The Ultimate American Road Trip

*EDIT: I've decided that I would actually like to see and do things besides drive on this trip, so I've narrowed it to a decision of two trips:<BR>

1) New England, East Coast, Appalachians, The South<BR>
2) The West, Route 66, California, The Great Plains<BR>
* <BR>

In August of '06, my friends and I want to take a road trip that could possibly cover all 48 contiguous states. We're looking at about a month and a half and trying to do it as cheap as comfortably possible.

We want to hit all the great Western natural wonders and all the historical sites of the East, to put it generally. A couple of places per state, experiencing all the culture of this nation before college starts.

My list so far includes:
Alabama<BR>
Arizona<BR>
- Grand Canyon<BR>
- Four Corners<BR>
- Petrified Forest NP<BR>
- Indian Reservations?<BR>
Arkansas<BR>
California<BR>
- Yosemite NP<BR>
- San Diego: Sea World, Zoo<BR>
- Hollywood<BR>
- Sacramento?<BR>
- Los Angeles?<BR>
- Redwood Forest NP<BR>
- Death Valley NP<BR>
- Joshua Tree NP<BR>
Colorado<BR>
- Rocky Mountain NP<BR>
Connecticut<BR>
Delaware<BR>
Florida<BR>
- Cape Canaveral / Kennedy Space Center<BR>
- Everglades<BR>
- Key West<BR>
Georgia<BR>
- Atlanta: Coke Museum, CNN<BR>
- Savannah (historical)<BR>
Idaho <BR>
Illinois<BR>
- Chicago: Museum of Science and Industry, Shedd Aquarium<BR>
Indiana<BR>
Iowa<BR>
- Amana Colonies<BR>
Kansas<BR>
Kentucky <BR>
Louisiana<BR>
- New Orleans<BR>
Maine<BR>
Maryland<BR>
- Antietam<BR>
Massachusetts<BR>
- Boston: Old North Church, USS Constitution, etc. (Boston NHP)<BR>
- Plymouth Colony<BR>
- Minuteman NHP<BR>
Michigan<BR>
Minnesota<BR>
Mississippi<BR>
- Vicksburg<BR>
Missouri<BR>
Montana<BR>
Nebraska<BR>
Nevada<BR>
- Las Vegas<BR>
- Hoover Dam<BR>
New Hampshire<BR>
New Jersey<BR>
- Trenton (battle)<BR>
New Mexico<BR>
- Roswell<BR>
New York<BR>
- NYC: Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Broadway, Ellis Island<BR>
- Niagara Falls<BR>
- Saratoga NHP<BR>
North Carolina<BR>
- Roanoke Colony<BR>
North Dakota<BR>
- Theodore Roosevelt NP<BR>
Ohio<BR>
- Dayton: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Museum<BR>
Oklahoma<BR>
- Indian Reservation?<BR>
Oregon<BR>
Pennsylvania<BR>
- Gettysburg<BR>
- Valley Forge NHP<BR>
Rhode Island<BR>
South Carolina<BR>
- Myrtle Beach<BR>
- Hilton Head Island<BR>
- Ft. Sumter<BR>
- King's Mountain SP<BR>
South Dakota<BR>
- Mt. Rushmore<BR>
- Black Hills<BR>
- Indian Reservation?<BR>
Tennessee<BR>
- Shiloh<BR>
Texas<BR>
- San Antonio - Riverwalk, Alamo<BR>
- Route 66<BR>
- Free 72 oz. steak<BR>
- Cadillac Ranch / Slug Bug Ranch<BR>
- "The Border"<BR>
- Houston<BR>
- Crawford: W's ranch<BR>
- El Paso?<BR>
Utah<BR>
- Arches NP<BR>
- Promontory Point<BR>
- Salt Lake City<BR>
- Bonneville Salt Flats<BR>
- Lake Powell / Glen Canyon<BR>
- Bonneville Salt Flats<BR>
- Dinosaur NP<BR>
- Bryce Canyon<BR>
- Park City: Alpine Slide, Park City Silver Mine Adventure<BR>
- Union Station, Ogden<BR>
Vermont<BR>
Virginia<BR>
- Washington, DC<BR>
- Mt. Vernon<BR>
- Monticello<BR>
- Yorktown NHP<BR>
Washington<BR>
West Virginia<BR>
Wisconsin<BR>
Wyoming<BR>
- Yellowstone NP<BR>
- Flaming Gorge NP<BR>
- Grand Teton NP<BR>

Now, what do you all suggest adding/subtracting on this itinerary?

EDIT: inserted breaks

I suggest that you add a minimum of one and a half more months to the time.
It is a great trip idea but you don't have enough time. I am only guessing that including Alaska you are going to be over 15,000 miles and probably closer to 20,000; that excludes HI (you did say all 50 states). For your scheduled 1 1/2 months this will require 400-500 mile driving days. You will have no time to see all the great things included on the list.

Thanks for the response, BlueRa.

Yeah, AK and HI aren't included, so that helps I guess. :)

We're looking to have about 5 people, so that we keep off-road time (motels/camping) to a minimum (e.g. rotate drivers).

You'd say it takes 2.5 months to get "the best of the (48 contiguous) United States"? We're most likely limited to a max of 1.5 months... what places can't we hit, or, what sorts of things will we have to forego?

With the time restraints that you have I think I would concentrate on the "natural wonders". Those sights that are not indoors and subject to not being open when you arrive. If you haven't already done so I would then suggest that you plan a day by day trip plan to see what milage your going to have to cover each day. This may eliminate some of the sights or maybe allow others to be added.

I actually plan to do something very similar...even in the same month/year.
Where will you be starting from? I"ll be leaving from Mass.
I'd be interested in your routes/plans cause I'm in the process of figuring it all out now too.

&gt; I actually plan to do something very <BR>
&gt; similar...even in the same month/year. Where <BR>
&gt; will you be starting from? I"ll be leaving from <BR>
&gt; Mass. I'd be interested in your routes/plans <BR>
&gt; cause I'm in the process of figuring it all out <BR>
&gt; now too. <BR>
<BR>
That's pretty cool! Gotta see America before life sets in...

Edit: I'm from Ft. Wayne, IN!

OK, I'll see about working a rough plan up. May take a while though.

Hello,
I've had the pleasure of visiting all 50 states in 2001 in 43 days with my family and visiting all 50 states in 8 days in 2003 with my son. I'd be glad to pass along details, routes, and ideas. Feel free to email me at opticalil@aol.com

Gary

Looking at your list, I see a couple of locations that will eat up gobs of time and keep you from being efficent. Key West, Florida is will cost you 3 days just to get there and back from the state border. Alaska needs to be by air if your making time. Seattle, Wa or Vancouver, BC are good airports to make Hawaii and Alaska connections. The Four Corners area looks like your trying to catch all of the National parks, pick a couple that are within an hour or so of an interstate. Zion,Grand Canyon, and Arches would be my choice. 4 corners is interesting, but not as efficent to access as most people think.

yeah id also say if youre tight on time dont go to alaska it is a long way out their and if you drive up youre definitely going to need to buy a new windshield by the end

as for some other things u mentioned well kennedy space center is neat to look at but for around 50 bucks a person its really not worth it.....four corners again is also away from everything and while its cool to say youve been its not the most impressive....same with bonneville salt flats youre just driving down a highway and it looks like anything else except the surroundings are white-ish....but definitely you have to go to yellowstone, grand canyon, zion national park, arches.....oh and while youre in the black hills/mt rushmore area you should go see crazy horse monument its incredible and right near both.....also if you have the time glacier national park in montana is beautiful

hope thats helpful

Here are a few things that you MUST see while in Washington state:

Olympic National Park (the only rainforest in the contentental US)

US 2 over Stevens Pass to Leavenworth (Bavarian themed town) and Wenatchee (The Apple Capital of the world).

Lake Chelan- Especially uplake to the remote town of Stehikien (i doubt if I spelled that right). If you like adventure, that end of Lake Chelan will be awesome for you).

The stonehenge memorial near Goldendale, WA (in the Columbia River Gorge)

Mount Rainier NP

Mt St Helens

Here are some facts about Washington to remember when you plan your trip:
There are essentially 5 "Washingtons."

The Pacific Coast is the Rainforest part, and is much much wetter, especially around Forks

The Central Sound- Seattle/Everett/Tacoma, and even the southern areas around Vancouver, WA/Portland, OR

The Northern Sound/Islands- Marysville North, including Whidbey Island (part of WA Wine Country), the San Juan Islands Archepelago, and the Canadian Border (with the Peace Arch at Blaine).

Cascadia (The Cascade Range)- Everything IN the mountains)

Eastern Washington/Inland Empire- The 'Desert' side of the state. Much dryer, warmer, etc. Mainly farmlands, grassland, and spotty towns.

Personally, I would like to take a month and just go play in all of Washington, and visit the entire state from corner to corner, driving nearly every road, because there is always something new to find there.

For a free map of Washington, you can get one through the Washington State Department Of Transportation (WSDOT). www.wsdot.wa.gov
If you have any particular questions about Washington State, I lived there for 12 years (now I reside near Bob, in Arizona).
-Good luck, and keep us posted!
Brad M.

you STILL haven't bought me lunch!

Thanks for the Washington info.

This is just the sort of thing I need, worthwhile attractions from states I know little about, from people who've been there.

Hey, I spend most of my time working, helping our visitors to our wonderful state get off the roadway. The rest of my time I'm getting settled into my new appartment, just across Van Buren from Torvea Castle.

Perhaps if you are in the area, I'll have Subs by Jim make you a sandwhich. They are quite good by the way!

and done that. Like I said, Washington is really a state to spend a whole month in by its self. I wish I could get that much vacation time, but this 19 year old went directly from High School & College (at the same time) to work.

You don't work too far from me -- maybe we can get this together! I know a couple good BBQ places too...

I know they have a place next door to my "living box" of an appartment.

at Central and Thomas.

I'm a barbecue man, and I can't seem to stop...

Pace yourself, or else you look like me.

Here's some ideas I looked up, based on our trip's objectives, that would be suitable to see in Alabama:

Monte Sano State Park / Space and Rocket Center<BR>
Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park OR Tannehille Ironworks Historical State Park<BR>
Ft. Gaines/Ft. Morgan Historical Site<BR>
Birmingham - MLK's church, Rosa Park Museum<BR>
Moundville Archeological Park<BR>

These aren't in any order, but they are the sorts of things we'd like to see... history and the outdoors.

Any suggestions as to what to add, subtract, or revise?

I no longer have a computer at home, and thus must access email by cellphone. Gmail is not working on my cell, so my direct contact should be to cascadia4@aol.com

What a wonderful trip you have planned! How exciting. I am not so numbers oriented as other posters so I have a different method for suggesting a way to plan for your trip. I would suggest you have 3 - 4 places that are MUST SEEs for your trip. Design the trip so that you can, as much as possible, see these places during your first two weeks. Then, the rest of the trip is a great gift to yourself. I think that it is only theoretically possible to plan a journey -- so much of the adventure unfolds while you are in the midst of it. So, you won't be able to make some of your destination decisions until you are actually on the road.

By the way, I do respectfully disagree with one of the other postings. My visit to the Bonneville Salt Flats was a very pleasant experience -- I experienced a feeling of freedom and openess not found anywhere else. And, its as fun as heck to drive out on the salt flats as fast as you can go! :-D So, I recommend going to the places that call to you whether they are "big ticket" places or not.

One last note, 'glad you have the US Air Force Museum at Wright Pat on your list. I live not too far from there and think it is an outstanding place to visit. You won't be disappointed -- and except for the IMAX theater, it is ALL FREE.

'Keep us posted on your planning -- and where you actually go on your trip.

"One last note, 'glad you have the US Air Force Museum at Wright Pat on your list. I live not too far from there and think it is an outstanding place to visit. You won't be disappointed -- and except for the IMAX theater, it is ALL FREE."
Yeah, I was born on WPAFB.

And I believe I'm going to cut back my ambitions for this trip, in the interests of actually getting to DO things, so it'll either be a:

1) New England + East Coast + Appalachians + The South
or
2) Route 66 East, California, The West

I can't decide, but it'll be 1.5 months, still.

I know youth & curiousity are a wonderful thing. But as you get older you will want to stop & smell the roses. I am 57 now & still trying to see America. At 18 my 1st vacation with friends not family was to just FL from NJ. I have tried to plan a bigger trip every other year & just go to New England or Canada on the off year.

Other years I I traveled only to HI. I have also done CA several times & worth revisiting again. Still did not see it all because of not enough time. Did CO,NM & WY on another trip. Another time ND, SD. A few years ago went to OH plenty to do. This year going to OH, IL, IN, WI & MN. Trying to get the Midwest done now & may go to MO next year.

With the trip you have planned all you will get is an overview & see the "lay of the land" from the road. What about meeting the people & having time to "see" the sights.
You will only get to see what you want to come to see again. And thats ok if thats what you want. It is your trip. But think you will miss the culture part that way.

I live in NJ & there is alot of history in NJ. George Washington slept everywhere here too. Ft. Lee has interesting historical park right close to GW BRidge. If you want to see NJ though I would not use NJ Turnpike that is only the worst parts (at least in the Northern section around Elizabeth/Newark Airport) just plain smelly but it is a faster road.

There is the ocean and its crowded beaches here but alot of kids your age will be there. Seaside Heights has the boardwalk.

Congrats on being a Buckeye by birth! It's a great place to live.

Either one of your modified routes would be outstanding. For me, I am hoping to do the Route 66 trip you describe. My husband and I have a dream of driving to Chicago, getting on Route 66 and taking it all the way to Santa Monica.

By the way, if you take the Western route you described, Highway 50 (the loneliest highway) is really fun if you like solitude. Area 51 and Rachel, Nevada are extremely memorable trips.

Hey, my best advice for the perfect road trip is to have fun. Like a couple of others said pick a few places that are a must to see then wing it! Id go as far as to skip the planning too, maybe look up some roads and possible places to stay along the way, but as long as you have a road map and a load of AAA tour books your all set. En-route planning is a blast, adds some excitement, especially with 1.5 months, nothing is more fun than in the middle of the trip to say screw it we are going to .... Along the lines of places to see, hit up a few "unique" places like "South of the Border" nothing gets to you like a 70 foot sombrero when you enter South Carolina (other experienced road trippers know what im talking about). Additionally, your just STARTING college, no use in burning all the fun quite yet. You have another 4 years to be crazy, and once your 21 the real fun will begin with trips and what not. Another couple of other ideas would be to try and stop by a few colleges and see if you can chill there hit up a few parties, coming from someone who lived at school for 3 yrs (including summers) having people stop by in the summer kept it interesting. To maybe help your decision of East coast, midwest or whatever, I've been up and down the east coast multiple times, the advantage its more compact, very historic, and new england has awesome summer nights (ill admit i am from NE, but now reside in the Mid-Atlantic). Below is a short list of cool colleges to stop by, and opinions on some east coast places ive been.

Colleges that rock:
-Univ. of Delaware (Alma mater)
-Univ. of Richmond (in VA)
-Univ. of Florida
-Univ. of Conn (but not much there in summer)

East Coast Places (just a few, and just my opinions)
-Myrtle Beach - Spent a week there it was unreal
-Florida (central) - Thunderstroms like crazy, but UFL rocks
-Florida (gulf coast) - Great, also saw evergaldes which id say is a must for natural wonders
-Atlanta - was there for New Years 2005 and Peach Bowl - it was craziness
-Atlantic City - not impressed, Vegas was much better, which brings me to an important point. Once you and your college buddies are 21 you go to vegas, just do it.
-Ocean City, NJ - again not impressed
-Virginia Beach - was there to short looks like a good time
-Boston - a Red Sox game is a must if your up there, historic city, but best enjoyed if your 21
-NY (upstate) - very scenic, visit niagra falls, and adirondack mts (a place called lake george around there) also copperstown.
-Vermont/NH - VERY SCENIC from my passing through, id suggest lake champlain
-Maine (coastline) - great, visit an island
-Chattanooga, TN - was there for 24 hrs Dec 2003 NCAA Div II football championship, everything is still a blur.
-Blue Ridge Mts (VA,etc) - scenic, not bad
-Baltimore - Camden rocks, inner harbor rules, better once 21
-Annapolis,MD - very historic, tour Naval Academy
-Philadelphia - OK, was there in winter so it was cold
-Gettysburg - AWESOME!!! mainly because I love history

Let me know if you want more!

I have no clue how you would visit 50 states in 8 days -- short of taking the Concorde! ;-D Would you mind sharing both your 43 day route and your 8 day route? 'Not sure I would ever have the endurance for it, but I am intrigued.

Cool, thanks. I live in Ft. Wayne, IN, so it'll be an awesome Route 66 trip right from Chicago if we decide to do it.

Summary: 7532 miles (8 days, 0 hour, 20 minutes)

8/1/03 to 8/8/03

Hyder, Alaska to Seattle, Wa (Various Canadian hwys)
Seattle (Fly) to Maui, return to Seattle
Seattle (I-90 East)( detour to Umitilla, Or)to I-15 South
I-15 south to Utah, I-80 east to Wyoming, return to I-15
I-15 south to Las Vegas, US 93 south to Needles, Ca
Pickup I-40 in Kingman to Tucumcari, NM
US 54, US 385, US 287, US 40 to I-70 in Kansas, crossing Texas and Okla panhandles into Colorado and Kansas
I-70 E to I-29 N Missouri, Nebraska ( quick out and back on I-80 in Omaha)Iowa, S. Dakota, N.Dakota
SR 11,9,79 to I-94 in Minn.
I-94 to I-90 through Wisc and Illinois
I-80/90 to I-94 Mich
I-65 to I-74 through Ind, and Cincinnati, Oh
I-71 to Louisville
I-65 to Nashville, I-40 to Memphis, I-55 to New Orleans
I-10 to I-65 in Mobile, local roads to Florida line and back to I-65.
I-65 to I-85, to I-77 Ga, SC, NC
I-81 to I-70 to I-95 VA,WV,MD,DE,PA,NJ,NY,CT
I-91 to MA and VT
SR 101 to I-95 for NH
I-95 north to Maine, reverse direction I-95 south to RI


I would like to make another attempt at 50 States in under a week. I can improve on this route. Just waiting for the right time and right charity to the raise money for.

Enjoy!

Gary

Gary:

Thanks for publishing your trip itinerary. I am impressed. I've always thought that something like this would be a once in a life time trip, but it sounds like you've done it (or will do it) multiple times. By the way, what kind of vehicle were you driving?? How did it fare on your trip?

Dr. T

Dr. T,
On both trips we used a 1995 Chevy van with the Explorer conversion package. It performed very well on both trips. Only minor problems on the first trip ( Flat tire, Dead battery, and a slight adjustment to the brakes after crossing the Rockies in Denver. The 8 day trip was flawless!
Having a bed in the back was really the key to the 8 day trip. It allowed my son and I to swap driving, not lose any time and still get sufficent sleep along the way.

Gary

'Sounds like the perfect vehicle for your trip. Thanks for the info.