Trip to Yellowstone from Ct.

[Gjac]

I am trying to find a route to by pass Chicago and eliminate tolls through Ohio and In. My thought was to leave Ct early and take the GWB through NY pick up rt 80 through NJ and PA, rt 76 to 71 to rt 30 in OH. Stay on rt 30 through IN., then pick up rt 80 in IL. Follow rt 80 through Iowa to rt 29 then rt 90 in SD, then 44 to YNP. Returning I would be taking a more northern route either 94 or 2 if we go to Glacier NP, then go around Lake Michigan. My main question is RT 30. In searching other posts here folks are saying it is mostly a 4 lane hiway, however I could not find any info on traffic just south of Chicago, where it connects to Rt 80. Has any one traveled this way before that could comment on this area?

[Gjac]

Thanks for all the reply's, It sounds like I will take RT 30 to 65 then to 80 to bypass Chicago base on Clouddrivers suggestion.

[Gjac]

kknowlton wrote:
US 30 around the south end of Chicagoland is VERY busy, crowded and slow - lots & lots of malls, businesses, etc. there. In order to avoid tolls, you'd need to go a little farther south to cross from Indiana into Illinois. I-80 may have a toll on it south of Chicago, but only one, before the other roads (294/90/94) all go away off of it to the north. Expect to crawl through that area on 30 until you are past Chicago and on 80 again.

Would it be better to get off 30 at 65 or even 49 to 80 instead ?

[kknowlton]

US 30 around the south end of Chicagoland is VERY busy, crowded and slow - lots & lots of malls, businesses, etc. there. In order to avoid tolls, you'd need to go a little farther south to cross from Indiana into Illinois. I-80 may have a toll on it south of Chicago, but only one, before the other roads (294/90/94) all go away off of it to the north. Expect to crawl through that area on 30 until you are past Chicago and on 80 again.

[CloudDriver]

Just a FYI in case you have never been in that part of the country before.

There are two routes over the Bighorn Mountains to get from I90 to the east entrance of Yellowstone beyond Cody. Most folks on the forum recommend taking route 16 between Buffalo and Ten Sleep for lower grades. We have done both and prefer route 14 for better scenery. It is a bit steeper and has a number of sharp curves going down the west side. As in most mountain driving, lower gears are necessary going down to save the brakes. You definitely don't want to take route 14A down the west side due to 10% grades.

Enjoy your trip!

[Gjac]

The rt is actually 14 not 44 (the print is small and my eyes are old) that goes into YNP. I think I will take your advice and take 65 to 80 unless someone is more familiar with that posts.

[CloudDriver]

The image date is on the bottom right side of the screen. I have never seen a time of day for any image.

My guess is that Google uses images taken between mid-morning and mid-afternoon, as these will show details of information that would be hidden in dark shadows early or late in the day. Same reason why there are never any clouds in the images.

One thing you can do is compare the traffic conditions between route 30 and I80 at the time the image was taken. From what I see, the traffic on either wasn't bad, but there are lots of intersections with traffic lights on 30. Looks to me that getting off 30 onto I65 to I80 would be the faster route by far. Traffic lights can get frustrating in populated areas.

Still curious - what route are you taking from I90 into Yellowstone? I don't see a route 44 as mentioned in you original post.

[Gjac]

CloudDriver, Thanks for this suggestion. I checked with google earth and the hiway is divided and the cars were spaced out well except for the major intersections and I assume lights, where there were maybe 20 car backups. How can you tell what time of day the photos were taken I did not see a place for times?

[CloudDriver]

Can't help with personal experience with route 30 past Van Wert as we didn't go further than that, but back when I first learned about using 30, folks on the forum were saying to go as far as I65 then up to I80. It's also possible to stay on 30 all the way to where it joins with I80 near Joliet.

If you have Google Earth on your PC, you can zoom in and follow route 30 to get a good idea of the possible traffic light situation between I65 and Joliet, as well as actually be able to see whether the road is divided highway or not, plus see what the traffic was like on the various roads on the date/time of day that the pictures were taken. Might help your decision.

[Gjac]

Thanks for the general info on RT 30. I am OK with the GWB very early in the morning. Returning I take 84 over the Newburg bridge. I was more concerned where Rt 30 connects with 80. It is south of Chicago but may be a lot of lights and traffic also. Was considering taking rt 49 to 80 as a possible alternative. Is any one familiar with that one?

[Germania]

I second the Tappan zee and 287w to I80,Gps always wants you to go over GW,1 min faster would be my guess.We have taken I76 to its end in Oh and then picked up Rt24 and 224 and took that across all the way to Peoria to I74.Keeps you away from tolls and traffic,having said that if you like to drive 70mph might not be the route for you.Have been on part of RT 30 in Ohio,great road Very Interstate like with very little traffic and smooth

[CloudDriver]

From our location in NJ, we usually take the PA Turnpike, I70 and I74 to meet up with I80 near Davenport IA. That said, back in 2012 we decided to give route 30 a try across OH. It is indeed a nice 4 lane divided highway with less traffic than the Interstates and no tolls. We were headed for KS on that trip, so we took route 224 west from Van Wert to bypass Ft. Wayne and pick up route 24 westbound.

It has been 10 years since we drove I80 south of Chicago, so I can't advise on traffic. However this is only a relatively few miles of bad traffic out of a very long drive so not worth changing your plan.

I would suggest taking the Tappan Zee Bridge to I287 to I80 rather than going through NYC and over the GW Bridge.

We have been to Yellowstone a number of times and I don't recall a route 44 off I90 to the Park.