Family Road Trips

Our Top 10 Family Road Trips USA awards go to the original family vacation: the road trip by car. Nearly 80% of Americans have said they consider road trips “a rite of passage” for their children, probably because they did them with their parents. While families looking for relaxation today may choose the beach to kick back and refuel, others will venture onto hiking or biking trails, mountain slopes, roller coasters or cruise ship decks in pursuit of their ideal vacation.

Looking over car dashboard to a tunnel on Blue Ridge Parkway.
Cruising the Blue Ridge Parkway in autumn. Photo by Riccardo for pexels.

Most of us will, at some time, pack the car and hit the highway for a traditional American road trip. We may go because the country is diverse and beautiful and “getting there” adds to the memories… or simply because driving is the easiest way to reach a favorite beach, wilderness area, mountain or themepark. So, despite sky-high gas prices, browse our list below.

Need a car or SUV or family minivan to make your family road trip a reality? Check out these discount car rental rates from Discovercars.com

These top 10 driving itineraries are the most popular ones among family travelers, and we celebrate them by taking a new look at what each has to offer.

Family Road Trips Northeast

Horse and buggy on a farm road through the Amish countryside of Pennsylvania.
You’ll have to slow down on a Pennsylvania road trip when an Amish horse and buggy pass by.

Did you know that Americans surveyed say the ideal road trip includes 13 total hours of driving?

An American History Tour Through Pennsylvania
Leaf Peeking in New England

Family Road Trips Southeast

A Florida highway lined with palm trees, seen at dusk.
A quiet length of Florida’s AiA at dusk. Photo by Nout Gons for pexels.

We also learned that most people think five days is plenty for a family road trip.

The Blue Ridge Parkway From Virginia To Tennessee
Florida US1 From Jacksonville To Key West

Family Road Trip Mountain States

The carved Presidents' heads on Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota.
Mount Rushmore is oe of the best known attractions on a USA road trip through the Western states.

When you’re thinking about how to travel with, keep in mind that most drivers say the way to go is with a total of four passengers in a roomy SUV or Crossover vehicle.

Great Sights Of The West – Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone And The Grand Tetons

Family Road Trips Southwest

Our kids don’t like to sit still for very long, so we’ve broken down all these itineraries into several manageable days. Expect to keep under a few hours’ driving time per day.

The Grand Canyon From Phoenix To Las Vegas
Exploring The Diverse Cultures Of New Mexico

Family Road Trips West

A roadway llined with lava fields on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Black lava fields line many of the roadways on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Some of the most legendary Western road trips are the longest distances. Of course, you can pick and choose among the many suggested stops and detours, and stay for as long as you’d like in any one place. Make them your own.

The Pacific Coast Highway From San Francisco To Los Angeles
Around and About The Big Island Of Hawaii
The Pacific Northwest From Portland To The Olympic Peninsula
 

Here’s the video done by team member Jillian Ryan when we first rolled out our picks for the Top 10 Roadtrips. Although gas prices were 28% lower back then, it’s still a fun and brief look at what these trips have to offer.

Planning the Top Family Road Trip Journey on Your List

Today, more than two-thirds of Amerians surveyed say they plan to go on more road trips than prior to the pandemic. Please try out a few of our itineraries.

We offer all the resources you’ll need to download a map so the kids can learn to read one, and your navigator can find a place to stay each night.

Find discount family-friendly hotels for your next family vacation road trip here.

Make sure to have snacks and amusements on hand for the backseat set. And don’t forget to play some of our favorite backseat games en route. We hope that frequent stops, amazing sights, and colorful detours will help you avoid too many muttered “Are we there yets?”

Prefer a vacation rental or condo for your stay? Check-out options from VRBO.com.

Drive safe (here are some safety tips) and have a wonderful adventure! (And leave comments about favorite stops you’ve found so others can follow the fun.)

Dear Reader: This page may contain affiliate links which may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Our independent journalism is not influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative unless it is clearly marked as sponsored content. As travel products change, please be sure to reconfirm all details and stay up to date with current events to ensure a safe and successful trip.

11 Replies to “Top 10 Family Road Trips USA”

  • upa

    Hi! I’ve been reading your site for a while now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Austin Texas! Just wanted
    to say keep up the great work!

  • Ratna Singh

    Quite informative article!! Gives hopes for getting onto a plane again soon.

  • John

    I had a wonderful experience this summer in Croatia. It’s part of it, called Istria, and the city is Pula. Beautiful city! I was there for ten days, with my family, and we wanted to explore a little bit of the area so we used Google to find out what we can do. The first thing we found was a boat excursion with https://www.vacation-istria.com, and we decided to take a tour. What I can say is that it was great! We took a day tour around the islands of Brioni near Pula, two hours on the boat with lunch, and two hours of swimming on the nice small island! Beautiful nature. Brioni National Park looks great! I just want to tell everyone, not to waste time, let yourself go and enjoy it! I intend to visit that area next year again, and I will do it for sure!

  • Ratna Singh

    We visited Disneyland Orlando in October 2019. Had a super-duper time. This article reminds me of those days. Thanks for sharing !

  • RATNA (Travelsimplygo.com)

    Indeed a great article with loads of holiday choices ! Thanks for sharing.

  • David

    Welcome to Morocco, Atlas mountains and Sahara desert trip

  • Sarah Bilal

    i love it.. This is amazing information
    Thanks

  • Sarah

    Its amazing. i have to share with my friends and family
    Thanks admin

  • zor

    Nice read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch as I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch! “But O the truth, the truth. The many eyes That look on it The diverse things they see.” by George Meredith.

  • https://

    Hello! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say
    I really enjoy reading your articles. Can you suggest any
    other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects?
    Many thanks!

  • where

    My brother recommended I might like this blog.

    He was entirely right. This post actually made
    my day. You cann’t imagine simply how much time I
    had spent for this information! Thanks!

  • Ron B

    After trying a few car hauling services we found online, I was getting very discouraged about moving my mother-in-law’s car from Florida to Philadelphia. Then I heard about this service and found out they were reasonably priced (within $100 of the car hauler rate) and very communicative. They emailed me a contract, plus the driver’s info so we could add him to our insurance (turned out to be Luke, a really nice guy). We paid their fee plus the cost of Ubers to and from the airport so Luke could go home and voila — the car was there in less than 72 hours. Perfect shape, they had checked out tires, oil and water etc before they left Florida and then had it washed. I was really delighted. They put my mind at ease. Highly recommend them.

  • Jenny Jenkins

    Wow! I found your content here very creative and helpful. Thank you so much. I also found some great information here I will keep checking back for more great content. Very happy to read this.

  • Kelly Smith

    Booking cheap flights for vocation is a great saving for students. Thanks for sharing these tips, all tips are very useful to students.

  • Nik Berezkin

    Vail and the other Rocky Mountain resorts are absolutely phenomenal in the summer time. They are definitely better value during the summer season, and there might actually be more to do in the summer than in the winter! (I’m a Vail Valley local of 10+ years btw)

  • I am glad we are able to travel this summer and the COVID thing is somewhat under control. Thanks for the great article, will share it on social.

  • If you are ever at a loss for things to do in Michigan’s Upper Thumb, you found the right spot. We went looking for a dozen neat and interesting things to do and came up with this list of free things to do in Michigan’s Thumb.

  • Susan Schatz

    Wonderful article, but it should be noted that Longwood Gardens is in Pennsylvania!

  • onehotels

    Wow! I just love how detailed and extensive this blog is! This makes planning a beach vacation so much easier! Thanks for sharing!

  • tq

    I’m extremely pleased to uncover this web site.
    I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly fantastic read!!
    I definitely appreciated every bit of it and I have you bookmarked to see new stuff on your
    blog.

  • Ratna

    A very interesting article! Great ideas to make stay-at-home fun. Thanks for sharing!

  • Hasil Skor

    I am in fact pleased to glance at this blog posts which contains plenty of helpful data, thanks for providing these kinds of information.

  • Reagan Miller

    My family loves games

  • burnley

    Howdy! This post couldn’t be written any better!
    Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
    He continually kept preaching about this. I am going
    to forward this article to him. Fairly certain he’s going to have a good read.
    I appreciate you for sharing!

  • Mik

    Travel is gaining momentum again, opening up the knowledge of exceptional experiences. Travelers have the opportunity to get to know the area better, see nature and discover local attractions. Try to get to know the entertainment created by the locals and get excited for a lifetime. More optimism when choosing unique trips, as it is an ideal opportunity to get to know the country by getting to know the locals.

  • japanese movie

    Hola! I’ve been following your site for a while now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from
    Kingwood Tx! Just wanted to mention keep up the excellent work!

  • Ashley Scott

    Loved this post! Another great family trip idea just south of there is a canoe camping trip down the Colorado River! I just went and it was amazing. https://lovelyandlimitless.com/2021/03/17/colorado-river-canoe-trip/

  • todobigo

    Hi Cara, feel free to follow us @familytravel4um on most social networks. Having some bugs with our Twitter feed but hope to be back online soon. Thanks for your comments! Kyle, the editor

  • cara daftar idnplay

    Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.
    I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward
    to new updates.

  • Gudrun Minson

    Terrific article

  • MFT Admin

    Hello ratuplay, Thanks for your interest and comment. Get in touch if you want to share any of our content and we can provide original docs and images. Please use the Contact Us page at https://myfamilytravels.com/Contact_Us

  • ratuplay

    Do you mind if I quote a couple of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site? My blog is in the very same area of interest as yours and my users would genuinely
    benefit from a lot of the information you present here.

    Please let me know if this alright with you. Appreciate it!

  • zor

    Perfect work you have done, this web site is really cool with good information.

  • agen togel hongkong terpercaya

    It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this brilliant blog!
    I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your
    RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this blog with my
    Facebook group. Chat soon!

  • Wood Ship Kits

    That’s really nice post. I appreciate your skills, Thanks for sharing.

  • Hamada Mohamed

    Thank you for sharing this detailed article. It was very helpful when updating our travel visa database

  • Ootlah

    I had the best family trip in Egypt that winter. Egypt really has some of the best beaches in the world. Read about it: https://www.ootlah.com/en/blog/egyptian-beauty-the-best-beaches-in-egypt.html

  • Travelsimplygo

    Disney cruises are excellant for families, kids simply love it. Me my hubby and 2 children – 15 and 12 went during halloween time . Children were so excited with so many games, shows and surprises offered. Grub was awesome too. It’s a must do!

  • sabung ayam s128

    An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who had
    been conducting a little homework on this. And he
    in fact bought me lunch because I stumbled upon it for him…
    lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!
    But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this
    topic here on your internet site.

  • igrice

    This is something we always play!

  • htt

    Hi! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say
    I truly enjoy reading through your posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same topics?
    Many thanks!

  • Alice

    I had the opportunity to be Pere Margueette Park, something amazing. I highly recommend !!

  • Business Finance

    really good article

  • Web Design Company

    Getting a positive report these days seems like a negative response because of the infestation of coronavirus. So one must be careful while travelling and must use precautions so that the person doesn’t catch up with the covid virus. A thought from a website designing company