VA to San Fran
 

Hello. My family and I are looking to travel from Harrisonburg VA to San Francisco CA in June. We are looking to spend 5 days traveling there and 5 days traveling back. We are looking at driving about 600 miles a day. Any suggestions on places to visit along the way/places to spend the night? Routes to take? Should we take a different route there and back to see different things? Thanks!!

>>Any suggestions on places to visit along the way/<<

You won't have time to visit most anyplace. It will take about 45 to 50 hours just for the one way drive -- so more than 9 hours per day, every day, butts in seats.

True that. We once made the drive from San Francisco to somewhere in West Virginia in 3 days. We drove nonstop, only taking an hour or so to sleep at a rest area each day. I had road nightmares for years.

That will be some intense driving. With 5 days, you barely have time to stop for a (short) night's sleep.

I have driven across country several times while relocating and your plans do not make any sense. 600 miles a day is about 10 hours of driving a day. Just when are you going to have time to stop and see anything?

My route would be to take the Amtrak Cardinal out of Staunton on a Sunday or Wednesday to Chicago. Spend 3-4 hours in Chicago and then take the California Zephyr to Salt Lake City.
The train arrives in SLC about 11PM MT (sometimes late).
Sleep in SLC and spend the next morning seeing the sights of SLC including Temple Square.
Rent a car in the afternoon and head west on I-80. Spend a night in Reno before heading for San Francisco.
After San Francisco, return via Yosemite to Reno. Return the car to SLC and either take the train back or fly to your closest airport (Richmond?).

My route would be to drive to Dulles International Airport and fly to SFO.

Your proposal is nearly 2800 miles driving in 5 days - 560 per. That's nine hours on the road plus lunch, bathroom breaks, etc. With four nights in hotels, meals and gas, you need to have a large family for anything other than a flight to make sense.

Tom Fuller's suggestion may well be faster than driving because the trains will operate around the clock. But the costs will be enormous.

<My route would be to drive to Dulles International Airport and fly to SFO. >

Sorry, mine, too!

You won't get a lot of people on this site who will approve of your plan. tomfuller's train journey is about the closest, but he loves trains and always recommends them.

I have driven across the country a few times, although never all at once, and it's mostly not scenic, and the problem is, if you avoid highways in favor of the more scenic routes, you will need a lot more time.

I should have mentioned in my earlier post that we drove cross-country THREE times that summer. Hence the recurring nightmares.

You could take 64 to 80 or 64 to 70 to 80. I don't think there would be a great difference in hours in the seat.

I would look at places along the way that might make an interesting stop. If you pushed the first couple of days, you might have time to visit one of the National parks that isn't too far off your route. If you went 70, you could drop down to Moab and visit Arches or Canyonlands. If you have baseball fans, see if you will be near any games in the evenings you are driving through. Look for concerts, fairs, or other events to spend some down time while you are traveling.

Of course it is a long way and I hope you have some time to spend when you get to San Francisco.

Best of luck.

DH and I drove from Roanoke to SF in 1974 (relocation). You do not want to do the trip in your post. Trust me. Pay attention to those who are encouraging you to fly or take the train. You won't be sorry.