Let's share your Road trip experience!

[3Wliners]

We’d like to hear from the community about road trip experiences.


If you were planning a road trip and could choose two U.S. states, which would you recommend and why?
We’re especially interested in routes that stand out for driving experience, scenery, or overall practicality.


We’d also appreciate any vehicle preparation or maintenance advice for longer trips, such as:

• Items you always check or service before departure
• Small details that are often overlooked but matter on the road
• Lessons learned from past trips that you’d recommend others keep in mind

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

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[AzScorpion]

We’ve done a couple long road trips (around 5,000 miles) and our favorite is Utah to South Dakota. Both trips are documented here and here with hundreds of pictures and routes and places we recommend.

Before leaving I always go through my truck and check the usual like tires, tire pressure, all belts and hoses, fluid levels and of course change the oil. I bring along a box of tools, small air compressor for airing back up when off road and a tire plug kit. I also have a 12v cooler which we take filled with food, snacks and water. It saves time not always having to stop for food and keeps you stuff cold without having to buy ice all the time.

I’ve taken different routes each time so we can see different sites and sometimes make a detour if there’s something interesting to see. Monument Valley is a must see when traveling out that way and it’s a nice *dusty) drive through the sandstone buttes and mesas that surround it. Then there’s the famous Forest Gump location which is towards the end of the route on Hwy 163 near Mexican Hat.

Moab, UT has so much to do from off roading to Arches NP and hiking.

South Dakota is another state with so much to do from Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, Deadwood and Mt Moriah Cemetery

A helicopter ride is a must when there. It'll take you up close to Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse and around Custer State Park.

Custer State Park

 

[emesel]

I second the Utah recommendation above and South Dakota. Here are some pics from a 7-week southwest trip my wife and I did in spring 2025 (Utah pics are last half of the pics): Zenfolio | Mark S Landman | Southwest 2025

If you're going to South Dakota, The Badlands is one of our favorite places; it's other worldly. Here are pics from Badlands and a northwest trip we did in 2023 (Badlands at the beginning): Zenfolio | Mark S Landman | Pacific Northwest Trip May/June 2023

As far as best wildlife we've seen, that would be Yellowstone (pics in northwest link above).

Best road we've driven: Beartooth Scenic Byway that runs from northeast Yellowstone to Red Lodge, Montana. Dramatic Scenic Drive on Beartooth Highway to Yellowstone

I also agree with bringing a cooler with food; great idea.

Mark

 

[Mighty Little Blue]

Have to agree with both of the earlier replies those are some of the most beautiful places. We have driven them multiple times. I also like to take the back US Highways instead of main roads. If you need to take the interstate instead of backroads nothing is better then I70 through Colorado. Going old school in the past whenever we did a roadtrip I would get the maps from AAA. They would do a booklet in small sections that would show a lot of stuff you would otherwise miss. Today I still travel with a road atlas to try, and find the best scenic route.

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