Road trips are a classic American adventure. The United States is enormous, and traveling all around the country could take weeks or even months. Many people love the idea of a road trip because it represents complete freedom. You can drive wherever you want and find something exciting to do.
Traveling from coast to coast is a popular adventure for roadtrippers, and some people take extra time in order to visit every state. Visiting every state in one trip is a huge endeavor, though, and you need a clear course of action to make it work. Luckily, mathematician Randal Olson has figured out the best route to visit every state in the contiguous U.S. in one trip.
Olson used an equation to find the most efficient and practical route for the trip. When doing his calculation, he followed a set of rules: The route must pass through all contiguous states, the travelers can only stop at national sites like parks or monuments, and the car trip has to stay within the U.S. border. With these rules, he determined the ideal route for roadtrippers. The route goes in a large circle around the United States, so travelers can easily start and end in their home state.
The destinations along the route include a mix of cities, historical sites, and nature locations. The average traveler would probably take about 224 hours of just driving to follow the route. With frequent stops, the trip would probably take two or three months. Some of the destinations along the route include the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, the Alamo, the Liberty Bell, and the San Andreas Fault.
If you want to spend a few months taking the classic American road trip but you don’t want to spend hours planning your route, you can follow Olson’s guide to see almost all of the famous destinations throughout the U.S. It definitely would be a trip to remember.
