Dallas to Amarillo

About how many hours would it take to drive from Dallas to Amarillo?

We will be driving from Houston so we will need to stop for a night somewhere en route to Amarillo. Any ideas on good but moderate accomodations?

About how many more hours from Amarillo to Santa Fe? any scenic routes I should take?

thanks!

Dallas to Amarillo

I would use Mapquest to get general mileage and directions. I always add an hour (at least) to the Mapquest driving time estimates. They go by mileage, not traffic.

That said, if you type in Dallas to Amarillo, they have you going through Dallas (their estimate is 6 hours, 360 miles) and over on the Airport Freeway (183), cutting up 114 to 287. If you want to stop for the night in the Dallas/FW area, staying in Grapevine might be a good idea- there are lots of chain type hotels up that way. I would try to avoid this route during rush hour- shoot for noon on a weekday.

Mapquest lists Amarillo to Santa Fe as about 280 miles, a little over 4 hours.

Dallas to Amarillo

I%26#39;ve done Houston to Amarillo a couple of times and it%26#39;s BO-RING. Definitely stay in the DFW area, if not drive all the way through, because your only other choice is Wichita Falls or Childress.

Amarillo to Santa Fe is about 4 hours, IIRC. Even if the mapping sites say otherwise, take I-40 to US 84 to I-25 South. Going Albuquerque takes a lot longer.

If you really want a scenic route, there%26#39;s what%26#39;s called the ';Turquoise Trail'; which runs through Cerrillos and the artist community of Madrid. It%26#39;s mostly NM State Highway 14. To get there from I-40, you can either take NM 344 north from Edgewood, or stay on I-40 and go to NM 14, which will also take you up near Sandia Peak (DEFINITELY worth it).

We drove from Amarillo to Sante Fe, visited Cadillac Ranch west of Amarillo first made a stop at the excellent visitor center in NM along I40 first, pickup brochures and hoteldiscounts and drove from Tucumcari along NM to Las Vegas, NM, a very nice town and then to the Santa Fe area. This is not the fastest route but it is a scenic drive. And if you have time, visit Las Vegas NM too. Also the mentioned Turquoise trail is scenic but you%26#39;ll miss Las Vegas.

Tet

thanks everyone!

to cover more ground, i think we will stay in wichita falls or childress, then.

Since we won%26#39;t be stopping in dallas/ft. worth, do you have any routes that will help us beat the city traffic?

Has anyone camped in state parks near santa fe? I see two: Pecos and Fenton Lake. I%26#39;ll start a forum on that, but just thought i%26#39;d ask you all first. I know you are well-travelled.

cheers!

I%26#39;m guessing you%26#39;re coming up I-45 from Houston to Dallas. You can take I-20 west to either 408 (Mountain Creek Parkway, I think is the name of the exit--this becomes Loop 12) or farther west to 360, both of which will take you up to 114, and bypass Dallas traffic. Those are much less trafficked streets, particularly during rush hours. Still busy, but normally not at a standstill.

I wouldn%26#39;t go any farther than 360 to cut to the north because past that point you start adding significant mileage to the drive.

Also, if you%26#39;re having your evening meal in Wichita Falls, they have a whole street of the usual chains: Olive Garden, Friday%26#39;s, etc. It%26#39;s a college town. I don%26#39;t know of any outstanding local restaurant, but maybe if you ask in the Wichita Forum you%26#39;ll get a recommendation from someone who knows the area. The last time I was there we ate at a Logan%26#39;s which is a reasonably priced, pretty decent chain steakhouse, and it didn%26#39;t have the extreme wait that some of the others did.

thanks so much for the driving tips...esp to avoid city traffic. It%26#39;s all about escaping that on this trip. :)

cheers! x