Flying/driving road trips in USA

[Frwinkley]

Anyone done a fabulous road trip they can recommend? We enjoy flying to a destination and taking a road trip from there. Last year we flew in and out of Denver, 11 days total, did all 5 Utah national parks and put 2200 mile on a rental car. Another trip in and out of Denver covered much of Colorado. We've done LA and surrounding areas, SF, Lake Tahoe, Vegas, Death Valley, Phoenix, Sedona, Grand Canyon. We've done the Smoky Mountains in 2020 (Asheville, Gaitlinburg). We are from the NY/NJ area (originally), so really not interested in the east coast. We've been through many of those states. We have also been through Florida many times, so we'd like to rule that out. This would be a trip for next summer, so looking for ideas where the temperatures might be cooler (not interested in New Orleans, etc and other southern parts of the country). We would be flying from PA.

We are avid photographers, active early 60s and enjoy a combination of walkable small towns and nature.

I'd love to hear some suggestions!

 

[adkkev]

Alaska sounds perfect for you. Fly to Anchorage then drive. Head to Seward, Homer. Head to Valdez. Head up to the Denali area, stop in Talkeetna. Head to Fairbanks, go out to Chena Hot Springs. Lots to see and do everywhere.

 

[Frwinkley]

That really is something we might consider. We were suppose to cruise to Alaska in the summer of 2020. Obviously that was cancelled and I have no strong desire to cruise anytime soon...but we would love to see Alaska.

 

[disykat]

It's a little close for you, but five years ago we flew to Detroit, drove up into Canada for a few days on Lake Huron, then Toronto, then Niagara Falls. Then we headed south, driving though western NY, PN, WV, visited family in Virginia, over to Nashville area, visited a friend in Kentucky, then got to see another relative in Ohio. We flew back home from Detroit. It was a fabulous road trip. It sounds like we saw a lot of family, but mainly it was about seeing the country once we mapped out a route that made sense.

We got sidetracked from travel for a while due to family stuff and then the obvious, but we're in the beginning stages of planning a Southwest US road trip. Eventually we plan to fly into somewhere in the Northeast (maybe Boston) and do a big loop of that tip of the US and Canada. After that, all we have left of the US is the Dakotas and Alaska and we'll have covered all 50 states. For us, the trips started to get really obvious when we colored the map to show states we'd visited. We picked a spot that we'd never been, found some places we'd like to go, and realized we had loved ones to see along the way.

 

[China Expat]

How about Hwy 1 from San Francisco all the way up the CA coast to OREGON ) Love Oregon coastal towns, continuing up the Washington coast to VIctoria Island/Vancouver? That would be epic.

 

[Earstou]

Sounds like Yellowstone would be a perfect trip for you! I would suggest a fall trip to avoid the crowds.
There is so much you can combine with a Yellowstone trip. We sometimes stop and see the Black Hills attractions, also stopping at Devil's Tower National Monument and the Badlands NP on our way up to Yellowstone.
We've also started up in the Canadian national parks of Banff, Jasper, and Yoho and then came down through Glacier National Park to hit Yellowstone. Then travel about 30 miles south to visit Grand Tetons NP.
The last time when we left Yellowstone we took the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and drove to Cody, a town founded by Buffalo Bill. This was one of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken! Cody has a Buffalo Bill museum and other attractions, like a street show with Buffalo Bill.
We've taken this trip a number of times and always enjoy it!

 

[VandVsmama]

Anyone done a fabulous road trip they can recommend? We enjoy flying to a destination and taking a road trip from there. Last year we flew in and out of Denver, 11 days total, did all 5 Utah national parks and put 2200 mile on a rental car. Another trip in and out of Denver covered much of Colorado. We've done LA and surrounding areas, SF, Lake Tahoe, Vegas, Death Valley, Phoenix, Sedona, Grand Canyon. We've done the Smoky Mountains in 2020 (Asheville, Gaitlinburg). We are from the NY/NJ area (originally), so really not interested in the east coast. We've been through many of those states. We have also been through Florida many times, so we'd like to rule that out. This would be a trip for next summer, so looking for ideas where the temperatures might be cooler (not interested in New Orleans, etc and other southern parts of the country). We would be flying from PA.

We are avid photographers, active early 60s and enjoy a combination of walkable small towns and nature.

I'd love to hear some suggestions!

New Mexico. Fly into ABQ, rent car, and explore.

• Santa Fe, NM - deserves probably 3 days all on its own. There's some spectacular museums here, and an amazing chocolate shop with the best hot chocolate you've ever had. There are different Native American artisans selling their wares daily outside at Palace of the Governors.
• There's an adorable little town next to Las Cruces called Mesilla which is like stepping back in time.
• White Sands
• Carlsbad Caverns
• stay overnight in Tucumcari, NM, which has some cute old Route 66 motels complete with neon signs & everything
• If you go in the fall, you could catch part of the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque.
• late August in Santa Fe is a big Santa Fe Indian Market.
• about an hour north of Santa Fe is Taos, NM which is a fun combo of artist & mountaineer town.
• don't miss the Navajo Nation and 4 Corners monument.
• there are ancient pueblo Native American structures that you can see up close at the Aztec Ruins National Monument.
• Bandelier National Monument
• over Labor Day weekend in Hatch, NM, is their annual chile festival.
• if you pass through Gallup, NM, don't forget to stop at the Richardson Trading Post, which has been in operation for almost 100 years.
• Chaco Culture National Park is supposed to be pretty spectacular, but a rental car might not be allowed on the dirt road you have to drive on in order to get there.

 

[Travel60]

Fly into Seattle for a day or so. Drive down to see Mt. St. Helens on the way to Astoria on the Oregon Coast. Stay a couple of days in Seaside or Cannon Beach, OR. Then drive east through the Columbia River Gorge. Gorgeous waterfalls. Turn south to see Mt. Hood then continue to Bend, OR. Stay a couple of days there then spend a day driving around Crater Lake. If you have time, head down to the Redwood National forest in No. Cal.

We did essentially this trip last fall and only regret is not spending more time in each place.

 

[HeatherC]

Northern Michigan? Glacier NP? Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP?

 

[Frwinkley]

So many great ideas! Thank you!

I'm liking the Oregon Coast idea. We've never been to that area of the country.

 

[barkley]

some areas that lend themselves to fly-in with stunning multiple places to stop on a driving trip in my neck of the woods-

seattle with a visit to leavenworth and traveling on to snoqualme falls (twin peaks fan?) and then spokane. each place can have multiple days of stay with many things/much beauty. if you want to continue on-coeur d'alene is beautiful and from there you can go on to kellogg and wallace idaho (the official center of the universe). stunning natural beauty, cool quirky little towns in between, fantastic white water rafting/ziplines (or a ride on north america's longest gondola ride in kellogg-at 3.1 miles going up the mountain the views are amazing). it's a lovely trip(s).

 

[cedricandsophie]

So many great ideas! Thank you!

I'm liking the Oregon Coast idea. We've never been to that area of the country.

I second Oregon and if Yiu have lots of time, washington. I’ve been there many times.
Fly into Portland. Be sure to look out the windows. On the left is mt hood and on a clear day on the right yiu can see mt st helens.
drive to coast. Try to stay in cannon beach and walk the beach to see the Haystack rock. Drive down the coast to at least Florence. Magnificent coast line. And lots of great hikes.
Depoe Bay is a cute little town and great gray whale watching depending on the time of year. Newport has a nice aquarium.
Heceta beach has a wonderful park with terrific hiking. From Florence drive into the interior, through Eugene and follow 126 into bend. You can raft along the Deschutes river and again, great hikes around mt bachelor. From there drive north up through the Dallas to see mt hood and end at Hood River along the Columbia River gorge. Hood river is the capital of kite boarding. Fun to watch. There is a hotel there right on the river. Then you can drive up the Columbia river gorge to see the waterfalls. Again great hikes, At some point, you can cross over to the Washington side of the river Which gives you a different perspective of the Gorge. Then you could end up back in Portland.

or continie your trip into Washinton. Mountains to see, Seattle to explore. The Olympic peninsula is magnificent To drive around. and for a different trip consider the San Juan islands. Catch the ferry at Annacortes. You can get off at Friday harbor and explore San Juan island and take day trips on ferries to some of the other islands,
Another Trip from the San Juan’s is to continue on the ferry to Vancouver Island. Victoria is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And you could spend days driving around the island, so much to see.
My husband and I have done all these driving trips from Illinois. It’s wonderful.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

We did am Amtrak Vacation last June round trip from NYC via Chicago. It was great. if you want to skip the train part the road trip part was Grand Junction Colorado driving down to the Grand Canyon taking a few days to do it, stopping at Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion etc along the way. It was a FANTASTIC road trip! You can also do Glacier National Park.

 

[Frwinkley]

We actually flew into Denver last summer and did the Utah 5. 2200 miles roundtrip with our last 2 nights spent in the Boulder area. It was a terrific trip!

 

[Pooh2]

We've done just under 15,000 miles (3 trips) in road trip miles since last August.

Last summer, we drove NH to South Dakota for a 15 night trip:
stayed at Badlands National Park for a few nights,
over to Mt Rushmore area,
and tons of fun little towns and stops in between.
We visited 3 Great Lakes, Niagra Falls, Amana Iowa Colonies,
The Grotto of Redemption, NY Fingerlakes,
Lake George,NY,
the Spam Museum in Minesota,
so much beauty in the Badlands,
stayed at a nice mix of bed and breakfasts, including a Railhouse in Chesteron, Indiana,
Lakefront in Cedarpoint, Ohio,
Drove through miles and miles of corn fields and quaint little towns in Iowa, met so many kind people and some interesting characters!

Our second trip was NH to Hilton Head to stay at Disney's HH resort. We took three days down, driving some of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Gettysburg, VA Beach and INtercourse, PA on the way back.

Our third trip was to Austin, Texas for a family wedding. We went by way of the Florida Panhandle, came back more directly.

Such a beautiful and diverse country and landscape that we have! No matter which route you drive, you will find lots of fun stops!

You mentioned you are photographers. I do a photobook of the trip when I get home. I take photos of the signs for the places we stop so I recall where we were. Our photosbooks are the best souvenir and help our aging brains recall the details of the trips.

We've also did Route 66 before Covid. We flew to the west coast, rented a car and flew home from Chicago. Car rentals were much more reasonable 4 years ago though.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Frwinkley]

Sounds like such wonderful trips!

We do the same thing regarding photos! I also have written lots of notes (dates, hotels, sights, etc.) and have them stored in my phone, We have a digital photo frame that we've loaded thousands of pictures to--I may not be able to tell you what I had for breakfast this morning, but I can recall lots of things about our various trips simply by looking at a few pictures.

 

[BayouQueen]

We have done the fly/drive out of Seattle. That’s a great one for summer. You can go into Canada and see Vancouver, take a ferry back across from Victoria, see all the places others mentioned. If you look at a road atlas of the area, it’s pretty inspiring.
Have fun, wherever you land!

 

[tvguy]

Right now I think I would avoid any trip involving a rental car. Over the weekend the network news was profiling the people who had reservations for a rental car only to find out the rental agency had no car for them. Even folks with confirmed pre-paid reservations.
We've done a couple of 1,000 mile round trips with a third next week where in the past we would have flown and rented a car. Now we drive out car.

 

[lisaviolet]

Two come to mind -

One - Flight into Plattsburgh or Burlington NY/VT - across Lake Champlain into the Eastern Townships of Quebec. Or maybe over to North Conway, NH before heading up.. I specifically love Ayer's Cliff & North Hatley in the Eastern Townships. They are near the crossing at Derby Line, VT/Stanstead, QC. Sutton is also enjoyable. And the view coming down from Ste- Catherine -de -Hatley is dream worthy. If you bike - fantastic trails. And for anyone that loves antiques, great area. On both sides of the border - gorgeous lakes and rolling hills. And of course Lake Placid to the west.

Two - flying into DC and going over to Hampton Roads, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach and crossing over the bridge/tunnel to coastal Maryland & Delaware.

--++++++++++++
Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time. How I love a road trip..

 

[disykat]

Speaking of driving trips - how do you all do your planning? I was on google maps, but it only lets me map out 10 locations per trip. I was able to do it on AAA but couldn't figure out how to save it and retrieve it so I just took pictures of the map and plans I made. (I'm a member, but it's been quite a few years since I've needed to map out a big trip and their website has changed.) I really like to have everything mapped out and need to start making reservations for my Southwest trip.