Hi folks,

I plan to make some trips from Michigan to the Rockies and the North Eastern Mountains and had some questions.

1. Is it doable in Winter with a decent AWD car or is it better to fly.
2. Do the highways get badly congested during the summer.
2. Any suggestions of historic or interesting places to stop along the way.


I am currently living in Belgium (from SW Ireland) so I am used to driving long distance to get to the Mountains and putting up with lunatics on the roads. I would have 9-10 days in total for the trips.

Thanks,

Stephen

Detroit. MI to Denver, CO (where you're not yet in the mountains) is 1,270 miles (2,044 km), 19 hours' driving time assuming excellent driving conditions and not including any stops. You can get this information from Mapquest or Google.

Watch the weather forecasts carefully. We do have blizzards in winter which sometimes close highways for many hours, or at least force you to drive well below the speed limit.

In other words, flying is a far better idea!

Although not as spectacular as the Rockies, Michigan has plenty of downhill and nordic skiing and interesting places to backpack.

Edited by hikinggranny on 08/28/2011 10:31:49 MDT.

Hi Mary,

Thanks for the advice, it does sound like flying in the winter would be a better option.

I forgot to mention in my original post that I would be looking to do these trips in Summer and shoulder seasons also.


Thanks,

Stephen

Two words - Southwest Airlines.

Hi Joe,

Thanks for that, I do intend to fly at times but I would like to drive to see some of the US.

Thanks,

Thanks

The one downside to flying into Denver -- car rentals are expensive, unless you can find a deal...

Hi,

I hear you on that, I presume Public transport is sparse.

Cheers,

There are various shuttles from the Denver airport to popular areas -- I've just never quite figured out to make that option work for me. I also like the flexibility of having a vehicle...

Sounds good to me.

I was in Denver a few years ago and loved it.

Actually, it's not really too bad. You can take the SkyRide from the airport into various parts of town, then hop an RTA bus to just about anywhere.Bus schedules are online. When my brother was alive he lived downtown, I never rented a car, the SkyRide took me straight from the airport to his front door. If you were to get to the west side of town, I'd suspect rentals would be more reasonable. Just a thought, and I'm sure some who live there now could better advise. Just curious, what part of MI?

Edited by leighb on 08/28/2011 13:58:13 MDT.

Hi Leigh,

Thanks for the info. When I was in Denver I used the airport shuttle which was not very expensive, I was only their for a day or so en route to a conference in Big Sky but I did get a days tour around up in to Rockies.

I be moving to the Bay City\Midland area.

Cheers,

Stephen