Road Trips

Route 66 Road sign

Want to take a road trip but not sure the best route to take? Browse our Get Up & Go itineraries for family-tested road trips including the Pacific Northwest, the Four Corners Southwest, Montana to Canada, and Boston to Bar Harbor, Maine. Discover a 10-day Alaska road trip via trains and buses! For each trip, find a detailed itinerary along with stops at national parks and other popular attractions. We work hard to keep the information updated as best as possible; however, some things may have changed over time, so always do your own additional research for the most up-to-date information, especially for National Parks.

Get Up and Go Itineraries quick links:

  • Pacific Northwest Road Trip
  • Four Corners | Southwest Road Trip
  • Colorado | Utah Road Trip
  • Glacier to Banff Road Trip
  • Grand Teton | Yellowstone National Parks from Denver Road Trip
  • California Road Trip  – Los Angeles to San Francisco
  • Boston | Coastal Maine Road Trip

Pacific Northwest Road Trip
The highlights of this road trip included exploring the rugged coastlines of Washington and Oregon, visits to several National Parks, and time spent in Seattle and Portland. Total miles traveled is around 1,800, beginning and ending in Seattle.  This trip has something for everyone: kids of all ages will love the tide pools, jet boat tour and dune buggy ride. Older kids can visit many of the sites made famous in the Twilight movies, and adults will love the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle and the San Juan Islands, among other things.

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Four Corners | Southwest Road Trip
The highlights of this road trip through the Southwest include many of the National Parks located in the Four Corners region of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, including Mesa Verde, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest. Our youngest daughter was 7 when we took this trip.  We traveled over 2200 miles, starting and ending in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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Colorado | Utah Road Trip
For a shorter  adventure in Colorado, Utah, and Page, Arizona, consider this 8 Day Epic Colorado & Utah Road Trip Adventure planned by my daughter and her friend. It’s perfect if you are ready for a fast-paced summer road trip. Not only do they share the itinerary they put together, but also their twenty-something point of view, and a few favorite photos from their epic summer road trip adventure. The trip starts and ends in Denver, Colorado, with stops in some of Utah’s epic national parks, including Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce, and Zion National Parks, plus Goblin Valley State Park, Antelope Canyon in Arizona, and Colorado’s Mesa Verde and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Parks.

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Glacier National Park to Banff National Park Road Trip (into Canada)
This trip combines a few days in scenic Montana’s Glacier National Park with a road trip to the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Make sure to bring your passports! Besides hiking, waterfalls, and spectacular glacial lakes, stop in Calgary to experience the view from the Calgary Tower. After exploring the area around Banff for a few days, return to Montana via the west side of Glacier National Park to fly out of Kalispell. We took this trip in late August, so it wasn’t quite as busy as mid-summer. Also keep in mind that Going to the Sun Road typically doesn’t open completely until around July 1st.

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Grand Teton | Yellowstone National Parks Road Trip from Denver
For a  week-long summer adventure exploring Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks from Denver, consider this itinerary. Like the Colorado and Utah road trip, my daughter planned this trip and is sharing her itinerary and details from a 7 day adventure. Instead of tent camping, they rented a camping van for the week from Outdoorsy. Campsite reservations in the parks were made over 6 months in advance (check the park website for exact dates as to when sites are released). The trip starts and ends in Denver, Colorado, exploring several lakes in Grand Teton National Park and stops in Yellowstone including Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic Spring.

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 California Road Trip
This California road trip covers a good portion of the state between the cities of  Los Angeles and San Francisco, the beautiful Pacific Coast, and some of the most scenic National Parks in the US. We did this trip over 17 days. If time permits, you could also add San Diego to your itinerary. The choices for family activities are many. Highlights of our trip include southern California beaches, Hollywood, visits to Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite and the rugged Channel Islands, cable car rides and a tour of Alcatraz. Kids will love the Universal Studio Tour, riding the cable cars, beach horseback riding, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Santa Cruz Boardwalk and driving by houses of movie stars! ​   

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Boston | Coastal Maine Road Trip
This road trip from Boston to Bar Harbor combines the fun of being in the great city of Boston with the scenic route up the Maine coast as far north as Bar Harbor.  Boston in the summer has such a variety of activities. On weekends, watch street performers, especially in the area around Faneuil Hall, or attend one of the many summer festivals. Kids love following the red brick Freedom Trail and taking a ride on the swan boats. Then head up the coast to visit Bar Harbor Maine and beautiful Acadia National Park.

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Travel Tips

Explore our collection of helpful tips to assist with things like planning a road trip, taking a tour, traveling with pets, or saving money while on vacation. The familyTravelsUSA Pinterest boards have even more great ideas!