Albuquerque to Portland route.

January 1, 2007 8:49 PM

What is the best route from Albuquerque, NM to Portland, OR with weather in mind? (leaving tomorrow morning)

I have been traveling from Virginia since Saturday morning and am in Albuquerque NM presently. Today it took me 12 hours to go <400 miles so I am very stressed about the snow conditions. There wasn't much ice on the roads but we came to a standstill several times, the finale was 3 hours to get around 20 miles after Santa Rosa NM today.

What is the best route from here? I was planning on heading from I40 to I5 (sub question: what is the best way to do this? i40 to 58 to I5, right?). However, maybe weather is ok enough to head north from Gallup, NM into Colorado onto Utah and up 84? Or maybe head farther west and go north from Flagstaff?

posted by wolfkult to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

There's really no way to go around the snow, and you've got the Grand Canyon in the way.

I would probably take I-40 to Gallup, then up US-491/191 through Monticello and up to I-70. That stretch is extremely rural, so be very cautious and try to drive during daylight once some of the snow/ice has melted or been plowed. Once you get to I-70, you'll be fine through Utah. Everything will be plowed and clear.

Take I-15 up to I-84. Things will start getting rural again after Snowville, UT and will be rural until you're nearly to Portland, with the exception of Boise. Unless there is a freak storm in Idaho or eastern Oregon, you should be alright. Just be careful going through the Blue Mountains just across the Idaho border into Oregon, as you have to go over a few mountain passes that can get quite a bit of snow.

Good luck!
posted by fatbobsmith at 9:05 PM on January 1, 2007

Side note: the Flagstaff route goes through a high mountain pass. In my experience, it usually gets quite a lot of snow. However, it's a more populated route, so if the weather looks decent, it may be a good alternate.
posted by fatbobsmith at 9:11 PM on January 1, 2007

No need to take I70 all the way across Utah take the US6 cutoff and go more directly to SLC
posted by hortense at 10:16 PM on January 1, 2007

The US6 cutoff is just west of Green River Ut.on I70.
posted by hortense at 10:20 PM on January 1, 2007

In order to avoid the most weather, I would take I-40 due west to Bakersfield, then pick up I-5 north to Portland. Longer, and once you get to I-5, deathly boring but you will only have the Siskiyous at the Ca-Or border to contend with, as far as snow goes, and while there can be problems there, they are relatively rare.
posted by Danf at 7:55 AM on January 2, 2007

I used to do this drive a lot, and have used a route similar to that recommended by FatBobSmith, but at this time of year I'd recommend taking the long way round. There's supposedly a storm coming tonight to NM, not as strong as the recent one, but I've spent an eighteen hour stretch stranded in a truckstop in Pocatello, ID and considered myself lucky for the shelter. It's a long boring drive, but you really won't regret going through California instead.
posted by Sara Anne at 8:31 AM on January 2, 2007