Driving from CA to Ontario

December 21, 2004 10:22 AM

Travel route advice please. I'll be driving from Southern California to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada in late January or early February. A native southern californian who has never driven this far, I'm much worried about the weather. I've read up on various winter driving advice. I'm wondering about the route. Most directions show a straight shot (through denver, chicago). But would it be better to stick south till like Tennessee, then do a straight shot up north?
posted by rexruff to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total)

If you take the direct route, you've pretty much got interstate all the way. In the upper midwest, interstates are cleared pretty quickly after snowstorms, both due to snowplows and to the traffic itself. Driving through the upper midwest, say, a day (even a few hours, usually) after a snowstorm, entirely on interstates, is no trouble at all.

You'll only be slowed down there if you are driving during a snowstorm itself. The chance of that is small, although not insignificant. Allow some extra time if you go that way, just in case. Safe driving speed can get down to 20-30 mph during especially heavy snowstorms.

My one bit of advice would be to not drive faster than you feel comfortable driving. If you don't feel you can safely drive faster than 40mph, then don't, even if everyone else is doing 60mph and passing you.

I'd go ahead and take the direct route. Although I have experience driving in snowy conditions, so I may not be the best judge of what you should do.

You might also get some mileage (heh) out of posting your question on the Road Trip America forums.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:52 AM on December 21, 2004

By that time of the winter, the worst of the lake effect snows around Chicago are over, so you're less likely to run into problems like the 22" that just hit Michigan City, Indiana. Further south in the hills I think they tend to get ice on the roads rather than snow. But driving through Tennessee in the winter is something I've never done, so feel free to discount that advice.
posted by jaut at 11:04 AM on December 21, 2004

I just drove through Arkansas, Tennessee and Virginia heading north and I can tell you one thing: don't. It wasn't icy for us, but it was rainy and foggy. That was bad enough. I'd not want to be making the drive when there's even a hint of ice. I'd stick to the flatter midwest route.
posted by amandaudoff at 11:25 AM on December 21, 2004

I've done the trip from Texas to New York state several times and it seems to me that when we did the direct route, we hit worse weather, but when we stayed south as long as possible, things weren't as bad. Make sure your have good tread, especially on your front tires. And make sure they are not overinflated. If you get caught in heavy snow, it is best to find safe haven until the snow clears. It's better to be delayed a day because you stopped than being delayed 5 days cuz you slipped into a ditch on the side of the road. The good news is that in most cases, businesses are very accommodating when conditions turn to shit and they will do whatever they can to help you out.

Chances are small, but not insignificant, that you will hit bad weather, but don't let that stop you.

I'm guessing you will enter Canada through Michigan. I would pay attention to the weather and use the route that has the best conditions between the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. You may want to find out about any construction near the bridges that may delay the crossing. I'm guessing there's probably a website that can tell you the average wait at the border. (It could be anything from 5 minutes to several hours.)
posted by Doohickie at 11:29 AM on December 21, 2004

I've driven the interstate between Denver and Chicago a few times during this part of the year. My advice would be to stay south as long as possible- if you get caught in a blizzard in western Nebraska you could easily add another day or more to your trip, nvever mind the increased odds of getting in a wreck. It worth is to stay south and then goup through Missouri to Illinois to Michigan. That way, the amount of time spent in blizzard zones is minimized and then when you are up north you're at least in more heavily populated areas where the roads are cleared faster and you have more places to stop if you need to.
posted by gus at 12:44 PM on December 21, 2004

I would think a gradual drift north on your trip would help you acclimatize to winter conditions a little more easily. Also, mountains are not the place to start learning how to winter drive. The conditions may very well be worse than what you'd find further north. Gus's idea may be the best solution.

Lastly, the 401 is much busier than the 402 in my experience, so I'd go through Port Huron/Sarnia rather than Detroit/Windsor for an easier drive. I haven't done it in winter though, and lake effect snow might be more of a problem that way.
posted by cardboard at 1:48 PM on December 21, 2004

I drove up from LA to Toronto in January of 2003. We swung up and hit the I-80, took that across. We were lucky, and didn't have any problems. If you have all season tires, you should be ok, just avoid icy conditions. Make sure you build a few extra days into your schedule, to account for weather-related delays etc.
posted by defcom1 at 1:57 PM on December 21, 2004

I was leaning toward Port Huron myself. When I lived up that way, the Blue Water Bridge was under construction (I think they put up a twin span to double capacity). While the construction was ongoing, it was useless to try to go through. By the way... if you have any concerns about crossing the border, tell them you're visiting you dad in the hospital in Buffalo. I told them that when my dad was not doing well before he died, and they let me through very quickly. ;- )
posted by Doohickie at 7:57 PM on December 21, 2004

You might want to avoid crossing at the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. Pity, since there is a lovely view from the bridge, but that is the truck crossing, and it gets badly backed up. I take the tunnel all the time now. If the bridge is backed up, it is a lot faster, even though you have to go to downtown Windsor and downtown Detroit. The route is well-marked on both sides of the border. Basically, if the bridge exit is backed up to the expressway, keep going, and you'll end up at the tunnel or can continue on to I-94 and go to Sarnia.

The Sarnia-Port Huron bridge is where my friends cross, but there has been some bad construction on I-94 through Detroit.

Snow removal on the 401 is excellent. I haven't driven the 402, but could ask my friends at work who drive it to Toronto a couple times a month.

Lake effect means you can't trust the weather report within about 100 miles of the Great Lakes. It also means that if you hit bad weather, it might last 200 yards or 200 miles. I find that truckers are usually up on the weather conditions much more than the service plaza tourism folks. I second driving the speed you are comfortable at, not the speed of traffic, and get off the road (get a meal, take a short walk, a nap, anything) if it is making you uncomfortable. It might pass quickly, and you can always try to get a room if it doesn't.

Just try to fight your urge to hit the brakes if it gets nasty fast.
posted by QIbHom at 8:06 PM on December 21, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks to everyone for all the information and good suggestions, it's very helpful.
posted by rexruff at 9:13 PM on December 21, 2004

We did a round trip Chicago -> LA -> Chicago last year in late December and early January; most of the distance you will be traveling. A little bit earlier than you, so the full force of winter had not hit (though the timing of that is variable from year to year anyway).

We went out via I-80, Denver, Las Vegas, etc. and came back via Albuquerque, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, St. Louis... If you can sing "Route 66" backwards, you'll know the way because that was the route it followed.

They are both Interstate the whole way (unless you want to avoid it), and both have mountains and high elevation, but the southern route has noticeably fewer mountains as you are not going through the heart of the Rockies. Being further south, it may also be a bit warmer, depending on weather patterns. The southern route is about 120 miles further; noticeable, but not a deal breaker over that kind of distance.

Both ways have their spectacular points and boring stretches. I think I preferred the southern route, but maybe that was because more of it was new to me. They are both viable options, and you could let the weather forecast direct which you took on the day you left.

There is one thing you can do if you go the southern route that you can't do if you go the other way, stay here. Very cozy, and run by a very friendly lady; a piece of America not to be missed (and right next to the Petrified Forrest if you want to break your journey for a couple of hours to see some sights).
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 9:25 PM on December 21, 2004

On the topic of lake effect snow, keep in mind that it's concentrated to the east of the lakes due to prevailing winds. Which is not to say that Chicago doesn't have lake effect snow (41" average annual snowfall), but Niles, MI--around the same latitude as Chicago, but just east of Lake Michigan--gets 71", nearly twice as much as Chicago. Further examples here.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:23 PM on December 21, 2004

What you need to do is ask a truckdriver.

Being a member of a family that contains a number of truckdrivers I can tell you that at that time of the year, you're honestly better off taking the northern route, since icy snow does actually fall as far south as I-20. [trust me on this as someone who was stuck on I-20 in bumper to bumper traffic for 48 hours IN the vehicle during a nasty ice storm in February of 2003]

The northern states are better equipped for road clearing and have much more experience at it.
posted by kamylyon at 6:40 AM on December 22, 2004