2025 Road Trip Plans

[NWI_Irish96]

Doing a Spring Break trip (probably the last with both kids) to Baltimore. Stopping at Gettysburg on the way. Visiting Annapolis, and making a side trip into Delaware as it's the only state east of the Mississippi that the kids haven't been to.

This trip did happen, though we spent longer than anticipated at Gettysburg so we didn't have time for the side trip to Delaware.

[1995hoo]

I have an upcoming business trip to Sacramento, but for rather obvious reasons I'll be flying out. The only nonstop flight available arrives at 10 PM, however, which would feel like 1:00 AM. So instead I'm flying to San Francisco, taking the BART to Richmond, and then taking Amtrak up to Sacramento, then on the trip home I'll take a cab to the airport in Sacramento because the nonstop heading east gets home at a civilized time (although it has a very early departure).

I'm not going to be renting a car because I won't get reimbursed for it and I won't have time for any recreational activity anyway. But does anyone have any restaurant recommendations for Sacramento? I'll be staying near Sutter's Fort, although the work site is downtown.

My Sacramento trip was cancelled. So now the only things I have on my radar are my class reunion in May and an anniversary trip to the Inn at Little Washington this summer.

[epzik8]

I'm planning to visit my mom in the Myrtle Beach area in June or July and plan to spend the night in Norfolk/Virginia Beach on my way down, then the next day retrace the steps of a way my dad took through eastern NC one time that involved driving through Greenville.

[Quillz]

Next weekend I will be going to the Eastern Sierra. I usually like Mono Lake and the nearby crater, but they might still be buried in snow. (CA-120 is still closed). If they are, I will do two days in Death Valley instead of just one like I was planning.

For all my life, I've somehow avoided Death Valley. Only been there twice: once a decade ago and didn't actually see any of the famous spots (just Scotty's Castle + a couple nearby things), then last summer just drove through it. This time I plan to actually see the cool stuff, of course Badwater. Maybe a few other things.

Mainly I did a really long loop drive home last year where I finally did CA-168 over the White Mountains, CA-266, from there went into Nevada and then came down via Daylight Pass. Loved the drive and CA-190 through Death Valley. So I want to do a proper trip there before it's unbearably hot. (Looks like it will "only" be about 100 F).

[pderocco]

Next weekend I will be going to the Eastern Sierra. I usually like Mono Lake and the nearby crater, but they might still be buried in snow. (CA-120 is still closed). If they are, I will do two days in Death Valley instead of just one like I was planning.

I doubt it will be buried in snow. 120 to Benton stays closed because it's over a thousand feet higher.

For all my life, I've somehow avoided Death Valley. Only been there twice: once a decade ago and didn't actually see any of the famous spots (just Scotty's Castle + a couple nearby things), then last summer just drove through it. This time I plan to actually see the cool stuff, of course Badwater. Maybe a few other things.

Glad you saw Scotty's Castle. That's been closed for several years now. And don't skip Dante's View. If you don't mind some graded but sometimes washboardy dirt roads, you might consider going between Big Pine and route 190 via Eureka Dunes. They're pretty impressive. I've done that drive twice in regular passenger cars.

Mainly I did a really long loop drive home last year where I finally did CA-168 over the White Mountains, CA-266, from there went into Nevada and then came down via Daylight Pass. Loved the drive and CA-190 through Death Valley. So I want to do a proper trip there before it's unbearably hot. (Looks like it will "only" be about 100 F).

That is a nice loop. And 100F isn't that bad; we get that where I live many times in the summer, 20 miles from the ocean.

[MATraveler128]

There is a chance I might be doing another road trip to Florida like last year. And not really a road trip but I will be in St. Louis for the first weekend in June.

[thenetwork]

Wife and I are flying to Ohio to visit our old stomping grounds.

Among the areas, Cleveland, Akron, Columbus and Toledo.  Also planning to hit Girard, near Youngstown, to what is considered one of the largest collections of playable pinball machines (mostly older) under one roof.  Because, ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball.

[Bruce]

I'll be driving to Minneapolis in a week and visiting a few cities on the way back (hoping to see Madison, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Denver for the first time). 15 days to travel in a wide loop this time around.

[JayhawkCO]

I'll be driving to Minneapolis in a week and visiting a few cities on the way back (hoping to see Madison, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Denver for the first time). 15 days to travel in a wide loop this time around.

If you're stopping in Denver for the night and want to grab a beer, let me know!

[Quillz]

Back from my weekend Eastern Sierra trip.

Saturday was nice, stayed in Mammoth (very empty right now, it's between seasons) and did Mono Lake. Indeed, there was no snow or any issues. Always like walking around the area. I was considering doing a really long loop consisting of CA-167 to US-6 back to CA-120 (which was open, despite what it says on QuickMap and other sources), but this was nearly 200 miles so I passed.

Sunday was Death Valley. Hit 114 F at Badwater Basin. Visited that, did the Artist's Drive, walked on the Mesquite sand dunes, and did a 2-mile loop around Ubehebe Crater (which by the end of the day, had cooled down to 98 F). Love the drive on CA-190 heading east, it's much more dramatic than west. In all, did about four big stops, with a fair bit of driving in between. Unfortunately, the road that connects Scotty's Castle to Scotty's JCT in Nevada is NOT open, despite what two park rangers told me, despite what several maps show, and what the Death Valley NPS page says. (They all mention the castle being closed, which is correct, but say the road connections are open). So when I go to the crater, I had to turn back to Daylight Pass. (There is a sign saying that the US-95 connection is closed, but it would be nice if all this information was synced). Getting there was 203 -> 395 -> 136 -> 190. Coming back, I did Daylight Pass to Beatty, NV. Then 95 to 266 (both states), 168 back to 395 and then 203. And I think the Westward Pass drive is nicer westward, since you can see the Sierra from really far away (at least 40 miles or so).

Coming home today, I did the new Olancha bypass. It's pretty smooth because I didn't even realize I was on it until I noticed the old road off to the left. The views are pretty much the same as before, although it seems that there's still a lot going on. Looks like where 190 used to connect to 395, it's now being extended straight west to the new bypass, as there was a lot of construction going on right here, and a compactor rolling over new asphalt. I guess that will be an additional access point to go alongside either end of what will be a new business loop (and the southern extension of CA-190).

I only had one day in DV, and there's obviously a lot of stuff I missed (didn't even go south of Badwater). I am planning a full weekend trip there later in the year, maybe winter. Already made a list of a lot of things I want to see, maybe try to hang out at night and do some amateur astronomy. There are some other things I'd like to see (the famous sailing stones), but 45-mile dirt roads that have awful washboarding (according to many recent reviews) is probably not going to be in my plans.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm going up to Washington and British Columbia in July.  I've never been to Vancouver so that will be new.  Nothing we have planned for Washington is new territory for me.

[Quillz]

I'm going up to Washington and British Columbia in July.  I've never been to Vancouver so that will be new.  Nothing we have planned for Washington is new territory for me.

Vancouver is nice. Went there a lot during the 90s. It always felt like "Seattle North" to me, very similar culturally, but more smoking.

Recommend renting a bike and riding Stanley Park. And doing a drive on the Sea-to-Sky Highway up to Whistler.

[NWI_Irish96]

Taking the family to Toronto in June. Going to cross at Port Huron one way and Detroit the other, but haven't decided which order yet.

[JayhawkCO]

In addition to my NYC interstate clinching day before my Africa trip, I'll also be driving from Dulles to Providence on the back end to catch my flight back to Denver. My full routing will be somewhat dependent on day-of traffic and any potential flight delays, but I hope to at least clinch I-84 and all Connecticut "counties" at a minimum.

[pderocco]

Sunday was Death Valley. Hit 114 F at Badwater Basin. Visited that, did the Artist's Drive, walked on the Mesquite sand dunes, and did a 2-mile loop around Ubehebe Crater (which by the end of the day, had cooled down to 98 F). Love the drive on CA-190 heading east, it's much more dramatic than west. In all, did about four big stops, with a fair bit of driving in between. Unfortunately, the road that connects Scotty's Castle to Scotty's JCT in Nevada is NOT open, despite what two park rangers told me, despite what several maps show, and what the Death Valley NPS page says. (They all mention the castle being closed, which is correct, but say the road connections are open).

This has always said it's closed:

https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

I keep an eye on that, because it's the only bit of California road that I haven't clinched in TravelMapping.

[D-Dey65]

I did my most recent SunRail photography crusade last Thursday, taking Bi-County Road 42 to FL 44 in order to go to DeLand's Amtrak and SunRail station. I took the train to Sand Lake Road station in Pine Castle in order to capture more images of CSX's Taft Yard. Somebody added a Wikimedia commons category with only one pic, and I decided it could use a little filling.

I also captured two other stations in between.

I even got some road signs or two along the way.


I still want to take trips to St. Augustine, the Big Bend, some railroad pics related to Polk County, and a few others. I'm even considering another SunRail trip. My chances of hitting the New York Tri-State area seems to be depending on whether or not any family members die.

[jdb1234]

After spending the spring driving all over Alabama, on Tuesday I will take my first trip to Tennessee since 2018 and my first trip to Nashville in 20 years.

[I-55]

It's been a couple years since I've been able to travel somewhere other than Chicago in the summer, but this year I'll have two trips to look forward to. Next month I'll be traveling to Alabama to visit family. I see them every Christmas in Alabama so the route is no stranger to me. On the flip side, I'll be visiting the other side of the family in eastern PA in July. I haven't been on the PA Turnpike since I was five, and I'll be looking forward to adding I-76 and I-283 (and potentially I-277) to my list of interstates driven.

[pderocco]

Next weekend, I'll spend four days in southern UT and northeastern AZ--and maybe further south. I'll be hitting the Grand Canyon North Rim for the first time, and I hope there isn't much snow left up there. Also, UT-143 and UT-148 look like they're open, in the mountains east of Cedar City. I'm hoping the 20-mile dirt part of UT-153 further north is open by then. I like elevations with five digits. Just for grins, I'll probably drive what was once called US-89T, the temporary routing of US-89 south of Page AZ from ten years ago. I don't have much left to clinch in AZ, and I'll undoubtedly finish off a lot of it, but some may have to wait for a two-week trip I'm planning for late June or early July.