Minneapolis, MN to Estes Park, CO

[Molandfreak]

Greetings, road trippers! My name is CJ and I love taking hikes, photography, and driving for miles and miles. I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of advice about driving to Colorado. I recently got accepted into a gap year program at the YMCA of the Rockies and will be taking a few trips here-there-and-back throughout the course of the year. My question is which route should I be taking that has the best scenery, yet isn't completely out of the way? Should I be just staying on I-35, 80, and 76 when I haven't found a lot to see across Nebraska? If I want plenty of scenic pitstop choices, should I be taking I-90 and U.S. 16 to U.S. 85, or some other option? Any recommendations are appreciated!

[Lifemagician]

Hi CJ, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

You're in for a wonderful time and have countless routes at your disposal. I think if you follow this advice, you can't go wrong.

Start with maps. Not GPS, not software, not Google, but real honest-to-god paper maps that show you your entire route, that you can mark up (and erase), that you can stick pins in, and that show something about the land you'll be driving through. Those are your essential tool in any RoadTrip planning process. Start by marking all the places you know you want to visit. Then connect the dots. Then look for more places of interest and scenic routes along the lines connecting the dots. Repeat until you've got as many sites and roads as you think you want.

A Rand McNally road atlas would be ideal. Unless you are already a member of AAA in which case you can get your maps there.

Lifey

[Bairey]

I would certainly echo that advice about buying maps and "joining up the dots" between places with the locations you most want to stop at. You have plenty of choice, sure, but with a bit of map planning you'll find some good routes. It is important to remember that there is no "perfect" road trip route anywhere - wherever you travel you will get a different experience that will still be worthwhile and give you plenty to see.

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