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Interstate 10 Road Map PageStart your plans for a fun USA road trip along I-10 to Los Angeles here!
On this page, you'll get an overview of the entire Interstate 10 route. I-10 is a traveler's dream--- ***Great traveling weather all year round. Summers along the whole length of I-10 are hot; car air-conditioning is advised. Winters are, with the exception of occasional cold snaps, quite mild and enjoyable. Snow doesn't EVER occur along most of this route, and when it DOES...well, that's a rare event, indeed!. ***The terrain along much of Interstate 10 is fairly flat. In the hilly sections, the grade is the road stays less strenuous than on surrounding side roads. Towing a camper of U-Haul? This is your road! You'll pass many other folks towing boats, trailers and RV campers as you drive along I-10. ***Good traveler's services can be found throughout the entire length of the route. Even in the western USA where the population gets sparse, roadside towns with full traveler's services can be found at regular intervals. I-10 is a major east-west route for traffic in the USA. If your car breaks down, there will be other travelers you can "flag down" for help. In addition, cell phone towers have been erected along all parts of the route...INCLUDING the more sparsely-traveled areas of West Texas and New Mexico. Note: In the picture above, you can see the Texas State Welcome Center in Anthony, Texas (on I-10 at the border of Texas and New Mexico.) Texas and many other states maintain nice welcome centers stocked with all sorts of interesting tourist booklets. Of course, rest rooms and vending machines are available, as well, at state welcome centers. Interstate 10 Road Map Page -- An Overview Map of the Interstate SystemInterstate 10 is the southernmost multi-state interstate freeway in the USA. And, I-10 is a very LONG freeway, as well...running from the Atlantic Ocean in Jacksonville, Florida all the way to its end at Santa Monica Beach (greater Los Angeles, California) on the Pacific!Here's a map of the US Interstate Highway System (that's a downloadable PDF file, by the way.) I feel it's important to get a good overview of the entire route before talking about specifics. Hunt for Jacksonville, Florida (in the east) Los Angeles (on the west)...and the long, red thread that connects these two distant cities on this map will be Interstate 10. Use the "zoom" feature on the map's toolbar to enlarge the map for a better view. Use the following link to see this
downloadable PDF road map of the US Interstate Highway System.
Interstate 10 Road Map Page -- I-10 maps for the Eastern USA segment
Since the purpose of this page is to help you plan a trip to the Los Angeles theme parks (and other great tourist destinations of Southern California), I'll start at the "Florida" end of I-10, and head in a westerly direction (towards Calif) with the maps and road descriptions. You'll see Interstate 10 maps of the various individual states along the route, in the order along Interstate 10 as you'd pass them heading to Los Angeles. As in Florida, you'll be driving close to Gulf Coast beaches on this segment of I-10. The terrain stays mostly flat. Use the following link to see a
map of Alabama with the interstate highways highlighted.
(As I mentioned before, choose the "static map" link for a quick-loading map. Or, choose the "Gif map" link for a more detailed map.) Use the following link to see a
map of Mississippi with the Interstate Highway system marked in red.
Soon after you enter the state of Louisiana from the east, you'll face a choice: to continue on Interstate 10 towards New Orleans, or to bypass New Orleans by using the short-cut through Baton Rouge, Interstate 12. (Normally, I would recommend that you take I-10 into New Orleans and catch the sights. After Hurricane Katrina's destruction there, well...maybe a trip to New Orleans would be better another time.) Staying on Interstate 10 at this point is actually LONGER, mileage-wise, than switching to I-12...and also bypasses the New Orleans traffic, as well. Interstate 12 ends at the Louisiana state capital of Baton Rouge. There, once again, you'll rejoin Interstate 10. Use the following link to see a
map of Louisiana with the Interstate Highways highlighted.
Interstate 10 Road Map Page -- I-10 maps for the Western USA segmentInterstate 10 Road Map, Texas
***Interstate 10 Texas map and highway descriptionTexas is the largest state in the "lower 48," and Interstate 10 runs every entire, long, east-to-west mile of it! By the time you leave Texas, you may well feel that you've been driving through the Lone Star State "forever!" You'll pass through scenery and climate changes as you pass through Texas. So far on your trip towards Los Angeles, California from Jacksonville, Florida, you've been driving through beautiful greenery. When you're not in the city, you've had large swaths of tall pines in view. Plus the air has been humid, especially during the summer months. As you enter Texas (near the town of Beaumont), nothing will seem to change...at FIRST. The air will still be humid, the plants will be green, and you'll still be traveling within "side trip" distance of the Gulf Coast beaches. You'll come to the Texas Mega-City of Houston...where traffic is ghoulish during rush hour. Just avoid it! Take a meal break and relax! If possible, cross the Houston metro area (which takes over an hour to accomplish, even WITHOUT traffic snarls!) during mid-day or in the evening AFTER rush hour. If you'll be spending the night in Houston, travel through the city and stay on the western edge (in order to avoid the morning rush hour traffic when you get underway again in the morning.) After leaving Houston, you won't notice it, but you'll be leaving the Gulf Coast area and traveling inland. The air will gradually get dryer and the plants browner. That doesn't mean your trip will be ugly; you'll be able to enjoy viewing western plants and rock formations, which have their own special type of lovliness. Use the following link to see a
map of Texas with the Interstate Highways highlighted.
(As I mentioned earlier on the page, you'll have a choice of downloading a "Gif map" or a "flash map" when you follow this link. The Gif map of Texas loads quickly; the flash map of Texas has more detail.) As you near El Paso, Texas, you'll drive close to Mexico...and, in fact, you'll be looking at Mexican mountains as you drive along. You'll be stopped and someone will peek into your car as you near El Paso; don't worry...it's just the immigration officials doing their job at the Texas immigration checkpoint near Sierra Blanca. El Paso doesn't have the horrible rush hour of larger cities...but the El Paso metro area is surprisingly wide. Plan on taking up to an hour to pass through metro El Paso. And, note that people RARELY speed in El Paso. Driving AT OR UNDER the speed limit is the norm there. Interstate 10 Road Map, New Mexico
***Interstate 10 New Mexico map and highway descriptionUpon entering New Mexico, you'll drive for a short while past dairy farms...until you reach one of New Mexico's larger cities, Las Cruces. Las Cruces, New Mexico has some interesting places to stop for a break. There's a brand-new farming museum which is a top-notch, "Smithsonian quality" facility. The charming "Old Town Mesilla" is a small version of the Santa Fe and Old Town Albuquerque arts and crafts district. (In the photo to your right, you can see an interresting Spanish-style court yard in Old Mesilla.) The rest of New Mexico's Interstate 10 freeway is "smooth sailing." The terrain isn't flat, but it isn't mountainous, either. Rolling hills with long, slow rises are the norm. The speed limit returns to 75 MPH in New Mexico, after passing through Las Cruces. However, you'll be asked to lower your speed when passing through towns...or when going by the road-work crews. (Road workers are inevitably laboring SOMEWHERE on I-10 in New Mexico at all times, it seems!) Note: at the town of Lordsburg, New Mexico, you'll have a choice to make---will you continue ahead to Phoenix on Interstate 10? Or, will you take the "back road" to Phoenix via the countryside? Personally, I like both routes. Interstate 10 has higher speed limits; but the back road is a bit shorter. In effect, then, the time it takes to get to Phoenix is about the same no matter which road you choose. Use the following link to see a
map of New Mexico with the Interstate Highways highlighted.
Interstate 10 Road Map, Arizona
***Interstate 10 Arizona map and highway descriptionAs you leave New Mexico and enter Arizona along Interstate 10, you'll pass through some mountains which feature interesting rock formations. You'll also pass a side road along which you can take a side-trip to the Old West town of Tombstone. As you enter the greater Tucson area, you'll start to hit some traffic. One reason is that Interstate 10 is the ONLY major route through town. The nice folks of Tucson pride themselves on the fact that Tucson has retained its "small town atmosphere" despite its growth...unlike "big, bad Phoenix." Tucson's a nice place, but in my opinion, it lacks enough roadways for the amount of traffic that goes through the city. The second problem causing traffic through Tucson is that Interstate 10 always seems to be under construction at one point or another. Even once you've passed through the city of Tucson itself, your traffic problems won't be over. There's generally heavy traffic between Arizona's two largest cities, Tucson and Phoenix. Basically, Interstate 10 between these 2 cities is always bustling. There's only a slight middle-of-the-day decrease in traffic...and rush hour is horrendous between these two cities. (How can people even THINK of commuting such a distance? But they must, because there's DEFINITELY a "rush hour traffic" pattern between these two cities.) Unless you go between these Tucson and Phoenix between dark and dawn, you'll be in moderately heavy traffic. It won't slow you down too much. The speed limit is 75 MPH, and these road-weary commuters drive as fast as they can, even when they're driving bumper to bumper. When driving this stretch, I just grit my teeth and hope I'm not killed. If you're traveling in the summer, do note that the areas along I-10 between Tucson and Palm Springs, California, have the hottest summer temperatures of any region in the United States. (Infamous Death Valley is part of this general region!) TV weather announcers in Phoenix, Arizona brag that they're having "good temperatures" when the mercury gets DOWN to 100 degrees! (On the plus side, winter temperatures in southern Arizona are lovely!) Click on the next link to see a
map of Arizona with the Interstate Highways highlighted.
The 2 different interstates are as different as night and day. Interstate 8's traffic is sparse. Want to be alone on the road again? I-8 is your choice! Consider, though, what will happen if you break down....with few fellow travelers passing by and limited along-the-road services. Interstate 8 is a great road, and I like traveling along it...but, it would NOT be a great place to break down! Interstate 10, on the other hand, always has enough traffic (even through sparsely-populated desert areas) to where you never feel "all alone" on the road. (Especially during the hot summer months, I like to avoid driving through 110 degree temperatures by motoring through this region at night. When traveling at night, I always use I-10. There's so much traffic on I-10, that I'm always on a busy road---even if the time happens to be 2 am! (Middle-of-the-night temperatures during July and August get down to between 80 to 90 degrees, which is less taxing on a car's air conditioning system than driving during the daytime's hotter temperatures of 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.) If you see signs that say "turn off your automobile air conditioning to avoid overheating," OBEY the sign! Another way you could avoid driving in this extreme type of heat (other than traveling at night), would be to use Interstate 40 into Los Angeles during the summer time, instead. On Interstate 40, daytime high temperatures are only 85 to 95 degrees in July and August, instead of 105+ which is normal along the Phoenix, AZ to Palm Springs, CA stretch of I-10. Interstate 10 Road Map, California
***Interstate 10 California map and descriptionFinally---your destination looms! You're in Southern California, and 7 major theme parks---plus dozens of other fun family attractions---are near! The last little stretch of I-10 is where you'll find the most mountainous driving that you've encountered since you left Florida. There's no way around it: Whether you choose I-8 or take I-10, you'll have to cross mountains to get to California's Pacific Coast. (Side note: If you take Interstate 8 towards San Diego, you'll even leave the galaxy along the trip! I-8 passes through the sand dune area where several Star Wars movie episodes were filmed. These sand dunes served as the planet of Tatooine...where both Anakin Skywalker and, later, his son, Luke Skywalker, grew up.) Unless you're hauling a boat or a camper, the mountains of either I-8 or I-10 shouldn't hinder you much. And, if you ARE towing something...well, just slow down and take your time! Use the following link to see a
map of California with the Interstate Highways highlighted.
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Backwards Links: Back HOME :: Back to top of "Interstate 10 Road Map Page" :: Back to the "USA Road Trip Ideas" overview page Select a different I--10 Roadtrip Page: Houston Area Outlet Malls :: San Antonio Riverwalk :: SeaWorld San Antonio :: The New Shamu Show, "Believe" :: Other SeaWorld San Antonio Shows :: SeaWorld San Antonio Coasters & Rides :: Shamu's Happy Harbor :: I-10 Road Trip-- Phoenix :: Phoenix Arizona Outlet Malls :: Tucson, AZ outlet malls :: Arizona Outlet Mall Index
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Make plans for an adventuresome Road Trip to Los Angeles along I-10! Updated Feb 28, 2007. Related info--- 
By the time you've passed through the OTHER large South Texas city of San Antonio (a delightful city for tourists), you'll be in a different world. And, as you head still further west, the air will only get drier and the plants more brown and sparse. Traffic will thin...and eventually become sparse. You'll DEFINITELY be in West Texas then! Actually, you won't pass another patch of greenery (that wasn't planted by humans) until you get to Los Angeles itself!
As you travel through West Texas, the speed limit will increase to 75 MPH as you leave the populated areas of the state. Note 2 things, though. Through Texas, the speed limit often drops by 5 MPH at night. Also, except in the major cities, most Texans don't exceed the speed limit...and those drivers who DO speed usually don't go more than 5 MPH over the posted limit. If you're a speeder, you'll "stick out like a sore thumb," as they say. (Save money---avoid a traffic ticket!)
Towns are sparse, but seem to be spaced just perfectly for being road trip rest stops. You'll just have to think carefully, because if you choose to pass a town without grabbing a drink or filling up, you won't come to another for an hour. (But, if you've driven along I-10 or I-20 through West Texas to get to this point, you're already used to doing that by now!)
Once you reach Phoenix, the traffic eases up (unless you happen to arrive in Phoenix at rush hour.) As I just mentioned, Phoenix DOESN'T want to maintain a "small town atmosphere," and has built miles of freeways to accommodate its growing population. The only problem is that people have loved Phoenix so well, that they're swamping in; Phoenix has the largest "new housing start rate" of any city in the USA each year. The large amount of newcomers have filled up even the huge amount of roadways here. Nevertheless, outside of rush hour, the freeways have fairly sparse amounts of traffic compared with other large cities.
