2 weeks to get from Denver to Orlando - which route to take?

Hey I'm planning to do a cross country trip this August/September. 1 month travelling in total.
The first two weeks we'll probably spent between L.A. and Denver, going to Vegas and through the National Parks of CA and the Southwest... I've already been to those states before, so theres no problem choosing the itinerary for that part. From Denver on this is going to be a solo-road-trip and I'm not sure on where to go from there.
My idea was heading up through the Tetons to Yellowstone, then to Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands etc. The rest of the trip could roughly be St. Louis - Nashville - Great Smokey Mountains - Charleston - Savannah - Orlando.

Which route would you take if you had the freedom of having nothing but your vehicle and about two weeks to cross half the country? travelling along the Gulf Coast? north through Chicago? The trip can also still end at any other major airport on the east coast if thats necessary for taking a more interesting route. (somehow I feel that no matter which way one goes it's probably going to be awesome)

Great Smoky Mountains for sure.

Denver - Moose Jaw - Halifax. I've driven enough in the USA already.

Originally Posted by NoMercy346

somehow I feel that no matter which way one goes it's probably going to be awesome

I70 between Denver and St Louis would be so boring that could make you cry.

Originally Posted by Griffoun

I70 between Denver and St Louis would be so boring that could make you cry.

other than to make some time on the part between South Dakota and St Louis I plan to spend as much time off the interstates as possible

Drive down south to the i40 instead of i70. It nearly took a day to just to drive thru Kansas on i70 and bored to death.

I've driven to and from Denver (from Tampa Bay Area and back). Will have to look at a map and see what route we took. We took two different routes. The way up we took a more west then north route. The way back (Denver to Tampa) we went out east and then south (didn't care for that as much as I recall).


Ill see if I can figure out what route we took. (Was back in 2006)

Have fun!!!

Unless you have constraints:

Farther south should net warmer weather. Nashville, Savannah and Charleston are great choices. Atlanta has a huge amount of things to see also. The BMW factory in Spartanburg and BMW Performance Center are worth stopping for.

Saint Augustine is worth a day or two.

Why end in Orlando?

The only thing I could think of Orlando is Disney's World.

Orlando just appeared to be the most convenient airport to fly back to Europe, considering the current itinerary. don't care about the theme parks

the trip could end at any major hub on the east coast... ATL, CLT, ... doesn't really matter. Most other airports would also require me to head back inland quite a bit after reaching the Atlantic.

btw: did anyone stay in the cabins in Yellowstone? how good are they? seems like staying outside the park really cuts into your available time

if you're in the tetons, badlands area - you really should take in Devils tower I think.

If I was you, I'd try and stick to the top half of the country on one side (west) so Oregon/Idaho - and then cut down through Denver and go south - being that this is a BMW forum, I'd do Spartanburg BMW factory tour - and like you said, go Orlando or even Miami to head back to Europe - this strategy would leave you the option of doing the trip again and doing the opposite - start on the south-west, do vegas/grand-canyon, head through Denver and go North on the eastern side - thinking Chicago, great-lakes ending up around Boston/NYC to fly back.

1 month is a long trip - but when you consider how vast the nation is - you're going to seeing such a small snapshot still... I'd also tie it to a theme - we're foodies, so we try to do local food/beer where-ever we go - and I would tie my trip around breweries and food destinations... but it is whatever floats your boat I guess.. if you're into something other than BMWs, it might provide a secondary destination each day... my advice would be to have flexibility in your plans - and stay off the main routes -eat at family owned places - look for full parking lots when it comes to food destinations and ASK locals - often a much better recommendation than yelp or some other website.. but be up-front - as in "I like X, but don't like Y - do you have any recommendations for me?"

When you get into rural USA - you're going to find a lot of people who haven't traveled far from their home spot (in my experience) - if you need a good recommendation of somewhere the next state over - ask a trucker - if it's food/beer - ask one with a big belly... the skinny ones are probably popping pills and might be serial killers.... j/k

NoMercy346:
Few questions to help define your situ:
-rental car or your own? (I suspect rental.)
-good handling car or just one to get you point to point?
-Want to drive some excellent 2 lane black top roads getting to next 'point', or just cover ground?
-In your trip from LA to LV, then 'Denver', you have passed some great country...
-Denver back north and west to Yellowstone, is 600 miles and missing some of really good stuff in western CO and SW Wyoming, imo.
-What have you seen, vs haven't?

Fwiw, we did a 2 month, 13,000 mile Road Trip a summer ago, and hit a dozen Nat parks, 35 states, etc. Some serious GOOG maps planning will save you backtracking, allow for hitting spots that didn't come to mind, getting a feel for the distances and huge size, etc.

Post #1 in this thread is a brief recap and pics of a trip we did:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...652&highlight=

More info from you might help in offering ideas...
GL, mD

An alternative is to head south. Taos, Santa Fe, White Sands, Carlsbad, Austin, San Antonio, Gulf Coast, New Orleans

.

first of all thanks for all of your input! I'm trying to model my itinerary around your tips, right now...

Originally Posted by wyb

1 month is a long trip - but when you consider how vast the nation is - you're going to seeing such a small snapshot still...
+1 on that... one reason I'll probably not go to the northeast/NY as I won't have enough time to spend in NYC, let alone D.C etc.
Guess it's a more relaxed trip to just enjoy the drive through the country in the southeast, visiting smaller cities along the way that do not require multiple day stays in the way NYC does.

if you need a good recommendation of somewhere the next state over - ask a trucker - if it's food/beer - ask one with a big belly... the skinny ones are probably popping pills and might be serial killers.... j/k

Originally Posted by motordavid

NoMercy346:
Few questions to help define your situ:
-rental car or your own? (I suspect rental.)

yup, rental

-good handling car or just one to get you point to point?
-Want to drive some excellent 2 lane black top roads getting to next 'point', or just cover ground?

I'll go with an SUV again. Anything interesting to drive would cost a fortune from Hertz' prestige/adrenalin collection, especially on a one way rental, so I'm going with room and comfort. Plus I love the feel a big BOF truck on a trip like this.. I'm still figuring out whether I should take the hit in rental cost and mileage to step up to a Tahoe/similar from the usual selection of mommy mobiles you get these days in the lower categories
I'm still up for some good scenic drives, though! Just logging mile after mile on the Interstate isn't really my thing.

-In your trip from LA to LV, then 'Denver', you have passed some great country...
-Denver back north and west to Yellowstone, is 600 miles and missing some of really good stuff in western CO and SW Wyoming, imo.

thought I'd make an overnight stop somewhere around Riverton, WY am I missing much scenery, not heading up the 191 instead?

-What have you seen, vs haven't?

I've been to most of the usual attractions of CA, AZ and southern UT. My brother has not and he only has two weeks of vacation to spend. For me this is revisiting some places I haven't had a lot of time for the last time around, as well as some new stuff (northern UT, CO) Also, job wise, this could be my last opportunity for a trip this long in quite a while so it's quite fitting to pack some of this country's most beutiful places into my ultimate cross country road trip
Current plan is to fly into L.A. head up the PCH then inland to Yosemite, Death Valley on to Vegas. From there on continue to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Page, Bryce Canyon, Moab, passing Black Canyon of the Gunnison and across the Rockies to Denver... This is where my solo-adventure starts. (right we're missing SFO, Zion NP etc. but you can only fit so much into two weeks....)
From here on out everything everything is new to me except south FL which is why I don't feel the need to go any further south than Orlando.

Fwiw, we did a 2 month, 13,000 mile Road Trip a summer ago, and hit a dozen Nat parks, 35 states, etc. Some serious GOOG maps planning will save you backtracking, allow for hitting spots that didn't come to mind, getting a feel for the distances and huge size, etc.

Post #1 in this thread is a brief recap and pics of a trip we did:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...652&highlight=

I was admiring your pics back when you posted that thread, it actually helped me convince myself to finally do my own . Must have been an awesome trip.

doing 13,000 mi in two months, did you often feel you are rushing through/missing out on things? I'm figuring 6-7,000 mi for my one month trip so I'm in the same ballpark in terms of mi/day.
More info from you might help in offering ideas...
GL, mD

Originally Posted by jw

An alternative is to head south. Taos, Santa Fe, White Sands, Carlsbad, Austin, San Antonio, Gulf Coast, New Orleans

Taos and Santa Fe FTW. Awesome places to visit.

Originally Posted by MMME30W

Unless you have constraints:

Farther south should net warmer weather. Nashville, Savannah and Charleston are great choices. Atlanta has a huge amount of things to see also. The BMW factory in Spartanburg and BMW Performance Center are worth stopping for.

Saint Augustine is worth a day or two.

Why end in Orlando?

He's travelling in August/September, so the warmer weather in the South might actually be a negative. It can be brutally hot that time of year in a lot of the South with some places being extremely humid besides. I'd take advantage of the time of year and do the northern route.

From Denver head north, hit the sights in Wyoming, Montana, the Dakotas, Chicago, etc. Maybe go all the way across to Maine, and then head south along the coast, flying out of Boston or NYC.

Originally Posted by NoMercy346

the trip could end at any major hub on the east coast... ATL, CLT, ... doesn't really matter. Most other airports would also require me to head back inland quite a bit after reaching the Atlantic.

JFK / EWR / PHL each solve that problem. If Sept, I'd try to grab some fall foliage in NH/VT and fly out of Boston.

NoMercy,
RE:
"+1 on that... one reason I'll probably not go to the northeast/NY as I won't have enough time to spend in NYC, let alone D.C etc.
Guess it's a more relaxed trip to just enjoy the drive through the country in the southeast, visiting smaller cities along the way that do not require multiple day stays in the way NYC does."

I agree on your decision to pass on Gotham or DC, unless it was a chance to see friends and/or you have more time.

..."yup, rental

I'll go with an SUV again. Anything interesting to drive would cost a fortune from Hertz' prestige/adrenalin collection, especially on a one way rental, so I'm going with room and comfort. Plus I love the feel a big BOF truck on a trip like this.. I'm still figuring out whether I should take the hit in rental cost and mileage to step up to a Tahoe/similar from the usual selection of mommy mobiles you get these days in the lower categories
I'm still up for some good scenic drives, though! Just logging mile after mile on the Interstate isn't really my thing."

Unless you really need the room, I would pick a smaller suv, maybe a RAV4 or Hyundai Tucson or the like. Will handle better, decent room, better mpg, and it's not like you will be carving corners anyway. Speaking of corners, there are a couple dozen+ fabulous 2 lane blacktops we managed to spend considerable time and cover long distance on...GOOG maps is your friend, or I can rattle some off at you in a later post or PM, as you get closer.

..."thought I'd make an overnight stop somewhere around Riverton, WY am I missing much scenery, not heading up the 191 instead?"
191 is a good route, up into Jackson Hole, then Teton NP, then up into Yellowstone. Yellowstone is packed, on most roads, all summer however. For a drive through with a few stops, it's OK. For finding good stuff, away from the crowds, takes some study, and some hiking, and some time. If you wander through YS toward the 'north entrance/exit', I highly recommend taking the Chief Joseph Highway/WY State Rt 296 for a couple hours, from YS down toward Cody: one of the best roads we drove. And/or hit the Beartooth Highway and Pass, from just north of YS back into MT: an empty road with 12 ft of snow on each shoulder and true alpine conditions even in mid summer, though the road is usually clear, with thousands of fine sweeper curves. That may put you further north than you would be in mid-Colorado, but you are probably pointing east by then, anyway...so, zoom over to Devil's Tower, Badlands and Black Hills of SD, Mt Rushmore, and toward MN, or WI, or IL and the middle east.

-What have you seen, vs haven't?

"I've been to most of the usual attractions of CA, AZ and southern UT. My brother has not and he only has two weeks of vacation to spend. For me this is revisiting some places I haven't had a lot of time for the last time around, as well as some new stuff (northern UT, CO) Also, job wise, this could be my last opportunity for a trip this long in quite a while so it's quite fitting to pack some of this country's most beutiful places into my ultimate cross country road trip
Current plan is to fly into L.A. head up the PCH then inland to Yosemite, Death Valley on to Vegas. From there on continue to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Page, Bryce Canyon, Moab, passing Black Canyon of the Gunnison,
Black Canyon is really worth the stop; try to hit it in late afternoon: a mini Grand Canyon with no fences or rules, and no people.
and across the Rockies to Denver... This is where my solo-adventure starts. (right we're missing SFO, Zion NP etc. but you can only fit so much into two weeks....)
From here on out everything everything is new to me except south FL which is why I don't feel the need to go any further south than Orlando."

"I was admiring your pics back when you posted that thread, it actually helped me convince myself to finally do my own . Must have been an awesome trip."
Thank you for the compliment; it was remarkable. We had done several similar/shorter length trips on an m'cycle several times in the '90s, but this trip was 4 fast wheels and lots of time, with nowhere to be...

..."doing 13,000 mi in two months, did you often feel you are rushing through/missing out on things? I'm figuring 6-7,000 mi for my one month trip so I'm in the same ballpark in terms of mi/day." Not really pressed: we had our must dos, wanna dos, and 'hey that spot looks good'. Our only schedule was getting to the boat in Vancouver for the AK cruise. Your plan of that mileage, in that time frame, is reasonable, esp if you blow through some of the middle/eastern middle states, heading back toward the Right Coast.

Motels are best grabbed later in afternoon, easily done by smartphone, on that motel's site, or calling a few near your nightly destination; if they are near full, the site is better than calling, and if they are not full, you can bargain. Be aware that in some of the western touristy/scenic places= the motels of any level, are packed every night, all summer. Wifi is ubiquitous, even in the cheap joints, for checking email, planning routes, etc. GOOG maps is the deal. I would rec'd buying a season pass at your first Nat Park: it will save you a lot of dough, and works in many state parks, too. That's my $5 worth of travel tips, version...
GL, mD




GL, mD

Stay North, young man. Travelling through the South in August / September is a beating unless you like 100 degree weather with 90% humidity. Not much going on as no one wants to go outside unless they have to. If you have never visited Chicago or St Louis, you need to hit both of them. Both are great cities with a lot of unique sights and culture. Minnesota and Wisconsin are beautiful that time of year as well.

Last time I took a driving tour of the Midwest was 2006 when we decided to visit 6 major league ballparks in 9 days, always taking in a museum or other landmark as we traveled. We flew into St. Louis, drove to Chicago (Wrigley, Michigan Ave.), Detroit (Comerica), Toronto (Rogers Centre, Hockey Hall of Fame and Niagra Falls), Cleveland (Jacobs Field and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Chicago again (Comiskey, Science & Industry Museum) and back to STL (Busch Stadium and Gateway Arch). Was also considering Canton (Pro Football Hall of Fame), Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, but those got scratched. Most memorable vacation ever.

Spend lots of time in southern and central Colorado. I70, 80 and 90 are brutally boring. There is nothing to see in KS, NE or SD. I'd do I 70 to Kansas City then S.E. on Hwy 50 to the Ozarks. Stop at Lake of the Ozarks for a day. Road trip to Cape Girardeau from there. Beautiful forested hills with six national forests and twisty roads Ayrton Senna would dream about. From Girardeau north to St. Louis or South to Memphis.