Driving from California to Arizona

From Los Angeles, you can take Interstate 5 (I-5) to Interstate 10 and drive all the way east to Phoenix.

If you are starting in San Diego, you can catch Interstate 8 from I-5, which will take you east to Casa Grande, Arizona.

This is where I-8 ends at Interstate 10. From this junction, you can head south to Tucson or north to Phoenix.

Click here to see a map of the two major interstates for driving from Southern California to Arizona.

A storm builds over the buttes east of Seligman on Interstate 40. Eagle-eyed drivers may see pronghorn antelope in this area

Highway 99 is another north-south route.

It runs through the eastern San Joaquin Valley.

Traffic is often heavier along this highway as it is a major agricultural transportation corridor.

Once you reach the Southern California, you have several options for driving from California to Arizona.

You can take Interstate 5 to either I-10 in Los Angeles, or all the way down to I-8 in San Diego, as mentioned in the Southern California section above.

The one thing to remember with either of these two routes is that you may encounter heavy commute traffic as you pass through Southern California.

When driving from Northern California to Arizona, we prefer the following route.

This way is slightly longer but it is easier to drive and there is rarely any stop-and-go traffic.

From Interstate 5 or Highway 99 south, cut over to CA Highway 58, which runs southeast out of Bakersfield.

Highway 58 travels over the eastern Tehachapi Mountains and drops down into the Mojave Desert.

At Barstow, California, take Interstate 15 west for a few miles to Interstate 40 east.

Interstate 40 runs through the Mojave Desert and into Arizona.

In Arizona, the freeway passes through a variety of habitats until it comes to the mountains and forest of Flagstaff, Arizona.

A summer monsoon thunderstorm washes the mountains as seen from the Sunset Point rest stop along Interstate 17

The freeway parallels the famous Route 66, of which only a few sections remain in California and Arizona.

Taking this route allows you to bypass the traffic-snarled freeways of Southern California.

Once you reach Flagstaff, turn south on Interstate 17 to get to Phoenix.

The I-40 to I-17 route is a fairly straight shot on major freeways with plenty of services and rest stops along the way.

Approximate travel time from Needles, California to Phoenix is 5 hours, 15 minutes.

Click here to see a map for driving the Northern California - Interstate 40 route to Arizona.

There are also a few two-lane highways that travel to Arizona from Interstate 40 to the Phoenix metropolitan area.

This highway travels to Blythe, California at Interstate 10.

When driving from California to Arizona, some drivers prefer to take Highway 95 south through the Mojave Desert

Highway 95 is a two-lane road that cuts through open Mojave Desert on the west side of the Colorado River.

It is roughly a 97-mile drive on a road that rises and dips like a roller coaster, which makes you slow your speed unless you want to rip your muffler off.

Those dips are also prone to flash flooding during monsoon thunderstorms or winter storms.

Be prepared for road closures. There are no services along this route until Blythe.

From Blythe, take Interstate 10 west into Phoenix.

The original London Bridge spans the Colorado River at Lake Havasu City

This road heads south along the east side of the Colorado River.

You will drive through the Arizona towns of Lake Havasu City and Parker.

The highway continues south to Interstate 10, outside of Quartzite, Arizona - the desert town famous a "winter visitor" destination and its huge, open air annual gem and mineral show.

At I-10, head west to reach Phoenix.

Note that beyond Parker, the rest of the drive is through open desert.

There are limited services along this portion of the route, so it is a good idea to fill up your tank or stop for food and water before you continue south.

Click here to see a map of the driving route from California to Arizona via AZ Highway 95.

If you’re driving from Nevada to Arizona, you’ll pass through the Cerbat Cliffs along Interstate 40 at Kingman

Kingman is approximately 1 hour east of Needles from the California border.

Highway 93 is a two-lane road for most of its length.

This is also a popular route with drivers traveling between Las Vegas and Phoenix. Services are limited for much of this route.

Currently, the Arizona Department of Transportation has been adding two extra lanes (one on either side of the highway), so there may be construction delays.

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