Road Tripping - LA to NYC

[DGvertz]

Hey everyone, this is my first ever road trip, and it may well be the only time I ever get to do this kind of massive trip. My brother has lived in Los Angeles for a few years and is moving back to New York, so I'm flying out there and we're driving across the country together.

I was just wondering what are the land-marks that you guys, as experienced road-trippers would suggest? The cheesier the better - if there actually is a "World's Largest Ball of Lint" I'd like to see it!

My dad (who is also coming along) wants to do some white-water rafting, also, so I was wondering where the best place for that is.

The trip is going to be about seven or eight days, and since there are three of us, we are definitely willing to drive long hours - we have it planned right now that we will drive for eight hours every day.

Thanks very much for any help you can offer.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Hey everyone, this is my first ever road trip, and it may well be the only time I ever get to do this kind of massive trip

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! Cross country trips are always fun.

I was just wondering what are the land-marks that you guys, as experienced road-trippers would suggest? The cheesier the better - if there actually is a "World's Largest Ball of Lint" I'd like to see it!

You might start by looking at our Destinations & Attractions page -- there is an remarkably diverse number of such tourist attractions found throughtout the USA.

My dad (who is also coming along) wants to do some white-water rafting, also, so I was wondering where the best place for that is.

It really depends upon when this trip is planned for. Spring run-off creates superb white water in California and Oregon, Summer flows are consistent in Colorado and Tennessee. All things being equal (and they never are...) I would choose either the main Salmon or the middle fork of the Salmon for a whitewater trip. But there are also runs in Utah, New Mexico, etc. What routes have you considered?

Happy Planning!

Mark

[PNW Judy]

And there are literally hundreds of routes you could drive back to New York. This is really hard to answer. Could you give us more information like what route appeals the most to you, what things you already plan on seeing along the way, how much time you have to make the trip, etc.?

Would love to help but it does us no good to suggest something in Idaho if you're not going that far north (as an example).

[DGvertz]

We don't have a definite route just yet, but we are leaning towards driving down old route 66. We are definitely going to be sticking to the southern US.

We have about seven days to make the trip, which means spending one day, basically, in each stop and driving for about eight hours every day. I don't know exactly how we'll be breaking that up (four hours, stop, four hours, stop) but it all depends on what we see along the way.

[PNW Judy]

which means spending one day, basically, in each stop and driving for about eight hours every day. I don't know exactly how we'll be breaking that up (four hours, stop, four hours, stop) but it all depends on what we see along the way.

Well, I wouldn't try to plan these stops that closely. I agree with just allowing time for spontaneity. You're looking at roughly 3000 miles. If you can do it over 8 days, that's only about 375 miles/day. Very do-able. Especially since you will have multiple drivers.

Personally, I would recommend the following:
1. I'd plan a fairly long last day on the road. Maybe 5-600 miles. Since that will be the area closest to home, you will need to sightsee less there as those are places you can easily get to again on just a long weekend trip. If you do that, this would leave you about 2500 miles for the other 7 days, and shorten the average you need to make on those days to about 320-340 miles/day leaving you a bit more time to sightsee in the faraway places.
2. Then I'd plan long days on the road with LOTS of stops. If you simply get up and leave at the crack of dawn, plan to drive well into the evening, then you can stop numerous times throughout the day when you come across something amazing to see. Since you'd only need about 6 hours driving per day (if you don't get waylaid by traffic somewhere along the way), then if you planned to leave by 6am and stop by 8pm, that's 14 hours. Since you only need 6 hours to drive, this leaves you 8 hours for sightseeing/exploring that I would simply spread throughout the day when the opportunity strikes.
3. Eat most meals out of a cooler. And replenish the cooler at grocery stores along the way. Maybe you don't need to save money but this also saves you a lot of time and you can also eat healthier so you will have more energize for the long trip. That way, when you do stop, you can plan a restaurant meal at some place that is like an event...someplace kitschy or well-known, etc. and linger and really enjoy it.

Well, that's it off the top of me head!

You can't go wrong following old Route 66. I've only done parts of it but would love to do the whole thing. Very fun with lots of new things to see/do but also lots of kitschy remnants of Route 66's attractions, too.

Here's a terrific page from the RTA website with Route 66 information that should get you started

I can vouch for the parts in New Mexico and Arizona but I don't remember the names of all the cool spots we stopped at off-hand. Gallup is very cool, worth a stop, and does have some fun Route 66 kitsch left. And don't miss The El Rancho Hotel - The Hotel of the Stars.

Happy planning. Let us know how we can help you further.