How much time should I dedicate to this road trip?
How long this cross-country journey will take will depend on a few factors. Drew and I traveled and explored on the weekends while also working full-time. The journey took us about six months, but we also know of family and friends who drove a similar journey while not working, and completed their travels in only two months.
In short, this trip can be as short or as long as you want it to be. I suggest looking at each stop, determining how long you would like to stay at each place, and using this sum as an estimate for how long your trip will be.
How long should you stay at each stop?
This is another question that I am frequently asked but has no great answer. Each stop on this journey deserves roughly three days of your time if for nothing else than to just give yourself a good break between the long drives. Since Drew and I worked during our journey, we spent anywhere from seven to 14 days at each place, but only three to five of these days were purely devoted to exploring the area. To help you decide on how long to stay at each place, for each destination listed below, I will tell you how many days I would suggest devoting to the area.
How much driving is required for this road trip?
How do I put this delicately? This type of road trip requires a lot of driving. A lot, a lot. After putting the full trip into Google Maps, I now know that this drive requires an estimated 86 hours of drive time. Eek!
The United States is a huge country, and there is no way to get from coast to coast without having to put your driving gloves on. Fortunately, there are a few stops on this road trip that you can cut out if you so choose. Stops like Brownsville, Texas, and Hot Springs, Arkansas are worth the time it takes to get there, but if you are in a rush, or they just don’t sound like your cup of tea, then cut them out and stick to only the stuff that excites you!
What time of year should you take this road trip?
We suggest doing this road trip over the warmer months so that you can maximize your time spent enjoying outdoor activities. Since it took us so long to do our trip, we started in Charleston around January which allowed us to be in New Orleans in February for Mardi-Gras and get to the arid locations of Sedona, Las Vegas, and Death Valley National Park before the hottest points of the year arrived. Keep in mind that Death Valley is quite literally the hottest place in the world, and exploring it in the middle of summer is not advisable. If you do end up passing it around this time, you may want to consider skipping the stop altogether.
What are some stops that aren’t covered on this road trip?
Like any road trip, this one is not perfect. There are some amazing spots close to this route that time limitations prevented us from stopping at, but can absolutely be added to your journey if you are so inclined. Some of these more notable landmarks include Monument Valley, which would require a detour along your journey between White Sands National Park and Page, Arizona. If you are less interested in seeing the red rocks of Sedona, then you can choose to spend some time in southern Utah, seeing national parks such as Arches, Zion, and Bryce Canyon before exploring the northern rim of the Grand Canyon and continuing east toward Las Vegas.
Since we included Sedona on our adventure, we only visited the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon and saved southern Utah for our return trip. There is also a lot more time that you could spend in California such as detouring into SoCal to explore Joshua Tree National Park or hugging the coastline further south to enjoy areas such as Big Sur. The bottom line is that you’ll never be able to see everything. Prioritize what you are most interested in and get rid of the things that you’re not. There is endless beauty in the United States, so we highly doubt you’ll be disappointed in whatever you choose.
