sarahwestington0508

My husband and 2 kids age 13 and 16 wants to tie in a trip to florida Disney with a road trip from Florida to LA with the idea we would fly home from LA.
We are from the UK so we have a few worries about doing such a long road trip in america.
Our first worry is the different state laws for driving, do the vary greatly or is it fairly similar from state to state.
We plan on booking late rooms as we go so that we don't have to be fixed to a timescale and exact destination. In the UK this would be very feasible but I wonder how likely it would be to find that in the USA?
We also want to see the small quaint towns, and beautiful national parks along the way. We are not really city people and want to avoid the big cities as much as possible, but we do want to see Las Vegas and have a few days at the end to see LA.
We are thinking a month trip would be ideal. 1 week for Disney and the other parks and then 3 week to drive from one side to the other.
​​​​​​So any info you think would be helpful would be great.
What small towns do you recommend visiting, what stops do you think would be nice and what route.
We want to see a rodeo if we can so want ideas on what time of year and where is best to find those?
We want to go to a state fair so ideas on them would be great.
A touch of shopping which we are guessing would be best in LA
Maybe see some live music along the way and some cool food destinations also.
Many thanks and all ideas welcomed.
We are planning to do this for September time but can go earlier of later if it would be better.

janisj

Three weeks is not very long for traveling across the entire southern half of the US, visiting rodeos, National Parks, State fairs (which mostly in the summertime or Autumn), Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Note: many of the best state fairs are in the midwest/upper midwest: Ohio, Nebraska, Minnesota etc)

I'd maybe suggest instead - that you fly to somewhere out west and do your road trip there. Then fly home.

Two state fairs and one county fair that is the equal so a good substitute:

Texas - 25 Sept - 18 Oct
New Mexico - 10 - 20 Sept
La County - 4 - 27 Sept

rncheryl

Not to worry about the different rules for driving in different states. All roads are clearly marked with speed limits. Make sure you rent a car with a GPS, or have a good one on your cell phone. Waze is a good app to get you from one place to another with reminders of accidents, speed traps, etc.

Michael

Small town rodeos are the best and usually are runner-ups to big rodeos, thus often taking place in late June through July. The problem is finding a schedule. We fell upon these by chance.

https://flic.kr/p/7T56Me
https://flic.kr/p/v5TQ9B
Crossing the US in three weeks is doable, but given that it would be through its southern section, the summer heat could be unbearable.

Cowboy1968

Before you start to plan the route....

These long-distance one-way rentals usually come with a pretty steep extra fee.
Orlando to LA should be at least another $500 on top of the regular rental costs.

You will be spending a lot of time in your vehicle.
I would choose a roomy SUV, not only to tackle the odd gravel road here and there. But also to have enough horsepower to have A/C running non stop in the desert parts of your trip. And that the kids can see better than from a regular sedan.

Not booking accomodation in advance:
No big issue along the major arteries (I-10 or I-40).
But some of the great national parks out West have maybe just one small town nearby.
And if you are out of luck, the next motels may be 50 miles away.
If your itinerary will include Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches, Bryce or Zion (just to name a few), you should know where you will sleep before you go.
It may also be fun (also for your kids) to include a night or two on a dude or guest ranch in the West.. this is usually not cheap, though

Live music: Along the Southern route, I think Austin, TX is an undisputed hot spot for live music. Though, what I don't know is if you can take your kids as I think that most of the places qualify as bars.. our US Fodorites will know that of course.

The route:
Always the hardest thing to plan as your options are huge. If you allow yourself to divert from the shortest route, i.e. just catch I-10 in Florida and drive West until you get to the Santa Monica pier, you may want to ask yourself what type of scenery and/or history you want to see or explore.
Some options (and just very few examples):
Civil War/ battlefields/ plantations: some days in the South.
Hispanic heritage: San Antonio, TX / Santa Fe, NM / and many more
Native American heritage: probably the cliff dwellings between Mesa Verde NP (Colorado) and the smaller ones in Northern Arizona.
Really tall mountains and "Alpine" scenery: The Colorado Rockies / Durango, Silverton,
The "best" desert experience: White Sands NM, Tucson AZ (Saguaro National Park), Joshua Tree CA
The major parks: Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce, Zion

The planning gets usually complicated once you get to Arizona/Utah. Because you need to decide if you want to skip Southern Arizona or Southern Utah or do a major zig zag to catch both (and add many many miles to your trip).

Have fun planning!

P.S. Shopping... If you mean big malls, big outlet malls.. that kinda shopping: You will already be in the right place at the beginning of your trip: Orlando FL.

sarahwestington0508

Thanks for the replys. I should have said we don't plan on staying long in each place las vegas we want to do a full day so would stay the night maybe 2 and LA perhaps 2 nights. Other than that we want to catch everything else along the way so only stopping for 1 night maybe 2 if we really like a place.

A dude ranch does sound like a nice idea, we are a horsey family too so it would be nice to get some riding in while we are there. Our worry with a dude ranch is tieing ourself into being there at a set date and time. We would probably want to book it last minute.

The heat has also been a concern of ours and we could move it to a different time of year but as the UK is notorious for its cold and wet weather we do want to have some sun. But obviously we would more enjoy a comfortable heat. So ideas on times of year are welcomed.

We have thought about a RV also but worried about getting it around the cities like LA or Las Vegas. Would it not look a bit out of place having a RV and would it be easy to park it somewhere. I know it the UK it would be a nightmare but obviously we don't have the big roads for these kind of vehical that you guys have.

janisj

" A dude ranch does sound like a nice idea, we are a horsey family too so it would be nice to get some riding in while we are there. Our worry with a dude ranch is tieing ourself into being there at a set date and time. We would probably want to book it last minute. "

Dude ranches are not 'show up at short notice' sort of places. Most book up months in advance

Even with your idea of staying only a night or two in each place -- three weeks will be awfully rushed.

And an RV makes no sense really.

Gardyloo

Well first, welcome to Fodor's!

I think it's a great idea... in principal. But let me address a couple of issues and make a recommendation or two.

Yes, it will be hot. It could be VERY hot, or not so bad, but the problem with a southern tier continental crossing at that time of year is that it could also be stormy as well as uncomfortably hot and humid. And it's a long drive - a REALLY long one, and - just my view - big parts of it will be pretty uninspiring. Texas is BIG and while you could zigzag a bit to include the Hill Country, Austin, etc., it still would leave large sections where the kids (don't know them, just assuming they're typical) might be inclined to have their heads buried in their phones while the countryside rolls past at 70 mph.

So here's an idea just to throw into the "what if" machine. Fly someplace and start the road trip there. And yes, based on your wish list, I have a suggestion.

Fly from Orlando to Seattle, diagonally across the country. In September the one-way nonstop airfare is around £130, and it takes around six hours.

Then start your road trip from there, and google the places on this map - https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=26cbe...=2&form=S00027 or https://tinyurl.com/rms6ecy

What this includes:

It starts with the Washington State Fair, which is among the later fairs in the west - most are in August or early September. https://www.thefair.com/ The fair has it all - rides, exhibits, music, lots of food options (most of them not very good for you, but hey...) and also a rodeo, but hold onto that for a minute.

The fair could be a terrific day trip from a base in or near Seattle, or it could be the first stop on the road trip, the second of which could be Mount Rainier. (Or Mt. Rainier could be its own day trip from Seattle - around 2 1/2 hours each way from downtown.)



The next stop would be the Johnston Ridge observatory overlooking Mt. St. Helen's smoking caldera, then it's on to Portland and the Columbia River Gorge. Stop at some of the waterfalls that line the south wall of the Gorge, stay at Hood River (a big windsurfing and kite boarding center) and maybe visit Timberline Lodge on the side of Mount Hood where the "Magic Mile" chairlift will take you to the permanent ice fields on the side of the big volcano. Tour the Hood River Valley "fruit loop" past vineyards and orchards in harvest mode.

Then continue east along the Columbia River to the funky Maryhill Museum (Rodin in the sagebrush) and the weird copy of Stonehenge on the clifftops overlooking the great river. Continue a couple of hours to the old frontier town of Pendleton. Pendleton is the home of the famous Pendleton woolen mills (famous blankets, woolen shirts etc.) but is also the site of the Pendleton Round-Up, one of North America's premier rodeos and Native American gatherings. https://www.pendletonroundup.com/ The rodeo, along with the Happy Canyon show and Native American encampment, is an iconic American experience. You won't regret it.

After Pendleton, continue east a couple of hours to the little town of Joseph, Oregon. This town is set in stunning surroundings - the Wallowa Mountains and Eagle Gap wilderness (accessed by gondola if you like) as well as gorgeous Wallowa Lake. The town is full of sculpture and other public art, plenty of accommodation and food options...it's pretty spectacular.





You'd then head back west, stopping at a couple of places in central Oregon - the painted hills around the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, stunning Smith Rock State Park (google these places) and Crater Lake.

(Smith Rock)



After Crater Lake, you'd head to the Pacific coast, then all the way south along the coast to the LA area. Along the way, you'd visit the stunning southern Oregon coast, then into the redwoods in northern California. Now I've taken several sets of British pals on road trips in the west, and every one of them have declared the redwoods to be the highlight. This might or might not be the case with you, but I'd bet money the word "gobsmacked" will be used at some point.

After the redwoods you'll visit San Francisco, then south of that wonderful city to the Monterey Bay area. This area has it all - the great beachfront amusement park in funky Santa Cruz, lots of history like Cannery Row in Monterey and the lovely Spanish mission in picturesque and artsy Carmel. There's whale watching and the fabulous aquarium in Monterey, but a don't-miss location is Point Lobos State Natural Reserve just south of Carmel - jaw dropping beauty, wildlife....

Then it's down Highway 1 past Big Sur and onto the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, Just north of the castle visitor center and car park is a huge elephant seal colony right on the beach.





The road trip passes through beautiful Santa Barbara with its historic Spanish mission, then into LA. Now if you still want some desert time, the map shows a brief transit of the LA area and out into the desert to Joshua Tree National Park. The advantage of Joshua Tree over other desert parks is that it's very close to Palm Springs, which offers a wide variety of accommodation resources in addition to being a fabulous visitor destination on its own. It will still be very hot in the desert, but you can cool off in the hotel pool, or ride the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up to the top of Mt. San Jacinto, where it will be quite a lot cooler.

The trip concludes with Disney and the other Southern California attractions, but you might well discover that the previous three weeks have supplied all the excitement you need.

Now I know this is quite a departure from your initial thinking, and of course there are countless other ways you could spend three weeks exploring America from ground level. But I promise there wouldn't be a single day on this drive when you didn't see something or experience something extraordinary. Honestly, boredom is simply impossible on this route. Give it some brain time.

(Edited to add: If the Bing maps are funky (as in not showing roads) here are the Google maps equivalents. https://goo.gl/maps/mZrfSiTes2bmxHhYA , https://goo.gl/maps/Y4uxct1jpz1G7JdGA , and https://goo.gl/maps/Vy11GJxn8hWEShq4A . Google doesn't allow as many waypoints as Bing, and Google doesn't allow mapping of roads presently closed for the winter, such as the road to the Johnston Ridge visitor center on Mt. St. Helens.)

I also noticed I failed to include Las Vegas in this alternative. While this could be added, you might also think about alternatives. There are Indian casinos across the west, including right in Palm Springs, so maybe that could be a substitution possibility.

Cowboy1968

That is one awesome road trip! I may want to steal the itinerary for WA and OR for further use myself

sarahwestington0508

This road trip seems to capture almost everything we are looking for I a roadtrip. Driving across Texas has given us a few worries due to its size. This trip certainly sounds like it would be the much more interesting trip.
The redwoods has been on our wish list for a long time and I am a collector of Pendleton blankets so a trip to get more will always be welcomed by myself however I think my husband will probably want to hide his wallet the day we arrive there.
Thankyou for such a in depth thoughtful reply. It has certainly given us a lot to think about and plenty to Google.
Our only worry is we would miss some of the southern states we have so desperately wanted to see but with such a amazing route as a alternative it seems like we for sure being making the most of our time in America.
Thanks again for the ideas I will be googling this more heavily when I get home from work.


​​​​​​

Gretchen

Great tour of the west coast above, but that is not a "US tour". Driving regulations are pretty uniform within the USA. Drop off charges for car rentals are often not charged for foreign renters.
Overall you could think about doing Disney in California. BUT a WEEK in Disney is just too much--honest. I also don't think an Indian casino is the equivalent of Las Vegas

My favorite way to plan a big trip is to get a map--paper!!--and stick pins in it where I might like to go and then connect the dots.

You have listed music, small towns, national parks,, Disney, Las Vegas, rodeo and shopping. LA shopping is probably NOT the best, by the way). You don't say what kind of shopping you want to do. MANY cities have huge outlet shopping centers.

But give my pin in the map a try.

So for music that is not too far out of the way (Austin might be out of the way) then Memphis and Nashville are well known.
Rodeos could happen many places in the west depending on your date but you can google for rodeos where you are headed. But that may not happen from a short perusal of google.
Colorado has Rocky Mountain National Park just north of Denver.
SO you could start in Disney Florida, go to Nashville, Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park.
From there you could go to Santa Fe New Mexico (visit Taos for a Native American experience), Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Los Angeles.

You could also fly from Denver to Las Vegas, see Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon. Drive or fly to LA.

MoBro

Gardyloo gives great advice. It would be a road trip packed with sites, and not long stretches of nothingness. Weather would be more accommodating, also.

Cowboy1968

Well, this more Northern route with Nashville and Memphis and RMNP is actually 600 miles longer than the Southern one via Austin, Santa Fe and the Southern Colo Rockies to GCNP.

MoBro
Correct. The cross-country road trip needs a different approach. If you cannot embrace the inevitable 600 or 800 miles of "nothingness" as a necessary element of a coast-to-coast trip, you should skip those parts by plane or train.
OTOH, if you are traveling on I-40 you have just 600 miles from the Western edge of the Ozarks until you get to Santa Fe. Even if you found absolutely nothing of interest in OKC or Amarillo or in between that made you want to stop it would just be one single day (of 20 or 30) "wasted". It's not as if you had to trek a week through Antarctica.

jenmarkolson

We do 4-5 week road trips with our kids each summer from our home in Chicago. I agree with Gretchen that you need to decide what you want to see and then build the trip around that. I personally would visit what you want in the Southern states and then head toward Southern Colorado. I would stay in Durango and then visit Mesa Verde. Then I would head north and do the big 5 Utah National Parks. You could then head to Vegas and LA. I think that has lots of fun stops for your kids. Some would require two nights to really see them. But that is what I would do. You need to figure out what you want to see.

Gretchen

I don't really want to get in an argument about distances (Cowboy says "Northern route with Nashville and Memphis and RMNP is actually 600 miles longer") but there is also the factor of what you see on the way to the destination and then on to the next destination. So, again, with my idea of connecting the dots the OP can see what is possible coming and going from Austin OR Memphis/Nashville. Just another thought on trip planning. ;O)

Michael

In L.A. visit the Museum of Jurassic Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum...sic_Technology and more specifically these two permanent exhibits:

• The Unique World of Microminiatures of Hagop Sandaldjian: A collection of micro-miniature sculptures, each carved from a single human hair and placed within the eye of a needle. Currently on display: Goofy, Pope John Paul II, and Napoleon I. Other microminiatures include violins; dancers; a crucifix (made of a single strand of the artist's hair and gold); characters like Donald Duck, Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; a self-portrait; a golf player; and a baseball player swinging his bat.
• Micromosaics of Harold "Henry" Dalton: Microscopic mosaics from the 19th century depicting flowers, animals, and other objects, made entirely from individual butterfly wing scales and diatoms

Macross

I live in Fl and a week here is not bad. You can do a couple of Disney days, Universal, Sea World, take a trip to Kennedy Space Center and vist the beach.

My husband does long distance motorcycle riding and that trip through Texas is boring. He has an aux tank just because gas stations can be that far apart. He usually heads up through Georgia and Tennesee where it is a bit cooler and more interesting sites to see. I love Gardyloo's trip. It is a beautiful part of the US. Honestly, there are some very boring roads going cross country, The northeast is beautiful but the midwest is hit and miss. My best friends live in Evansville, Indiana and it is ok. They always try and find a festival or something interesting when we visit to do. It is cornfield central. Give me Vermont and NY state in Sept. We can also have hurricanes during Sept but don't fear over that. My sister in law owns two condos there and they had scheduled a week for themselves. Disney opened and they rode 16 rides in 6 hours on the day after Dorian when everyone had fled. A record with very little wait times.

NorthwestMale

This would be much better were you and your kids especially familiar with the U.S., then the FUN would be to let THEM go one-by-one, each picking spots across the lower U.S. that THEY would like to see... once person A selects a spot... that kinda narrows the path possibilities... and the second kid picks a spot... and that further narrows the potential path... and eventually you have your general route in place.

With regard to the different rules in different states... I do not believe that any such things will impact people driving across the country. As everyone has said, the speed limits are marked, and were you, say, driving on the wrong side of the freeway, it wouldn't take long to figure it out (via the signs, ideally beFORE the first oncoming vehicle). (and that doesn't differ from state to state)


I think if this were me, coming from the UK and plotting this trip, I would sit down with a large, hold-in-your-hand U.S. map... and maybe first simulate the idea I had where kid 1 selects ANY spot south of Indianapolis and Denver... and then kid 2 picks any other spot (eventually these selections will need to be nearer and nearer to a common path).

Then, when you have a handful of those spots... begin to choreograph the hours of driving required each day to hit most of them and get to LA with time to think.

Determine from that whether the necessary pace is that which you want to keep.

I can understand some of these people... (living in Florida, or Kansas, or Washington, or Oklahoma) might not want to move at the same pace and try to see so much, but allowances need to be made for people coming from SO FAR away just to have this chance.

When else will a family be able to have a month off to travel together? This could make for glorious memories for all involved.

Your timing is good... if you start in early September... (and were it me, I would wait until AFTER American Labor Day is over - you don't need that hassle) then the Arizona part of your path will be a few more weeks later, yet still blazing hot. Weather-related delays at that time can happen, but not so predictably to where you should bother thinking about them at all.

Again, to simulate this trip in your pre-planning stage is priceless. You may even find that there isn't enough time to stop and smell the roses, and might opt for another idea.

Also, and because there are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many variables... there simply ARE gonna be lots of places you're going to miss, even though you feel you are right nearby.

It could be such a memory for you all to allow the kids to create the path across lower USA for this journey. And it is because you'll have so much randomness (anyway) that it might be just the way to reduce it.

(so if the kids each select the must-see spots along the path, and mom and dad smooth the edges with regard to lodging and exact roads utilized, then it may evolve best)

Repeating: one person selects any spot across the entire realm. Then the next kid selects EITHER a spot between A and K1 OR between K1 and B (NOT deviating uncomfortably far to the north)

then the playing field is more narrowed for the subsequent selections.


Beyond all that, I have a feeling that Nashville would be a good match for your entourage, even though it is a 'city'.

Lanee

Are you attached to flying into Florida? What about Disneyland in CA? If you are open to that, maybe consider into flying into Seattle, and stay in the west if you want smaller towns, rodeos and national parks. You can see Seattle (which is a much cooler city than LA IMO) drive down through Oregon (small towns on the coast like Canon Beach, Manzanita) drive through Bend to Idaho. In Idaho you can see professional bull riding (PBR) in Nampa which is neighboring (and minutes away from Boise). There are also many smaller rodeos going on in the summer in addition to the PBR. Boise is a city, though not huge, full of great restaurants, the Idaho State Fair (August), a blue football field, a river to float and super family-friendly. From there you could hit Yellowstone, head south through Utah (Zion Nat Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Capitol Reef...so many national parks), Head south to the Grand Canyon, head west to Las Vegas, then end your trip at Disneyland and California Adventure. You can spend 3-4 days there and have another day to relax on the beach. Or skip Utah and drive through CA/NV and see the redwood forest, Lake Tahoe, go to the amazing aquarium in Monterey, drop into Vegas and then Disney.

mlgb

Having driven from Miami to Los Angeles several times in my life, I would agree that Texas is boring. There is not too much to do about it. It chews up a day. So out of a month-long trip that isn't terrible.

Coming from Southern Florida, we would try to make it moslty out of Florida in a day, but you will spend more time there. A week would be too much IMO. I would post separate inquiries tagged for each state, asking for ideas. Before leaving Florida we liked the "Redneck Riviera" beaches between Destin and Panama City for an overnight.

We would usually stay somewhere near New Orleans and visit that for a day. Our goal after that was to just get the heck out of Texas and into New Mexico. Maybe the hill country around Austin would be best (I'll let others make suggestions there).

New Mexico will be worth more time. You'd want to decide whether to go the southern way via Carlsbad Caverns, Las Cruces (White Sands) and then via Interstate 10 toward Southeast Arizona. (I can recommend the Motel 6 in Lordsburg). Or the more northerly Interstate 40 to Albuquerque. You could also overnight near Las Cruces coming in the southern way (I like Las Cruces) an then go north from there to I-40. There are a few other ways to link up I-10 and I-40, such as heading north from Phoenix to Flagstaff. From Flagstaff you are within reach of the Grand Canyon. I like both routes. I-40 might be more temperate in September (for parts). Was recently through there in October including Painted Desert which can be mostly done from a car if too hot and then short walks, as well as Flagstaff which has a higher elevations. I'd want a week for each of NM and AZ.

In Arizona, a drive though the Sonoran Desert is a must to see the saguaro cactus. For that, going via Tucson is better since the National Park is nearby.

I can't really help much on "interesting towns" from a cultural standpoint but I did like Flagstaff and Williams for an overnight.

You might also cut a night or two from each and add in Kanab and/or Springdale to see the National Parks in Utah. If you decide not to go to the Utah parks or Las Vegas or just run out of time from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, you could use Williams as the last night here, and onthe way to California detour off I40 for a quick stop in Seligman to visit Delgadillo's Snowcap. For me that would be a must see for the kids if you are on that route and you do need to go inside (10 to 6pm I think).

We also like the section of Rte 66 that goes from Kingman via Oatman, AZ, and back to I40 near Needles. It does add time so best if you don't plan on doing a long drive that day.

Las Vegas (it's always on everyone's list) before heading to California. Doesn't matter if it's hot. Actually I don't really like LV myself, along with casinos and resort fees, so usually stay in Mesquite if I'm on the way to Utah. (If you go that way, I recommend calling the Eureka people and asking for a room away from the Casino or their other noncasino property nearby). I know people add in Lake Mead, but when I was a teen I found it boring and still haven't been back.

It's less than half a day's drive from LV or Utah to Los Angeles.

Again, I'd make separate postings for each of Texas, NM, and Austin, stating how many nights and asking where to stay.