March/April Trip MN -> Grand Canyon -> Vegas -> Utah -> MN

[MNPhil]

I'm hoping to get some route/safety advice for an upcoming trip we're taking. We will leave Minneapolis on March 23, and will return April 6, 7 or 8. We are heading from Minneapolis to the Grand Canyon (Williams, AZ), then on to Las Vegas, north to St. George, UT, and then home again. From what I've been able to gather, taking I 80 through Wyoming will be a bit better than I 70 through Denver, though I hear we've got to pay close attention to the wind!

It seems that the route from Minneapolis to Albuquerque and from Cheyenne back to Minneapolis are pretty simple. I'm wondering if anyone could provide guidance on the rest of the trip? Here are the legs I assume we'll be driving:

-Albuquerque - Williams, AZ

-Williams - Las Vegas

-Las Vegas - St. George, UT

-St. George - Salt Lake City

-Salt Lake City - Cheyenne, WY

We will be towing a 26 foot ultra light with a Dodge Durango. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Phil

[Hemi_Joel]

I wouldn't go thru Albuquerque. I'd go west on 160 from walsenberg, thru durango and tuba city, then on to the grand canyon.

[Ivylog]

X2 on the above ^^^^. My favorite WX guy says winter will NOT be over that early so go south and then West since you do not have time to sit it out. Last week I came from Phoenix to Atlanta and used I-10&20 instead of I-40 because of likely bad WX. I was impressed with how good I-20 was the majority of the way and by doing Dallas at midnight sailed right through. Two years ago I used 40 and it was rough in many places plus lots of construction...not so on 20.

[2gypsies1]

That's kind of early for taking I-80 or I-70. Even on I-40 the highway was closed completely for a snow storm the end of April one year just west of Albuquerque. Check long-range forecasts just before taking off and while you're driving and have an alternate plan or be prepared to sit it out a day or two. Watch for snow and winds.

[AAB]

Be very careful at the park entrance your gps may try to take you to the wrong road. Mine did and I was stuck in mud damaged my truck and trailer getting out. Park rangers said it was a common problem with gps. There

[rexlion]

It would be a nice time of year temperature-wise to visit Arches. Just throwing the idea out there.

[Thom02099]

I-80 from SLC to Cheyenne will be different for sure than I-70 through Colorado.

Wind is always a factor in Wyoming; however, in April, it is frequently a tail wind that you'll have when travelling eastbound, as storms will usually (but not always) be coming out of the northwest.

Storms to worry about are the ones that come out of Arizona/New Mexico and move across Colorado and set up in northeast Colorado. These can be goodly snow producers for southern Wyoming. And March and April are snow months in Wyoming as well as in Colorado.

Keep an eye on the weather and be ready and willing to hunker down somewhere for a day or so. Ground blizzards are not uncommon along I-80 with the combo of snow and wind, with stretches of the interstate shut down for a while.

The high point on I-80 is just east of Laramie WY. Something of a climb out of Laramie (at ~7200ft) to about 9600 feet, then it levels off and is pretty much downhill all the way east from there. Rolling hills between Laramie and Cheyenne, then flattens out a bit more from Cheyenne to Pine Bluff and on in to Nebraska.

[MDKMDK]

Any east west route can be subject to gusty cross winds at any time. I actually fought a really nasty cross wind while traveling from Williams to Kingman in March about 8 years ago. It was so bad I had to slow to around 50mph and my arms felt like I was wearing lead weights when we finally cleared the open desert and stopped. I've seen similar conditions on I-70, I-80, and I-90. We were driving a relatively lightweight (8500lbs) camper van on a Chev 3500 Express chassis, and the wind was pounding it at right angles.