Cross Country Road Trip
 

A close friend and I are planning a cross country road trip over the summer. We have some places in mind where we would like to go but this is our first time traveling a cross the country by driving. We just want to do something really fun before we head off to college. We live in Phoenix, Az so we decided to start on the west coast and make our way over to the east. We want to see anything and everything. So if you had places in mind please tell me. And we are in no rush, we are going to be taking the whole summer for this trip. So please help us out, Thanks:)

Do you have a fuel efficient car in good shape?
Planning on renting any cars? Making a loop?
With a 45 day USA Railpass the cost per mile would be less than a rental car and possibly your own vehicle.
I like riding to an Amtrak destination and renting a car and seeing all I can in 23 hours and returning the car and continuing on the train.

When I was in college I took a cross country trip (5 weeks, 10K miles) in a mini-pickup with a camper. (1977) It was one of the most memorable experiences in my life. I know it will be for you as well.

We started and ended in NY. I had never been "out West" before and the highlights of the trip for me were:

Glacier National Park
The Badlands of South Dakota
Las Vegas
Seattle
Oregon Coast
Bryce Canyon
Vail
For the eastern portion of your trip, I'd include Cape Cod, Boston, NYC, Vermont, Maine.

Take your time, stop at little out of the way places, diners, etc.

Yes we were planing to be driving our own car its a Nissan Altima around 32 hwy mpg

What do you want to scratch from or add to Austin's list?
I would add Yosemite NP and maybe Crater Lake.

So much to see... In planning a trip of this magnitude I'd plan on not going to nearby places that I'd likely visit easily from home or college... therefore I'd head directly to the San Diego area and head north along the coast to Hearst Castle. Then north along CA-1 to Carmel, Monterey, etc. (CA-1 is presently closed for repairs but may open in June - you can check on that, or take US-101 after visiting Hearst.) Make sure you visit at least a couple of the missions - they're part of America's heritage.

North of San Francisco you'll be able to see redwood forests, etc. Oregon's coastline is very scenic. Crater Lake, mentioned by tomfuller, is remarkably clear and north of there is Mt. St. Helens volcanic park. Just north of Seattle you can visit the Boeing assembly plant and see the giant planes being put together.

I suggest you go to www.drivecrosscountry.net/Places for some ideas of places to see arranged in order of travel going clockwise around the US. A place of interest in the east is Williamsburg, VA if you have an interest in US history.

Austin made a very worthwhile comment with the suggestion to go to out of the way places, diners, etc. In our travels some of our best memories are from visiting the "locals" we met along the way. Drop into a fish fry at a firehouse, or a county fair, etc. Also, it's a big country - take your time to see things and do things that interest you, don't rush. Things you don't see this year you can see on your trip in 2015 when you celebrate your college graduation.

Heads up on some places that won't rent to you because you are under 21. Had this problem on our high school graduation vacation, and boy is it annoying since we just wanted a place to crash and not to party.

If you are planning on camping out, great. Otherwise, just be aware that even reservations may not pan out. And check out hostels. Even if you hope for hotels, having backup is always good.

BTW - I grew up in the Bay Area (San Francisco), and we headed to Santa Cruz. Since you are coming from Phoenix, you might want to spend a good part of your time on the California coast? Let us know what you already have in mind.

I wasn't sure if this was one way or round trip so I have you zig zagging in the West.

California: Sequoia - Kings Canyon National Park, Yosemite National Park, then swing over to the coast. Santa Cruz is a good place to start and work your way up.

Oregon: Crater Lake & the Columbia River Gorge

Washington: Mt. Saint Helens, Olympia and Mt. Rainer

Montana: Glacier National Park

Wyoming: Yellowstone, Grand Tetons

Utah: Dinosaur National Monument, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Monument Valley (I didn't include Bryce and Zion since you live in Phoenix and I would think those would be easy trips on their own)

Colorado: Mesa Verde National Park, The Million Dollar Highway from Durango to Ouray, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park

Wyoming: Devil's Tower National Monument

South Dakota: Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Badlands National Park

My specialty is the west, but places in the East to see would be Smoky Mountains, Gettysburg, Appromattox, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, NYC and Arcadia National Park in Maine.

Have a great trip!

Utahtea