One possible vacation plan that my family is thinking about is driving across the US over the course of about three weeks. We’d rent a car, drive west from New Jersey, return the car in California, then take a plane home. Along the way we’d stop at national parks and other points of interest.
Any advice or suggestions, especially about points of interest? The route will probably end up being I-80, more or less, but detours are quite possible.
I’ve traveled a bit in the western half of the country – Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Deadwood. All worth visiting, if you don’t mind tourists. 
There’s a restored sod house and prairie dog town near the Badlands, and we were the only visitors that day (early September).
Do you have to fly back? I always thought it’d be fun to take the northern route one direction, and southern coming back. Not sure three weeks is enough time for that though.
I’d like to point out some interesting sites in Iowa, but I can’t think of anything. Eat a pork tenderloin sandwich. Stay away from anything called a “Chef’s salad.”
I did this by myself once, and my observations were:
I’m not much of a person for touristy stuff, so I’ll let other people answer to that.
Check out this Utah terrain, off 70.
Make sure you have air conditioning. And sunglasses too. Females may want to invest in a pee-standing device because many of the rest stops are NASTY, so nasty you don’t even want to squat. Bring music everyone can agree on.
You could check out Chicago, since 80 goes right past it, IF you’re into visiting big cities on the way. Then burn rubber until you get through Nebraska, then go toward Denver and get on 70. I strongly recommend taking 70 through Colorado and Utah because it is about a million times more beautiful and inspiring and fun than staying on 80 through Wyoming. I am serious, take 70. If you can, when you’re near Denver, swing up to Boulder and check out the Flatirons. They are where the plains meet the Rockies, and they are really cool. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a lightning storm out on the plains while you’re up there. Mother nature’s biggest fireworks show.
Take 70 through to Utah and then I’d recommend heading south. My favorite spots are mostly in Utah. I think it’s worth it to go nonstop through the “corn states” and spend a long time in Utah, especially southern Utah. Zion and Bryce are both fantastic. Plus dip down into Arizona and go to the Grand Canyon, you’ve got to see that if you can.
From there you can either head toward LA or you can swing back up through Utah to Salt Lake to take 80 through the salt flats and Nevada to California. Personally I’d go back up and get on 80. Stop in Lake Tahoe as you enter California, it is beautiful. Auburn has some interesting miner-49er historical stuff to check out. And then you can leave your heart in San Francisco.
Are any of the prospective travelers children? If so, my advice is “DON’T DO IT!”
Small children get really bored really fast. Even if you bring along all the coloring books and portable entertainment devices possible, what’s the point? Might as well stay home if you’re just going to watch t.v. or play Game Boy all day. Teenagers more so, except they also become sullen. And they want their friends and to talk on the cell phone all day. One of the worst weeks in my life was driving for a week up the west coast from LA to Seattle with all four of us. And, mind you, we stopped often for interesting stuff. By the end of the week no one was speaking to anyone. I cannot imagine if we had been driving across, say, the panhandle of Texas.
Second, have the prospective travelers done any long-distance driving together before? Even if everyone is adult, some of us are early-rising-get-up-and-go types, and others feel like hey, it’s a vacation I’m sleeping til noon. Mix those two groups together and it will not be a good time had by anybody. Even if it’s only two people, better sort out those issues ahead of time. Realize that the time necessary to do anything increases geometrically with the number of travellers involved.
Is three weeks going to be long enough?
I’ve done the round trip in 3 weeks. That’s a stretch, but the kids insisted we not turn back until we’d been to Disneyland.
So one way 3 weeks is easy.
The central states, like Iowa and Kansas are dull as all get out.
I like the southern route. Cumberland Gap.
One way car trips tend to be expensive or at least incur an additional cost. If they still have cheap fairs to Las Vegas I’d fly out there and tour the West Coast in a big circle. You can see the Grand Canyon, Brice Canyon, hike around Zion Canyon and boat around Hoover Dam in a couple of days. You could see one of those fantastic acrobatic shows in Las Vegas and then see Disney World the next day. San Diego Zoo, followed by a couple of days on a California beach. Lots to do out there. You could even buy a tent and camp your way through to save money. Tents are so cheap now you could give it way or ship it back to yourself.
Warning. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING north of the Grand Canyon. You could drive for hours and not see any signs of civilization let alone a place to stay. For that reason alone you need to carry provisions with you when driving in the desert. And you must make arrangements ahead of time to stay at the Grand Canyon or Zion park. Dropping in doesn’t work. Been there, regretted that.
Back when I was a kid, my mom took us on a trip like this. It took about 3 weeks and it was a great experience. It was the best, most memorable vacation I’ve had to date in fact. I think Yellowstone was the best part of the trip. I don’t know about other kids, but for me driving has always been fun for the most part and I dont remember getting restless or bored even though I was only about 8 at the time.
Since this is just opinion, I would choose a Southern route over a straight across or Northern one. It just seems more obvious that there are more points of interest on that route over others. The central and northern routes leave vast areas of boredom whereas the Southern route can be better in most ways. Everything is a compromise however.
Oooo, I love roadtrips!
I agree with what everyone has said so far. My route would be thus:
North to Niagra Falls, via Vermont, with a short stop along Lake Champlain. I’d take a trip up to Montreal for a day, if you have time.
Next, southwest via 90 and then 80. Spend the night in LaPorte, Indiana, if you can. There’s a cheap little B&B there on the lake that is simply heaven.
Then, on to Chicago. You simply must see Chicago. Have dinner. Take in a musical. Visit the lake. Whatever.
Even though it’s boring, I’d continue on 80 through Des Moines, Omaha and Lincoln and would avoid going south to St. Louis to catch the 70. The traffic is bad in St. Louis, people don’t know how to drive on the freeways there, and the Arch is a huge let-down. Instead, catch the 76 to the 70 and drop down into Denver. There’s absolutely TONS to do in Denver. If you want to get the kids good and tired, Water World is big fun. There are terrific museums, theaters, shopping and dining. If you just want to get out of the city, try Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, or visit the little town of Steamboat Springs, where olympic athletes come to train. There’s terrific trout fisihing at Steamboat Lake, where you can rent a little cabin and take a boat out of the day. You can stop in Palisade and visit the Rocky Mountain Meadery for a few samples of locally made mead. Yummers.
But don’t waste any time in Grand Junction. There isn’t much to see there. Instead go south down US Hwy 550–The Million Dollar Highway–for some of the most beautiful country you will ever see. Stop and stay in Durango for at least a day. Great fishing, hiking, kayaking, biking and golfing are available to travelers. Then head west to Mesa Verde National Park, and don’t forget to check out the local museum there. Holy moly, is it ever cool. If you have time, drive north on Hwy 666 to Hovenweep National Monument. It’s worth a look.
There’s plenty to see in Utah, too. Try to hit Bryce Canyon National Park and definitely don’t miss Zion National Park. Yeah, it’s $15 to get in, but it’s the most beautiful of all the national parks I’ve seen.
Then south to Vegas, of course. If you’re feeling adventurous, there’s a skydiving company in Boulder City you should visit.
From Vegas, just head straight for the ocean. Then south to L.A., Orange County and San Diego. You could spend a month there just playing.
Have fun!
Auntie Pam:
It certainly is…I’ve done three trips that way (granted, only one went all the way to the Pacific Ocean), and if you can stand some nights of very little sleep, you can do it in a little over two weeks.
Actually, you might be able to do it in less time than me, because, as an Orthodox Jew, Saturday couldn’t be a travel day.
If you want me to bore you with specifics, just ask.
We made it from Boston to Reno in three days, so three weeks should be plenty of time. I didn’t find WY to be the most dull part, no, that was Nebraska. Cheyenne was a relieve to be out of that place. Although I have to agree that most of 80 is dull at best.
Did you drive straight through? You didn’t stop to see the Biggest Ball of String and Wall Drug and the Corn Palace? 
My youngest son drove from Iowa back to Seattle in less than two days. He left Iowa Friday noon and was back in Seattle on Sunday. Picked up two speeding tickets though.
I highly recommend using AAA to help you plan a trip like this. They can help plot a good route and give you maps and such. We did this when I moved from Texas to PA and all that information was a godsend.
Robin
Heck no. While we didn’t stop in those specific places, we always stopped to tour. We wouldn’t consider ourselves having seen a state if we hadn’t.
I used to live in Laramie Wyoming, as well as in the Denver area. I agree with the recommendations to pick up I-76 west of North Platte and then drop into Denver. I-70 is WAY prettier than I-80. So if you take I-70 through the mountains, a good place to stop for a night is Glenwood Springs. Raft trips through Glenwood Canyon, a quick hike up to Hanging Lake , a huge hot springs pool (two blocks long but all the water exchanges in six hours), and you can always take a side trip to Aspen from there.
If you do decide to take I-80 through Wyoming: there is a detour out of Laramie (in the summer only) which is a gorgeous drive, is not well known, will only cost you about an extra 90 minutes if you don’t stop, and will give you a sense of the mountain terrain: Snowy Range Road. From Saratoga you can stay on route 130 to get back up to I-80, then head northwest to Yellowstone and Grand Teton if you’re so inclined.
I agree that Iowa is boring as well. But if you like German food, time your trip to have dinner in the Amana Colonies, which are just north of I-80 and just west of Iowa City. Yes it’s the same Amana as the appliances. I used to like the Ox Yoke Inn, but I haven’t been there in years so it’s a stale recommendation.
In case your aren’t baffled enough already, let me contradict what’s been said so far.
When I was ten years old, my family drove from Kentucky to Calfirornia and back. Net time elapsed: five and a half weeks, including a week-long stay with my grandparents in Los Angeles. I’ve also made a number of shorter trips to the West, so I consider myself as something of an expert.
First, is the heartland boring? It’s as boring or exciting as you make it. Oklahoma may look like a fairly boring state at first. But try camping in a tent along the river in one of the state parks, where the fog rolls up in the morning and seems to bury the whole world. Try spending an evening chatting with a group of 80-year-old Native American fisherman, listening to stories while eating freshly-caught fish. Try weathering a genuine great plains thunderstorm in a tent. Then it won’t be boring. Certainly, certainly you want to camp out to get the true cross-country experience.
Where you go in the West depends on how you feel about crowds. Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon are the most beautiful places in the country, but they’re incredibly crowded. On the other hand, there are great nature preserves that aren’t nearly as crowded. In particular, some national forests have trails where you can hike all day without seeing another person. On one trip through the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, I went three days without seeing any other human being. Of course, there are fewer services offered in national forests than in national parks.
Prepare for the weather. In the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, it gets cold, below freezing at night even during summer. In the deserts of Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, it gets hot. If you want to do some hiking in Bryce Canyon or Zion or Capitol Reef, you need to hike early in the morning or late in the evening. It’s impossible to enjoy the outdoors at midday, when the temperatures often exceed one hundred degrees.
Kansas smells bad.
Concering dirty rest areas, that may have been a concern in the past. In recent years, every state that I’ve visited has made an effort to provide clean, safe rest areas.
Uh, the interstates are convenient, even necessary… but the U.S. highways are a better way to see this country, no?