Westbound to Utah

There is a WalMart right on I70 just before the mountains in Wheat Ridge. I70 and Youngfield exit.

You will always find RVs in the parking lot. On the West side of the state, getting closer to the Utah border, there is the James Robb State Park that is right along the interstate. Would be a very good place to stop, but only about 3.5 hours from the WalMart I mentioned.

In December I'd recommend heading due south to I-10 for visiting southern NM and AZ. Even southern NM will be cold that time of year. AZ is your best bet for nice winter weather. Southern Utah will be cold, too.

I-40 can be treacherous during snow. The interstate was closed for us the end of April because of a blizzard.

Any chance of leaving in March or April rather than December? You'd be able to see more and more comfortably.

It all depends what time of day you are going through Denver heading into the mountains west bound on 70. It gets tough to find a parking place west of Denver not many truck stops , a few rest areas. The thing about it is if you are on 70 west of Denver after say 8 pm it is hard to find a place that isn't full.


If it were me I would stay in Bennett , CO for the night and leave about 9 am and miss the back up in Denver and then you can go across Co that day and you won't have to try finding a place to stop in CO. Plenty of parking in Green River, UT .

The truck stops and rest areas are a lot bigger once you get out of the mountains and into Utah. I used to leave LA with my semi truck going that way many times and it was always a pain trying to park at night up there.

Bionic Man wrote:
There is a WalMart right on I70 just before the mountains in Wheat Ridge. I70 and Youngfield exit.

You will always find RVs in the parking lot. On the West side of the state, getting closer to the Utah border, there is the James Robb State Park that is right along the interstate. Would be a very good place to stop, but only about 3.5 hours from the WalMart I mentioned.

Would it be better crossing Denver at night, versus trying to get across during the day? I'll probably be leaving here on a Saturday, so Sunday night would be the time frame... maybe?

2gypsies wrote:
In December I'd recommend heading due south to I-10 for visiting southern NM and AZ. Even southern NM will be cold that time of year. AZ is your best bet for nice winter weather. Southern Utah will be cold, too.

I-40 can be treacherous during snow. The interstate was closed for us the end of April because of a blizzard.

Any chance of leaving in March or April rather than December? You'd be able to see more and more comfortably.

I'll be coming back through the south, I-40 to Memphis and then to Nashville to visit family for New Years.

My last vacation was May 2014 and I'm burnt out at work. December is a slow month, so the timing is right for me :)

I've towed my camper through two blizzards now and a blinding thunderstorm along a flooded expressway, if it gets too bad I'm in no hurry and will just take an exit and camp in a parking lot till things improve... I don't mind cold or snow (rather enjoy it actually). I know I'll miss out on the Grand Canyon's North Rim... can't win them all.

Good information so far, keep it coming. :)

In December if you go across I 70 from Denver you will need to have tire chains !!!

Yeah, I would not want to chance doing I-70 in Colorado in December. The long climb up westbound to the Eisenhower, and then two long descents, the E and the Vail Summit, might be a bit dicey.

HOWEVER, once past Vail, the road is not so bad. We did it E/B a few years ago, and I just remember it was a leisurely slow climb up from Grand Junction neighborhood. We stopped at a nice Walmart in Rifle on our way east. If you can get past Vail because of a good weather forecast, then the rest of the way west is pretty easy - no great climbs or descents from there to Utah. You're up on a high desert plain,and it's actually kinda boring from G Junction to Moab, if you're headed that way. We did Arches, etc and then went up Utah 128, a "scenic byway" to catch I-70 east to home. I just remember that I-70 in eastern Utah and far western Colorado was just flat and straight.

Oh, and depending on your timing and all, make sure you don't do Glenwood Canyon in the dark! It's midway between Vail and Grand Junction, but has to be seen to be believed.

All of the above, of course, is predicated on decent weather. If it's snowing, all bets are off. :)

GordonThree wrote:

Bionic Man wrote:
There is a WalMart right on I70 just before the mountains in Wheat Ridge. I70 and Youngfield exit.

You will always find RVs in the parking lot. On the West side of the state, getting closer to the Utah border, there is the James Robb State Park that is right along the interstate. Would be a very good place to stop, but only about 3.5 hours from the WalMart I mentioned.

Would it be better crossing Denver at night, versus trying to get across during the day? I'll probably be leaving here on a Saturday, so Sunday night would be the time frame... maybe?

Crossing Denver at night wouldn't be a bad idea. But my firt choice would NOT be to drive through the mountains at night.

During the week, try to avoid I70 during the typical rush hour times. Say 630 - 800 am and 4-7 pm.

brooks379 wrote:
In December if you go across I 70 from Denver you will need to have tire chains !!!

There is a requirement for commercial vehicles to carry chains in the winter, but not personal vehicles.

If the chain law is in effect, I would wait a day before heading through the mountains anyway.