best U.S. – From Florida’s 100-mile Overseas Highway to Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road, these 10 U.S. road trips are tailored for summer—while many also shine year-round.
Summer doesn’t really arrive all at once. For many Americans, it shows up the moment the trunk is packed, the first playlist starts, and the road ahead looks wide enough to belong to you.
In that spirit, these 10 U.S. road trips are built for the season—whether you’re aiming for turquoise coastlines, legendary highway history, or the kind of mountain scenery that makes you pull over “just for a second.”
If you start in the South
Overseas Highway: Florida
Best time to go: Any time of year
The Overseas Highway crosses the turquoise waters between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico using 42 bridges. including Florida’s longest. the Seven Mile Bridge. The 100-mile drive is lined with palms, native flora and fauna, retro motels and kitschy shell shops.
From Florida City, the road trip is about six hours round-trip. Many travelers extend the journey by starting in Miami and driving 33 miles south to Homestead. where you can visit Everglades National Park. The route also includes Knaus Berry Farm. open annually from November through May. for cinnamon rolls. plus the Robert Is Here Fruit Stand for tropical provisions and smoothies. From there, the drive continues down the coral cay archipelago to Key West.
Interstate 64. US Route 219 and Highland Scenic Highway: West Virginia
Best time to go: Spring or summer
Beckley. West Virginia. may look like a typical stop-for-gas town—but it isn’t. The itinerary begins with a night exploring the city’s quaint bars and restaurants, nice shops and friendly locals. For dive bar fans, The Mad Hatter Club offers a pint and late-night eats.
The next morning. head to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. where a railcar takes you 1. 500 feet into a real mine and a retired miner gives you the grand tour. From Beckley. drive two hours northeast to the Cranberry Glades in Pocahontas County. where you’ll find a picturesque boardwalk through a peat bog.
Then travel north up the Highland Scenic Highway: a 43-mile stretch of ridgeline with overlooks reaching 4,500 feet. The catch is practical—there are no gas stations on the route—so fill up beforehand.
If you start in the Midwest
Route 66: Illinois to California
Best time to go: Spring through fall
Route 66 dates back to 1926 and remains one of the most legendary highways in the U.S. The road is about wide-open landscapes. well-preserved historic sites and retro landmarks. including the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville. Illinois.
The classic route is built for nostalgia, too: in the 1940s and 1950s, the 2,500-mile highway—stretching from Chicago to Santa Monica, California—was considered the quintessential American road trip.
There are plenty of stops along the way. In Amarillo, Texas, road trippers can see Cadillac Ranch, an art installation featuring rows of graffiti-painted Cadillacs sticking rear-end-first out of the ground. About a 12-minute drive from the Cadillacs, Tyler’s Barbeque is a popular stop for brisket.
The New Mexican and Arizonan sections of Interstate 40 (which partially replaced Route 66) are described as particularly picturesque. with landmarks including Arizona’s Jack Rabbit Trading Post—an established pit stop for travelers for more than a half-century. New Mexico’s 400-mile stretch of Route 66 is lined with historic Native American sites. including the Pueblo of Laguna. the largest of the Keresan pueblos.
Spring through fall is framed as the best time to travel Route 66, but one important detail matters for planning: Route 66 isn’t indicated as a single route on contemporary maps. Travelers are encouraged to use a resource like Historic 66 for turn-by-turn directions.
Great River Road National Scenic Byway: Minnesota to Louisiana
Best time to go: Fall or spring for the best weather
The Great River Road is to the Mississippi River what the Pacific Coast Highway is to the Pacific Ocean. Starting in Itasca State Park in Minnesota and ending near New Orleans. the route spans nearly the entire width of the U.S. stretching more than 2. 000 miles and passing many Midwest landmarks.
Like Route 66, it’s not one continuous road. Instead, it’s a series of roads that follow the eastern and western sides of the Mississippi River through Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.
Each state along the route has its own interpretative center. In Mississippi, travelers can visit Vicksburg National Military Park. Missouri has Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home & Museum. and Iowa includes Effigy Mounds National Monument. home to more than 200 prehistoric mounds built by pre-Columbian Mound Builder cultures.
If you start out West
Pacific Coast Highway: California to Washington
Best time to go: Late spring when wildflowers are in bloom
The Pacific Coast Highway is known as an iconic California road trip—but the route can stretch across the entire country’s coastline. traveling 1. 650 miles from San Diego to Olympic National Park in Washington.
Sweeping views from high above the blue-green Pacific Ocean are a major draw, with park stops along the way. Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is noted for sea otter, seal and whale viewing. Garrapata State Park is renowned for coastal redwood groves.
Just south of Garrapata is the Bixby Creek Bridge, highlighted as one of the world’s tallest single-span concrete arch bridges. From there, the concentration of stops builds around the coastal area of Big Sur, California.
Stops include Nepenthe, where visitors can enjoy a glass of wine, lunch or both with views over 60 miles of shoreline. The itinerary also calls for a pause at the McWay Falls overlook or a peek at the sunset through Keyhole Arch on Pfeiffer Beach.
Past the southern end of Big Sur is Hearst Castle, the 1920s-style Spanish Colonial Revival mansion built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Historic Columbia River Highway: Oregon
Best time to visit: Spring through fall. with fall offering the most colorful views
Oregon’s Historic Columbia River Highway is described as the first planned scenic highway in the U.S. dating back to 1913. The 75-mile route begins in Troutdale, an eastern suburb of Portland, and ends in The Dalles.
Travelers can explore it in a day, or add an overnight stop for a quick weekend trip. The route’s must-see features include waterfalls such as Shepperd’s Dell Falls and the 620-foot-tall Multnomah Falls. along with scenic vistas like Chanticleer Point lookout and Crown Point. one of the most photographed spots along the Columbia River.
If there’s time, the route also points to historical landmarks connected to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, including Rooster Rock State Park, Cascade Locks Historical Museum and the Rock Fort Campsite in The Dalles.
US Route 89: Through Arizona, Utah, Wyoming and Montana
Best time to visit: Any time of year
U.S. Route 89 is no longer an official U.S. national park road, but it’s framed as a strong option for travelers looking for the road less traveled. Formerly known as the National Park-to-Park Highway. it can start in Arizona and continue through Utah and Wyoming until you reach Montana.
Along the way, travelers pass more than 150 towns, cities and reservations, along with seven national parks—Grand Canyon, Glacier and Yellowstone among them—and three geographic regions: Basin and Range National Monument, the Colorado Plateau and the Rocky Mountains.
Going end to end is an option, but the guide suggests a quicker stretch too: from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to Glacier National Park. Travelers can start and end wherever they choose.
Going-to-the-Sun Road: Glacier National Park. Montana
Best time to visit: When the snow has melted and the road is open. usually from the first of June until October
The 50-mile Going-to-the-Sun Road is the only road through Glacier National Park. It’s also among the narrowest and most winding thoroughfares on the list. with some of the park’s most epic landscapes as the payoff.
Travelers might spot mountain goats from the Jackson Glacier Overlook and along the route’s highest point, Logan Pass, which sits at 6,646 feet tall.
The road is busiest from late June through late August. It also runs past lakes including Lake McDonald and St. Mary Lake, along with waterfalls such as McDonald Falls and Bird Woman Falls.
The guide also recommends nearby Kalispell, Montana. The city’s downtown features independent shops and restaurants. and Norm’s Soda Fountain is singled out as a local favorite. The spot is described as a retro candy shop-turned-diner with bison burgers. From there. travelers can head to the Kalispell Antiques Market and then end with a frosty beer at Moose’s Saloon.
If you start in Maine
US Route 1: Maine to Florida
Best time to visit: Late September or early October (if you start this route in New England)
Historic U.S. Route 1 begins near the Canadian border at Fort Kent, Maine. The route spans nearly 2. 500 miles along the Atlantic coast. passing through East Coast destinations including New York City. Philadelphia. Baltimore and Washington. D.C. before ending in Key West. Florida.
Along the way, drivers can find Colonial towns such as 370-year-old Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The itinerary also points to Salem, Massachusetts, noted for its historic (and tragic) witch trials.
Other stops include Newport, Rhode Island, known for its Gilded Age mansions, including The Breakers, the lavish summer “cottage” of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. Nearby Providence is listed as a favorite, with the world-renowned ramen shop, Pickerel.
Farther south, U.S. Route 1’s highlights include northern Virginia’s Mount Vernon, the one-time home of former President George Washington, and South Carolina’s 45,000-acre Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge.
Acadia All-American Road: Maine
Best time to visit: Late fall to avoid the crowded summer months and enjoy the colorful foliage
The Acadia All-American Road can be completed in half a day. but there’s much to see along its 40 miles through Acadia National Park. The scenic byway starts at U.S. Route 3 just south of Trenton and crosses the bridge onto 108-square-mile Mount Desert Island.
Highlights include Bass Harbor Head Light Station, a lighthouse dating back to the mid-1800s, and Cadillac Mountain, the park’s highest point. Cadillac Mountain is described as having interconnected carriage roads and old stone bridges, most of which are closed to cars.
To explore these areas, the guide says to bring bicycles or rent them in Bar Harbor. For food, it recommends the fresh seafood at the Thirsty Whale Tavern.
The through-line here is simple: summer is here, and America’s wide-open roads are waiting. Pick the route that matches your pace, then let the smaller discoveries do the real work—those lesser-known stops along the way are often what turn a drive into a memory.
road trips USA 2026 Overseas Highway Florida Route 66 Great River Road Pacific Coast Highway Historic Columbia River Highway US Route 89 Going-to-the-Sun Road US Route 1 Acadia All-American Road
Glacier in 2026 summer?? Gonna be crowded as heck.
Overseas Highway sounds cool but 100 miles for like 6 hours? That math seems off unless they mean multiple stops. Also are the bridges toll or what.
Going-to-the-Sun Road is always jammed, like it’s the only road in Montana. I swear last time we went there were cops everywhere and we couldn’t even turn around, so not sure why people act like it’s so easy. And 2026 summer is soooo far, but ok I guess.
I read this like it’s saying “summer shows up when you pack the trunk” lol. Anyway Overseas Highway with 42 bridges?? I thought it was like 10 bridges or something. Plus shell shops?? We just need gas prices to not be insane, then I’ll do any road trip honestly.