Driving trip Chicago to San Francisco
 

Hello, my son is relocating to the bay area and will be driving from Chicago to SF with a friend. I'd love to get input from this forum on places they should stop to see (Iike Mt Rushmore, Rocky Mountain National Park, Reno etc) that won't take an excessive amount of time but give them breaks along the way. I am assuming they will drive between 10 and 12 hours each day. 2 guys - 26 years old so they have stamina...but are not crazy and wont' drive straight through.

How much time do they have for this road trip and what month will they be traveling?

Utahtea

Early September and they have a week, give or take a day...leaving on 9/4 or 5.

aspen, colorado, vegas (that would be a good celebration after 2 boring days of driving), yosemite nat'l park - these are some detours but great places. reno would not be a place i'd stop. if they need to overnight around there, go to lake tahoe.

Well 80 is the shortest quickest route but I would not go down to Colorado myself. The Norther route through South Dakota across Wyoming to Yellowstone then down through The Tetons to 80 is a great trip.

Swing up through the Dakotas really adds a lot of time and distance. The fastest is simply going to be I-80 but the portion across Wy is not nearly as scenic as coming through Colorado. I might suggest they take 76 to Denver and I-70. If they have time the could turn off around Wiggins and take US 34 into Estes Park area, Trail Ridge Road over the divide, through Rocky Mt National Park, swing back down to I-70 and continue west through Glenwood Canyon, through Colorado's wine country and on through some of the canyon lands of Utah. That route would add some time but not a lot of distance if any at all.

Yellowstone is a must see.

The OP asked ... should stop to see ... that won't take an excessive amount of time but give them breaks along the way....

Unfortunately while Yellowstone would be a great diversion, it flunks the OP's requirement in a big way. So hard to reach traveling west from Chicago.

Alex Trebek: "The answer is, 'Drive I-80 all the way from Chicago to the Bay Area.'"
Ding!
Ken Jennings: "What is the most boring drive you could possibly take?"
Alex: "You got it, Ken!"

Having lived in Central Iowa for fifteen years, and having driven from Des Moines to Chicago, and from Des Moines to Denver, each several times, I feel qualified to make that statement.

As noted by others, there are ways to break up the monotony, but many badly fail your request that they, "won't take an excessive amount of time." All I can suggest is to take I-76 from the Julesberg CO area to Denver, and then spend a day each in Denver and in Rocky Mountain National Park. If you decide you can only spend one day in Central Colorado, then choose the latter. In either case, drive up I-25 to Cheyenne and continue west on I-80. The Reno / Lake Tahoe area has its charms, so a click glance there may be worth it as well.

Other than that, be prepared for miles and miles of miles and miles.