Two Classic Cross Country Road Trips Every Family Should Take
1. Route 66
The American classic. It’s been name-checked in song titles, movies, and a vintage TV show. It ran some 2,500 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles, and the current version still unrolls like a widescreen Americana frontier from Chicago to Santa Monica. Some fans suggest driving between two marquee destinations—from, say, St. Louis’s Gateway Arch to UFO country in Flagstaff, Arizona — and any stretch promises quirks, adventure, and living history. Give yourself a week for the whole hog — across the Midwest, Great Plains, and Southwest—or three days for a shorter stretch.
2. The Mount Washington Auto Road
Few stretches of highway offer the dramatic, even slightly scary kind of drive that you’ll find on the historic Mount Washington Auto Road. This 7.6-mile stretch was carved into New Hampshire’s White Mountains in the mid-19thcentury and its narrow roads, some without guardrails, will let you and your family climb 4,600 feet to the highest peak in in the Northeast without leaving your car. At the summit, along with spectacular views, you’ll see cyclists and hikers stopping at this key point on the Appalachian Trail. The drive must be done in a single day but affordable accommodations await at the base in North Conway, from Top Notch Inn or Passaconaway Campground, where you can unwind after earning the kitsch-classic bumper sticker, “This Car Climbed Mount Washington.”
It's all well and good to say you want to hit the road with the fam, but where should you go? Here are a few more road trips to consider.
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