Budget Travel Intentions

The USA is unique is that its massive sprawl can provide you with an opportunity to drive through the country for many days in any which direction.While there are literally hundreds of thousands of ways you can go about road trips in the USA, we’ll settle for just a few today.

Road Trips in the USA - Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina and Virginia

The Blue Ridge Parkway stretches 470 miles along the magnificent Appalachian Mountains as it links two national parks, the Great Smoky Mountains National park in North Carolina and the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The parkway is lined with spectacular hiking trails and picnic areas.

Road Trips in the USA - Seward Highway, Alaska

This extensive highway provides you with an opportunity to enjoy Alaska’s immense beauty. The 127-mile highway links Anchorage to the small portside town of Seward. It runs across superb fjords, mammoth glaciers and boreal forests. Starting from Anchorage, the highway heads southwards, across the Kennai Peninsula, running at the base of the rocky Chugach Mountains, overlooking the magnificent Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet at is meanders gracefully past wildlife and waterfalls. While on your trip, you might be able to spot Dall sheep grazing on top of the cliffs, the beluga whales swimming in the breezy waters below and the countless seabirds and eagles flying above the mountains.

Road Trips in the USA - Big Sur, California

Big Sur serves as the ideal reminder that the city of Los Angeles in California is just within the driving distance of some of the most amazing intersections of oceans and mountains in the world. It winds you up on California’s Central Coast, plunging you into the wonderful Big Sur Valley, which stretches more than 90 miles from San Simeon to Carmel. The beauty of Big Sur is not overestimated. It is squeezed in between the magnificent Pacific-redwood groves and the gigantic Santa Lucia Mountains on one side and pebbly beaches on the other side. Be careful though! Out-of-towners, unaware of the twists and turns of Big Sur, so if using a car hire Los Angeles be mindful of others and above all, enjoy yourself!

Road Trips in the USA - Million Dollar Highway, Colorado

The Million Highway connects the old mining towns of Ouray and Silverton in the San Juan Mountains in the southwestern part of Colorado. It passes through Uncompahgre Gorge to the peak of Red mountain Pass. Driving deep into the countryside enables you to see black bears, mountain goats, wildflowers, deer and black bears.

Road Trips in the USA - Red Rock Scenic Byway, Arizona

Red Rock Scenic Byway, also referred to as Route 179, stretches 7.5 miles starting from Sedona and ending at the interstate 17, next to Rimrock. It is lined with wonderful trailheads and superb off-road bike paths. The drive passes through the expansive Coconico National Forest, bursting with hills covered in pinon, juniper and cacti pines. Eagles and hawks fly lazily overhead while coyotes, deer, quail and elk wander around the terrain.

Road Trips in the USA - Route 66

Route 66 stretches more than 2,000 miles from Chicago, Illinois, all the way to Santa Monica, California. While driving along the route, you can be able to see some old diners, beautiful roadside attractions and motels.

Road Trips in the USA - Pacific Coast Highway

This is, hands down, one of the most outstanding and scenic drives in the USA. It is a two-lane highway that runs more than 1,000 miles from the great northwest tip of the United States of America at Olympic National Park until it reaches right up next to the Mexican border. It passes through wilderness reserves, small seaside towns, forests, farmlands and the California wine country. For those of you flying into California for this amazing ride, might I again recommend picking up a car hire at LAX, the airport has a variety of PCH-sensitive options which you aren’t going to find outside of the big city.

CC Wandering Gnome