternative to I80/90.

In the Saint Louis area US50 is cosigned with I44 and I64 and I255, though obviously you could find surface street alternatives. Kansas City(s) has the same issues. Across much of Utah US50 is cosigned with I70.

There is not much of Old Route 66 on US 50. We have hit many portions of Route 66 on our travels.
You may want to search for some other true Route 66 maps.
US 50 is a good road for crossing the country. We have been on much of it as we do not travel interstates. Other east-west are US 2, US 36
Route 66 map

I had never really checked out RT66 until recently and found out it was not a coast to coast route. US66 goes from Chicago to Los Angeles. The only part of US66 I have driven was in AZ around Flagstaff... Got my picture of me standing next to the US 66 road sign...