Driving from Cleveland to Los Angeles, which is the best route?

[MFWIC]

I have been studying routes for days and can't really decide whether to go north and cut through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, to California.

Or go
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California

Or go
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California?


Anyone here with experience? Should I avoid the mountains and go through the South? Since it is not winter, going North would be safe? Also there is a lot of toll roads going on the North route.

 

[CA_Vagabond]

Personally I think I70 from Denver to I15 in Utah is one of the must scenic drives I've done in the US. From CLE to DEN is a coinflip just depending on friends to see along the way.

 

[MFWIC]

Thanks for the tip. I will be driving alone and wanted to avoid roads where they would shut down on Memorial Day or traffic jams.

 

[ArizonaP85]

Thanks for the tip. I will be driving alone and wanted to avoid roads where they would shut down on Memorial Day or traffic jams.

For speed, avoid Chicago like the plague! 71, 70, 44, 40, 15 is the fastest. 70 through Colorado is the most scenic but longer and slower.

 

[ThisIsTrue]

Summer is hitting early, so I'd definitely stay north where it's cooler. I really hate heat....

Plus, the drive through Colorado and Utah is so gorgeous!

 

[Lump]

The ~600 miles from Denver to St. George Utah is not only stunning but fun to drive, I would definitely go that route.

If you have a lead foot buy a Radar/Laser detector .

 

[Fcautela1]

I just completed the reverse of this drive yesterday and here is my route that Tesla took me.
I did it total of 3 days with 6 hours of sleep each night in the car.

Depending on where you are going in CA, I would possibly recommend taking a more northern route as the heat in Texas and New Mexico was a lot for my little S75 to keep me cool.

 

[neusmell]

As a heads up, Oklahoma has tolls and doesn’t accept I-Pass/EZ-Pass (only their own local transponder), so carry coins or just run the toll so long as it’s your first time through. I was coming up from Houston to Chicago last month and totally forgot about that fact (and it was late at night, so I wasn’t going to stop to try and find quarters) and just ran through hoping they would do it based off the license plate like in Texas (Note: they don’t, they only use your license plate to send you a letter saying you should have paid them).

Otherwise, I’ve done the drive from the Midwest to Phoenix, AZ 4 times now and driving through oklahmoma, Texas, and most of New Mexico is rather boring.

I haven’t been through Nebraska, but there are tolls going through Indiana to Iowa (it’s worth it though, the road is nice/well maintained). I find cornfields to be more endearing than the handle of Texas, so that would be my vote.

 

[MFWIC]

Thanks guys for the tips. I actually just got back. Took me 2 days, non stop.
I ended up doing the route Fcautela1 did. The heat was bad on the X with the glass roof, I kept the climate on 74 F. If I had kids or passengers, they would've been dead. I slept during the supercharging with full ac on.

 

[Darren Donovan]

Cleveland to LA? Is that you Lebron?

 

[HookBill]

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