Midwest - CA to Iowa in February

Hi, I will be relocating from San Francisco to Des Moines sometime around February and I will be driving there. I need to avoid Wyoming (unpaid speeding ticket lol) so I will be cutting a bit south through Colorado instead. I am concerned about driving in wintery conditions through mountains at that time of year. What can I expect on the drive? I will be alone and probably driving a newer-model Honda in pretty good shape. Would it be better to wait until March, or should I be ok? I don't know anything about chains and I have very little experience in snow!

Thanks, I appreciate any advice!

It's a roll of the dice.

Even through the mountains, you'd be OK on most days. If you're flexible, try to monitor the forecast and adjust your departure accordingly. Try to stick to interstates as much as possible, though this will be harder to do since you want to detour around Wyoming.

Also, March is definitely not post-blizzard season in the Rockies. So delaying your trip to March guarantees nothing.

Thanks for much for the reply ... I will be pretty flexible in my exact departure date. I will mostly stick to interstates (I'm very familiar with I-80) but I really do need to avoid Wyoming -- I don't want to risk getting pulled over there for any dumb reason, and California plates make me a prime target.

Can anyone suggest a route for me to Iowa with that in mind? It's okay if it tacks on a couple of extra hours. My car won't be a total beater but I'm concerned about ice/snow through the mountains ... will I be ok if I just take my time and drive carefully?

It's a roll of the dice.

Even through the mountains, you'd be OK on most days. If you're flexible, try to monitor the forecast and adjust your departure accordingly. Try to stick to interstates as much as possible, though this will be harder to do since you want to detour around Wyoming.

Also, March is definitely not post-blizzard season in the Rockies. So delaying your trip to March guarantees nothing.

spot on advice fairviewroad^

It can get hairy in short order if a storm comes through.

Safe driving and welcome to flyertalk ursulaudders, moving from San Fran to Des Moines in Feb is a heck of an adjustment in many ways !!;)

Actually your not wanting to go thru Wyoming may be a blessing- according to a friend of mine who does nightly runs from Denver North to Salt Lake via Wyoming for Fed Ex=dble trailer semi. He has told us some pretty scary stories when the wind blows across the road up there making for black ice/white-out conditions. Going thru mountains farther South is no guarantee you will miss snow(and March traditonally has been one of the snowier months), but less prone to conditions described above. I would also suggest that you have an arsenal of hotels that if you have to , you can make a rsvrtn at in case the weather turns bad. Remember from Eagle East to the Eisenhower tunnel you are in ski country and March is Spring break time. To get a room for the nite last minute will be hard enough let alone paying thru the nose during prime ski season.

skirting wyoming does not add a couple hours- more like 8 -

drive to SLC, south on I15, take rte 6 from Spanish Fork for 3 hours - to Green River (200 miles!)- to pick up I70, drive to Topeka, turn north for 4 hours and you are in Des Moines

(you can go south from SLC on I15 to I70 but that adds another hour)

so if you get 30mpg at 60mph thats 2 gallons an hour - or 16 gallons extra on the trip - so gas - at $3 is maybe $50 extra

how much is the ticket? how valuable is 8 hours of your time?

wear and tear on an added 400 miles of driving?

or you could take US40 SLC to DEN- but its a slower road, not an interstate, and lots of chances to get a speeding ticket!

pay the ticket and breathe free driving through Wyoming

that said, I wouldn't do it in the winter- its like going to the caribbean in hurricane season - maybe you are lucky, maybe not

but if you are wrong you are screwed - like snowed in in a mountain pass- and you say you don't have much snow driving experience!

a word of caution - the scale on the map in the mountain states is way different than the Bay area- you may look at a drive and think it is 2 hours- and its 6!

mapquest is your friend...

Hm, google maps said it would only be like 3 more hours. I definitely can't go through Wyoming. It's ok if the roads are slower -- I won't be in any rush, so I don't mind going through Denver. I'm not a super speedy driver, I just never bothered paying that ticket since I figured I would probably never drive through Wyoming again and I was REALLY broke at the time! I'm afraid to think about how much it would cost now, haha.

You really think I should go through TOPEKA?

Here's the route I'm looking at:
Map (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=San+Francisco,+CA&daddr=UT-40+to:40.580585,-107.841797+to:Des+Moines,+IA&hl=en&geocode=%3BFQ6MaAIdLnh5-Q%3B%3B&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=2&sz=5&via=1,2&sll=40.979898,-108.720703&sspn=18.123456,46.142578&ie=UTF8&z=5)

Any thoughts on that?

Thanks so much for the help so far, everyone!

Actually I was thinking at Salt Lake go South past Provo, then exit at Spanish Fork and take US 6/191 to I-70 West of Grand Junction. We did that ourselves once in February. It's rally not that bad of road -not curvy and the farther South you go of Salt Lake, the less snow you run into. When we took it we didn't run into any snow or see any along shoulders till 40 miles East of Grand Junction. Oh by the way once you hit I-70 the speed limit is 75; save time and no tickets.;) The rest of your route looks fine no need to go to Topeka.

You route is fine. Just be aware of the weather all of the time. You could encounter bad driving conditions even across Northern Nevada that time of year.

I personally would avoid driving through WY in Jan/Feb/Mar. The wind is brutal going through WY in the summer it can be hostile in the Winter with road conditions changing minute by minute. The town's along the interstate are few and far between and you could easily get stranded in a storm.

If you keep informed on the weather heading through the mountains into Denver is not a bad route even in the Winter.

Welcome to Flyertalk and Des Moines!

quote: You really think I should go through TOPEKA?

i was giving you a mostly interstate route (I70) instead of US40

if you are happy on US40 it is shorter than thru Topeka but watch the speed limits!

any trip on West Brontosaurus Boulevard has to be fun!

Wow, thanks so much, everyone! This has been a HUGE help to me!

Here's the route I'm looking at:
Map (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=San+Francisco,+CA&daddr=UT-40+to:40.580585,-107.841797+to:Des+Moines,+IA&hl=en&geocode=%3BFQ6MaAIdLnh5-Q%3B%3B&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=2&sz=5&via=1,2&sll=40.979898,-108.720703&sspn=18.123456,46.142578&ie=UTF8&z=5)

Any thoughts on that?

That maps out at 1,900 miles. Going south on the 5 through Bakersfield, Las Vegas and then 15 to 70 and on is only 80 miles more at 1,983. All highway miles, no fiddlin around on secondary roads. Plus, you can get a night in Vegas!! ^

Just to add... go buy some chains. Colorado has a chain-law from (I think) October through March that states you are required to carry chains. They're resonably cheaps, and are very handy to have on-hand anyway. Some low-profile cable chains are probably your best best. Practice putting them on before you leave for the trip.

Just to add... go buy some chains. Colorado has a chain-law from (I think) October through March that states you are required to carry chains. They're resonably cheaps, and are very handy to have on-hand anyway. Some low-profile cable chains are probably your best best. Practice putting them on before you leave for the trip.

Well maybe it means snow tires or chains as we've rented cars plenty of times in winter to go to Summit co resorts and it was never a requirement to have them. Maybe you should look at buying a good pair of all-season tires before u leave or find some snow tires cheap. You'll use them in Iowa for the winter , anyway.

Haha tfjim, thanks for the advice, although I really don't think I need a night in Vegas on the way! Maybe at SLC I should cut down the 15 to the 70 -- avoid more mountains and snow that way?

I'll look into these chains and all-weather tires ... I guess I have a bit to learn about driving and car maintenance outside of CA.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with chains. You won't need them once you get to Iowa.

As I said earlier just monitor the forecast. If there's a blizzard predicted, just delay the trip. If there's no blizzard, you won't need the chains anyway.

FYI, the "new" Colorado law can be found at http://www.cotrip.org/winterdriving/chainregs1.htm. Don't know when it went into effect.

I'm from Iowa and at least have never used chains in the winter but once, one winter long ago I found myself in Asheville, NC driving a standard stick shift for the first time (my employer, Maytag, wanted me to return the car to Iowa) they flew me there for this adventure!

It snowed 15 inches the night before and I couldn't move that car (mostly because I didn't know how to drive it)! Had it towed in and they installed chains and sent me on my way, I drove 400 miles with chains on -- at least I made it out of NC and through the Smokey Mountains. Ended up taking the chains off along the highway somewhere in Western Kentucky in a white dress winter trench coat crawling under the car, I looked like a disaster in a short time. Anyway, checked into a 4* hotel around midnight covered in street debris, oil stains, dirt and other filth. At least I had a tie on! They almost called the cops on me as I looked like a derelict -- but my credit card was good........

I quit the job soon after and have spent 30 years teaching at the high school level. Haha.. Less stress

Well maybe it means snow tires or chains as we've rented cars plenty of times in winter to go to Summit co resorts and it was never a requirement to have them. Maybe you should look at buying a good pair of all-season tires before u leave or find some snow tires cheap. You'll use them in Iowa for the winter , anyway.

Just relocated to DSM from Denver. Chains are not a bad idea, but should not be required unless he is commuting in an 18-wheeler. You are more likely to see a road flat out closed than see a chain law enforced for a passenger car.