The Perfect American Road Trip Route
We have 3 more days to prepare for this epic family adventure!
Three years ago I found Randy Olson’s computed optimal road trip route to see the entire US for 2-3 months for the Discovery News. I shared this post with my husband without expecting anything. It was just a ‘hey look I think this is cool’ type of sharing. What was I thinking?! My husband loves to live on the edge, to go on adventures and to keep adding things to his bucket list.
He told me that he wanted to do a 2 month US road trip in 2016 but I told him that we couldn’t afford to take the summer off from work because we have to pay for our wedding. It was reasonable, so we went to a 3-week Asian trip during our vacation.
In 2017, I got pregnant and so I told him that we couldn’t afford not to work because we need to save for the baby. He agreed but we did a trial road trip. We drove to Vermont- Montreal, Canada- Quebec, Canada- Bar Harbor, Maine- New Hampshire- Connecticut and then back to New York.
We enjoyed the trip and agreed that 2018 will be the year that we’re going to check this off our bucket list.
Olson plotted his trip following 50 landmarks in America (scroll below to see the full list). We got inspired by this list and made our own route with the following information in mind:
- My husband is the only driver.
- We have a 7 month old baby who may get fussy from being strapped for a long time.
- We only have 2 months to do this trip.
- I really wanted to see the Banff National Park in Canada.
Ritchie made sure that each of our stop would only require 3-4 hours of driving.
Here’s the full list of our stops in order:
New York-Colorado (East to West Route)
- New York
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Detroit, Michigan
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Columbus, Ohio
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Bowling Green, Kentucky
- Nashville, Tennessee
- West Baden Springs, Indiana
- Springfield, Illinois
- Louis, Missouri
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Leavenworth, Kansas
- Topeka, Kansas
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Spring Green, Wisconsin
- Madison Wisconsin
- Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Royal, Nebraska
- Mitchell, South Dakota
- Keystone, South Dakota
- Dickinson, North Dakota
- Williston, North Dakota
- Billings, Montana
- Bozeman, Montana
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
- Jackson, Wyoming
- Idaho Falls, Idaho
- Craters of the Moon National, Idaho
- Missoula, Montana
- West Glacier, Montana
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Banff, Alberta, Canada
- Wapta Falls, British Columbia, Canada
- Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada
- Spokane, Washington
- Leavenworth, Washington
- Snoqualmie, Washington
- Seattle, Washington
- Olympia, Washington
- Hood River, Oregon
- Portland, Oregon
- San Francisco, California
- Los Angeles, California
- San Diego, California
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Grand Canyon, Arizona
- Bryce Canyon, Utah
- Moab, Utah
- Denver, Colorado
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
New Mexico-New York (West to East Route)
- Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Carlsbad, New Mexico
- Marfa, Texas
- San Antonio, Texas
- Austin, Texas
- Sulphur, Oklahoma
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Scott, Arkansas
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Vicksburg, Mississippi
- Jackson, Mississippi
- New Orleans, Lousiana
- Mobile, Alabama
- Pensacola, Florida
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Waycross, Georgia
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Savannah, Georgia
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
- Charleston, West Virginia
- Morgantown, West Virginia
- Mount Vernon, Virginia
- Annapolis, Maryland
- New Castle, Delaware
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- New York, New York
We know that 2 months is not enough to explore and to really enjoy the entire United States of America which is why we are only going to focus on visiting the famous landmarks and national parks. Are we going to stay in one city for a whole day? for half a day? for 2 hours? Who knows… we are just going to wing it, do this trip and make memories as a family.
Is this really the perfect (US) American road trip route? Follow our journey by subscribing to our blog.
You can also follow our adventure through our facebook page, This Sunny Life and through our instagram account.
What’s your plan for this summer?
Here’s the full list of landmarks in order by Randy Olson:
- Grand Canyon, AZ
- Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
- Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID
- Yellowstone National Park, WY
- Pikes Peak, CO
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
- The Alamo, TX
- The Platt Historic District, OK
- Toltec Mounds, AR
- Elvis Presley’s Graceland, TN
- Vicksburg National Military Park, MS
- French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
- USS Alabama, AL
- Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL
- Okefenokee Swamp Park, GA
- Fort Sumter National Monument, SC
- Lost World Caverns, WV
- Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center, NC
- Mount Vernon, VA
- White House, Washington, DC
- Colonial Annapolis Historic District, MD
- New Castle Historic District, Delaware
- Cape May Historic District, NJ
- Liberty Bell, PA
- Statue of Liberty, NY
- The Mark Twain House & Museum, CT
- The Breakers, RI
- USS Constitution, MA
- Acadia National Park, ME
- Mount Washington Hotel, NH
- Shelburne Farms, VT
- Fox Theater, Detroit, MI
- Spring Grove Cemetery, OH
- Mammoth Cave National Park, KY
- West Baden Springs Hotel, IN
- Abraham Lincoln’s Home, IL
- Gateway Arch, MO
- C. W. Parker Carousel Museum, KS
- Terrace Hill Governor’s Mansion, IA
- Taliesin, WI
- Fort Snelling, MN
- Ashfall Fossil Bed, NE
- Mount Rushmore, SD
- Fort Union Trading Post, ND
- Glacier National Park, MT
- Hanford Site, WA
- Columbia River Highway, OR
- San Francisco Cable Cars, CA
- San Andreas Fault, CA
- Hoover Dam, NV
8 Comments
Bharat Bhushan Sharma
Wow.. it would a great journey.. i aam hona follow you.. thanks fir sharing this
Bharat
Wow.. its hona be a great and adventuorous journey.. i am going to follow you..thanks for sharing..
Leigh
Wow! You guys are going to see a lot! I spent 4 months on the road last year, and covered only 1/2 that (basically from Colorado West) I finally settled in Arizona at the end and I would recommend skipping Phoenix and going straight to the Grand Canyon, Page or Sedona instead. I know, I hate when people give me unsolicited advice, especially when a trip is already planned. There’s just so much to see in Northern Arizona. I’ve got a whole road trip itinerary for just the northern half of the state!
Christine
Wow. This sounds like a great trip. I wish i had 2 months off work to do a road trip like this. I’m sure it’s going to be exciting, especially with a baby!
Julie Boyd
Wow! What a trip! It has been a dream of mine to do something like this and see all of the National Parks. I hope you have a wonderful time!
Paula
This sounds like so much fun and adventure! Would love to do this too someday. Living on the road has been a blessing before and I can’t wait to do it again!
BrittanyDanyelle
such an extensive trip. One day I want to RV this!
Anna
Great list! I’m so glad you included Columbus OH! That’s where I live, and I love it here!