I’ve got a trip to Boise, ID from central Texas coming up in May. In looking at the map, I’ve come to the conclusion that there aren’t any direct routes unless I put wings on the bus.

Has anyone driven from Denver along I-80 and 84 to Boise? I’m wondering how much hill climbing I’m going to have to do. It’ll factor into my driving and arrival time.

I live in Georgetown and have kids and grandkids in Denver. So whenever I go to the southern coast of Oregon (God's country - next to Texas) I go to Denver, then up to Wyoming and cut over on I-80 to I-84 as you have suggested. You will still have some high elevations (above 9,000' in some places) but for some reason the climbs don't seem nearly as severe as going I-70 from Denver. It's not a particularly beautiful drive, but it's ok and you can countall the antelope along the way in Wyoming for fun.

I believe that your highest climb will be between Cheyenne and Rawley, Wyoming. You got to figure that you got to go thru mountain any time you go into Utah, Colorado, Wyoming or Idaho.

Abby> We're about 30 minutes north of you. We're going to take the back roads to Amarillo, which we've done before and enjoy, and from there was looking at 287 to Denver. It's a nice one here in TX as you probably know. I could cut across and pick up I-25 which I've used before, but we're not in a hurry so prefer red roads until I get into the mountains.

Have you traveled 287 past Amarillo?

No I haven't. I've always gone the boring route through Dalhart to Raton and then north on I-25. I've been tempted to go 287, just never did it. I imagine the road should be good, just boring. Once you get past Lubbock, it's all you can do to stay awake!

Hi RLM,

I've traveled most of 287 and find it an excellent road.

RLM, I will be travelling the Denver to Boise route at the end of April, when are you going? I'll try to remember to tell you how it is. I have been told to AVOID I-70. I'm going to take I-25 straight up, then go through Wyoming.

JJ

piano> Thanks. We'll do 287.

DXSmac> Leaving here first week of May and have 15 days to get there. Will be in no hurry. 287 to Denver, I25 to Cheyenne and I80/84 to Boise. Would appreciate any information.

We live in Boise and have done the Boise-Denver trip a number of times. As noted by others the I-80 / I-84 route is straight forward. However note there is major construction underway in the I-84 canyon east of the Ogden area. An alternate route for those who don't like the Interstate is to take Hwy 30 north from I-80 near Little America, WY.It's a good highway favored by many truckers as a way to avoid the Salt lake area traffic.

w-99> I checked my Atlas - don't have a Utah map - and it looks like a much shorter distance, but 30 appears to change to 89 in Garden City. Is that correct?

My plan is to do only RONs (remain over night) until I get to Cheyenne. Since several of the responses are from "natives" of the area, I'm going to expand this post to ask about some things to do and see once I get to that point where we'll put it in slow gear. I've done most of Wyoming, except for the southern section along I-80. Been to Salt Lake and Boise for business trips when I was working, but only for a few days. We're not coming back to TX via the same route, so want to catch interesting things on the way to Cascade.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The route numbers do get confusing...the route I was suggesting is to stay on Hwy30 north thru Montpelier and Soda Springs. You would then hit I-15 near Pocatello and then follow I86/I84 to Boise. This route passes right thru Lava Hot Springs which is an interesting hot springs resort town slowly having a rebirth. It appears you could skirt around Bear Lake in Utah and get to I84 near Logan, UT but I've not taken that route.