Ever wondered what the perfect road trip through the U.S. might be? Recently, one man studied what might be the best route to take if you wanted to visit all 48 continental states at 50 different landmarks along the way. What makes the resulting route so great is that it’s one big loop, meaning you can essentially start on your road trip from wherever you live.
The perfect road trip was developed by Randy Olson, a Michigan State University doctoral student. He was tasked by Discovery News to come up with a map that left no state out and that each stop would be at a national landmark of some sort. Using a sophisticated algorithm this is the map they came up with.
You’ll take in sights like the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty and some lesser known tourist attractions you might never have heard of. Here’s the list of landmarks you would stop at in each state on this road trip:
1. Grand Canyon, AZ
2. Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
3. Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID
4. Yellowstone National Park, WY
5. Pikes Peak, CO
6. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
7. The Alamo, TX
8. The Platt Historic District, OK
9. Toltec Mounds, AR
10. Elvis Presley’s Graceland, TN
11. Vicksburg National Military Park, MS
12. French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
13. USS Alabama, AL
14. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL
15. Okefenokee Swamp Park, GA
16. Fort Sumter National Monument, SC
17. Lost World Caverns, WV
18. Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center, NC
19. Mount Vernon, VA
20. White House, Washington, DC
21. Colonial Annapolis Historic District, MD
22. New Castle Historic District, Delaware
23. Cape May Historic District, NJ
24. Liberty Bell, PA
25. Statue of Liberty, NY
26. The Mark Twain House & Museum, CT
27. The Breakers, RI
28. USS Constitution, MA
29. Acadia National Park, ME
30. Mount Washington Hotel, NH
31. Shelburne Farms, VT
32. Fox Theater, Detroit, MI
33. Spring Grove Cemetery, OH
34. Mammoth Cave National Park, KY
35. West Baden Springs Hotel, IN
36. Abraham Lincoln’s Home, IL
37. Gateway Arch, MO
38. C. W. Parker Carousel Museum, KS
39. Terrace Hill Governor’s Mansion, IA
40. Taliesin, WI
41. Fort Snelling, MN
42. Ashfall Fossil Bed, NE
43. Mount Rushmore, SD
44. Fort Union Trading Post, ND
45. Glacier National Park, MT
46. Hanford Site, WA
47. Columbia River Highway, OR
48. San Francisco Cable Cars, CA
49. San Andreas Fault, CA
50. Hoover Dam, NV
Admittedly, not every landmark is to everyone’s tastes, but it certainly would make for a very scenic and adventurous drive. Looking at this list makes me want to pack up my car and head out on the road!
You can check out the route with the Google maps that Olson developed and how he calculated the route at his website.
Share this fun road trip with your family and friends to help kickstart planning your next vacation.
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