Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

December Road Trip Advice -- San Diego to Texas?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.

KOL2000

Member
Supporting Member
Apr 30, 2013
339
363
San Diego
Hi All - I'm starting to think about a road trip with family (3 kids) from San Diego out east. Last year we went up the coast and it was great. Lots to see and do. This time we'd like to go east. Has anyone here done such a road trip and would recommend it? What did you see and do? Any notable stays? I searched the forum and found nothing.

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi All - I'm starting to think about a road trip with family (3 kids) from San Diego out east. Last year we went up the coast and it was great. Lots to see and do. This time we'd like to go east. Has anyone here done such a road trip and would recommend it? What did you see and do? Any notable stays? I searched the forum and found nothing.

Thanks in advance!
Do you specifically want to come to Texas? Without Superchargers on large parts of the route, you've got a lot of charging time in your future. How old are the kids?

IMO, I-10 isn't that interesting, but Van Horn is a good hub for visits to Big Bend National Park, Carlsbad Caverns and Marfa. You'll need charging at each of those destinations as well.

I-40/44 is Route 66, which of course is very interesting, but without Superchargers, will also be time consuming. It's probably possible to do Carlsbad Caverns from the North as well.
 
SUPER USEFUL info Bollar, thank you!! Kids are 6, 4, and 6 months. They like road trips but wife will go nuts if we do non-supercharger stops not involving hotel at night. Not committed to going all the way to Texas. Sounds like it might not be great idea. I guess I should limit myself to supercharger route and make the endpoint different. Will look into Van Horn now. I wish TMC had a "road trip" section so people could just share their adventures in one spot. Thank you!
 
Another way would be to hook up with I-70 and turn south at Salina (range charge at Salina). You can stop at Winfield Fairgrounds and get an RV type charge. (I usually charger there for only two hours, just enough to get to the next stop with some cushion). Then on to Bristow, OK (use PlugShare to contact the HPWC owner there) and do another range charge (3.5 hours). Then drive to Dallas.
 
I recommend going to Moab Utah. The superchargers in Flaggstaff, Gallup, and Moab are located at hotels. We drove to Gallup from Long Beach in a day and then made it to Moab by the middle of the second day. With the supercharger in Moab it is a great place to spend a couple of days visiting Arches N.P. and Canyonlands N.P. You could visit the Grand Canyon on the trip. I have read that others charged at the RV park near the south rim. Now you can get to Moab by driving to Las Vegas and continuing north to I-70 east.
 
I recommend going to Moab Utah. The superchargers in Flaggstaff, Gallup, and Moab are located at hotels. We drove to Gallup from Long Beach in a day and then made it to Moab by the middle of the second day. With the supercharger in Moab it is a great place to spend a couple of days visiting Arches N.P. and Canyonlands N.P. You could visit the Grand Canyon on the trip. I have read that others charged at the RV park near the south rim. Now you can get to Moab by driving to Las Vegas and continuing north to I-70 east.

Super useful thanks for the advice johhny!! I'll look into this now
 
Super useful thanks for the advice johhny!! I'll look into this now

The Canyonlands and 4-Corners area can be wonderful in the late fall and winter. Make sure to bring some jackets for the evenings; it can get cool when the sun goes down.

If you like the white stuff, Incredible Pagosa Vacation Rentals has a 70 Amp J1772 EVSE. It is an easy drive from the Farmington Supercharger and doable from Blanding or Moab; if you need a little more charge coming from Blanding or Moab to Pagosa, there are public, 30-Amp J1772's in Durango, a few blocks from downtown with some good restaurants and shopping.

Have fun!
 
Thanks to all for advice - the itinerary is set. If anyone has advice on this route or thinks there is something we are missing I'd love to hear from you. I will be bringing my snow chains just in case it's needed near grand canyon.

day 1 - SD to Phoenix
day 2- sightsee in Phoenix/Scottsdale
day 3- Off to Sedona, sightsee
day 4 - polar express grand canyon in Williams, AZ, and spend night
day 5 - visit more of the GC, meteor crater in Winslow, AZ, spend night in flagstaff
day 6 - get up early and drive to other skywalk bridge on west side of GC, spend night in Henderson, NV on the lake
day 7 - Hoover dam, then onto Vegas for one night
Day 8 - drive home