jules_248

Hi, I'm heading out west this summer for a wedding in Durango, Colorado. My boyfriend wants to go to Las Vegas afterwards for a few days. Has anyone done this drive before or know how much time I should allot? Is this drive at all interesting/pretty/cool,etc?

Thanks!

travellyn

According to Mapquest, it's 600 miles and 12.5 hours to go the less-scenic southern route. The drive can be pretty cool if you like deserts and canyons. if I were going to do it and I had a little leeway in terms of time, I'd drive via Four Corners, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, maybe visiting Bryce and Zion. This is very empty country. I live in Durango, but have never driven to Las Vegas from here, because it's such a long haul.

jules_248

Thank you. On Yahoo Maps, they said 600 miles but 9.5 hours. Hmmmm...

travellyn

I think 12.5 hours is an overestimate, but it has taken us about 8 hours to drive to the North Rim.

jules_248

thanks! This may be a dumb question, but how far is the North Rim from Las Vegas? Is there any quicker way to go besides near the Grand Canyon?

utahtea

There are about 5 different routes you can take.

I put them all thought my tripmaker program and itys usually pretty good for miles and driving times.

Route 1. The fastest at 10 hours and 617 miles is to take Hwy 160 east to Cortez, then Hwy 666 to Monticello, Hwy 191 to I-70, I-70 to I-15. This route is the fastest because you spend the most time on the Interstates. You will pass by some really beautiful areas near Moab and the San Rafeal Swell just west of Green River, Utah. If you had any time I would stop at Arches and Canyonlands National Park.

Route 2, Second fastest route is 10 hours and 20 minutes and is 612 miles. From Durango head south on Hwy 550 to Farmington, then Hwy 64 to Shiprock and Hwy 666 south to Gallup, NM. Then take I-40 to Kingman and Hwy 93 into Las Vegas. Scenic areas to see will be Shiprock, Red Rock Park in Gallup, the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert near Holbrook, AZ.

Route 3, Is10 hours 22 minutes and is 567 miles. From Durango take Hwy 160 all to just past Tuba City in AZ and then take Hwy 89 South to Flagstaff, I-40 to Kingman and Hwy 93 to Vegas. Sites you might want to stop and see would be Mesa Verde National Park, CO just off Hwy 160. Monument Valley just north of Kayenta, AZ. You could do the S. Rim of the Grand Canyon but it would add 30 miles and another hour of driving time.

Route 4, is 11 hours but the shortest distance at 542 miles. You wonyt be on the interstates much at all so driving times will be longer. From Cortez take Hwy 160 to Hwy 98 (past Kayenta, AZ) into Page, AZ (& Lake Powell). From Page take Hwy 89 to Mt. Carmel Jct. and the Hwy 9 thought Zion National Park to I-15 and then I-15 into Vegas. This will be one of the more scenic routes.

Route 5 is a little variation from Route 4. Instead of taking Hwy 89 to Kanab take Alt Hwy 89 to Jacob Lake and the N. Rim of the Grand Canyon. This route will take a total of 16 hours which include the N. Rim is 654 miles. To answer your question it is 265 miles from the N. Rim to Las Vegas. I would not recommend this route unless you are going to go to the N. Rim. Alt 89 is a lot slower going than any other route.

Utahtea

edeevee

A couple of summers ago we drove from the south rim of the Grand Canyon to Pagosa Springs, CO. We were up for the sunrise and hung out a bit in the park before leaving. We hit Kayenta, AZ just after they stopped serving breakfast at McDonald's -- 10:00ish?

We took an hour to do a self-drive tour of Monument Valley. We made it to Pagosa Springs at exactly 7PM -- about an hour further east than Durango.

If you left Durango in the morning you'd make it to Grand Canyon by sunset. Although it's crowded it still manages to be a very romantic place. Spend the night in the park, get up for the sunrise and you can be in Vegas by 1pm.

I'd go for Utahtea's Route 4 on the way back. The drive from Vegas to and through Zion is one of the most spectacular I've ever taken.