Hi, I'm a female going to be driving alone with my small dog end of March. l I would really like to get help planning my route from Seattle to Vegas. I want to be sure the route itself is not lonely and is safe and there are safe stops along the way. I plan to stop every 2 hours and want to have a fairly scenic route with many s gas station options and restaurants. . Help please.

Take the Interstate to southern California and then turn left to Las Vegas. The other roads are lonely, with few gas stations and possible snow.

Thanks...suggestions for stops?

Removed Trip Report tag and added state tags

This is a crazy idea -- sorry but it is. Do you absolutely have to drive?? If not, flying makes much more sense. The drive down I-5 and then across from Bakersfield to Vegas will be a minimum of 22 hours car time (butt in seat) plus gas/food/rest stops, and if there are wintry storms in the Cascades it could take hours longer. Do you and the dog want to be in the car essentially 8 hours a day for three straight days ??

Is this three days (4 nights) or three nights -- (2+ days). That makes a huge difference. But in any case, you simply do NOT have time to plan a 'scenic route'. Just stop at freeway-side hotels along I-5 when you get tired. Maybe at Medford, Sacramento or Fresno, then Vegas . . .

Thanks...considering.

Are you a member of AAA or Auto Club? If not, as a female traveling solo, I strongly suggest you join, the maps and trip books you can get (mostly free) alone are worth the cost, plus their employees can create a map for your trip (called a "Triptik). Also you have free roadside assistance in case of car problems.

There are websites (can't remember the name now) of sites with names and info of pet friendly hotels and motels.

Do you have a list of pet friendly motels? When you get to LV, the Oasis is pet friendly (and cheap). It is not too far from the Fremont Street Experience and the Gold & Silver Pawn shop.
If the weather is good on your first day of driving you might make it as far as Ashland OR. Do you have a set date that you must be in Las Vegas or can you delay for a day or two to avoid bad weather?

La Quinta hotels are all pet friendly. We stayed in them on our recent trip from San Diego to St Louis. They were all very clean, some are older some are brand new. Comfy beds, Pantene shampoo. Free breakfast with make-your-own waffles (very easy!) eggs (not the best), bacon or sausage, hash browns, occasionally biscuits and sausage gravy (very good, but really not good for you!). Plus baked stuff and cereals. With a dog, it can be hard to eat out, especially in winter when it's probably too cold to sit outside on the patio where some restaurants and bars allow dogs, so we ordered from GrubHub.

As Janis says, with three days and frequent stops, you're going to be in the car a LONG time. If you could adjust this to three NIGHTS on the road (i.e. 4 days) I think you (and your pup) would have better time of it. At the end of March I'd probably pick the more inland route through Idaho and Utah over the I-5 route through California. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/4yEhTvEnxrYBgkLw9

I'd look at overnights somewhere along I-84 in eastern Oregon (Pendleton or Baker City) and a second night somewhere in Utah - Ogden maybe. But I'd play it by ear and if conditions deteriorate (rain or winds more likely than snow) just bite the bullet and take an extra night, even if it means arriving mid-day on the 4th day rather than nighttime on the 3rd. You'll lose an hour from time change en route which you'll get back when you enter Nevada at the end.

By sticking to the Interstates you'll have plenty of places to stop - freeway-exit motels and cafes, rest stops where you can let the pup do his/her thing, and you'll never be far from other people. Most motels will allow pets (for a fee) so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Remember to take Google's time estimates with some skepticism.

the assumption that there’s going to be snow has me scratching my head. You’re unlikely to see snow anywhere on the Oregon/ID route. End of March is actually a great time for that drive. I wouldn’t even consider it lonely—it’s interstate pretty much the whole way. I don’t know if you’ll have a stopping place every 2 hours, but you really just need to get out and walk the dog when you stop for a bathroom/gas break. I think the inland route is actually faster. With your time frame, you don’t have time for scenery or sightseeing.

motel 6 is slightly better than la Quinta. I don’t love motel 6, to be honest, but parking that close to the room, and having quick access to the grass can be very helpful when it comes to traveling with dogs. And one of the problems with a dog is that you can’t leave the dog unattended in the room, so it makes even swimming or hotel breakfast difficult solo. I traveled a lot with my dog, and I’ve driven the inland route in your time frame before. Totally doable. I’m just not sure if you know what you’re getting into.

I don't think three days it that awful. Maybe Boise, Provo and then Las Vegas. About 5 to 6 hours each leg.

Try Petswelcome for hotels. Or just google Pet Friendly Hotels in (city).

That's the route and stopping places I would choose. This web site will tell you where there are rest areas on the interstates you travel on.

https://www.interstaterestareas.com/

. . . but with the understanding that Seattle to Boise takes a lot longer than 5 or 6 hours. More like 8-9 hours car time plus stops.

Some of it would depend upon what areas you've seen before...

But I think that if you've not seen too much of it before, the roads taking you from Seattle to Kennewick to Boise to Salt Lake City to Las Vegas would offer the most scenery while also keeping you away from relatively larger numbers of people in California, in case the coronavirus lands in the general U.S. population soon, instead of on the limited strands of people in the present.

There is probably something big ENOUGH every couple/few hours to afford you safe places to stop along that path.


And lodging options with your pet should be attainable too.

You could stop short of Boise if that is too much for the first day, maybe Ontario on the border Ore/Idaho.

You may need to call ahead to ensure that a pet-friendly room is available for your nights, since the numbers of pet rooms are limited.

If you are on the interstates, there will be rest areas as well as services at the interchages. I always bring a paper map on road trips and a backup charged cellphone, too. I've had Google Maps/cellphone failure on trips.

If I'm not familiar with an area, I do a Google Maps little person walkaround to get an idea. Probably advisable since you'll want to book ahead.