Driving Socal to Idaho overnight, I-15 or US-93?

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I'll be leaving for Craters of the Moon NM this afternoon, hoping to arrive tomorrow morning.
I can take the I-15 via Arco for 946 miles (and 13h 21min) or the US-93 after Vegas for 851 miles (13h).
I normally prefer highways, but I've driven the 93 up to Ely in 2015 and it was mostly 2 lane highway and not the smoothest one at that. As much as I enjoy driving highways during the day, I'm not crazy about driving them at night, with oncoming cars blinding me, deer etc.
I would not be going too fast on the highway, even though it seems to be a shorter drive.
What would you guys do?
 
I haven't been through the entire length of US-93, but I have been on the section from Wells to Twin Falls, and it was pretty uneventful during the day. It did seem a bit disconcerting that there was a 65 MPH speed limit on an undivided road.

If you're doing it at night, yeah - take I-15. I've driven some undivided roads at night, like US-50 from Lake Tahoe, although that more twisties than a high speed undivided highway. I remember the time I took CA-58 from Mojave to Barstow at night, and even for 50 miles that seemed kind of scary. That late it's a lot of semis, and that freaked me out a bit more.
 
Thank you for the replies!
It seems most of you agree the I-15 is the safer route.
IMO in Nevada, away from Vegas and Reno, the highways are deserted, with no HP.
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
I haven't been through the entire length of US-93, but I have been on the section from Wells to Twin Falls, and it was pretty uneventful during the day. It did seem a bit disconcerting that there was a 65 MPH speed limit on an undivided road.

If you're doing it at night, yeah - take I-15. I've driven some undivided roads at night, like US-50 from Lake Tahoe, although that more twisties than a high speed undivided highway. I remember the time I took CA-58 from Mojave to Barstow at night, and even for 50 miles that seemed kind of scary. That late it's a lot of semis, and that freaked me out a bit more.

I drove the 58 at night too, only it was raining. Tioga Pass just got closed because of snowfall, forced me to detour quite a bit.
 
I just did this drive this past week, pulling a 30 foot travel trailer. We spent 4 days outside Sun Valley-then two days in Arco, and one day at Lava Hot Springs. The road from the 15 to Arco (Idaho 26) is a two lane road through farm land. It will be dark-but you should be OK.

When we left Arco for the I-15 we didn't see another car for an hour or so-until we got outside Blackfoot.

BTW-there is an Atomic Power Plant (outside Arco) which is shut down-but they give FREE tours to the public. It is VERY INTERESTING.

You didn't say if your pulling a travel trailer. There is not any RV parking at the power plant but it's worth the back tracking for the tour.



PM me if you have any further questions.
 
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US-93 is mostly a two-lane road, with very little traffic. I-15 is an Interstate where the speed limit is 80 mph through most of Utah and Idaho. Dropping to 70 mph in urban centers. Driving overnight, I'd take I-15. If you do take 93, watch for speed traps on the outskirts of Ely.

Of course if you do take the Nevada route, you could run the Silver State Classic course in reverse, from Hiko to Lund.
 
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Originally Posted By: zorobabel
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
I haven't been through the entire length of US-93, but I have been on the section from Wells to Twin Falls, and it was pretty uneventful during the day. It did seem a bit disconcerting that there was a 65 MPH speed limit on an undivided road.

If you're doing it at night, yeah - take I-15. I've driven some undivided roads at night, like US-50 from Lake Tahoe, although that more twisties than a high speed undivided highway. I remember the time I took CA-58 from Mojave to Barstow at night, and even for 50 miles that seemed kind of scary. That late it's a lot of semis, and that freaked me out a bit more.

I drove the 58 at night too, only it was raining. Tioga Pass just got closed because of snowfall, forced me to detour quite a bit.

Well - I mentioned US-50, and I've done the triple-whammy with undivided roads, near blizzard conditions, and drivers who drove too aggressively for the conditions.

And 58 was kind of depressing at night with little traffic and no lights. The road wasn't in terribly good condition either, with a lot of patched asphalt. Then after a few minutes the headlights of a semi come into view. However, I was only driving it for about 90 minutes and was in Barstow where I could stay for the night before heading to Vegas.

US-93 kind of scares me. I mean - I've driven on some of those undivided highways in Nevada, but only during the day. Even during the day it can be a little bit crazy.

http://elkodaily.com/news/six-vehicles-i...bce5ed0bbc.html
http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/34270976/1-killed-after-crash-on-us-93-north-of-las-vegas-valley
 
In researching my drive on Hwy 50 it came up several times that 93 was considered dangerous at night and you should try to avoid it. I'd stay on the Interstate, avoid potential issues and stay within the confines of more readily available services and population.
 
Originally Posted By: CKN
I just did this drive this past week, pulling a 30 foot travel trailer. We spent 4 days outside Sun Valley-then two days in Arco, and one day at Lava Hot Springs. The road from the 15 to Arco (Idaho 26) is a two lane road through farm land. It will be dark-but you should be OK.

When we left Arco for the I-15 we didn't see another car for an hour or so-until we got outside Blackfoot.

BTW-there is an Atomic Power Plant (outside Arco) which is shut down-but they give FREE tours to the public. It is VERY INTERESTING.

You didn't say if your pulling a travel trailer. There is not any RV parking at the power plant but it's worth the back tracking for the tour.



PM me if you have any further questions.


Thanks for the tips!
No towing, just me, the wife and the Maxima.
 
I did not know about the Silver State Classic, maybe one day...
After all the input, it's settled, I'm taking the I-15.
Thanks!
 
Originally Posted By: zorobabel
I did not know about the Silver State Classic, maybe one day...
After all the input, it's settled, I'm taking the I-15.
Thanks!


Wise choice
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: zorobabel
I did not know about the Silver State Classic, maybe one day...
After all the input, it's settled, I'm taking the I-15.
Thanks!


They have all sorts of classes you can run in, where the goal is to run a specific average speed. Then there is the unlimited class.

Here's an unlimited class car, actually a former Nascar, with no stupid restricter plates in sight, and allowed to stretch it's legs.

He ran the 90 mile course at an average speed of 217.557 mph. That's from a standing start, and with slower sections like through the canyon narrows. He crossed the finish line at a measured 252 mph.



cool.gif
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
NH has an I93 too...

I know it can get confusing, but this route is US-93 from Arizona to the Canadian border at Montana.

There are a few places where Interstate Highway numbers are duplicated. We've got an I-505 from Vacaville, California to Williams, California. There used to be an I-505 planned in Portland that would have been less than a 2 mile connector.

There are three I-405 routes, although the one in Southern California is the longest and best known.
 
So I'm back in one piece.
I-15 going N was a wise choice, it took me 12h to EBR1.
Even coming back on eclipse day I took the I-15, only caught traffic around Pocatello and in Salt Lake City (rush hour).
And now for the interesting part: 2320 miles driven on the trip, 0.4qt oil burned.
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions, especially about the nuclear reactor museum.
 
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