So im planning a road trip for late August. The idea is first leg to Reno thursday night to spend time with family then friday morning go drive through Zion and see the natural wonders there and possibly end the day at Yellowstone and camp there friday night. Saturday i planned to just bum rush the plains and try to make it as far as i can driving late into the night finding some place to camp out in Minnesota. Spend sunday driving along the great lakes and spend some time checking out the maritime museums that dot the coastline. Then show up in Detroit sunday night for a hotel check in. That next week I'll be in Detroit on business so in theory this will only take one vacation day to do this then I'll take all of next week to finish the trip cross country. This first leg im wondering if I'm trying to see too much and if i should tone it back or cut my itinerary
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That sounds incredibly boring, but I'm not you. Especially that drive through the center of North Dakota. Whew, that's some depressing stuff. The natural scenery starts to get interesting through Minnesota to the upper peninsula of Michigan. Duluth is chill, great place to have a relaxing meal at a cafe. Try to check out the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit / Dearborn.
>>28952803>first leg to Reno thursday night10 hour drive but OK>friday morning go drive through Zion and see the natural wonders there8 hours just for the drive>end the day at Yellowstone12 hours just for the drive, then the park is huge>camp there friday night. Saturday i planned to just bum rush the plains camp out in Minnesota.18 hours>Spend sunday driving along the great lakes and spend some time checking out the maritime museums that dot the coastline.14 hours just driving>show up in Detroit sunday night for a hotel check in.>cut my itinerary?Yes you have grossly underestimated the time required.
>>28952848I've done 2 cross country drives. One on the I10 and another on I40. I40 was suicide fuel so i was planning to just speedrun through those states>>28952856I guess i should trial run this. When i did the cross country road trips we had 4 drivers and we all went in shifts and stopped off wherever we saw something cool. My longest solo drive was 500 miles in a day and felt like i could keep going so i should budget something like that and see what i can cover in that distance in a given day
>>28952803You will either be driving the entire time or spend twice as long as you planned so you can actually look at things along the way.Reno > Zion > Yellowstone in a day with time to see the sights is legitimately delusional
>>28952885>My longest solo drive was 500 miles in a dayWeak. I did New Mexico to Virginia beach solo in 48 hours. You can do better.
>>28952954Fucking hell dude did you sleep?
You can get some road meth in Dickinson, ND to charge yourself back up. Done the 1800 from Seattle -> Minneapolis and back more than a few times, and that taps you for a couple days. Good luck anon.
>>28953451Any good scenery along the road you liked
>>28952803you're really missing out by not going through southern south dakota. you can see badlands national park, and mount rushmore. there's also free public hot springs all over southeastern wyoming that are amazing.
>>28953445I had a 3 hour nap in Mississipi. Didn't get a hotel room, just pulled over to a gas station and slept in the driver's seat.It was an unusual trip, though, to be fair. I would not schedule such a trip, but at the time it was exactly what I needed. My father had just passed away, and I flew into NM to get the ball rolling on the estate, get the will, get recognized as executor, get the house safe, get the funeral proceedings beginning, etc. etc. I accomplished all that while sleeping in this house with no water and no internet for a week and a giant moldy bloodstain on the living room floor... I needed something to clear my mind and put an 'end' to that chapter. The purpose of the trip was to deliver his car to my sister in Virginia as part of her inheritance, and after spending 15 minutes looking at cross-country car shipping prices I said fuck it I'm driving it there myself. Anything to get that house out of my mind.
sidebar while OP figures out how to rawdog an American tour while blinking at all he wants to see. what's the best American classic car to do a road trip in? as in, the classic that would be the most comfortable. I'm saving up money to one day buy my dream classic, ideally one that's already been fixed up but with budget enough to make it nice, and then do my dream road trip spending months touring the country in it. I am posting this here because I also realize I'm just as delusional as OP but my delusion is just a different type of delusion. NOTE: OP, I'm not trying to drag you down and I like your delusion, too. I just think you're not going to actually be able to see as much as you think you're going to be able to see. that's just an ambitious route and i don't think you'll be able to stop as much as you think in that timeframe.
>>28953458Montana is legit gorgeous. Spend more time there, time your travel to be there in the daytime. North Dakota you can bang out at night and not miss anything, it's legit a straight shot with grasslands.
>>28953580ND has some nice scenery out west in the badlands.
Hey wanna meet up in a really remote part of nevada? haha think it would be a great time
>>28953558>OP, I'm not trying to drag you down and I like your delusion, too. I just think you're not going to actually be able to see as much as you think you're going to be able to see. Totally understand, im rethinking this and possibly bypassing the parks and making my way straight to the great lakes instead so i can spend a full day atleast checking out the coastline. Funny you mention it because i was planning to take on this trip in a classic car. It's reasonably comfortable and doesn't doo terrible on gas either
>>28952803That's a lotta gasoline burned for nothing
>>28953728That's a lot of shut the fuck up, you're on a car board.Go bitch somewhere else about cruise ships, the military, or corporate planes.
>>28953728ye
If you enjoy hours of monotonous driving straight or your time is worth nothing, then go do this. Otherwise use a plane.
>>28952803Take a week or 10 days instead for this. Stay going east in Wyoming instead of going north into Montana. There is nothing to see in that part of Montana. Staying in Wyoming will get you to Cody, the Bighorn Mountains, and Devil’s Tower. Then enter South Dakota and see the Black Hills and stay in Deadwood. Continue on to see the Badlands. There would be nothing to see in North Dakota. Continue east to Minnesota, there is nothing to see in this part of MN so drive through this to La Crosse Wisconsin. Then cut north and head to Munising MI, take a glass bottom boat tour and see some shipwrecks on Lake Superior. Then head south and visit Mackinac Island and Ann Arbor before you hit Detroit.
>>28953883Also it’s worth hitting Devil’s Lake and Sheboygan in Wisconsin. In Sheboygan get some Parker John’s BBQ and stop at Three Sheeps brewery and go down to the pier and see Lake Michigan. Then head up to Green Bay and hug the Lake Michigan coast on the way to Munising, it’s a very enjoyable ride.
stay the fuck out of my state asshole
>>28952803as >>28952856said you're not going to see anything really with your timeline and be constantly driving. I've driven a lot of where you're wanting to go and they are long days of driving. Plus at the parks you really need to be there at the correct times and spend time to even enjoy them. You're also going during peak months at these parks so finding spaces to camp for instance will be a pain.Also >>28953463 this. ND has some badlands around Teddy's park but SD's is way more vast and cool and the black hills area in general is pretty nice. Granted I would skip rushmore and do other stuff in the area. But yeah your first few days are basically insane and not possible. Especially Reno -> Zion -> Yellowstone in a meaningful day.
I said the high desert belongs to me. Fuck off
>>28952803fuck ND, go to SD and stop by Badlands.
Does anyone else take road trips through Appalachia?
>>28953970Very scenic but make sure that you stay in a secure hotel (not motel) with a secured parking structure.
>>28952885>My longest solo drive was 500 miles in a dayI do 850 miles in about 10.5 hours hours at least once a year. What the fuck are you even doing on your road trips?
>>28954028I go to Reno every so often to see family
>>28954074Where is the best buffet?
>>28954028I did a 920mi ~15h trip to get back home once. Long fucking day
>>28952803what are you driving anon?when i take road trips, I always rent a car. a minivan in most case so I can easily sleep in the back.benefits of renting>not your car>no wear and tear>anything happens, it happens to a rental>get to experience a low milage 2026 model year
>>28954120Yeah I've done those a couple times, those were brutal to the point where I didn't really care where I was at the end of the day. Just wanted out of the truck knowing there was another day of driving. Setting cruise control at 83mph ruins my fuel economy, but it shaves about an hour off the total trip. 32mpg versus 38mpg, but its over 1 hour earlier.
>>28954120>920mi ~15h tripaverages 61 mph
>>28953663as someone who lives in the great lakes region, it's beautiful, but the national parks out west are about a million times more interesting
>>28952803Same, planning a week off this August to take this journey
>>28954190The idea is i can reasonably visit the parks in the west at any time. The great lakes are a trip for sure and I'll probably never have a reason to drive up there again. I was sent up to Detroit late last year when everything was frozen hellscape and i want to take some time to check it out in summer. I'll probably just have to scrap any fantasy of seeing those parks along the way and just focus on getting to at least Wisconsin so i have a day or 2 to explore the area before i need to be in Detroit by morning >>289541301968 firebird, i trust it to make the journey without any issues. It's about the experience of road tripping a classic. I've taken it to Reno and several camping trips in the Sierras so i know it can be reasonably comfortable and if i ignore fuel economy the thing cruises 85 rather well>>28954079Couldn't tell you
>>28954239That should work out fine with time to spare.
>>28953908There is no reason to drive to Sheboygan lol. If OP wants to take a car ferry across Lake Michigan, that's another story.https://ssbadger.com/
>>28954403Damn, now that's a fucking idea right there. I wanted to see UP but a ferry ride sounds like fun
>>28954407Yeah, I would avoid the UP in a 68 Firebird. There is no cell service, towns can be 50 miles apart, no service stations will be open on the weekend and ups next day air does not exist if you need a part that is not in stock.
>>28954403>>28954407the car ferry is fun, I have taken it from Muskegon MI to Milwaukee. When you're in the middle of the Lake you can't see land in any direction. I wouldn't say it's worth missing the UP for though.
>>28954416Service stations as in gas stations? That's pretty wild. Surely i can just swipe the card and fill up>>28954417The ferry has me torn now because i love boats but i keep hearing people talk about how beautiful the upper peninsula is
>>28954446the ferry is cool, but taking a glass-bottom boat tour on lake superior would be much more scenic
>>28954446I meant service stations like a place you would stop at if you had to get repairs. Gas stations won't be a problem, but a few may close earlier than you expected.
>>28952803not a lot of men choose the desolation. Its not horrible, and its an experience driving down that empty highway. Protip, skip the indian reservations.
>>28954855Oh, no, i fix my own stuff. Getting parts as needed would be a challenge. One time the power steering hose burst going to Tucson and i was able to get a custom one made at a Napa in Gila Bend and install it in the parking lot. That was a great time.>>28954904Yea, even here in the southwest stopping in indian reservations is a great way to get stabbed or robbed. I'll have to review the itinerary based on the feedback im getting and choose a better route. I want the drive to atleast be pretty. I may have to cut out anything in the west and focus on getting to the great lakes area. The stuff in the west is close enough for me to visit without too much planning on my part
>>28954174I've been pulled over for speeding nearly half a dozen times throughout the US. It does not make you cool nor does it feel good on the wallet. Also you're a fag if you drive the interstates only.
