Best Way To Plan A Road Trip Online?

Question

So my friends and I are planning to take a road trip across the United States this summer/fall, and I'm in charge of getting the planning process started. I want to add some history and such into the trip so it's not just a big "let's get in the car and drive" kind of thing.

So what I'd like to know is: are there any free, online tools to help me plan a road trip? What are some attractions that draw people to certain states? Like the Redwoods, Lagoon, Eating Alligator meat in the south, New York City, Disneyworld in Florida, etc. Are there little-known or unpopular attractions or events that might be worth looking into? Like super cool museums that get overlooked? I'll also need to know hotels and restaurants but that's something to worry about later.

So, do you know any online tools to help plan a road trip? Any attractions or places you'd like to see (or think that four "in-between high school and college" kids would like to see)?

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

I have driven across the country about 6 or 7 times and I always started by looking at a National Park service map to see what places I wanted to see. http://www.nps.gov/index.htm

Then I look for the parks that I want to visit on the park service map ; http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm You need to ask your friends what they might want to see.



I usually plan a round trip going west via one route, like I-40, and returning via another route, like I-70. Then I look at the park service map for the states those routes cross to see what parks are nearby the route. Many times you'll have to go off the interstate to get to the parks. For example, if you drive west on I-40 you can stop along the way at the Petrified Forest but you must drive about 50 miles off the interstate to get to the Grand Canyon. Also, don't be afraid to take routes off the interstate to get to the parks. The secondary roads are in great shape and handle a lot of traffic.



Then you should use Google Maps to plan your route. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl It will actually let you adjust your route to make side trips and give you distances and driving times. You can also add to Google maps a request to show parks and recreation areas, businesses and attractions.



You need to plan how many miles you will drive in a day, where you will stop for the night, and very important to plan stop for gasoline because once you get out west services become less available. My rule of thumb is always stop for gas when you get to half full because you never know when the next gas station will come along.



Finally, if you are a member of AAA (American Auto Assn) they have an online trip planning feature that you can use which will provide a routing and let you print maps just like Google will.