Interstate 80 over the Rockies

[WHThayer]

Hi guys...
I just finished a cross Canada trip from Montreal to the Yukon . I want to go down to the San Francisco area and then back home. I was looking at I80 to cross the USA. I HATE mountain driving. Is it basically flat or ridiculously mountainous over the rockies?? Your input would be very much appreciated.

[2oldman]

WHThayer wrote:
Is it basically flat or ridiculously mountainous over the rockies??

That's funny.

[jalichty]

You guys are cruel, the wind only blows in the southern part of the state, and the middle, and the central northern, and the northeast, some of the time. And that's not true about falling down when the wind stops, I have only seen a few people suffer that when the wind unexpectedly stopped, the rest of us were able to remain standing, usually marveling at the stillness of it all, while it lasted.

[Tyler0215]

If the wind would ever stop blowing in Wyoming, everyone who lives there would fall down.

[Rancher_Will]

I drive I-80 in Wyoming every Week. Yes it is often windy but use good judgement and you should have no trouble. Sherman, and the Laramie Ridge are only half as high as the passes on I-70, US 50 Monarch, US 40 Rabbit Ears, US 160 Wolf Creek, etc, in Colorado, so you should have no problem with elevation on I-80.

I have noticed that I often have a headwind in Wyoming, except at Green River where the wind blows all four directions at once.

[Timay]

knshook wrote:
With apologies to Medicine Bow and Rock Springs,which are very scenic.

ROFLMAO!
Stayed in Ft. Bridger just last week coming back to CO from NV. Guy next to us had a bunch of fossils and said he got them from just north of Kemmerer at the Warfield Fossil quarry. We spent an extra day in that scenic area and got a couple fossils!

Every time I think of Rock Springs the name Rock Salt comes to mind...LOL

Tim

[Allworth]

As I remember the Selkirks........

[RCMAN46]

Winter snows in Wyoming never melt.

The snow just wears out blowing back and forth across the highways.

[rhagfo]

What are you driving and what are you pulling makes a big difference!

[agesilaus]

jalichty wrote:
What a bunch of wimps, all of Wyoming is not real windy, just the southern corridor from Evanston to Cheyenne. Unfortunately, that's where our OP is wanting to run. There are only two real hills on I-80 in Wyoming, one around Evanston to Green River, called the Three Sisters and then the Summit from Laramie to Cheyenne. But, since it's interstate, it's fairly straight and not very long anyway. Not at all like the Road to the Sun out of Glacier National Park, of course that's not an interstate anyway.

Well I'll quote a Wyoming rancher: "A Wyoming weather vane is a 40 pound anvil hung on the top of a steel pole with logging chain..."

[jalichty]

What a bunch of wimps, all of Wyoming is not real windy, just the southern corridor from Evanston to Cheyenne. Unfortunately, that's where our OP is wanting to run. There are only two real hills on I-80 in Wyoming, one around Evanston to Green River, called the Three Sisters and then the Summit from Laramie to Cheyenne. But, since it's interstate, it's fairly straight and not very long anyway. Not at all like the Road to the Sun out of Glacier National Park, of course that's not an interstate anyway.

[washley1]

I agree with Shepherd. The Canadian Rockies are a lot higher and rougher than I remember I80 being, so I would suck it up and power up. It's not THAT long going over that it should shake you.

[Shepherd]

You went across Canada and you want to avoid mountains.:h

[kirbybear]

Buy MOUNTAIN DIRECTORY WEST describes each pass in detail,

[kknowlton]

As noted, except for the Sierras, the Wasatch just east of SLC, and one pass between Cheyenne & Laramie in Wyoming, it's pretty flat. In fact, once you get to Cheyenne, you'll be going very, very gradually downhill. Lots of trucks - I-80 is the workhorse of America - and Wyoming is quite windy (springtime the worst, I suspect). For that matter, it can be windy across the plains anywhere; heading east, you'll catch either a crosswind or a tailwind, and the latter can be quite helpful to the mpg.