Austin Texas To Boulder Colorado

[Dakotamade]

Looking for some road trip advice, Going from Austin Texas to Boulder Colorado. Garmin, Google Maps and others indicate the preferred route is up I35 to Salina, then west to Denver / Boulder.
From Austin, thru Lubbock looks appealing. Anybody have an experience with this route.. any suggestions?
I will be making numerous trips, including winter time.. does the time of year change your preferred route?
Any help / comments are appreciated.`

[usends]

I think it might be harder for some routing algorithms to accurately estimate travel time on non-interstate roads, so oftentimes the default is an all-interstate routing.  But (as you suggested) there are often four-lane alternatives that actually offer shorter distances as well as reduced drive-times.  I'm in Denver, and I've made the trip to central TX several times (most recently this spring), and I believe your trip is one of those cases.  There are two ways you can do better than going through Kansas.  The idea you mentioned would probably be my first choice:
US 183 north to Brownwood.
US 84 through Abilene to Lubbock.
I-27 to Amarillo.
US 87 to Raton NM (this entire thing is now four-laned, except for a 24-mile stretch between Dumas and Hartley TX).
I-25 north to Denver.
US 36 to Boulder.

This would work well too (except for heavy traffic along I-35, especially in Ft. Worth):
I-35 north to Ft. Worth.
US 287 north to Amarillo.
(rest of route same as above.)

Either way, traffic along I-25 from CO Springs to the north can be bad.  Also, keep in mind the Boulder Turnpike has just begun a long period of reconstruction.  So if you're doing this in one shot, try to arrive in the Springs after the evening rush.  Otherwise, you might consider staying in Pueblo or the Springs the first night, and then going up to Boulder after the morning rush.

As far as a winter trip, I-25 has a couple minor passes (Raton and Monument Hill) which can be problematic if it's snowing.  But then again, whiteouts on the Kansas high plains are no picnic, either.  So I guess you'll just have to watch the weather at the time of your trips, and plan accordingly.

[thenetwork]

As far as a winter trip, I-25 has a couple minor passes (Raton and Monument Hill) which can be problematic if it's snowing.  But then again, whiteouts on the Kansas high plains are no picnic, either.  So I guess you'll just have to watch the weather at the time of your trips, and plan accordingly.

Agreed on the winter advice.  Any blizzard or near-blizzard conditions can easily close I-70 between DIA airport/Skypark Road Exit and the state line.  I-25 is a busier & a more important route along the Front Range, so chances of that interstate closing for any non-accident conditions are much lower than that of I-70 in Eastern Colorado.

[Scott5114]

If you have to do multiple trips, try all the routes, then find out which one you like best!

[The High Plains Traveler]

Not mentioned above is to go straight north out of Amarillo on U.S. 287 and stay on that route all the way to I-70 at Limon. Much of this is wide 2-lane concrete in Colorado with passing lanes, which would help with the fairly heavy truck traffic. The route is low on the scenic scale, but you don't have any passes to traverse. And in winter, I-70 either side of Limon is prone to closure due to blizzard conditions. This route would avoid the Front Range traffic along I-25 though.

[usends]

Not mentioned above is to go straight north out of Amarillo on U.S. 287 and stay on that route all the way to I-70 at Limon.

I didn't mention this route because my experience was that it takes significantly longer, due to a combination of all the truck traffic, and the fact that it's only 2 lanes.  But yeah, it's certainly an option to keep in mind if there are complications on the other routes.

[Scott5114]

Not mentioned above is to go straight north out of Amarillo on U.S. 287 and stay on that route all the way to I-70 at Limon.

I didn't mention this route because my experience was that it takes significantly longer, due to a combination of all the truck traffic, and the fact that it's only 2 lanes.  But yeah, it's certainly an option to keep in mind if there are complications on the other routes.

Yes, but the truck trarffic has been elimitanted. ODOT said so!