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Best season for road trips?

Started by Roadgeekteen, July 27, 2017, 05:04:34 PM

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Which one?

Winter
0 (0%)
Spring
0 (0%)
Summer
6 (42.9%)
Fall
8 (57.1%)
I hate road trips
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 14

Roadgeekteen

God-emperor of Alanland, king of all the goats and goat-like creatures

Current Interstate map I am making:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1PEDVyNb1skhnkPkgXi8JMaaudM2zI-Y&ll=29.05778059819179%2C-82.48856825&z=5


Max Rockatansky

Early Fall, most people with kids are back home and the weather is still nice with not much need to weather about cold weather related closures.

Rothman

Not winter.  Anything else goes.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

formulanone

Autumn is the most ideal: especially between late-September and October, when scenery is usually changing color, and setting the clock back hasn't stolen time from after-work road trips. There's also less threat of snow, ice, or boiling hot weather, and there's typically a little less tourist traffic. Reduced insect stikes upon windshields are also a perk.


hbelkins

Each season has its positives and negatives. My dad liked to take sightseeing trips in the winter, when the leaves were off and you could see more of the landscape. Winter's cons, of course, are the possibility of bad weather causing bad roads, and the short days leaving less time to travel in daylight hours.

Summer offers longer days, but more tourists. And I hate hot, humid weather.

Spring and fall might be the best choices overall during the months DST is in effect. I'm not a fan of the early sunsets before DST goes into effect and after it ends.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

SP Cook

I'm with HB.  Each season has its pluses and minuses. 

In winter, in most of the country, you have weather issues.  I actually don't mind driving at night, particularly over places I have been before, you can make real time and traffic cops are less active.

Spring and fall are good because the weather is mild.  I'm not that into fall colors, but there is that. 

Summer is fine, especially if you are not going somewhere vacation-y due to the traffic and jacked up hotel rates.  There are heat issues in some places, but that never bothered me.  Just turn on the AC.

Roadgeekteen

Quote from: hbelkins on July 28, 2017, 02:12:17 PM
Each season has its positives and negatives. My dad liked to take sightseeing trips in the winter, when the leaves were off and you could see more of the landscape. Winter's cons, of course, are the possibility of bad weather causing bad roads, and the short days leaving less time to travel in daylight hours.

Summer offers longer days, but more tourists. And I hate hot, humid weather.

Spring and fall might be the best choices overall during the months DST is in effect. I'm not a fan of the early sunsets before DST goes into effect and after it ends.
All you see in winter is snow.
God-emperor of Alanland, king of all the goats and goat-like creatures

Current Interstate map I am making:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1PEDVyNb1skhnkPkgXi8JMaaudM2zI-Y&ll=29.05778059819179%2C-82.48856825&z=5

hotdogPi

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 28, 2017, 09:07:12 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 28, 2017, 02:12:17 PM
Each season has its positives and negatives. My dad liked to take sightseeing trips in the winter, when the leaves were off and you could see more of the landscape. Winter's cons, of course, are the possibility of bad weather causing bad roads, and the short days leaving less time to travel in daylight hours.

Summer offers longer days, but more tourists. And I hate hot, humid weather.

Spring and fall might be the best choices overall during the months DST is in effect. I'm not a fan of the early sunsets before DST goes into effect and after it ends.
All you see in winter is snow.

Depends on the part of the country.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

vdeane

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 28, 2017, 09:07:12 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 28, 2017, 02:12:17 PM
Each season has its positives and negatives. My dad liked to take sightseeing trips in the winter, when the leaves were off and you could see more of the landscape. Winter's cons, of course, are the possibility of bad weather causing bad roads, and the short days leaving less time to travel in daylight hours.

Summer offers longer days, but more tourists. And I hate hot, humid weather.

Spring and fall might be the best choices overall during the months DST is in effect. I'm not a fan of the early sunsets before DST goes into effect and after it ends.
All you see in winter is snow.
And all you see during the summer is grass and leaves.  Winter driving is actually a nice experience, when the weather isn't causing trouble.  Of course, I may be biased because that's when all my college trips to clinch everything in Region 7 happened.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

hbelkins

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 28, 2017, 09:07:12 PM
All you see in winter is snow.
[/quote]

Around here, some years yes, some years no.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

LM117

Fall, hands down. Not too hot, not too cold, less traffic.
“I don’t know whether to wind my ass or scratch my watch!” - Jim Cornette

vdeane

I think it's interesting that people say fall has less traffic.  During the week, probably, but do you guys not have to deal with leaf peepers or something?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: vdeane on July 29, 2017, 06:22:14 PM
I think it's interesting that people say fall has less traffic.  During the week, probably, but do you guys not have to deal with leaf peepers or something?

For me most of my travel is on weekdays but even the volume of people on the weekends is far less during the fall.  I just got back from Sequoia National Park, we had to leave the house at 4 AM just to make it through the onslaught of people that come in mid-day.  It won't be like that come September and October even on Saturday.

J N Winkler

#13
As others have already said, each season has its advantages and disadvantages.  Summer has more daylight, but also more traffic and bugs, with July being the peak for family vacations and August being the traditional ADT peak on most roads.  The heat and humidity is well-nigh intolerable in the Cfa part of the country, and not all that nice in the Dfa parts either, though humidity is pleasantly low in the BSk parts.  Heat also promotes mechanical failure in poorly maintained vehicles:  for example, summer is peak season for "alligators" (delaminated tread from truck tires) on major highways.

Autumn is classic shoulder season in the parts of the country that don't have leaf-peeper culture.  But though traffic, dew points, and bugs are less, and there is still a fair amount of daylight to work with, deer collision risk goes up.  Spring has generally the same complement of advantages and disadvantages except for deer and leaves changing color.

Winter can be quite a pleasant time for roadtripping as long as you are prepared to deal with snow, deer, and limited daylight.  On clear days sky polarization is at its seasonal maximum, which makes for excellent photos with richly saturated colors.  Lodging can also be rather hard to find in areas where there is significant seasonal fluctuation in demand because many motels opt to close altogether instead of staying open and checking guests into a small subset of the available rooms.

To add to what Max says about travelling on weekdays versus the weekends, different parts of the country vary in how strong weekending culture is.  California is the stereotype of hardcore weekending:  some of the worst congestion you will see on state highways there is actually on weekend days.  But Minnesota and Wisconsin have the same issues in the summer, especially in recognized resort areas like Lake of the Woods or Lake Winnebago.

Edit:  A couple of other considerations come to mind:

The peak time for seasonal road closures on high mountain passes is November to May.  In cases where a pass that is kept open year-round is surrounded by others that are allowed to close (e.g. I-80 over Donner Pass), it is wise to avoid this season even when routing over the pass that is kept open, since a snowstorm can easily force chain restrictions or a temporary closure.  In Nevada, for example, Nevada DOT has had to come up with storage arrangements for large tractor-trailers when Caltrans closes I-80 at the state line during major snowstorms.

The peak time for hailstorms in the Cfa hail belt is March to June.  Covered parking is effective protection against hail but is hard to come by when travelling.  If you live in the hail belt and park a car outside for any significant length of time, your odds of having a car hail-damaged beyond economical repair are actually quite high (I am two for four personally, and live in a house where hail has necessitated roof replacements in 1992, 2006, and 2011).
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

Brandon

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 28, 2017, 09:07:12 PM
All you see in winter is snow.

You haven't seen snow, real snow where you are.

Now this is snow.  All 220 inches of it (on average) per year, from October through May.

And this is what you can do with it!

Oh, and did I mention it snows?
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

TheHighwayMan3561

I find winter to be interesting because once the leaves are gone, you can see things differently through the trees. The snow creates different lighting and enhances colors of other objects. There are fewer people around, hotel rates are often significantly less, and the snow enhances the silence around you.

Fall is my favorite though, other than that it's still pretty crazy with tourists along the North Shore.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on August 02, 2017, 03:14:18 AM
I find winter to be interesting because once the leaves are gone, you can see things differently through the trees. The snow creates different lighting and enhances colors of other objects. There are fewer people around, hotel rates are often significantly less, and the snow enhances the silence around you.

Fall is my favorite though, other than that it's still pretty crazy with tourists along the North Shore.

Surprisingly the white really enhances red rocks out on the Colorado Plateau.

4636814010941 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

That was out at Dead Horse Point in the Canyonlands in 2013.  That whole trip was so surreal with all the snow in the high desert, really it was one of a kind and something you wouldn't have gotten in any other season.

Mergingtraffic

Summer: as some signs that face northbound are in the sunlight, in the winter they aren't.

Winter:  as the air is cripser and the sky looks more blue.
I only take pics of good looking signs. Long live non-reflective button copy!
MergingTraffic https://www.flickr.com/photos/98731835@N05/

keithvh

#18
Road trips (car):

(1) May as a whole is good.  The length of day is near its peak, not noticeably different vs. the solstice, and the crowds tend to be lower vs. the true summer months of June - August.

(2) Weekdays during September.  The weather is typically awesome (warm but not hot/humid, though it could be), and everyone else has gone back to school or work. 

Road trips (you're flying):

(3) Super Bowl weekend.  I've made a point of traveling on this weekend for several years now.  It's remarkably quiet.  The spring break travel season hasn't quite begun, and most people are making a point to watch the game.

(4) The weekend after Thanksgiving (by that, I mean the weekend including the Saturday 9 days after Thanksgiving).  Also a weekend where I've made a point to take a weekend getaway.  Cheap airfares, for instance Cinci to Portland for $150 or Denver to Dallas for $70 (both round-trip), I've easily found those despite purchasing about 10 days out.  I don't have the numbers, but my gut tells me this may be the quietest travel weekend of the year.   Post-Thanksgiving fatigue, and too early for Christmas travel.



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