alfredmay
West Milford, NJ
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In August I will leave my NJ home to attend an Army reunion in Reno and then travel by RV to Glacier National Park. NJ to Reno is easy, take I-80 all the way.
Reno to Glacier is a different story. It looks like I have three choices, I-80 to either US-95, US 93, or I-15.
I am interested in finding a road that will have the least amount of steep grades and high elevation travel. By looking at a map it looks like US-93 is the shortest, but is it the best route to the west side of Glacier NP?
Alfred May
2005 Excursion V10 4.30 4x4
2002 Cedar Creek 30RBS TT by Forest River
Reese Dual Cam
Tekonsha Prodigy
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mockturtle
Northwest
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I would recommend taking 95 as far as I-90, then I-90 east to 93 north to Hwy. 2 to Glacier. Hwy 95 through ID is easier than 93.
Husband: Derek
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This car used to be our toad, now is our TV!
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lilhowlinwolf
MB/Panama
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mockturtle wrote:I would recommend taking 95 as far as I-90, then I-90 east to 93 north to Hwy. 2 to Glacier. Hwy 95 through ID is easier than 93.
I concur - it's the path of least resistance.
Wolf
Home 56.16°N -96.9°W ~ Wall 12 man and Eureka 6 man Egyptian cotton tent ~ Winter S/V Porque No 7.25°N -80.8°W //Mitakuye oyasin!
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NevadaJim
Minden Nevada U.S.A.
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The route we have taken many times is I-80 to Wells north 93 to Twin Falls north 75 to Challis north 93 to 2 and Glacier this is a scenic route there is a pretty good grade for a few miles out side of Sun Valley but very doable we drive 35 ft MH and tow a Dodge Dakota other wise except I-80 it is all good 2 lane roads with passing lanes on the grade. Places we have stopped on this route Double Dice Elko,Andersons campground just a couple miles east of junction of I-84 & 93 Twin Falls,The Meadows Ketchum,Buddys Salmon,Black Rabbit Hamilton,Polson KOA Polson,all clean FH parks. Have fun
JimandJerry@charter.net
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alfredmay
West Milford, NJ
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Thank you for your answers so far. Based on what has been stated US-93 is very doable but US-95 would be more of what I am looking for.
I do have a question regarding using US-95 to I-90. That route will have me cross the Bitteroot Mountains on Interstate 90 as opposed to traveling east on Interstate 80 or US-2.
Is I-90 a route that has lower percent grades and less elevation than US-2?
Do you know the highest elevation on I-90 I will encounter?
Do you know the highest elevation I will encounter on US-95?
I have a tow vehicle with a gas motor so elevation and grade is a real killer for me.
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fireman93514
Bishop CA
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I have not taken hwy 95 so I can not comment on that. From what others say it sounds like a good route. We took hwy 93 last year from wells NV to Twin falls ID. Continued to the 20 east so we could go to Craters of the Moon. continued east to the I-15. I encountered no problems on this strech with a 31 ft MH and toad. I don't know about farther noth. If you have time, Craters of the Moon is a nice place to visit and has a decent CG.
John & Judy
2007 Winnebago Access 31C
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summutt2002
Over here......no, over there!
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If you want to go up 95, consider picking up 12 above Grangeville, (in Idaho) thence on to 93 and straight up to West Glacier. The Lolo Trail (hwy 12) is a beautiful drive. You will encounter elevations slightly above 5000' on any route you take, so might as well take a scenic route. Understand that elevations are relative, as you will be in the high desert...you really don't climb very much to get to the top. Also consider that gazillions of trucks and RVs on these routes just like yours. I'd not worry about it and just have fun.
* This post was
edited 04/07/08 09:04am by summutt2002 *
Great wife, 3.1 dogs and no money..LIFE IS GOOD
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alfredmay
West Milford, NJ
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My map shows just a few passes with elevations. Lolo pass is listed at 5300 feet. Is that the highest I will be? I was thinking that some of the passes would be 9 or 10 thousand. I have towed as high as 12 thousand but would prefer not to go any where near that with my current rig.
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summutt2002
Over here......no, over there!
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Not really anything that high on any of these routes. The really high passes are in Colorado for the most part. If you were to go up 93, Lost Trail pass is over 7000' and on 75 out of Sun Valley, Galena Pass is nearly 9000'......but again, it's all relative. By "relative" I mean that Sun Valley is nearly 6000' so you're not really climbing that much. We've got commuters doing it every day from Salt Lake City to Park City in Utah.
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Ozimo
Resolute/Oz
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US 2 has one "rise" near the ID/MT state line, otherwise it's all downhill. I90 by comparison has Lookout Pass (4500ft) at the same border, then there's the continous climbout from Missoula north on US93 until you get above Evaro Hill, then it's pretty much flat after that.
Capt. Abraham Quasuittuq, Jr
Lizard Isl, Great Barrier Reef
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