Road trippers who stop in cities might find Airbnb apartments or boutique hotels a more comfortable option, while camping will allow you to experience state and national parks in a more authentic way. This depends on how much time you have and how much you want to see along the way. Coast to Coast Road Trip from Florida to California. This untapped Midwest gem is home to locavore restaurants, indie boutiques, and contemporary art galleries. RELATED: 9 of the Most Underrated National Parks in America. Here you can dine on the aforementioned spicy bird, before heading back down I-24 to I-75 and then to the ATL. 14 Best Stops on a Road Trip from Las Vegas to L.A. 20 of the Most Beautiful Places in America. This season, there’s Detroit-style pizza, Vietnamese cuisine, Latin-fusion tapas, and innovative takes on American classics. Explore More: See hotel details | See all Pittsburgh, PA hotels. You can take in the scenery—crystalline, glacier-fed lakes; sheer, snow-capped peaks; untouched alpine meadows—along the gorgeous Going-to-the-Sun Road, a 50-mile route that crosses the Continental Divide and winds through Logan Pass alongside Saint Mary Lake. A road trip of this kind can take several weeks or months to drive across the USA. For the family that’s less “stop and smell the roses” and more “get there as fast as we can,” look for shorter, more direct routes. The shortest amount of time to drive from the West Coast to the East Coast (or vice versa) is between four to six days. Some of the country’s most famous drives, like California’s Route 1, remain open. The real showstopper is the 18th-floor rooftop overlooking the Magnificent Mile and Lake Michigan. Our database includes millions of the world’s most fascinating places, making planning the unexpected easier than you thought. On the other hand, heavy summer rains can make driving along the Gulf Coast treacherous, while spring snow can fall as far south as Denver. Another advantage of using Route 66 as a primer for your cross-country road trip is all the bucket-list attractions that sit in close proximity to it, including the Grand Canyon, White Sands National Monument, and the St. Louis Arch, to name just a few. Explore More: See hotel details | See all Jackson, WY hotels. 7 Tourist Traps to Avoid (and What You Should See Instead). The route can be started from any state and would be 9.33 days worth of driving. There are 11 classic USA cross country road trip routes. © 2009 - 2020 Jetsetter ™ All rights reserved. Her superpowers include booking flight deals and sleeping in small plane seats. We plan to drive across in November and want to take a northern route. (It only takes 30 seconds, we promise! From here, you’re just 75 minutes outside Pittsburgh. Answer 1 of 4: Hello, I will moving from Reno, NV to Princeton, NJ early May. The northern US is home to some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes and cities, which makes it the ideal latitude for a cross-country road trip. Arguably the most famous road trip in the world, driving across the country on Route 66 is as embedded in U.S. culture as the American Dream. Use our insider connections to know where to go and what to do. 5 Best Routes for a Cross-Country Road Trip Movies such as The Cannonball Run, Easy Rider , National Lampoon’s Vacation and Rain Man have one special thing in common. From tips on the practical aspects of driving cross-country to some specific (and awesome!) Here, grab a bite to eat at the West Side Market before wandering through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to see guitars and paraphernalia from music legends like Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and Mick Jagger. A comprehensive U.S. road atlas is still one of the best ways to choose among your possible travel routes. Once you’ve gotten your fill of America’s capital, it’s time to hit the road heading west. Chelsea is Brooklyn-based travel writer, editor, and photographer. Playing RV road trip planner is a job that’s simultaneously rewarding and overwhelming at times. Safe travels! This 310,000-acre swath encompasses Jackson Lake, Snake River, and the entire Teton range, which is webbed together by more than 200 miles of hiking trails. in Arizona, the “Cadillac Ranch” art installation in Texas, and Oklahoma’s Will Rogers Memorial, you will follow a route that, more or less, shadows Route 66, whether you go the entire distance between Los Angeles and Chicago or just part of it. Driving halfway across the country may not seem enticing these days, but at the moment traveling by car is arguably safer than traveling by plane. The 2nd most popular route is the Pacific Coast road trip which offers some of the views and amazing vibes of California. Electrify America's first route crosses through 11 states, and in September another cross-country route will open from Jacksonville, FL, to San Diego. By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Longer itineraries can add states like Florida and cities like New Orleans to the mix, or even include the mansions of Mississippi or Alabama’s important Civil Rights Trail. The Northern Route. If you’ve only got a short while, you might consider starting and ending in hub-of-the-south Atlanta. Once you reach the city, you deserve to put your feet up at The Nest, Thompson Seattle‘s rooftop bar, for sundowners and sweeping views of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the Seattle cityscape. Filler’ up, strap on your seat belt, crank up the tunes, and hit the road! The most basic variant of this itinerary would see you drive between Seattle and New York or vice-versa, sticking mostly to interstate highways as you visit cities like Minneapolis and natural wonders such as the Great Lakes. Some ground rules to start: The classic cross-country road trip route, established in the 1970s during the legendary Cannonball Run races, starts … If you're getting ready to road trip across the great United States, make sure you have everything you need to prepare. Safest Driving Route Nashville, TN to Spokane, WA, Travel, 2 replies best winter route for cross country drive, Travel, 22 replies Best cross country driving route mid november from Indiana to San Jose California, Travel, 24 replies Cross country winter travel route advice, Travel, 2 replies Best route cross country, Travel, 11 replies They teach us that the most epic and rewarding way to travel cross-country across the United States is on a road trip. The nearby Chazen Museum of Art and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art have impressive collections, but if you’d rather spend the day indulging in some retail therapy, check out Upshift for flirty vintage dresses or Anthology for quirky handmade crafts. For example, while roads in Hawaii and Arizona will be free of ice in December, you’ll need to drive with more caution in New York or Idaho. Cross Country Road Trip – Southern Route. Both the scenic route and the peninsula’s only major route, Highway 101 loops around the largest road-free area in the continental U.S. There are major landmarks and attractions on just about every road, so going faster doesn’t mean missing out on fun. Cheers! Stretch your legs in Badlands National Park, an otherworldly expanse of jagged pink pinnacles, grass prairies, and ancient fossil beds. Embrace your inner cowboy (or girl!) Home for the night—the Resort at Paws Up, a 37,000-acre working cattle ranch and luxe retreat in the Blackfoot Valley—is just a half hour east of Missoula. Explore these eleven incredible cross-country road trip routes across the U.S. Pacific Coast Highway Starting at the northwest tip of the United States at Washington’s Olympic National Park and remaining within sight of the ocean all the way south to sunny San Diego, this 1,650-mile, mostly two-lane road trip takes in everything from temperate rainforest to near-desert. About three and half hours in, you’ll pass by Fallingwater, the renowned residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that sits cantilevered over a bucolic waterfall in rural Pennsylvania. Notify your friends and family so they don’t worry if you’re temporarily unreachable, and consider renting a GPS navigation system as a backup for a mobile device that might not work. The nice mix of scenery means you can take it slow on the old country roads (look out for the bust of Lincoln between Cheyenn… While in yonder years, Route 66 dominated as the iconic drive, today, the cross-country road trip reigns supreme. Drive Route 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago, then continue east to Boston, or further still along the gorgeous coast of Maine. Road trip planning made easier. Take your pick between a private log cabin or riverfront glamping tent, which comes with its own chandelier, copper soaking tub, and on-call butler and chef, who will happily cook up whole-roasted rainbow trout or chili-dusted Black Angus prime rib. itinerary ideas, America the beautiful has never been more approachable. 12. Divide today’s day-long trek to Chicago with a pitstop in Cleveland, just two hours west of Pittsburgh. If you’re braving the trip by road, here are three good routes and some sights you’ll see along the way. 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