Travel across the Rockies during Nov?

[fishhouse]

I am planning to pull a travel trailer from Kansas City to San Francisco in November. Should I be concerned about the weather when selecting a route? I70 or I40? Will RV parks with full hookups be open?

[brooks379]

Yes, I 40 is a good way to go if the weather is bad....I 40 to Barstow I 15 south to Hwy 58 to Hwy 99 take Hwy 14 west to The I 5 north to I 580 and work your way to the Bay bridge. That is the route we take when they are calling for bad weather on I 70 or I 80 It can snow in NM and AZ but nothing like it can in the north Mt. passes. I have had many dry, dusty and sunny trips to Nor Cal in Nov. on all the above mentioned routes though. I don't know about camp sites, we run across there and back all year in semi's.

[tatest]

What is your plan where I-70 ends? US-50 to I-80?

I would be more concerned about winter driving conditions in the Sierra Nevada than in the Rockies. My choice of route would be I-40, which crosses the Rockies at a generally lower level, but you can still expect winter driving conditions across New Mexico and northern Arizona, and from time to time across Oklahoma and Texas, although more often the first winter storms in Oklahoma are in December.

I-40 takes you into California through the desert, and whichever route you choose to get into the Central Valley, snow clogged passes are less likely than in the mountains west of Reno. Then you go up I-5 to your destination.

You'll find RV parks open along I-40 at least through Texas, but don't know about crossing New Mexico where elevations will most likely keep you in sub-freezing weather. By November, my travels are even further south, I-20/I-10 corridor.

[brooks379]

I have run those two routes many, many times over the last 30 years . I would watch the weather real good all week before I went and if they are calling for good weather take I 70 to Denver I 25 to Cheyenne and I 80 to SF. Across any of those interstates in winter they can close the road in bad weather, and they will if it gets bad..... carry tire chains, water , food and don't let your gas get low !! Both ways have big Mt. passes and if it is snowing I have seen cars/trucks get spun out on a big grade and everyone has to stop and sometimes if you don't have chains you can't get going again.... Worse case scenario. Good luck, if the weather is good it's a great drive, but in Nov. it pays to be prepared.

[Thom02099]

fishhouse wrote:
I am planning to pull a travel trailer from Kansas City to San Francisco in November. Should I be concerned about the weather when selecting a route? I70 or I40? Will RV parks with full hookups be open?

Depending on when in November, I-70 can be a challenge across Colorado. There's lots of ups and downs, you'll have some big steady climbs; first right out of Denver up to the Evergreen Parkway area, again from the Georgetown area to the Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnels, and again at Vail Pass. The last 2 are well over 10000 feet and can be very snowy even if there's nothing going on in Denver or on the other side in Grand Junction.

As mentioned, Tiger Run in Breckenridge is pretty much it for any RV parks to be open that time of year through the mountains. Some of the Glenwood folks might know of some places in their neck of the woods, but to the best of my memory, there's nothing else immediately in the area. Some of the State Parks on the west side of Vail Pass may be open, but probably with limited services. There's Rifle Gap and Rifle Falls and one outside of Grand Junction, but the name escapes me right now.

[Helimech]

They keep both routes pretty clear in the winter but there is always that storm that out runs them. Don't be in a rush and plan to stay overnight.

[Colo_Native]

Either one could be snowing and or requiring chain law. Tiger run in Breckenridge I believe is open year around but a little pricey.

[1492]

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