United States Travel Guide: Road Trips, National Parks and the Best of America

I’ve been to all 50 states. Some were quick stops and some I’ve been back to dozens of times — but I’ve stood in every single one and road tripped most. The United States is not one destination. It’s dozens of countries rolled into one with landscapes, food, culture and accents that change every few hundred miles.

If you’re an American who hasn’t seen much of your own country, that’s about to change.

How to Explore the United States

The United States is massive — and that’s the first thing to understand before you start planning. What works in Europe doesn’t work here. Distances between destinations can be enormous and public transportation outside major cities is limited at best. A car isn’t just convenient in America, it’s essential for seeing anything beyond the obvious.

Road tripping is the best way to experience this country. Some of the most memorable moments happen between destinations — a small town diner, a roadside overlook, a conversation with a stranger at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Build in time for the unexpected.

Destinations by Region

The South

This is home for me and it’s where my heart is. The South gets a bad reputation from people who’ve never spent real time here. The food, the culture, the hospitality and the landscapes are unlike anything else in the country. From the Gulf Coast to the Appalachians, the Lowcountry to the Delta — the South was made for slow travel. We have a complicated history but I promise we are trying to change that. Come explore and eat some biscuits and barbecue.

The Northeast

Historic cities, rugged coastline and fall foliage that justifies a trip on its own. New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and more — this corner of the country packs a lot of history and scenery into a small area more than anywhere else in the US.

The Midwest

Underrated and overlooked. The Gateway to the West and where the expansion first happened. Thanks to Lewis and Clark there is so much great history in this part of the country. The Missouri River country has a quiet beauty that doesn’t make many travel lists but should. The stories it could tell are endless.

The Great Plains

Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas — wide open spaces and plenty of small towns nobody talks about. When I say this part of the country will surprise you, I mean it. It’s home to a super volcano. It’s where the dinosaurs roamed, where mountains still rise, where you can find the Badlands and the Black Hills and enough rugged beauty to get lost in for days.

Florida

Florida gets its own section because let’s face it — it doesn’t fit in anywhere else. Technically the South but not really Southern, except for maybe a smidge of the panhandle. And most people don’t even know what the panhandle is, which is a shame because it’s home to some of the highest rated beaches in the country. After traveling to dozens of beaches, the Gulf Coast still ranks among my favorites. Add in Orlando, the Everglades, the Sunshine Coast, Miami and the Keys — and just enough small towns you’ve never heard of with clear, gorgeous freshwater springs — and it’s just one big beach ball of fun.

The Pacific Northwest

If you visit the Pacific Northwest and don’t see anything other than the volcanic mountains, you would leave satisfied. Don’t get me wrong — that’s far from everything you should see — but those mountains are unlike anything you’ve ever laid eyes on. Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Baker and the Oregon Cascades are incredible. Been to the Rockies? Doesn’t matter. There is nothing like Mt. Rainier.

The Southwest

Red rock country. The Southwest is where the landscape stops making sense and makes you feel like you’ve left the United States and traveled to another world. National parks stack up one after another — Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands and the grandmother of them all — the Grand Canyon. Las Vegas sits in the middle of the desert and somehow works as a base for some of the best day trips in the country.

The West: California

Let’s face it — California is its own destination. It has everything. The highest point in the continental US, the lowest point in the US, mountains, beaches, deserts, Joshua trees and snow. Throw in some of the best cities in the country — Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco — and you never have to leave the state.

Alaska and Hawaii

The last two states and the two couldn’t be more different. Hawaii feels like a foreign country with the softest rain and the nicest people. The entire time I was there I felt like I had stepped somewhere I shouldn’t be — in the best possible way. Thank you for having me. And Alaska — well, I think about Alaska every damn day trying to figure out how I can spend some significant time there. When I say it’s special, that doesn’t even begin to describe it. I’ve seen the Tongass National Forest and I could die happy.

Native America

Native Americans are not just a chapter in a history book — they are here, they are present and their cultures, languages and traditions are alive across every region of this country. From the Navajo Nation in the Southwest to the Cherokee in the Southeast, the Lakota on the Great Plains to the tribes of the Pacific Northwest — indigenous people have called this land home for thousands of years and we owe them more than most of us acknowledge.

When you travel in America, you are traveling on land that belonged to someone else first. Travel with that awareness. Visit tribal lands with respect. Buy art and crafts directly from Native artists. Learn the name of the people whose land you’re standing on.

Some of the most powerful travel experiences I’ve had in this country have been in places connected to Native American history and culture. Ocmulgee in Georgia, Cahokia Mounds in Illinois, the cliff dwellings of Arizona, petroglyphs in Nevada, Cherokee, North Carolina. It’s a thread that runs through everything if you know to look for it.

United States Travel Guides