Driving from Seattle to Alta: Any tips?

I have driven this several times and 12 to 13 hours seemed like the time. Every drive I say that to myself to never do that again.<br><br>Recommendtions are to look at airlines for last minutes ticket plans with car combos. I got a car -mid size- and a flight for $135 last year for one week, only a week before I left. You will spend way more in gas then the deals that are offered by airlines. <br><br>But if you choose to drive, try the Pebble Creek ski area outside Pocatello. The area is small and family owned, but offers quite a bit of backcountry skiing on the back side of the area. <br><br>Another Alpental out in nowhere-$17 lift tickets-2200 vert. Steep, chutes, glades. Prices and lack of crowds like Alpy used to sport.<br>Stay in town a few miles away. Rumor has it that one hotel has an olympic size pool of natural hot springs. Many other cheap hotels have natural hot spring pools. Cheap and good mexican eats.<br><br>Good luck and have fun!<br>Joe

We'll be driving there in Feb. as well.<br><br>I think it was about 14hrs. last time. The return trip took longer due to a huge storm from SLC to Boise. The semis were awful. Sucks to be stuck behind them and it takes balls to pass at 50mph on a snow rutted highway. Then once you get past there's just another one in your way!<br><br>That said, I like it better than flying. We drive straight through. Get up early. I think the sun was just coming up when we were between Ellensburg and Yakima.

The police are really anal about sleeping in your car in Little and Big Cottonwood canyons due to avalanche hazard (regardless of snow conditions), so if you were planning on car camping a good bet is the Sandy Park-n-Ride, which is about 2 miles from the entrance to Little Cottonwood canyon. When the police booted me from the Alta "overnight parking" area, they directed me there. Right at the bottom gate to Little Cottonwood canyon there is a side road which heads down the hill <br>towards Sandy. Just follow it for 2-3 miles till the PnR is on the left. You can take the bus to the areas from here if you don't want to hassle with the morning road chaos.<br>

I drive to SLC all the time&#8230;well typically three times a year. If you bring all your food/drink and combine restroom/gas stops then yes 11 hrs is possible if you drive faster then 80 mph most of the time and it&#8217;s summer. I usually do the trip in 12 hrs driving 4-5 mph over the speed limits. I just drove to SLC last on 12/30/05. There was snow and it took 10 hrs to get from Ellensburg to Boise. So weather is your biggest enemy. I suggest leaving the night before to get a head start. You can sleep the any Wal-Mart parking lot. I usually sleep at rest stops. There&#8217;s one Stanfield, OR (near Pendleton) not far from WA boarder. The Weatherby and Ontario rest stops (the last few rest stops) in OR are great places too, as well as the one near the ID/UT boarder. It can be extremely windy and snowy at the ID/UT boarder and they close the freeway sometimes, so check the weather before you leave.

I agree with everyone who said weather is key. It took me 15 hours the last time I did it--we hit all manner of thick inversion fog in Oregon to heavy snow in northern Utah. And don't fall for the "Free Ice Cream with fill-up" in Snowville. They're always "out" of the "free" ice-cream. Maybe they figure ice cream is the last thing you want when it's 15 degrees out.