Denver CO to Destin FL

[bleaux_skies]

What is the best route from Denver to Destin FL in 4 days.

Also recommendations for safe places along the way just to plug in and sleep, would be appreciated. I usually stop at Wilson Lake off I70 in KS the 1st night when heading east, but a good lower route can be considered.

Thanks in advance for your input....

[azdryheat]

I use Google Maps quite a bit. It shows 3 different routes for your trip.

[RPreeb]

Don't know anything about parks along the way, but my parents always headed south through Amarillo when they were snowbirding in Ft, Myers.

[Thom02099]

bleaux skies wrote:
What is the best route from Denver to Destin FL in 4 days.

Also recommendations for safe places along the way just to plug in and sleep, would be appreciated. I usually stop at Wilson Lake off I70 in KS the 1st night when heading east, but a good lower route can be considered.

Thanks in advance for your input....

"Best" is always subjective; however, having driven many times the bulk of the various routes you may want to consider, there are several that come to mind. From reading your post, you want to get there with minimal sightseeing. I've driven from Denver to Jasper AL and Tuscaloosa AL dozens and dozens of times, usually taking 2.5 to 3 days to do so.

So...I-70 east to Salina KS; I-135 south to Wichita KS;
-I-35 south to near Perry OK;
-US 412/Cimarron Turnpike east to Tulsa OK;
-Muskogee Turnpike to I-40;
-I-40 east to Memphis TN, then I-40/I-55 across the Mississippi and then I-55 south out of Memphis to Southaven MS.
-Get off I-55 at exit 289/Goodman Road/MS 302 in Southaven, and take it east to US 72 south, which becomes I-22 as you head to Alabama. -Outside of Birmingham, you'll get on I-65 and take that south to Montgomery AL.
-In Montgomery, several options, but I'd consider taking US 231 south to Dothan AL, and on in to Florida to Panama City, then west on US 98 to Destin. For beyond Dothan AL, admittedly I had to check Google maps as Destin has never been my destination 😉

Going this route, my stops have usually been around Hays KS, Tulsa OK area, Forrest City AR, and on in to Jasper or Tuscaloosa AL. Those are 3 pretty hard days of driving.

An alternative would be in Little Rock, AR, to take I-530 south to Pine Bluff and then US 65 south to the Greenville MS crossing of the Mississippi, then US 82 east to US 49 south to Hattiesburg MS, then US 98 to Mobile, where you could pick up I-10 to the Pensacola FL area. I've used part of this to get from Little Rock to US 82 to go across Mississippi.

Another alternative at the top end would be to stay on I-70 all the way to Kansas City MO, then I-49 south to NW Arkansas, where you'd pick up I-540 to I-40. Also have used this route to avoid dropping down to Wichita and Tulsa areas.

All are 6 of one and half dozen of the other, as far as getting you there in 4 days. Which they will. Where you'd want to stop would depend on how much driving you want to do per day. If you stopped in Hays KS, Ft Smith AR, and Jasper AL, that would get you to Destin on Day 4.

There are other ways to go, notably, down through NM and TX to get south. Would also probably work as well. The routes and alternatives I suggested, I know will get you there in 4 days.

Forgot to add where to stay. For these trips, I nearly always used KOAs. Never had a problem with getting a site and knew pretty much what to expect. I've stayed at the KOA at Wakeeney/Hays KS; Fort Smith/Alma AR as well as Sallisaw/Fort Smith West OK and the Memphis KOA in Marion AR. In these trips, if I had more time I probably would have found other places to stay, but these worked fine and there were no surprises.