Anonymous wrote:We are moving from Los Angeles to the east coast this summer. Most of our stuff will be transported by movers but we are going to drive with our elementary age kids. Thinking about taking our time and making the drive over 2 weeks or so. We want to stop in Denver and St Louis to see family and friends.

Any suggested routes or favorite stops for a cross country road trip?

I've taken my kids on numerous cross-country road trips. Give us your planned highways and I can provide some fun ideas.

I've driven cross country a few times, and love it! There's so much to see.

From LA, I'd head east on I-40, stop in Sedona, detour to Grand Canyon for a day if your kids haven't seen it, on to Albuquerque, then hit Santa Fe and Taos on the way up to Denver.

I don't know as much about the stretch between Denver and St Louis, but it looks like a pretty straight shot. Depending on how much time you want to spend there, you could wander north to Black Hills / Badlands and take I-90, then cut back down to St Louis.

From St Louis, it depends on where on the east coast you need to end up. Mid-Atlantic? I'd go down to Nashville, head over to the Great Smoky Mountains. I loved the drive north on the Blue Ridge Parkway from there, but a lot of that is still shut down from Helene - you can check status before you travel this summer to see if any sections have reopened. Once you get farther north, the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah NP is great.

If you're aiming for PA or north, I'd leave St Louis north toward the Great Lakes. Stop at Cedar Point in Sandusky. Drive along Lake Erie to Niagara Falls. Then take a straight aim for your final destination. By that time everyone will be tired of touring and want to get there already.

Have fun!