I'm moving from Long Island to Portland, OR and am trying to plan my first cross country drive. I'm planning on leaving around Jan. 2, and was seeking some advice on how the weather will be, and if there's a safer route (weather wise) I can take other than say a mapquest one. by the way I'll be driving a '99 corolla.. so not all that great for the snow. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Make the weather channel your best friend. I live in Colorado, in between I-70 and I-80, and both can close in the middle of winter. And I've been on I-90 all across the US in winter, in horrendous weather. The "safe" route would be the most southern route - and that would be the route the most out of your way. I would make sure that you have good tires - I've never had to use chains (even when I lived in Buffalo!) - a snow shovel, and maybe a bag of cat litter, and then just make sure you know what the weather is likely to be as you drive. And have your car checked out before you leave. Btw, I envy you - Oregon is a beautiful place.

Well, good for you! We moved to Portland this past August and we really like it here.
Our trip started in Aug and was from Fl so we have no experience with the cold/snow problems in traveling, but as for the trip itself, it took us 5 days from Fl to Or. We drove north west , getting to 80 and taking that to 84 straight into Pdx.
Join AAA and get them to do a TripTicket for you.
IMO-Much better than MapQuest for accuracy and with many helpful numbers for you to call..
Once you know the route you are taking, you can figure which hotels you will stay in, during the day, you can call ahead and reserve a room, just to be sure you have one waiting for you at the end of the day.
We left as early as possible each day, so we could end the drive before dark..
Good luck, it isn't a bad trip, kinda fun when you think you won't have to do it again
Take lots of music or if you do not have one, buy yourself a Sirius Radio and avoid being stuck in the middle of the country with 30 radio stations all playing Country Western

Since this thread has been resurrected...

Do not book hotels ahead for a drive like this. And you should base your route and timing on weather. Weather is key.

And forget about I-70. It's a scenic route over the Colorado Rockies, but it's not for the OP.

The shortest route is I-80/84, at 2,895 miles. But if there's a storm along this route, and it's more clear in the North, then I-80/29/90/US395/I-84 is 2,988 miles. You can even go north from Chicago and take I-90/94, and then cross the Dakotas on either I-90 or I-94. Again, depend on weather.

If weather is all bad in the north, and you really have to get there, then you can try the I-40 route. Which is I-80/71/70/44/40/CA58/I-5. That's 3,668 miles, or 800 miles (i.e. whole day) more than the above.

You will not have problem finding motels along the way that time of the year. By not booking ahead, you gain lots of flexibility. If you feel tired, or weather is bad, stop early. If you feel great, then drive longer. I often drive 1,000mi a day, till around 10-11pm, if I feel fine. Why stop early because you THOUGHT you would want to stop somewhere a day or two before?

If your in a car you don't trust that well in the snow by all means stay in the interstates. They will be the roads that are the most plowed and have the most people traveling by should you ned help.
The real danger you have are blizzard like storms. Just snowy weather isn't going to stop you. Be on the look out for storms with blowing drifting snow hunker down somewhere if that happems. The thing about a bad storm is that usually the next day is better.

As this is your first trip cross country, make sure your car has been checked out thoroughly by a reputable mechanic and fully winterized.
Personally, we would advise against a winter cross country drive unless you're an experienced driver used to difficult weather...if you cross the upper Midwest, Montana and the Bitterroots, be prepared for the worst that Mother Nature can throw at you. Carry chains (or cables) and make sure you know how to put them on quickly (and not just in your garage where it's dry and reasonably warm, but outside when it's snowing and your hands are almost numb from the cold. Make sure you carry emergency supplies (blanket, some food, water, heavy gloves, boots, shovel, kitty litter [a good gritty substance if you get stuck]); never let your cell phone battery run down; keep your gas tank at least half full at all times; as you cross the coldest parts of country, check at filling stations about additives to help your car run in the cold; give yourself extra time for the trip. Make sure you have hotel rooms reserved all along the way (if you do hit a traffic halting snow or ice storm on the Interstates, you can bet all the non-reserved rooms will be snapped up immediately); try for hotels that offer indoor or covered parking to save you time spent scraping every morning; mapquest ( or similar) is fine, but remember you're very likely not going to make the same pace in winter that you would in September.

Remember, there are some long lonely stretches with minimal surfaces on a cross country drive (even via interstate) so be self-sufficient. Plan your schedule so you finish each day's drive by nightfall, if at all possible. Also, the southern routes may not feature blizzards, but ice storms aren't rare--pay close attention to any black ice reports.

That should be minimal services, not surfaces. Don't forget a good flashlight and extra batteries!

Forget about carrying chains. If the mountain pass on the interstate requires chains to cross, you shouldn't be there to start with. And there's no real mountain pass on the I-80/84 route.

Those roads do get plowed, once snowing has stopped. Be patient and let the snow pass.

I still wouldn't make hotel reservations.

How long do you have to make the trip?
I say plan on I-80 to SLC, then I-84 right into Portland.
No matter which Interstate you take, you're going to cross Tall Mountains at some point. Generally, Western States do a very good job of keeping up with Winter Weather conditions, and have 800 #
to keep abreast of conditions when you get close to those areas.

I-80 has relatively gentle grades. It climbs after Cheyenne, but it's a long gradual climb; and you cross the Continental Divide on a plateau, not a mountain pass. Then there are some long downhill grades into SLC through the canyons. That's about it.

There's a reason why the first continental railroad follow more-or-less the same route.

When we lived in Oregon and Washington, we made many winter trips in the region, crossing over the various mountain ranges and hills. There were times when we needed chains even at the *lower* elevations and the snow became SUDDENLY heavy--usually at some midpoint where there wasn't a hotel happily sitting right next to the highway where we could pull off (this includes I-84). So, despite RKKwan's blithe recommendation that you can skip learning how to put chains on your car, you'd be taking a risk not to know how to use them.
We've had lucky escapes where, with chains, we shot through a brief interlude in the snowfall--the drivers who'd traveled before and after us were stranded for at least 48 hours. Those who did NOT have hotel reservations spent two days sitting in truck stops.
A couple of years ago, I warned a traveler to the Portland area to be careful of winter ice storms in the region. Another Fodorite was disdainful saying such ice storms were too rare to worry about. Oddly enough, Portland got one anyway exactly when the original poster had planned to be in the area.
Anyone who wants to cross the U.S. in January without being fully prepared for winter weather is foolhardy at best, Moreover, such cavalier disregard can endanger other motorists.

My point is that the OP - or anybody with little experience with winter cross-country travel - should be very careful about weather, and shouldn't expose himself or herself to any driving condition that's even close to requiring chains.

And here's MY OWN example of why I suggest against booking hotels ahead.

During the Christmas week of 2001, I have to deliver a car to Seattle for my ex-gf from RI. Even though I know I can do it in 4 days, I plan my trip so I have 5.5; and fly back on Southwest.

I left in the early afternoon of Day 1, felt good, so I drove longer than I had planned - all the way to just before Toledo, OH; and didn't stop until around 2am.

Second day, I know there's a small storm moving across the plains; and I will meet it in the evening. Knowing the storms move west to east, I know I could drive all the way until I see the first snow flakes. Also, because the forecast says more snow in N. Dakota than SD, I decided then to take I-90 and not I-94.

Snow started to fall after Sioux Falls, SD; so I checked my map and billboards along the highway. Pulled into Mitchell (891 mi from Toledo) around 10pm safely when it's still only flurries.

It snowed moderatly hard overnight, so I slept in, had a good breakfast, before heading back to the interstate. The road has been ploughed, but there's some snow being blown over the roadways from the snowdrifts. But the sun was out and is road was drying fast. Got to Missoula, MT that night, and then Seattle the 4th day.

If I had booked hotels ahead, I would have stopped before Toledo the first night, and way before Sioux Falls for the 2nd. I would have wasted time when the road was dry in my hotel, and then got snowed-in east of SD on 3rd day.

Anyways, if you want to reserve hotels for emergency, that's fine. Good strategy, in fact. But know the cancellation number and be prepared to cancel them before they charge your credit card. You don't want to have your itinerary locked in because of what you THINK would be good place to stop prior to commencing your trip. Weather and road conditions change quickly, so you need to be flexible.

Here's the way to resolve the hotel reservation dispute. Get all the AAA state tour guides (the ones with hotel and restaurant listings in them). Then, as the day goes on and you can judge where you're going to be that night, use your cell phone to call hotels in the book to get rates and make a reservation. The advance reservation, made even that afternoon, could be very important in bad weather as people pile into the hotels very quickly. Your reservation will relieve your stress and you can drive more slowly, knowing you have a bed waiting for you.

Just drove NJ-WA in Sept,(Rt80 to 84) and I didn't make hotel arrangements in advance,as I decided to let each day tell me how long I felt like driving. Never had a problem finding a place to stop for the night-and I had my dog with me. Just make sure you heed the advise to not let your gas run too low.There are some relatively long stretches on Rt 80 with nothing in sight. Now, I drive a 4 Runner and towed a 5x10 Uhaul,so I'm sure you'll get better mileage than me. Atleast gas prices have come down! I left the week it was at it's worst-and spent $800 on gas. Some very beautiful scenery to see on the trip. Just be careful and don't push yourself.
Good luck! Hope you like it out here as much as I do! (Except for not being able to find pizza like in NJ/NY yet,anyway)

You know, we were traveling with a large dog so we had to book ahead, I guess you don't really have to do that if you are alone.
There are stretches once you are out West where towns, hotels, gas are farther apart. We stayed one night in Utah ,near the Lake, then arrived in Portland the next day.
We also had the mobile phone with us to call ahead, so you can do that if you feel like finding a place As you drive.
When I asked my husband, he agreed that 80W to 84 would be the best way..
Wishing you luck! Hope it won't snow There til you get Here !