Los Angeles Travel Answers

Hi! First off, will you be visiting the North or South rim of the Grand Canyon? The most obvious stop would of course be Las Vegas. If you've never been it will give you an enjoyable and quite affordable stop. Vegas is known for it's affordable dining options as well as many free tourist draws. You can also choose to book a show such as one of the Cirque Du Soleil or other musical shows (I recommend you do so ahead of time) to coincide with your stop in Vegas. Homer

There's not much option on routes if you're making a direct trip. It's about 8 hours on Hwy 40 to Hwy 15. You could however go south on either 17 (longer) of 95 (slower) to Hwy 10 and go west that way. This would take you past Joshua Tree National Park which I find scenic. It also would provide the opportunity to stop in Palm Desert or Palm Springs which are interesting small towns to visit.

I'm assuming you're going to at the South Rim of the Canyon. If you're at the North Rim, all bets are off. I-40 to I-15 is going to be fastest route. Don't take I-17 unless you want to add a day and see something in Phoenix. Same with going to Las Vegas. Not worth it for just a few hours. You'd want to at least stay overnight. Less out of the way would be cutting over to Laughlin, Nevada for a few hours of gambling or watersports. A little more out of the way is Lake Havasu. You can see the original (moved from England) London Bridge. Other than those (and Palm Springs), there isn't much except lots of desert.

The best route is really I-15 to I-40. There are a number of other variations you can take but they add quite a bit of time as they're smaller highways. For instance, you can take I-10 to CA 62 to Amboy Road, just past 29 Palms, which will end at a very old section of Route 66 and take you to I-40. It's interesting to an extent because you go through some small towns and pass a salt evaporation facility. I usually use this route when coming from Arizona and trying to skip around the LA area. There's not much to see in between that isn't too far out of the way. If you take the old Route 66 section between Golden Shores (Arizona side of Needles) and Kingman, you come across Oatman, which is interesting for a bit. I really like the Route 66 section between Kingman and Seligman, but it adds mileage and, of course, time. Then there's the Mojave National Preserve visitors center at Kelso, which is roughly 15 miles north of I-40. It's built into an old train station, and has been restored into something very nice: nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/v.... Big Bear is also technically accessible and along the way, but it's a twisty drive up and down mountain roads, and I don't know that it's really worth it (I've never been impressed).

I have driven that route bunches of times, and from Flagstaff to LA it is a real grind. My advice to you is drive, drive, drive and get it over with, so that you can have some fun in LA.