Las Vegas to LA - best driving route please

hotlatte

Hi ,

Will be travelling by road from Las Vegas to LA when i visit US this september. Please, can someone recommend a tried and tested route / best route for this journey.

Feel free to make recommendations and details of your experience.

Thanks

[Deleted User]

hotlatte wrote: »

Hi ,

Will be travelling by road from Las Vegas to LA when i visit US this september. Please, can someone recommend a tried and tested route / best route for this journey.

Feel free to make recommendations and details of your experience.

Thanks

I-15 is the usual route but you could also go left via Death Valley or right via the Grand Canyon if it takes your fancy.

PeacefulWaters

Best route to do it quickly, or best route to enjoy the area?

Google Maps will help you with the first option.

John259

For the I-15 route: from the western side of the Los Angeles area (Santa Monica, LAX, etc) it might be worth avoiding the worst of the central Los Angeles freeways by going north on I-405, then east passing near Palmdale on CA14, CA138 and CA18, to join I-15 at Victorville. Otherwise, aim to join I-15 probably in the Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga area, or I-215 in the Riverside or San Bernardino area and go up the Cajon Pass to Victorville.

This is a video from somewhere in central Los Angeles, taking one of the freeways east to join I-15, then the Cajon Pass and I-15 the rest of the way. It's very lengthy, so you'll probably want to only sample a few bits of it along the way. See how the traffic and the terrain change so much as you get out of the central Los Angeles area, and again when you reach the desert. IMHO it's an awesome drive if you've never seen the Mojave Desert, but on the other hand some locals regard it as boring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uax4swBEQJE
(Disclaimer: my only connection with the creator and with YouTube is as a viewer)

UPDATE: I just re-read the OP. D'oh! Las Vegas to Los Angeles not vice-versa. Well, all the above still applies, just in the reverse order.

BTW the Grand Canyon (south rim of the national park, north rim of the national park, or even the third-rate Grand Canyon West/West Rim tourist trap) are all well to the east of Las Vegas and therefore a long way off the direct route. Death Valley would be a reasonable choice, and so would Joshua Tree National Park and/or Big Bear Lake. The desert parks will be still be hot in September. Other more extreme diversions (requiring a couple of overnight stops) are Sequoia National Park or San Diego.

hotlatte

First of all thanks and also apologies for being absent as I had internet issues.

Yes please, want a route that is not long and doesn't take forever.

John259 - many thanks for taking time to provide the detail. How would you best plan the route out of Las vegas. Is this correct I-215>>I-405>>I-15 ?

ps: we are hoping to do a helicopter tour to Grand Canyon a day before, so we are not fussed if thats not on the way. Ideally; and if possible we want a route which is not heavily loaded with traffic (doesn't take forever to get to LA) and have something to cheer about on the way to LA. :-)

blindman

hotlatte wrote: »

First of all thanks and also apologies for being absent as I had internet issues.

Yes please, want a route that is not long and doesn't take forever.

John259 - many thanks for taking time to provide the detail. How would you best plan the route out of Las vegas. Is this correct I-215>>I-405>>I-15 ?

ps: we are hoping to do a helicopter tour to Grand Canyon a day before, so we are not fussed if thats not on the way. Ideally; and if possible we want a route which is not heavily loaded with traffic (doesn't take forever to get to LA) and have something to cheer about on the way to LA. :-)

You need to provide the location you are trying to get to in LA from LAS and on what day :cool:

Traffic is a nightmare most of the time, and if you have time, it's well worth taking a longer route-as it may be quicker than the more direct.

What is your itineray?

BTW
I do not watch youtube-I've actually been there-done that:cool:

John259

hotlatte wrote: »

How would you best plan the route out of Las vegas. Is this correct I-215>>I-405>>I-15 ?

If you're staying on the Strip, just take any major street a few blocks west and you'll get to I-15. From the Strip there's no need to use I-215.

You would probably would use I-215 to get to I-15 if you were coming in from the Hoover Dam.

From the McCarran Airport car rental depot on Gilespie Street to I-15 South I'd head south on Gilespie, then west on Windmill Lane to I-15.

Sorry, I'm a bit confused about the reference to I-405 because the only I-405 I know is in the Los Angeles area (it's the alternative to I-5 which goes past LAX). Don't hesitate to post again if necessary, it's probably just me being thick.

This is probably obvious but FWIW: you can do a virtual "drive" in StreetView mode on Google Maps for almost everywhere in the USA. That's extremely useful if you're not too certain of precise details such as freeway on and off ramps (slip roads), etc.

John259

From Las Vegas to Los Angeles direct is about 270 miles, depending on exactly where you start and finish, and whether you go via Ontario or Palmdale.

From Las Vegas to Los Angeles via the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park the mileage is about 765 miles! FWIW here's the route on Google Maps:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=las+vegas&daddr=Grand+Canyon+Village,+AZ,+United+States+to:los+angeles&hl=en&ll=35.003003,-116.290283&spn=6.522222,13.392334&sll=35.114006,-116.690986&sspn=3.257389,6.696167&geocode=FdXoJwIdChsj-SnRffWkgre-gDGjebPV5tXMOg%3BFawlJgIdseBQ-Skl4_-VTxczhzGhniKadMLMuA%3BFYqYBwIdm77z-CkT2ifcXcfCgDH0CEYlb98v4g&oq=grand+canyon&mra=ls&t=m&z=7

hotlatte

We are staying on the Strip at Vegas and at LA we are staying around half mile driving distance from Hollywood Boulevard (hall of fame area. Is that helpful?

John259

hotlatte wrote: »

We are staying on the Strip at Vegas and at LA we are staying around half mile driving distance from Hollywood Boulevard (hall of fame area. Is that helpful?

Yes indeed.

In Las Vegas, from the Strip, take Spring Mountain Road, or Flamingo Road, or Tropicana Avenue, in a westerly direction and within a few blocks you'll find an entrance to I-15 South. There are also some more entrances on the roads further south but Tropicana is the last road before the airport and just about the southernmost end of the main resort area along the Strip.

Continue on I-15 South, crossing from Nevada into California at Primm, then past Baker, Barstow and Victorville, then continue still on I-15 South down the Cajon Pass. At the bottom of the pass keep on I-15, don't take I-215. Then there are various possible routes heading west to Los Angeles, but FWIW here's what I would do, taking a slightly longer route with the intention of hopefully avoiding the worst of the congestion in the central LA area: take I-210 West, which in Pasadena continues into CA134 West (i.e. California State Highway 134), cross I-5 but go onto it, then take US101 South, then take CA170 South into the Hollywood area. If you arrive after the evening rush hour then a more direct route might save you a few miles, but not much.

hotlatte

Many thanks - I agree with taking a slightly longer than being in car for 10 hours in a mad traffic.

Can i ask if there is anything to explore on this route at all? Any tips please, share any experiences?

2ndly, is there a googlemap link?