No adventure compares to driving across the United States. I’ll never forget my first coast-to-coast drive. It was two friends and me, post college, in a beat-up Subaru loaded with everything I owned. We took the long way home, starting in the farmlands of Vermont and making out-of-the-way pitstops for hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, dining at legendary barbecue spots across Mississippi, and listening to live music in New Orleans. We drove west, climbed the highest peak in Texas, ate green chile in New Mexico, and stared into the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Most nights, we slept in a tent and dreamed of where the next day would take us. When we finally crossed the California state line toward our final destination, I remember feeling like I wanted to stay on the road forever.

　　The cross-country road trip is an American rite, a true pilgrimage where you can plan only so much; the rest will unfold wherever the road goes. These three epic journeys have starting and ending points, as well as some spots that may be worth pulling over for along the way, but what you make of the trip—and what you ultimately take away from it—is up to you.

　　We’ve picked three routes on major highways that cross the country (for a Southwest specific guide, explore our seven best road trips of that region), but along the way, we’ve provided suggestions for detours and byways that get you off the beaten path and out of your car to stretch your legs, experience local culture, and see the sights you’ll be talking about all the way to your next stop. You’ll pull over for things like meteor craters, giant art installations, and donuts. With visits to roadside national monuments, waterfalls, and hot springs—and with stays at unique hotels, campsites, and cabins along the way, these road trips aren’t just a long drive, they’re an incredible adventure waiting to happen.

　　The Music Lover’s Journey: Boston, Massachusetts, to Seattle, Washington Route: Interstate 90

　　Distance: 3,051 miles

　　This northern route across the U.S. follows Interstate 90 from east to west, passing by major cities like Cleveland, Chicago, and Minneapolis. But you’ll also touch on some of the country’s coolest wild spaces, like the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Yellowstone National Park in Montana. Inspire your road trip playlist by checking out the outdoor music venues and festivals throughout this route.

　　Pitstop: The Berkshires, Massachusetts Hop on Interstate 90 in Boston and point it west. Your first stop is the Berkshires, a mountainous region filled with charming small towns 120 miles west of Boston. Go for a hike in Beartown State Forest on a section of the Appalachian Trail, then pick up a tangleberry pie or farm-fresh apples from Taft Farms market in Great Barrington. In Stockbridge, the Norman Rockwell Museum is worth a stop to learn more about American painter Norman Rockwell, who lived in the area, or check the performance calendar at Tanglewood, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, for major touring acts in this pastoral outdoor music venue. It’s worth the 30-mile detour off the highway to North Adams to post up for a night or two at Tourists (from $194), a revamped motor lodge that hosts guided hikes, live music, and pop-up dinners.

　　Must See: Niagara Falls, New York Peel off the highway in Buffalo, New York, for a visit to Niagara Falls State Park, America’s oldest state park and home to its three namesake waterfalls. Grab a yellow poncho and a ticket ($14) to view the falls from below at the Cave of the Winds observation decks.

　　Pitstop: Saint Charles, Iowa Take a detour to visit Saint Charles, Iowa, home to the four-day Hinterland Music Festival held each August on a 350-acre plot of grassland. This year’s headliners include Tyler, the Creator, Kacey Musgraves, and Lana Del Ray. You can camp on site during the festival and hop a free shuttle into nearby Des Moines. If you can’t make the show, Des Moines still delivers, with 800 miles of trails to explore on foot or bike, including the paved 25-mile High Trestle Trail, a converted rail-trail with an iconic bridge that’s lit up at night over the Des Moines River valley. Local Spokes rents bikes.

　　Pitstop: Black Hills, South Dakota There’s tons to see in the Black Hills of South Dakota, including famous highlights like Mount Rushmore National Monument and Badlands National Park, as well as lesser known gems like the third longest caves in the world at Jewel Cave National Monument or the annual buffalo roundup each September in Custer State Park. Grab donuts for the road from Wall Drug, a famed roadside attraction. Stay in a canvas tent among ponderosa pines at Under Canvas Mount Rushmore (from $179), outside the town of Keystone.

　　Stretch Your Legs: Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming It’s not far off I-90 to reach Devils Tower National Monument, a geologic monolith with deep roots to indigenous cultures in the northern plains and the country’s first national monument. Parking and trails can be crowded here, so skip the main lot and hike the 1.5-mile Joyner Ridge Trail instead—it’s less busy and still has good views of the tower.

　　Pitstop: Bozeman, Montana Post up at the Lark Hotel (from $189) in downtown Bozeman, which has Treeline Coffee on the property. Stroll Main Street, then take a walk up Peet’s Hill through Burke Park, a few blocks away, for a nice view of town. It’s about an hour and 20 minutes drive to reach the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park, known for its geysers and 2.2 million acres of wilderness. If you’re on the road for music, the Wildlands Festival in nearby Big Sky takes place in early August.

　　Pitstop: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Home to Lake Coeur d’Alene as well as dozens of smaller lakes, you’ll want to stop in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for a swim or a paddle. Coeur d’Alene Watersports rents kayaks and paddleboards. Farragut State Park on the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille has cabins and campsites (from $48), a treetop adventure course, and access to 45 miles of trails for biking and hiking.

　　Must See: The Gorge Amphitheater, Washington  Music breaks up the drive, and there’s no better place to see live music outdoors in this part of the country than the Gorge Amphitheater in Quincy, Washington. There’s on-site camping during shows and an upcoming lineup that includes Billy Strings and Tedeschi Trucks Band.

　　Stretch Your Legs: Snoqualmie Pass, Washington Hike to stunning alpine lakes on Snoqualmie Pass, just an hour outside of Seattle on I-90. You’ll need a $5 National Forest Recreation Day Pass to access most of the hikes in this area. The 2-mile Franklin Falls trail follows the Snoqualmie River to a 70-foot waterfall. For a more stout climb, the 8.5-mile roundtrip hike to Melakwa Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a real gem.

　　Final Stop: Seattle, Washington Celebrate the end of an epic journey by watching the sunset over the Olympic Mountains and dipping your toes into Puget Sound from Seattle’s Golden Gardens Beach. Stay in the heart of downtown at the Inn at the Market (from $189) and you can browse fresh produce and maker’s stalls outside your door. The 10-mile paved Elliot Bay Trail sits right along the waterfront. Want more live music to cap off your trip? The Showbox is downtown Seattle’s coolest music venue.

　　The Best National Parks Road Trip: San Francisco, California, to Washington, D.C. Route: Interstate 80 and Interstate 70

　　Distance: 2,915 miles

　　Travel across the heartland of the U.S. on this iconic route along I-80 and I-70, passing through stunning western mountain ranges like California’s Sierra Nevada, Nevada’s Ruby Mountains, Utah’s Wasatch, and Colorado’s Rockies. You’ll visit the great national parks across southern Utah and hit cities like Denver, Colorado; Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, and Columbus, Ohio, before landing in the country’s capital.

　　Pitstop: Lake Tahoe, California Depart San Francisco on Interstate 80 heading east, leaving the shores of the Pacific Ocean to begin a steady climb toward the mountains of the Sierra Nevada range. Ikedas, in the roadside town of Auburn, has good burgers and homemade pies for the road. Lake Tahoe is your first stop, a short but worthy departure from the highway. Stay at the new evo Hotel (from $138), which opens in March, and you’ll be steps from the lake. Rent bikes at Olympic Bike Shop to pedal the world-class singletrack along the Tahoe Rim Trail or grab a paddleboard from Tahoe City Kayak. Don’t miss dinner at the newly opened Sylva, featuring eclectic dishes and locally-sourced ingredients.

　　Pitstop: Ruby Mountains, Nevada  There’s not much on Interstate 80 as you cross Nevada between Reno and Salt Lake City—except for the Ruby Mountains, which spike straight up from the desert floor of the Great Basin. In the winter, Ruby Mountain Heli offers heli-ski access to 200,000 acres of rugged terrain. In the summer, there’s hiking trails throughout Lamoille Canyon. Stay at Ruby Mountain Heli’s 360 Lodge or one of their two mountainside yurts (from $190).

　　Must See: Great Basin National Park, Nevada For a national park detour, consider visiting Great Basin National Park, which has one of the darkest skies in the world for stargazing. Near the entrance to the park, the Stargazer Inn and attached Bristlecone General Store make for a great overnight stop and snack resupply station.

　　Pitstop: Moab, Utah In Salt Lake City, you’ll say goodbye to Interstate 80 and head south to meet up with Interstate 70, but not before spending time to explore the Mighty Five national parks that made southern Utah famous: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. You could spend weeks here—or just a couple of days. Be sure to book a self-guided or ranger-led hike in the slot canyons of the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park and get a permit to hike the exposed rocky cliffside of Angels Landing in Zion National Park. Field Station Moab (from $129) makes for a great base camp, or there’s ample BLM land for camping.

　　Stretch Your Legs: Glenwood Canyon, Colorado Get back on I-70 and make your way into Colorado, where scenic Glenwood Canyon makes for a stunning drive along the Colorado River. The paved Glenwood Canyon Recreation Path parallels the highway for over 16 miles, making for an easy biking or running destination. Afterward, stay for a soak in the Glenwood Hot Springs. A new 16-suite boutique hotel called Hotel 1888 is opening near the hot springs this summer.

　　Pitstop: Breckenridge, Colorado Spend the night at Hotel Alpenrock Breckenridge (from $320), which opened in early 2025 at the base of Peak 9 at Breckenridge Resort, home to skiing and snowboarding in the winter and biking and hiking come summer. Stroll the charming Main Street of downtown Breck and don’t miss a visit to the Breckenridge troll, a 15-foot-tall wooden art installation now located on the town’s Trollstigen Trail.

　　Must See: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado It’s not exactly on the way, but this adventure clearly detours for national parks, so make the trek north to Rocky Mountain National Park, a quiet, snowy paradise in the winter and a fishing and backpacking mecca in the warmer months. The short hikes to Bear Lake and Cub Lake are popular among families. For experienced mountain travelers, Longs Peak is the park’s most famous 14er—Colorado Mountain School leads guided treks to the peak. Stay overnight in Denver before you head into the plains: Populus (from $189), the country’s first carbon positive hotel, opened in Denver’s Civic Center Park late last year.

　　Stretch Your Legs: Monument Rocks, Kansas There’s a giant Van Gogh painting on an 80-foot easel—one of three in the world—visible from the highway in the town of Goodland, Kansas. Then, pull over for 50-foot-high fossil rock outcroppings and limestone spires on the Kansas prairie at Monument Rocks, which is on private land that’s open to the public south of Oakley, Kansas, right off I-70. Outside of Topeka, you can visit the Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Park, a former school site that commemorates the historic end of racial segregation in public schools.

　　Pitstop: St. Louis, Missouri Next stop on your national park tour? The Gateway Arch of St. Louis. You can ride a tram 630 feet to the top of the arch, walk the palatial grounds beneath the architectural wonder, or admire the arch from a riverboat cruise along the Mississippi River. The Last Hotel (from $149) is housed in a historic shoe company building and has a rooftop pool and restaurant overlooking the city. City Foundry STL is a public market with a food hall, retail shops, and live music, and don’t miss brunch amid a plant nursery at the city’s Bowood by Niche.

　　Pitstop: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio  Ohio has but one national park and it’s worth the detour to visit: Cuyahoga Valley National Park has paddling along the Cuyahoga River, 20 miles of multi-use pathways along the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail, and 125 miles of hiking trails through woodlands and wetlands. There’s no camping within the national park but Heritage Farms has tent camping (from $40) nearby or the Inn at Brandywine Falls (from $200) is within the park and on the National Register of Historic Homes.

　　Final Stop: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Maryland End your national parks tour of the U.S. with a visit to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The CO Canal follows the Potomac River for 184 miles from Cumberland, Maryland, to Washington, D.C. It makes for a great walk or bike ride. Pitch a tent at one of the free hiker or biker campsites or pull your car up to one of a handful of drive-in sites (from $10). Or you can stay in a historic lockhouse (from $175) along the canal.

　　The History Buff’s Tour of the U.S.: Los Angeles, California, to Charlottesville, Virginia Route: Interstate 40

　　Distance: 2,696 miles

　　This pilgrimage sticks to one highway only for most of the way: Interstate 40, which starts in the Mojave Desert of California and crosses the southern portion of the U.S., over the Rocky Mountains and through the Great Plains and the Appalachian Mountains. It traverses Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Much of the western route parallels the historic U.S. Route 66, so it feels like a throwback to another era, a perfect journey for those who love learning about our nation’s past.

　　Pitstop: Mojave National Preserve, California  You can watch a drive-in movie, visit a ghost town, or hike through lava tubes in Mojave National Preserve. You can’t miss a visit to Joshua Tree National Park, an hour away, for stellar stargazing, rock climbing, and 300 miles of hiking trails. Stay in an adobe bungalow at the centrally located 29 Palms Inn (from $195), which has an on-site farm, restaurant, and picnic lunches to go.

　　Stretch Your Legs: Lake Havasu, Arizona Western AZ Canoe Kayak Outfitters will deliver you a kayak or paddleboard to explore the waters of the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, once a major tributary on the lower Colorado River and one of the last ecologically functioning river habitats in the southwest.

　　Pitstop: Flagstaff, Arizona Post up at the High Country Motor Lodge (from $109) in Flagstaff, Arizona, and then go explore the sights around Flagstaff, including Grand Canyon National Park, an hour and a half north. The 3-mile Rim Trail, along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, makes for a mellow stroll. The Museum Club on Route 66 in Flagstaff used to be a historic taxidermy shop and is now a popular bar for country music and line dancing.

　　Must See: Meteor Crater National Landmark

　　Yep, you’re pulling off the highway to see this: The most preserved meteorite impact site on earth is right off I-40 near Winslow, Arizona. For a $29 admission at the Meteor Crater and Barrington Space Museum, you can sign up for a guided hike of the crater’s rim.

　　Stretch Your Legs: Continental Divide Trail; Grants, New Mexico  You’re passing from one side of the Continental Divide to the other: Might as well get out of the car and go for a trail run or hike along the Continental Divide Trail, which crosses Interstate 40 near the town of Grants, New Mexico.

　　Pitstop: Santa Fe, New Mexico Take a detour off I-40 in Albuquerque to spend a night or two in Santa Fe, the highest elevation capital city in the U.S., which sits at 7,000 feet in the high desert. Splurge on a night at Bishop’s Lodge (from $645), a full-service retreat in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristos. For art and history buffs, the Georgia O’Keefe Museum and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture are well worth a visit.

　　Must See: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas You’ve already seen the actual Grand Canyon, so now it’s time to see the Grand Canyon of Texas, in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, 25 miles outside of Amarillo. The park has camping and cabins, an 800-foot-deep canyon, mountain bike trails, and an outdoor stage where actors perform a Texas musical.

　　Pitstop: Hot Springs, Arkansas You’ll come to Hot Springs for the historic bathhouses and modern-day spa resorts. At Hot Springs National Park, you can soak in one of two original bathhouses. Want to learn about some of the country’s most infamous criminals? The Gangster Museum of America, in downtown Hot Springs, has exhibits on Al Capone and Owen Madden. The Waters Hotel (from $169) is housed in a centrally located historic building. Don’t miss: Superior Bathhouse Brewery is the only brewery in the world that uses thermal spring water for its beers.

　　Must See: Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas If you’re into geologic history, add a visit to Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park, where you can dig for minerals and gems in a 37-acre field on an eroded volcanic crater. (And yes, notable diamonds have been discovered here.)

　　Pitstop: Nashville, Tennessee From the music scene to the foodie paradise, you might never want to leave Nashville. Stay in one of eight suites in a 19th century mansion at Urban Cowboy (from $306), where wood-fired pizzas are served in the backyard. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum currently has exhibits on Luke Combs and Rosanne Cash. Go for a walk or run in Percy Warner Park or take a guided bike tour of the city’s murals and street art with Music City Adventure Company.

　　Pitstop: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, you can hike to waterfalls like Mouse Creek Falls or Mingo Falls, fish for brook trout, or bike the 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road, which is closed to cars on Wednesdays from May through September. The coolest place in the park to sleep? The LeConte Lodge (from $189), located atop Mount Le Conte and accessible only via foot. Open from March through November, the lodge requires at least a five-mile hike to reach. Bookings for this year are mostly snatched up already, but you can get on the waitlist or plan ahead for next year.

　　Final Stop: Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina Your trip finale comes in the form of ditching Interstate 40 in exchange for a meandering drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile stretch through the Appalachian Mountains and one of the most scenic roadways in America. You’ll stop to see Whitewater Falls, the east coast’s tallest waterfall at 411 feet, and the rugged Linville Gorge Wilderness. Stay nearby at Trailborn Highlands (from $175), which opened in the mountain town of Highlands in 2024 with a supper club and Nordic spa. They’ll also book you outdoor excursions, ranging from rock climbing to fly fishing.

　　Megan Michelson is an Outside contributing editor who loves long drives, even when her two children are whining in the backseat. She has recently written about Airbnb treehouses, the most beautiful long walks in the world, and the 10 vacations that will help you live longer.