Seattle Travel Forum

Hi, We are moving to Seattle from Charlotte NC right after Christmas. We will be driving and are concerned about winter conditions. Anyone know the best route to take? We are considering coming through MT on I90 or through Salt Lake City to Portland and up? We will be pulling a 30ft 5th wheel and a 16 ft Motorcycle trailer. Any advice would be welcome! Thanks Rich & Laurie

I hate to be the bringer of bad news for your January trip, but for either route you select, towing that amount of stuff may be a difficult trans-continental trip. On either route, you will have to drive across the wind-swept and snowy mid-west, then climb the Continental Divide, descend again into either hilly or quite windy terrain, and then surmount another big range of mountains -- the Cascades. The passes in these mountains are of high elevation, and sometimes close due to snow/white outs/avalanches. Sometimes they require chains. I don't think either route has an advantage, but others might disagree. I fly regularly (every several weeks or so) over the I-90 route, and it is usually open in winter, but you might pass through some miserable spots of snow pockets, where towing your rig might be difficult. Couldn't you do this in summer, when you could actually make a nice vacation out of it?

Yeah, I wouldn't want to pull a trailer on that route in the dead of winter like you're planning. You could do it, but you're running a good risk of hitting a snowstorm.
It usually starts snowing east of Seattle on I-90 in the Cascades (that pass closes quite a bit). But Seattle - Portland has a much less likely chance of snow.

Well, that was not good news. My husband is in the Air Force and they say we have to be there by January 10th so we have no choice. Any advice on what the best route would be?

I would love to give you the best alternative, but there really isn't one. I've lived in Colorado right on the Continental Divide at nearly 9,000 feet, and I can assure you it's blizzard-city half the time in winter. I've also spent time in Wyoming in the winter -- winds that are unbelievable. Utah is famed for its ski areas, so what does that tell you? Idaho also. Probably a better choice might be going the "long route": through the south on I-40, but then you'll still hit high territory around Alburquerque. Thereafter, you'd have to drive the entire West Coast on I-5 (mostly snowless) up to Seattle. This is mucho miles, especially bad for your gas mileage when hauling all the things you are towing. I wish you very well, and hope you are good snow drivers! :-)

See also this post in the Miscellaneous Forum, which just happened a few minutes ago:
http://forum.virtualtourist.com/discussion-391801-1-1-Miscellaneous-0-0-World-discussion.html

I beg you: avoid I-90 in the Winter.

Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Eastern Washington -- all can experience severe winter weather that can block even the major highways for days at a time. Even if the stretches of I-90 outside of the mountains remain passable, there are at least 3 mountain passes (high ones)that are tricky to drive even in nice weather, let alone if it's icy or snowing. If you're towing a heavy trailer, you could actually be putting your lives in danger driving that route in the Winter. I grew up in Montana, and spent several years in Minneapolis, as well. So please believe me...any highway in the northern half of the country can be lethal in the depths of Winter.

I can't suggest an alternative route, unfortunately -- except to recommend you plan the southernmost route you can. It'll take much longer, but your chances of actually making it to beautiful Seattle in one piece.

Do not try to cross the country on I-90 in the winter with a trailer. I'd stay as far south as I could, even if it takes longer. Maybe I-40 to California and then up I-5 to Seattle. The only tough pass on I-5 is at the California-Oregon border. Of course you still need to cross the Rockies in New Mexico, but you may be lucky and not hit a bad storm.

Well, you've gotten some rather pessimistic replies. A lot depends on how aware you are of the weather and road conditions. Good timing and patience would get you through. Never before have we had such good weather forcasting information at our fingertips. The Inet is wonderful and can give you up to date weather and road conditions. And after all you have your own home with you in which you can ride out a storm at a truck stop.
Of course, you have to evaluate this on your own, but if you have patience, are properly equipped with safety devices, food and water you should be able to make it. We are having a fairly stormy period right now but there are always calms between the storms. Good luck and safe traveling.

Mart

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To add a bit....For sure you should take the southern route to Southern California then take the I5 north. The only potential trouble spots on I5 would most likely be from Redding North to Ashland, Oregon. And you might leave the motorcycle trailor behind and send for it later.
Marty

Done with ur drive? Which way did ya go? How was it?

Wow, I hope you are not traveling up I5 this weekend. I'd suggest you go over to 101 and try to get up the coast to at least Coos Bay and then come over to I5. things are bad in the Siskyous now.

Marty

These people have been warned, and I certainly wish for their safety, all along any of the routes!

We made it! It took us 10 days to get here, but we finally made it. We would have been here on Friday, but we spent 3 days over New Years in North Platte Nebraska with a busted transmission in one of the trucks. We ended up going through St Louis, Kansas City and on Highway 80 through the midwest. We took Highway 84 in Utah. My husband kept checking the interstate report on weather.com and we were able to change routes if needed. Going into Ogden was cool and beautiful with no problems. We ended up in Baker City OR on Friday for a day because they closed the pass to La Grande due to high winds and slippery roads. A camper got tossed around and a semi truck. We crossed those two OR passes yesterday with no problems. We ended up going through Portland OR instead of taking 90 through the Snoqualime pass. High profile vehicles were prohibited. Except for having 2 flat tires, a burnt clutch and needing a new transmission, it was uneventful. Just a little snow in OR was all.
Thanks for the comments.

Thanks for checking in....we were wondering how you were doing. Glad you were cautious and patient. Too bad about the breakdowns. Want you to know that the weather here is not always this bad...You'll get used to it. Summers and falls are great. Welcome to the Northwest.

Marty

Glad you made it.
I was afraid to reply because I didn't know how good drivers you were and how familiar with snow ... that makes a huge difference. There are some people I'd tell to go for it, others I'd tell avoid it, and didn't have a clue in this case.
I've driven all over Alberta, BC, Oregon, Wa, Ida, Colo et al in mid winter. Since I grew up in snow country in the mountains its no big deal for me. And semi drivers do it all the time. But you always need to be prepared, and you need to be flexible with time and route and adjust if needed. And you need to be comfortable driving in adverse conditions.

Hi All,
Well after travelling in December, I had to fly back to Charlotte to finish out work. I left again on Friday March 21st and arrived Tuesday March 25th. I took the same route again except in Hermiston OR, I took Highway 82 up to catch I90. We timed the weather perfectly and there wasn't any snow and the roads were clear. Snoqualmie pass was beautiful and saved about 100 miles from going through Portland. No problems this trip and I wasn't hauling anything but me and my stuff. Now I will search this site to find some cool stuff to do.

Glad to hear you made it successfully (again!).