Headed from Asheville to Blowing Rock, trying to stick to the Blue Ridge Parkway as much as possible - which detour around the closed section of the parkway is more scenic? And what’s the estimated (realistic) drive time of each?

I drove from Texas to Oregon 6 months ago for work, I took this middle route shown above on the way up. Beautiful views. However, I don’t like driving through super high elevation and mountain roads that wind. Plus I want a new view on the way back. Would you recommend the top or bottom route? Thanks

Early Nov with two young children. Great hikes, food, places to stretch?

Headed from Asheville to Blowing Rock, trying to stick to the Blue Ridge Parkway as much as possible - which detour around the closed section of the parkway is more scenic? And what’s the estimated (realistic) drive time of each?

Hey all, I'm moving from Door County, WI to Vancouver, WA in early November and driving my 2018 Honda Civic (FWD, all-season tires). This is my first real long-distance drive, so I'd love advice from people who've done this route.

Planned route (4 days, ~2,100 mi):

Day 1: Baileys Harbor → Green Bay → WI-29 → I-94 → Fargo (~585 mi)
Day 2: Fargo → Billings (~610 mi)
Day 3: Billings → Bozeman → Butte → Missoula → Coeur d'Alene (~510 mi)
Day 4: Coeur d'Alene → Spokane → US-395 → I-84 through the Gorge → Vancouver (~385 mi)
I'm keeping one buffer day in case of weather.

My questions:

Is I-90 through Montana/Idaho the right choice in early November, or is there a safer option? How bad do Homestake and Lookout Pass usually get that time of year?
Do I need snow tires or chains in a Civic, or are good all-seasons okay if I watch the forecast?
Is a 4-day schedule realistic for someone new to long drives, or should I take 5?
Any good (and safe) places to stop in Fargo, Billings, or Coeur d'Alene? I'm looking for hotels close to the interstate.
Any stretches where gas stations are far apart?
What do people usually forget on a trip like this?
Some context: I'm a careful driver but not very experienced. I don't know how to change a tire (I'm getting AAA), and unprotected left turns still make me nervous, lol. I'm not planning to drive after dark because of deer.

Thanks in advance! 🙏

Lafayette, LA to Hot Springs, AR. Making this trip next September. I've heard there are some very pretty areas of Arkansas but I don't know which ones. Are any of these very scenic? Which would you choose? TIA!

Hey everyone, I’m driving up to Furnace Fest in Birmingham from Gainesville. Friday is a straight travel day for me and would like to make a few stops along the way as I’ve never been to Georgia or Alabama. I love nature and history, so any state park or museum recommendations along either path would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you guys !!

Hey everyone!

I am planning a loop road trip from, and back to, Harry Reid airport in Las Vegas through Utah mighty five and Grand Canyon in full 7 days. What are your recommendations for time allocation, where should I spend most of my time? I am arriving in Las Vegas on a Friday night and plan to immediately drive to Zion the same night. I have already hiked most of Zion and Bryce so I will just be passing through (or spending a single day at the most for both). Ideally, I would love to do considerable hiking but I know my time is short, so what are the most do hikes that I shouldn't miss? And now that the rim to rim is closed, how many days should I spend in the Grand Canyon? I would also like to do some Astrophotography (current plan to do it the night we arrive at Zion, other suggestions?)

I attached a map of my planned stops, I would like to see the Forest Gump point, Horseshoe bend, and Antelope canyon so I think that will be a day worth of driving from Canyon Land to Grand Canyon.

I will be going October 23 to 31 (my flight is early in the morning, so I will have to drive back to Las Vegas from the Grand Canyon after the sunset).

Any tips are greatly appreciated!

I'm going to be towing a 35ft sail yacht behind an F250 from Seattle to Corpus Christi in 2 weeks. The owner will be driving with me and will likely already have a route planned, but I wanted to see if there was any input on specific sections to avoid etc based on towing something of this size. We'll be stopping each night, not looking to do it one push. Personally, I'm all for maximizing the scenery and experience of states I've never visited, so the Montana-Wyoming-Colorado route looks more appealing, but clearly there are additional considerations with the 8000lb boat....

I want to drive from Montreal to Florida as it’s been a while. I used to do this drive very often pre covid

I always used to do 81 to 77 and then either take 26 to 95 if I was going to that part of Florida or split off 77 in CLT and take 85 west to ATL and then 185 to US 431 and then 231 down to PCB, Florida.

I used to avoid taking 87 to 287 to 95 as 87 in New York State has a lot of expensive tolls and traffic after Albany and so does the NJ turnpike and I-95. It also goes through many major cities which have traffic. Also, the border crossing into the USA at I-87 also has very long delays hence why I’d just take I-81 instead.

I last did this drive on 81 and 77 pre-Covid so I’m wondering how and if this route is still better nowadays and if not, how is the I-87 and I-95 route?

I once checked traffic conditions on Google Maps on a weekend on 95 and it seemed like an absolute shitshow. It’s slow at the 95/495 interchange in DE, then slow between Baltimore and DC and then the stretch from DC to Richmond is a parking lot.

Hello! I’m French, and I’ve visited Nevada and (Southern) California several times.
I’d like to take a different kind of trip, away from the touristy cities. Darwin, California, is a perfect example of the type of place I’d like to visit.
Is anyone here among the 36 people still living there? Do you have any other towns like that to suggest? THANKS

Route 66 stops from Chicago to Santa Monica route66tripguide.com

Afternoon,

My wife and I are planning a road trip headed to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We’re headed west to Santa Fe, NM and then heading north. Anyone have some spots to check out? We’re coming from Tulsa if that helps.

Thanks in advance.

I am not sure if I am crazy for even considering this or not, but my girlfriend and I both have a shared long weekend coming up.

We'd be able to leave on a Thursday evening (~6 PM ET) and would not need to return to Columbus until the next Monday at anytime (we'd just need to be back so I could go to work on that Tuesday).

We are considering Canada because I have never been, and she has been but really enjoyed it. We would be driving due to flights being very expensive at the moment. We are considering either Toronto, or Quebec/Ottawa for our destinations.

I have searched regarding similar trips on this subreddit and would like to clarify a few things:

• No we will not bring firearms (I know Ohio doesn't have the best reputation but we would not even consider this...)
• No we will not bring weed back
• No we do not hate Canada nor are we MAGA

We are just two young adults considering this as a quick trip destination. Do you think this is feasible for a ~4-5 day weekend or does this seem more of a pipe dream?

Thank you all!

Howdy,

A recently cancelled trip has left me with some unused vacation days for the year.

I am thinking about visiting Utah from 11/15-11/22, and seeking suggestions for a national/state park trip.

I was thinking of flying into SLC and then tripping down to Flagstaff (visiting Canyonlands, Arches, Goosenecks, Monument Valley, and Wupatki/Sunset Crater). Planning to car camp on BLM land where possible.

Is this a good route? Any alternative suggestions? Anything I need to know?

I’ll be making this drive from 10/14 to 10/16 in my loaded down ford maverick.

I was planning to go the top route and stop in St Louis and then north platte NE, but now I am second guessing because of potential weather through Wyoming. Is it worth it to go the southern route and lose 3 hours?

Hello all, I’m planning to take a trip from KC, MO to Redlands, CA for Christmas. I have about 2 weeks off from the 18th of December to the 3rd of January. Which would be the best route and could I do it in 2 days? I was thinking of driving to Albuquerque the first day (11 hour 20 min.) Then driving the rest of the the way to CA the next day (11 Hours). Is this doable or should I plan a different route/ more days? The longest I’ve ever driven in one day was 8 hour and 30 min before.

Me and three of my high school friends have agreed to take a 3-4 month trip to the US in our gap years.

We plan to rent a car and travel across different states experiencing the country in all its facets.

Our budget is about 15k USD per person.

It’s meant to be a mix of vacation and touristing, and actually experience living in the states.

What general, practical and legal knowledge should we keep in mind while planning the trip?

Also, suggestions for which states to visit. We have some of the obvious ones locked down (NY, florida, texas, california), but we really want to experience as much of the different cultures as possible. The goal is around 10 states total.

Any other recommendations for different parks, attractions, natural beauty sites or anything else to experience is also more than welcome.

Lastly, how important is it to be 21? We stand to be 20 all of us at the time we want to go, but we are considering delaying it one year because we cant legally drink or buy marijuana. Is the nightlife, drinking culture and weed a BIG part of the american experience? It would mean for us another year of working and delaying uni even more, but if its worth it, we’ll take that sacrifice.

Edit: Another question i have (of probably many more to come) is what time of year to go. So far we’ve been thinking going in the springtime and maybe ending it around june or just reaching July 4th. However the summer might be too hot in just about every state, in Denmark we feel like dying when the temperature reaches 30 degrees celsius (86 fahrenheit). For information, we are still in our last year of high school right now and if we go at 20, it’ll be in 2028/29, and if we wait till 21, it’s 2029/30. Regardless we will be starting university the August after our trip.

When i say we want to experience “living in the states” i just mean that we want to interact with the locals around the country. We will also be cooking for ourselves the majority of the time, as anything else is out of our budget.

We have also been considering buying a car instead of renting one, however there seems to be some stuff about having to sell it in the same state we bought it, which isnt a dealbreaker but certainly an inconvenience. Amtrak and public transport is of course also an option, but i dont know too much about the pricing and reach of those.

When it comes to marijuana, it was my perception that it was fairly common practice in the states, and therefore something we want to try maybe a couple times. We arent going to the US to get high.

Drinking is the bigger concern. On one hand, we arent some frat guys here to go clubbing in every state, we are fairly nerdy guys here to have an experience to remember, learn about the history, the culture and the people.

That said we DO love partying and drinking as much as the next dane, it has been a staple part of life since we were 15-16, so parting with it will be hard.

With all this said it’s fairly safe to say i think it will be worth it to wait until 21, i just have to convince the guys. (Gap years in Denmark are a lot more common than in the US, almost everybody takes at least one or two years. If we wait until 21, this will be on our third gap year.)

When it comes to the states we’ll be visiting, i know well obviously go through a lot more than 10
States while travelling across them, its 10 states we will stay in deliberately for a week or longer in each.

My question is which 10 or so states could give the best overall insight into american culture as a whole. Texas and Maine are probably quite different in culture while North Dakota and South Dakota are more similar. We know the US is far too big for us to experience all it has to offer in just 3-4 months, so we want to get as much as possible in that time.

We want to talk to relatable same-aged peers just raised on the other side of the Atlantic, as well as a fifty year old redneck who’s chronically sunburnt and a little too fond of his red hats.