Anyone driven from LA to Vegas
Discussion
I have a wedding to go to in LA at the end of April. Going to take the opportunity to hire a Mustang convertible from Hertz in LAX and drive to Vegas for a 3 night stay.
Has anyone driven LA to Vegas - is it a dull boring drive through the desert? Or anything interesting to see / places to stop on the way?
Has anyone driven LA to Vegas - is it a dull boring drive through the desert? Or anything interesting to see / places to stop on the way?
I always stop at Barstow to get over the jet lag. It has some great dive bars.
The Mojave national preserve is also interesting
Even though I've lived in the states I still enjoy driving through such desolate territory but ultimately it's just highways which driving wise aren't all that interesting. You can though make a trip of it by hitting some Indian casinos and weird diners on the way. Depends how much you like 'Americana' I guess. Personally I love the drive.
The Mojave national preserve is also interesting
Even though I've lived in the states I still enjoy driving through such desolate territory but ultimately it's just highways which driving wise aren't all that interesting. You can though make a trip of it by hitting some Indian casinos and weird diners on the way. Depends how much you like 'Americana' I guess. Personally I love the drive.
Each to their own but The Californian desert and beyond is beautiful to my eyes; amazing geology and landscapes. The drive is wonderful because it's so unlike dreary Northern Europe; mountains and desert with massive vistas. There's the Mojave National Preserve along the way with some rugged mountains and Kelso Sand Dunes, which are spectacular. The Mountains around Vegas are spectacular too and there's Red Rock Canyon too
Love the American deserts, far nicer than this dreary lump of overfarmed turf we call home.
Love the American deserts, far nicer than this dreary lump of overfarmed turf we call home.
I like it - the desert scenery is good, and coming down to LA through the mountains is a nice bit of road. Watch out for police from Vegas to Primm and on the long drag down to Baker (tempting to put the foot down there, but don't). You could stop at Peggy Sue's diner for some "quaint" 50s route-66 food, and the outlet malls at Barstow are definitely worth a stop.
It can get plenty hot out in the desert though, one day our car gauge was topping 120F and I'd almost swear the tarmac was melting....
It can get plenty hot out in the desert though, one day our car gauge was topping 120F and I'd almost swear the tarmac was melting....
Driven it many times. Mostly dull, but if you haven't done it before there's Callico Ghost Town on the left just over half way-ish after Barstow, and then the factory outlet mall at Primm if you want some cheap stuff. Other than that, not much.
If you've for got the time and you're a bit of a Star Trek geek you can take a detour at the beginning if instead of heading East initially you go North on I5 and go via the Vasquez Rocks. It's where Kirk fought the Gorn, and the rocks appear in loads of other films/shows (like Bedrock in the Flintstones). Worth a visit, but maybe I'm a bit sad that way. They are NOT well signed and sat-navs can take you to the wrong place, so make sure you print/take some maps.
On Friday afternoons the road can get seriously busy going to Vegas with miles and miles of nose-to-tail traffic, and on Sundays it can be real busy heading back to LA; more so of there's some big event on.
If you've for got the time and you're a bit of a Star Trek geek you can take a detour at the beginning if instead of heading East initially you go North on I5 and go via the Vasquez Rocks. It's where Kirk fought the Gorn, and the rocks appear in loads of other films/shows (like Bedrock in the Flintstones). Worth a visit, but maybe I'm a bit sad that way. They are NOT well signed and sat-navs can take you to the wrong place, so make sure you print/take some maps.
On Friday afternoons the road can get seriously busy going to Vegas with miles and miles of nose-to-tail traffic, and on Sundays it can be real busy heading back to LA; more so of there's some big event on.
GreigM said:
You could stop at Peggy Sue's diner for some "quaint" 50s route-66 food, and the outlet malls at Barstow are definitely worth a stop.
It can get plenty hot out in the desert though, one day our car gauge was topping 120F and I'd almost swear the tarmac was melting....
Christ, I had forgotten all about that placeIt can get plenty hot out in the desert though, one day our car gauge was topping 120F and I'd almost swear the tarmac was melting....
Yep, be careful with roof down antics, we got 2hrs into the Mojave before the heat was unbearable with the roof down. I looked like Zoidberg for the remainder of the trip.
If you can get a little more time it's worth taking the loooong way round.
Last time I did it, we went up the coast first to San Francisco and then inland to Vegas. It's a fair drive but no-one hangs around on the dull bits - we sat on 100 and were getting past by every man and his pick-up truck.
As well as seeing the coast, this will also take you through Yosemite which was a real highlight. We went through as snow was starting to fall and it was specatular.
I'd recommend the added miles and turning it into a proper road trip.
Last time I did it, we went up the coast first to San Francisco and then inland to Vegas. It's a fair drive but no-one hangs around on the dull bits - we sat on 100 and were getting past by every man and his pick-up truck.
As well as seeing the coast, this will also take you through Yosemite which was a real highlight. We went through as snow was starting to fall and it was specatular.
I'd recommend the added miles and turning it into a proper road trip.
Heed the warnings to turn off the A/C on the hills if it's hot - we saw them and thought "yeah, right," up until the point when we noticed the oil temp gauge sweeping up towards the red!
It's a boring drive but easily do-able by US standards in terms of distance. We found speeds on the Interstate there were a lot higher than what we were used to from hols in Florida so you have to have your wits about you checking for traffic passing on both sides!
It's a boring drive but easily do-able by US standards in terms of distance. We found speeds on the Interstate there were a lot higher than what we were used to from hols in Florida so you have to have your wits about you checking for traffic passing on both sides!
Sam.F said:
Heed the warnings to turn off the A/C on the hills if it's hot - we saw them and thought "yeah, right," up until the point when we noticed the oil temp gauge sweeping up towards the red!
'Late model' chevy impala SL, dodge ram hemi, corvette C6,S197 Mustang V8, Crown Vic will all manage that route with the a/c set as cold as it needs with outside temps of 115+. Motorrad said:
'Late model' chevy impala SL, dodge ram hemi, corvette C6,S197 Mustang V8, Crown Vic will all manage that route with the a/c set as cold as it needs with outside temps of 115+.
Heheheh... My '99 Buick Regal(4.0l supercharged 6) from National car rentals sat on cruise control at it's limited max (112mph) for 2 hours on that run with the outside temp at 115*... AC on full cold.Only stopped because it needed filling up. Again.
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