Road trip suggestions in the US and Canada

I did a road trip last year down the southern part of the Oregon coast and into California, down to Mendocino before turning back home. Stunning views. And a great way to get away from summer heat, if you book hotels in advance.

CW, that sounds very nice. Although if I want to escape the summer heat, I’ll stay at home. 😊 We have stayed mostly in the 60s and 70s this summer in Duluth. I think we’ve only turned on our central air-conditioning twice this summer. But I do love California. Thanks!

Hah, good point! It sounds like next time I want to escape the summer heat I should road trip to Duluth, MN.

You should! Let me know and I'll take you out for lunch or dinner! 😊

For your proposed trip to Canada consider swinging north from Quebec for a few days to explore the very pretty Gaspe peninsula and Forillon National Park - the area is beautiful and seemed relatively unspoiled (uncrowded) when we visited a few years ago, and French seemed to be the first language.
Likewise stop by Cape Breton Highlands NP if you like gorgeous scenery and terrific hikes.

Robert has some good ideas re eastern Canada. PEI is fine but there's a lot more to see around there, you might as well take the time after driving so far from Duluth.

As for the Northwest, well of course! Just keep going west on I-90, or turn north to see Glacier NP, then on to the Seattle area, Vancouver and/or Victoria, Olympic Peninsula, Mt. Rainier, beautiful historic Olympia (where I'll give you a tour of the state capitol, inspired in part by the one in St. Paul, if you come on a Friday morning), down to Portland area and the Oregon coast, on south into the redwood country and Bay Area if time and energy allow. Or save CA for another trip.

We're lucky to live in a country with great highways, spectacular scenery, fascinating cities (some more than others), cheap gas (relative to Europe), and other road trip facilitators. Might as well take advantage of it.

Hey, Mardee, how about

make your way west to Glacier National Park

head North through Waterton National Park

you're now in Alberta, make your way over to Highway 22

take Highway 22 North to the #1 Highway, turn west direction Banff, Lake Louise, then

take the Icefield Parkway North (one of the most spectacular drives in the world) direction Jasper, then

from Jasper, make your way South into Vancouver, then over to Victoria, then

take the Coho Ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, WA and you're in the Pacific NW

I'll let others direct you from there

Just wanted to add...the Yellowstone River at Livingston must have been a sight to see with houses, bridges and other stuff floating downstrream. I'm glad you got to where you were going! I headed south from Mammoth on the day the park was evacuated but had already planned to be in Grand Tetons for 3 nights. Missed out on my week at OF though, darn it.

Does your definition of Road Trip mean you have to leave from home or can you fly somewhere and rent a car? If it's the latter, have done several swings thru the SW when I lived in FL that started/ended in Albuquerque - and over the years included Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon/Page AZ and Antelope Canyon, Zion NP, Bryce NP, Natural Bridges Nat'l Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, Mesa Verde NP, Chaco Canyon National HIstorical Park, Taos, Santa Fe and back to ABQ.

editing to add: Cross posting with Aimee but if you do her Highway 14 area, you can see the Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite, the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center (WWII history - where the US interned Americans of Japanese descent as well as lawfully admitted Japanese citizens) and also drive the scenic Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and the Beartooth All-American Highway.

Oh I love a good road trip! Following this post! I’m so deprived of road trips because this state is so huge, I have to drive like 8 hours just to leave it!
Washington is my home state. A great 4 day road trip there is leaving from Seattle, take the ferry to Port Townsend ( you can also drive around through Tacoma), go to Hurricane Ridge, spend the night ( or 2) in Port Townsend, head to Forks, stopping at Lake Crescent and doing an easy hike in Olympic NP, continue to Forks and spend the night. Then do the Trail Of Mosses hike in the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic NP. Continue to Moclips and spend the night near the Ocean. See the Tree Of Life and Ruby Beach. Continue to Lake Quinalt and do another easy hike in Olympic NP. Head back to Seattle! I did exactly this in 2020 and had a great time!
My dream road trip is down the east coast starting in Maine and ending in Key West!

@Tammy...you just have to re-define your definition of "Road Trip". When I lived in FL it was impossible to get to the West on a RT and still have vacation time so to me RT can include flights, lol! It's way worse for you because any RT from home includes a ferry and/or driving down thru Canada.

Try this option:

Check out St. Augustine, Florida, the north into Georgia, stopping at Jekyll and St. Simons Island, then up to Savannah, Georgia, then up to Charleston, SC.

diveloonie, I'm with you, I'd love to road trip the entire east coast. Last November, I flew to Richmond, VA, rented a car and did a solo road trip on the southern stretch, staying 3 or 4 nights each in Richmond, VA, Wilmington, NC, Greenville, SC (to visit friends,) Savannah, GA, St Augustine, FL and flew out of Orlando.

(Unless you also have friends in Greenville - which is adorable - I would suggest replacing with Charleston.)

So now I'd love to do the northern stretch from Richmond (or Alexandria, more likely) and up to Maine.

Aimee...omg...I can imagine what that might have been like, lol!!

Geovagriffith and CW social-I'd spend more time in Charleston, maybe stop in Beaufort, skip Savannah and then go to St. Augustine.

Cala definitely! I'd already been to Charleston, so I didn't go back. On a dream road trip, I'd spend at least a week each in Charleston (with Beaufort) and Savannah.

Actually, I could see spending even more time (outside tourist season) in Savannah, as you presumably do in Charleston. That's probably because I planned such a memorable trip there - after a few more years of practice planning solo trips to Europe.

We're very much into road trips ourselves and have done many of the ones suggested here by other posters.
Our primary lesson learned: Given the vast distances involved in just getting across the country to start our "real" explorations we've started doing as Pam suggested - flying to a destination, renting a car there, and then either doing a wide loop to return the car where we picked it up for the return flight home or (better) a one-way rental which allows to do point to point trips which we particularly enjoy. With rental car prices starting to return to normal levels it might be a more cost-effective option for you versus trying to gut it out by starting from your home base just to devote several days getting to wherever it is that you really want to go. We generally find on our own trips that the total cost winds up being a wash once we crank in fuel costs, overnight hotels and meals, etc. for the 2 or 3 nights we're in transit each way from our own home base. We generally find that our most valuable commodity on travel is our time, and making the best use of it by streamlining our itineraries has paid great dividends for us and generally made for a more pleasant trip. Might work for you too.

Oh, wow, so many great ideas (and great stories)!

Robert, that is a fantastic idea! I will definitely tack that onto my trip - thank you!

Dick, I couldn't agree more about North America - this country is beautiful and there is so much to see! I love European travel but the plane ride does me in so I keep it to one trip a year. Thank you for the suggestion for the NW! I will also take you up on your kind offer when I get out there. I've been to many places in this country but only a quick trip to Portland OR in that area and would love to see it. I've traveled to California before on quite a few occasions. My sister used to live in Carmel, then Atascadero before she retired, and I visited her frequently, so I would probably save it for later. I do love California.

periscope, that sounds like an incredible road trip. I looked up the Iceland Parkway North and the views are just stunning! I am definitely adding all of this to my travel queue! Thank you!

AMann, thank you for the wonderful suggestions! I haven't spent much time in Idaho but would love to explore it more. I forgot to mention that I lived in Colorado for several years back in the late 80's to early 90's, so I've traveled that route to Durango and it is magnificent. I would love to do that again. And Montana is one of my favorite states, scenery-wise, so I will make note of all this!

Pam, yes, the flooding was so bizarre - I've never seen anything like it (and I grew up in Cincinnati, where the Ohio River floods every few years). And I would definitely be open to flying to a destination and then renting a car. I did that my first trip to Maine - flew into New Hampshire and rented a car for 2 weeks to explore Maine. So I LOVE the idea of flying out there and then driving down through the Southwest. As I mentioned above, I lived in Colorado but never made it to the 4 corners or any of New Mexico so that is very appealing. Thanks for that and for tacking on info about Highway 14!

Tammy, I love the Washington road trip - that sounds fantastic! And that is a great idea about going from Maine all the way to Key West. Now it's in my head and may not leave. :) Thank you!!

geovagriffith, now that sounds really appealing - and I have cousins who live in St. Augustine who are always bugging me to come and visit, so that is a great idea. I've been to Charleston but would love the chance to see it again. Thanks!

CWsocial, that must have been really fun. Savannah is on my list of cities to visit, so that's a possibility. When is tourist season there?

AMann, that is so funny - shades of the old west. 🤣

cala, I think now I have to see them all! And I've heard good things about Beaufort but have never been there. Thanks!

Robert, I definitely understand what you're saying about rental cars and that is a strong possibility, especially if I head southeast, southwest or northwest. I do like the drive to PEI from Duluth as there is a lot of scenery along the way going through the UP, like Pictured Rocks, etc., but I think renting is what I will probably do for other places. Thanks!

Savannah is on my list of cities to visit, so that's a possibility. When is tourist season there?

With Savannah's weather, I imagine they have a long tourist season. I would avoid summer heat; I bet spring and fall are crowded.

I was there in the 2nd week of November, when it wasn't overly crowded and had perfect weather for my travel tastes - not crazy hot days, light sweater evenings. I had to reserve popular restaurants weeks, but not months, in advance. The tours I booked - with remarkable-in-their-fields guides - were still running regularly, but were not full.

Early November is a nice idea - I could still visit the northern areas in late summer or early fall, then head south later in the year. Thanks, CW!

That sounds perfect! Depending on the length of your trip, you might follow some changing leaves down the coast. I was seeing beautiful fall colors in Greenville, SC in early November.

Mardee: One of the delights of living (somewhat) in the center of the continent is that it's all possible by car, even southern Florida or California are less than 2-1/2 days away.

I've done loops from Minnesota every which way. A favorite is to include Santa Fe and less touristy southern Colorado like the Spanish Peaks and Great Sand Dunes, along with spots in the prairies coastal people write off but are interesting anyway. There are fantastic art museums across the Midwest even in not very large metros including KC and Toledo. I've driven to DC at least 20 times, including via the UP of Michigan, via the St Louis Arch and Cumberland Gap, all interesting. Check out the Shaker Museums in Indiana or Kentucky if you go this way.

Tom, I'm sure you're right and that makes sense. I do like driving from here, although I will say that long road trips take a toll on my body (although that could be me overdoing it, too). Having said that, I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, so I've done the gamut of trips in that area although I love them; especially Cumberland Gap in TN and Red River Gorge in Kentucky. I'm heading to Cincinnati for 2 weeks around Christmas so I might try to hit up a few places again. One of my favorite places in SW Ohio is Adams County, which has a large Amish population but very little tourism (other than locals visiting). It's a pleasant trip with rolling hills and a lovely countryside - and many Amish businesses. Driving along the Ohio River from Cincinnati towards DC is also am interesting road trip, especially if you like antiquing and scenic river views.

Adding that in the hills south of Cashton, WI, is all Amish and it feels very 18th century, if you are ever that way, just south of I-90 between Tomah and LaCrosse. There's another large Amish community around Clare MI. Zero tourists in either place.

I have a copy of the book "Road Trip USA" and have found it very useful for getting ideas. https://www.roadtripusa.com/.

Hi,

You mention that you have been here in CA a few times. I'll say only this: the Central Coast never gets tiring, absolutely refreshing and uplifting on a clear day. I mean here the scenery overlooking the coast. The spot famous for the "weeping tree" is a sight to see but I am sure your sister must taken taken you out to see that unique site. San Luis Obispo is a very nice town, an escape from the big cities, easily accessible by train, (if you don't want to drive), the downtown is walkable, and always worth repeat visits.

Tom, I would love to check that out. It would be a nice break from the rather monotonous drive through Wisconsin the next time I drive to Cincinnati. Lots of trees but after driving it 3x a year for 15 years, it gets old very fast.

Nancy, thanks for the tip! I will look into getting the book!

Fred, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I love the Central Coast and also SLO. My sister lived in Atascadero and worked in SLO and she took me all over. Paso Robles was one of my favorite places and I always loved visiting the wineries. We went down to Cambria several times (another favorite place) and of course, drove along Big Sur (although that was when she was living farther north in Carmel). We went to Solvang (touristy but cute) and Buellton and other spots made famous by "Sideways." 😊 It's truly a gem of an area and it never gets old.

There is so much to see in the 3 Maritime provinces - it would be a great addition to your PEI trip.

The Cabot Trail in Cape Breton is world renowned and the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick has the highest tides in the world. You can go whale watching on Brier Island, ride the tidal bore on a raft, see Peggy's Cove and the Halifax waterfront. There's fantastic beaches (Ingonish Beach), wineries, dome glamping, and hiking (checkout the Skyline Trail and Cape Split).

If you have the time it is absolutely worthwhile!

I don't have a real set schedule so those are places I would definitely be interested in visiting! Thanks so much for the suggestions! How big is Nova Scotia anyway? I know PEI is relatively small (at least it looks small next to NS), but wondered how easy it would be to see some of those places by car.

"...it never gets old." How utterly true !

All those towns you listed are worth visiting and so accurately described., eg. Solvang, haven't been there in years. Buellton was another site of the famous Andersen's restaurant. I think it's only Santa Nella now.

Hey Mardee!

NS is still pretty small. You could probably drive end to end (east to west) in about 10-11 hours. All of the sites I mentioned are accessible by car. Brier Island is a bit out of the way, but the rest are all readily accessible.

Many folks fall in love with our little corner of the world..there is tons to do (I highly recommend tidal bore rafting if you're up for an adventure) and (I'm a bit biased) but we're a friendly bunch too.

Enjoy!

PQ

Our primary lesson learned: Given the vast distances involved in just getting across the country to start our "real" explorations we've started doing as Pam suggested - flying to a destination, renting a car there

The definition of a road trip is to do it all by surface only, starting by air does not constitute a road trip. The only way to know what the country is all about is to see every mile and watch it all change, albeit slowly. It’s an amazement that your street eventually leads to Alaska or Guatemala if you keep going. And there are always little treasures to discover along the way. I’m looking forward to the extra time available in retirement to forgo domestic flying entirely.

starting by air does not constitute a road trip

Well that would certainly be a deterrent for someone living in, say, Hawaii. And I'm personally glad that I didn't have to drive from San Francisco to Richmond, VA, to take my road trip down the SE coast.

I do see how starting in the middle (of the country) has its advantages for road trips.

starting by air does not constitute a road trip

So if I fly to Paris, rent a car for a month and drive all around France from Paris to Alsace, to Normandy, to Brittany, to Provence, to Loire Valley, and back to Paris, that's not a 'road trip'? So, therefore, there is no such thing as a 'road trip' in Europe for anyone outside of Europe? And there's no such thing as a 'road trip' in the US for anyone outside of the US?

You can probably guess, what I have to answer to that!

Surface transport includes trains and ships. And yes, a road trip cannot start at an airport, that’s cheating. There’s something unearned and slightly phony about jet travel. Although I still fly, I would prefer every trip be entirely on the surface, even to Patagonia and South Africa.

Just scanning this thread , from Paris . Nowhere do I see the suggestion of a road trip through New England . Fly into JFK , pick up a car and head North . Up through Westchester into Connecticut for the start . Past that the options are endless . Easy relaxing driving , and an endless cornucopia of possibilities . Write me for details if this moves you .

steven, you must not have read all of the original post. I'm planning a road trip to PEI from Duluth but on the way back I will head down through Maine, then onward to Massachusetts and other places in the area. I have cousins in the Berkshires, Vermont and Connecticut and hope to visit them all. I love New England and that's what started this whole thought about road trips. :)

With regards to starting by plane, I would do it (and probably will), but I do have to agree with Tom that the whole concept of a road trip is getting the bug, heading out your front door to the driveway and taking off in some general direction for specific parts unknown. I don't feel the same way about long trips I take in Europe by car. I think it's sort of branded with Americana - the old Rt. 66 and family vacations where all my six siblings and I would pile in the car with Mom and Dad and head off on vacation.

Sorry about that, I missed the continuity. I had just returned from Vaux le Vicomte , and wasn't quite with it. Glad to see you are headed that way, it's my lifelong favorite ,along with Europe

Last year we did a road trip. We flew to Minneapolis and enjoyed the Mall of America and some family history places. Then we drove to Wisconsin and saw the site from Little House in the Big Woods. We drove to Iowa and saw some more family history sites. Then we drove back up to MN and saw Walnut Grove and then drove to De Smet SD and saw the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites there. we stayed on the homestead in a covered wagon which was great fun! Then we drove west to Rapid City and saw Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, and the Black Hills and the Badlands. Then we drove into Wyoming and saw Devil's Tower before flying home out of Rapid City. It was a great trip!

One of my favourite road trips is the circle tour of the Four Corners area, starting in Albuquerque. I have don a number of variations of it over the years, including beginning with the three day drive down from Western Canada.

From Albuquerque I like to head west, with a small detour to Acoma Pueblo, turn south at Grants and head to El Moro NM for a stop there and then maybe a stop at Zuni Pueblo. Then north to Gallop and Window Rock to spend time on the Navajo Reservation and spend a few nights at one of the hotels in Chinle exploring Canyon de Chelly. Continue north to Shiprock and the Four Corners area., stopping at Cortez to visit Mesa Verde, Farmington for Aztec NM and into Durango. Explore that area, maybe take the train up to Silverton. Heading south with a stop at Chaco Canyon for the stunning pueblo ruins and the down into Santa Fe, always good for a few days. Finally back to Albuquerque. Lots of side trips or detours, on all portions of the trip. For instance, head into Arizona, visit Tombstone and Bisbee or depending on time and money., Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Moab in Utah.and some of the stunning parks in that area. Great scenery, interesting old towns, quite a few ghost towns, lava flows, deep canyons, history.

MaryC, I live in Minnesota and have traveled to most of the Laura Ingalls Wilder places, and loved them. And this year in June, my grandson and I headed out on a road trip and traveled through the places you mentioned. It was my first time at Mt. Rushmore and it was incredible. Great places to visit!

lanlubber, those are some wonderful places! I used to live in Colorado and have been down to Durango and then the Four Corners, but it's always worth another trip. And my brother lives in Utah so I've been to many of the parks and places there - in fact, I spent four days at Moab in June with them. But I've never been to New Mexico and that is definitely on my list! Thanks!

One of our first road trips with our kids in the 70s was up to Winnipeg, Kenora, and Thunder Bay. You could add in Itasca State Park (headwaters of the Mississippi) and the International Peace Garden. If you want to go east instead of west, you do do the Lake Superior Circle Tour or go to Door County in Wisconsin.

Have you gone south and visited the state parks along the St. Croix River? The Franconia Sculpture Garden is pretty cool, and the river towns on the Mississippi (like Red Wing) are fun to visit. Lanesboro in SE Minnesota and the Amana Colonies, Pella and Winterset (Bridges of Madison County in Iowa are places we have road tripped to.

We did Banff and Jasper in September of 2018 - that was beautiful!

We are also looking at the Pacific Northwest sometime soon. I need Oregon, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware to finish up the 50 state competition between us and 2 of our children:) With the exception of Washington, California, Hawaii, and Alaska, we have driven to all of them from northern MN.

Annie, I've been wanting to go to Thunder Bay and have thought about doing the Lake Superior Circle Tour, but I love that idea of heading up to Itasca then looping in Winnipeg, Kenora and Thunder Bay. I might do that in the summer next year - I'm sure I could probably get one or more of my grandkids to come with me. 😊 I have been along the Mississippi and stopped at Red Wing, Pepin, Maiden Rock and Stockholm (I loved all those places) but have not been down to the southeast yet (except for Rochester). I really want to get to Lanesboro at some point in the near future. My daughter has been there and loves it.

I'm thinking I will try for the Pacific Northwest in 2024 - I've been to Oregon but just the Portland area, so that will be nice. Hopefully I can get up into Canada too and see Banff and those areas. That's amazing that you've been to all those states via road trip! I love it! I'm still missing Delaware and Rhode Island on my 50 state list - also Hawaii, Texas and New Mexico.

I really want to get to Lanesboro at some point in the near future.

Went 3 weeks ago for the first time, it’s sensational especially if you bike. Lots of out of state plates. They have a policy of no chain hotels, stores, or restaurants. Felt a little sheepish I’d never been. Could combine with a trip to the Vesterheim Museum nearby in Iowa.

Winnipeg: There’s the folk festival in July.

Tom, I do like to bike and that sounds ideal! There are so many nice places in Minnesota that I have not been to yet.

And you had me at folk festival! I love folk music and the festival at Winnipeg sounds wonderful! I just found the website and they have lots of performers I would love to hear (including Judy Collins). Thanks for the tip! Looks like I'm adding in a summer trip next year. :)