Road Trip Help?

Question

I posted this question earlier but was not very clear so Id like some more feedback. My friends and I are planning a road trip for our senior year spring break, we live in MN and we dont know where to go. We were thinking Colorado for boarding, or maybe something else? Id rather go somewhere warm... We dont want to go to FL, Ca, or anywhere too far. Any ideas of fun places around the midwest? I got a comment saying just go without a destination. which would be fun. but we need to plan for hotels and so out parents dont go ape. Anything would help!

Answer 1

Exactly how long do you have? A week? Two weeks? Three? I'll refine my response based on the time frame. Add a detail if you want me to do so.

Figure out what kinds of things you like to do. It's still spring, so maybe don't go TOO far north, especially if you want to stay warm.

Another thing is, don't go somewhere that you can just go to over a long weekend; go somewhere that is more difficult to get to, because you can take a closer trip at any time. You have a chance to take an adventure, make the most of it. However, find a place that's close enough for you to be able to drive there, spend a decent amount of time there, and drive back. Who wants to drive three days without doing anything, for the sole purpose of doing something for a day? They do say getting there is half the fun, but.........

As for hotels and stuff, I actually recommend planning on the fly, and here's why; it gives you the freedom to make changes. Options are good. Get a AAA membership, get the appropriate TourBooks for the places you'll be going, and look up possible places to stay. When you're midway through the day, early afternoon, call ahead to someplace you think you'll end up.

Or, another option is to not even bother reserving, just pull into a town right off the highway when you're done for the day, find a place that looks decent, and get a room there. You don't want to reserve somewhere too far in advance, and then pull up and realize it's a dive. Been there, done that. It sucks. HOWEVER, if you already KNOW and have been to places along the route, then you can think about making advance reservations for the whole way.

The on-the-fly method is something that has worked just fine with my family on about 15 long trips over the years, and we have ALWAYS been able to find a place to stay. Every night. Sometimes it got a bit iffy, like when trying to stay within 200 miles of Sturgis, S.D., during Bike Week. On a recent four-week trip from New York to Alaska and back, I think we advance-reserved stays in THREE places. That's it. We had all the freedom we needed, without feeling like we were rushed to be in a specific place every day. Get slowed down one day, make it up the next. Do well one day, take it easy the next.

The Badlands/Black Hills region of South Dakota is beautiful - great for nature, wildlife watching, history stuff, all kinds of good things. You can be there in a day, maybe two. One of my all-time favorite parts of the country. There's more to it than just Rushmore. I know it's not the usual spring break/party destination, but don't immediately toss it out because it sounds boring. It's something different, and millions of people have found ways to enjoy it.

Or, the shores of Lake Michigan are packed - tour around Milwaukee and Chicago, that can be fun. Then again, that's all within long-weekend or day-drive range, so maybe save it for another time.

You can roll down I-35 for a couple of days, and tour around Texas! There's something for everyone down there. A few years ago, we took a two-week trip from New York for the sole purpose of touring around Texas because we hadn't really done that before.

You've mentioned the Rockies, and that's cool too. There's ski stuff, there's nature stuff, all kinds of fun things to do. Farther north, you can check out Yellowstone. It's beautiful. Two or three days down I-90 and you're there. Allow at least two or three days to really explore.

The Smoky Mountains of Tennessee/North Carolina can be within range, let me know how long you have. Again, there's nature stuff, but there's also PLENTY of entertainment stuff going on, including the Dollywood theme park. However, be warned; bring $$$. There's so much stuff you'd want to do when you get there.

A closer drive is the Ozarks of Missouri/Arkansas, including the town of Branson, Missouri. Huge on entertainment stuff, though I think the Smokies have more of that. Still, basically the same idea.

That's all I have for now, let me know if you have questions about anywhere else.

Answer 2

Don't know if you're talking about senior year of high school or college, but you may want to check hotels ahead of time because at many of them you cannot make a reservation under the age of 21.

Go to the library and find some travel books about the Midwest, since you don't want to travel too far. It will give you some ideas.

Answer 3

yeah....but these days i need to find a dog and cat sitter first but yeah, i do a roadtrip at least twice a year and usually do 4 or 5 day trips a year also. sometimes you just have to get out of the city and see some random stuff. me and my lady always go to denver at least once a year and take 3 days to get there even though it only takes 1 long day's drive. we'd rather mess around and not take the interstate and see roadside attractions like the monument to andy the footless goose. i want to see some random non-turisty parts of mexico. but probably wont. BQ: Driver BQ2: stop a lot and see all the random roadside attractions BQ3: Tent BQ4: "camping" BQ5: Pack a cooler...i'm a vegetarian, there are some towns that have nothing but snickers and pixie sticks for me. BQ6: the "pretend like a stop is more sudden than it is boob grab" game

Answer 4

go to Barns&Noble and browse their travel section.