Suggestions for stops in cross-country road trip?

[Anonymous]

Driving west I will have a 12 year old child with me. Driving back east I will be childless. What are some suggestions? I am especially excited for a lot of things close to the west coast (Seattle, Portland, Grand Canyon, Denver, Boise, Yellowstone) but am having more difficulty figuring out where to stop in the midwest - I guess they call them flyover states for a reason! Suggestions?

[Anonymous]

st louis arch

[Anonymous]

Well on the way west, I think we have a tentative route:

Columbus Ohio
Louisville Kentucky
St Louis Missouri
Oklahoma City
Albuquerque NM
Phoenix AZ
Grand Canyon
San Francisco

....that list is largely guided by family and friends we are going to be visiting.

The way back east I have a lot more flexibility. I am excited for the places I listed above but am drawing blanks about where to go after Denver...for what it's worth, my traveling companion and I will be camping and are interested in outdoorsy things like tubing, rafting, hiking etc.

[Anonymous]

Mt. Rushmore/the Badlands/the Black Hills. Lots of camping and hiking opportunities in these parts

[Anonymous]

The Columbus Zoo has recently been named the #1 zoo over the San Diego Zoo (can't remember by which publication) so it may be worth checking out. Disclaimer: I haven't been in several years.

If you're heading through Dayton from Columbus to Louisville, the U.S. Air Force Museum is at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. I haven't been back there in several years either but it's similar to the Air & Space Museum with lots of big airplanes, fighter jets, etc (both early and modern). It's also free.

[Anonymous]

Come to Colorado Springs--Pike's Peak (drive up or take the cog railway), North Pole amusement park, Garden of the Gods, Cheyenne Mtn Zoo, a cool outdoor arcade in Manitou Springs, easy access to good hiking, etc. And I think the Broadmoor is running specials on rooms.

If you want to do rafting or kayaking, Salida, CO, on the Arkansas river is a good place for that.

[Anonymous]

Indianopolis Speedway was fun

[Anonymous]

Between Albuquerque and Phoenix, there are two great parks. Petrified Forest National Park I believe is in western NM, and Walnut Canyon, with accessible cave dwellings of the Pueblo indians, is just before Flagstaff where you will turn south.

Don't know your route from the Grand Canyon to SF - you can dot he Pacific Coast Highway - picking it up in LA/Ventura counties, for a slow ride, stop at the Hearst Castle and/or the Monterey Aquarium. Or if you go via Reno, the Tahoe area is a fun stop.

We have done 3 different cross country routes with out children. One resource, if it is still in print, is the Readers Digest (yes, that Readers Digest) North/South and East/West books on interesting/off beat stops off interstate highways. Organized by interstate, there are two books. You may want to plan/verify ahead online because the books date to the 90's and hours/availability may have changed with some of these.

I found this at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Off-Beaten-Path-Scenicand-Interesting/dp/0762107944/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247518303&sr=8-1 - not the same thing

This is what we used - may be in the library
http://www.amazon.com/READERS-DIGEST-NORTH-SOUTH-ROUTES-EAST-WEST/dp/B000X1OCP0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247518439&sr=1-1