How is the Drive from Vegas to DLR on I-15?

[Mugglemama]

we typically take 1-40 from Kingman, but on this upcoming trip we are not visiting our relatives in Kingman before driving to DLR. so, since it cuts 2.5 hours off the drive, i was thinking we could just catch I-15 in vegas and drive to DLR that route.

is anyone here familiar with that stretch of I-15? is it a pretty safe drive usually? we took that route to vegas many times in the 90's, but we haven't been on that road in probably 15 years.

what is the longest stretch with no services (gas, food, etc.)? are fellow drivers typically okay, or are there a lot of people driving aggressively/unsafely?

if anyone knows the answers, please share! THANKS!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Just drove from Vegas on the 15 Wed. night. It was a pretty good drive until we got to Victorville. They were doing roadwork and the lanes went from 3 to 1. This was about 9:30 at night. Added about 25 mins. to our drive home . The route is pretty well marked with exits, food, fuel, etc. Not a bad drive at all-better than in the 90's.

 

[Stacerita]

I did that trip solo last week. No problems at all. Filled up here in Anaheim before I left, and went non stop till I got to the Venetian. I made that trip in the morning on Sunday and there was no traffic at all. Coming home the following Saturday, I filled up just off the strip, and drove straight home. There were more cars on the road, but stillno traffic. I came home around 11ish on Satuday morning.

 

[Mugglemama]

thanks for the feedback!

how long would you say there is with no services on that route? we have 4 kids, so i just like to be prepared, and i can't remember much about that route at all. the I-40 route has a stretch where there's very little to no services for about 3 hours.

do you think any stretch on I-15 where there are no services is shorter than 3 hours?

 

[GrandBob]

Just don't try to take that route on a Sunday! It's wall to wall with people coming home from a weekend in Vegas. Other than that, you should be good (modulo the normal warnings about LA traffic).

As far as services, IIRC, you shouldn't go longer than an hour without services -- probably more like a half hour.

-Bob

 

[Mugglemama]

Just don't try to take that route on a Sunday! It's wall to wall with people coming home from a weekend in Vegas. Other than that, you should be good (modulo the normal warnings about LA traffic).

As far as services, IIRC, you shouldn't go longer than an hour without services -- probably more like a half hour.

-Bob

wow, good point! i don't know what i was thinking....we WERE going to be driving on a sunday. duh. i know better than that!

hmmmm, maybe i can leave on friday instead and then that way we'd be driving I-15 on saturday.

thanks!

 

[imjen]

I don't remember there being really anything between the stretch from Vegas to Barstow, which is about 2 hrs.

I've got a question for those familiar with the drive, or just the S. Cal freeways...We are going to be doing this drive as well in a couple weeks, from Utah through Vegas and down to Anaheim. This is the first time I'll be the primary driver so I haven't paid much attention on past trips to the roads that much, plus we've flown the last few times. Does anyone know if it's better to take CA-60 to 57 or CA-91 from I-15? On google maps, the estimated time is only a minute difference. We'll be driving in around 1-2 pm on a Tuesday. When does rush hour traffic get heavy?

 

[Bunchkin]

There are lots of stops along the way now.
Keep an eye out for the large sign that says "Last chance to pee!"!!!!!!!!

 

[oc_tony]

Coming south on I-15, we usually go 210 West to 57 South. The 210 is generally less congested than the 10, 60 or 91. If you are coming into town around 1-2pm, traffic should not be too bad (for So Cal). Of course, by writing this, I probably just jinxed it.

 

[imjen]

Awesome, thanks OC tony. Is there anything tricky in the changes between freeways? My parents got in a pretty bad wreck driving down there from Utah a couple years ago and it makes me a bit nervous. I don't remember which freeway they were on, but traffic was moving along fine and then it came to a dead stop all of a sudden. They stopped in time but someone slammed into them and totaled their car. Made for a not so fun DL trip with whip lash. They said it was a section where another freeway or two met.

 

[Mugglemama]

Awesome, thanks OC tony. Is there anything tricky in the changes between freeways? My parents got in a pretty bad wreck driving down there from Utah a couple years ago and it makes me a bit nervous. I don't remember which freeway they were on, but traffic was moving along fine and then it came to a dead stop all of a sudden. They stopped in time but someone slammed into them and totaled their car. Made for a not so fun DL trip with whip lash. They said it was a section where another freeway or two met.

i commuted on the 5 and 405 every weekday for a year in SoCal, so i know what you mean about traffic coming to a dead stop all of a sudden on the freeway. scary!

coming from vegas, i personally am not familiar with the 201-57 route, as we used to drive from kingman, az, and would end up on the 91. i can say that we had NO problems on that route, and the drive seemed to take no time at all (4.5 hours from kingman to disneyland). on the other hand, we used to live on the other side of disneyland, just 30 minutes away, and would take the 91 part of the way to get there, and that particular stretch of it could be sketchy sometimes. but coming into it from the east, we never had any problems at all. granted, this was 4 years ago, and traffic patterns might be different now.

 

[GrandBob]

I don't remember there being really anything between the stretch from Vegas to Barstow, which is about 2 hrs.

Probably the longest "nothing" stretch is Primm to Baker, which should be less than an hour. Vegas to Primm isn't too far, and has Jean along the way (casinos). Baker to Barstow has a lot of little stops along the way.

-Bob

 

[Mugglemama]

Probably the longest "nothing" stretch is Primm to Baker, which should be less than an hour. Vegas to Primm isn't too far, and has Jean along the way (casinos). Baker to Barstow has a lot of little stops along the way.

-Bob

great, thanks! that sounds quite a bit better than our usual route on the 40.

 

[tinkerbelt]

I don't remember there being really anything between the stretch from Vegas to Barstow, which is about 2 hrs.

I've got a question for those familiar with the drive, or just the S. Cal freeways...We are going to be doing this drive as well in a couple weeks, from Utah through Vegas and down to Anaheim. This is the first time I'll be the primary driver so I haven't paid much attention on past trips to the roads that much, plus we've flown the last few times. Does anyone know if it's better to take CA-60 to 57 or CA-91 from I-15? On google maps, the estimated time is only a minute difference. We'll be driving in around 1-2 pm on a Tuesday. When does rush hour traffic get heavy?

You'll be just ahead of rush hour, which starts picking up at around 3:00. Take 60 to 57. The 91 is out of the way and gets pretty congested.

 

[imjen]

You'll be just ahead of rush hour, which starts picking up at around 3:00. Take 60 to 57. The 91 is out of the way and gets pretty congested.

Thanks so much! Is there any construction going on that you know of?

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Coming south on I-15, we usually go 210 West to 57 South. The 210 is generally less congested than the 10, 60 or 91. If you are coming into town around 1-2pm, traffic should not be too bad (for So Cal). Of course, by writing this, I probably just jinxed it.

Ditto. We used to go the other way to the 91 and it seemed to take longer, plus there were toll roads. We usually get to DL in under 4 hours from Vegas.

 

[kailuagirl]

we just did it last week. Wasn't bad at all. We left CA Sunday around 11 from Mission Viejo and go to to vegas about 4:30 ish, and we had a kinda long stop to eat in Barstow. The traffic coming back to CA was pretty bad though on that day (Sunday). We returned to CA on Wednesday, left Vegas about 4:30 and it was super fast, except we hit some road construction on the 91 (I think) which kinda slowed us down coming home. I personally think it is a much easier drive than Kingman. The road isn't so bumpy, up and down and it's at least 2 lanes the whole way. There is also more to look at then kingman way.

Good luck and let us know how it is.

 

[oc_tony]

Awesome, thanks OC tony. Is there anything tricky in the changes between freeways? My parents got in a pretty bad wreck driving down there from Utah a couple years ago and it makes me a bit nervous. I don't remember which freeway they were on, but traffic was moving along fine and then it came to a dead stop all of a sudden. They stopped in time but someone slammed into them and totaled their car. Made for a not so fun DL trip with whip lash. They said it was a section where another freeway or two met.

I don't think there is anything tricky on this route. Just follow the signs from I-15 south to the 210 west to the 57 South. This part of the 210 is a newer freeway than the 10, 60, and 91. It was constructed only in the last 5 years or so. The 210 is also further north of the city so it is less travelled by locals. BTW, from the 57 south, you can exit at Ball Rd and go west (right) for about 3-4 miles and it will take you straight into the DLR area. No need to hop on I-5. From a native So Cal DISer, I hope this helps. Enjoy the freeways!

 

[imjen]

I don't think there is anything tricky on this route. Just follow the signs from I-15 south to the 210 west to the 57 South. This part of the 210 is a newer freeway than the 10, 60, and 91. It was constructed only in the last 5 years or so. The 210 is also further north of the city so it is less travelled by locals. BTW, from the 57 south, you can exit at Ball Rd and go west (right) for about 3-4 miles and it will take you straight into the DLR area. No need to hop on I-5. From a native So Cal DISer, I hope this helps. Enjoy the freeways!

Thank you, thank you! This route sounds great. We're also going down to Huntington Beach to visit grandparents. If we go there first, would you suggest staying on 57 south and taking 22 west? We'd take the Beach Blvd exit.

 

[oc_tony]

HB has many good major "surface" streets, but not much in the way of freeways. If your relatives are just off of Beach Blvd, then taking the 57 south to the 22 west is your best bet. Exit at Beach Blvd and go south. The 57 and 22 can be pretty bad at rush hour, so avoid those times if possible. If you want to avoid the freeways completely, you can also take Ball Rd west then turn left (south) on Beach Blvd.