How to drive across the U.S. in 35 days
My boyfriend, Nicolas, and I drove from New York City to the Bay Area in California in 35 days. Below is our itinerary for anyone looking to plan a similar trip.
Our trip was roughly divided into 2 parts. For the first part we first went north to Canada and then cut across the midwest to the southwest. We spent a lot of time in cities- trying to eat great food and go to fun museums. The second half of our trip was spent mostly hiking the national parks in Arizona, Utah, and California.
Trailhead at Capital Reef National Park, Utah
If you are looking to subtract a few days, Tucson is a bit out of your way and could be skipped to save on time. There is apparently some good hiking to near Tucson but we didn’t have the time and it was mid-July when we were there. We stopped in Tucson because I really wanted to see Biosphere 2, which is outside of Tucson in the town of Oracle. I’ll try to do a blog post later saying more about it- if you are a science nerd like me, it is a very unique place, but for the average traveller it could probably be skipped. We also did not intend to spend a night in Wichita but ran into car troubles and had to find a dealership. Honestly, Kansas is as flat and dull as everyone says and should be gone through as quickly as possible. If you have the stamina, skip Kansas entirely and go straight to New Mexico.
We also spent a little extra time in Flagstaff, which is a very cute but small city because Nicolas has an aunt who lives there. It’s cute to visit but you don’t need 3 nights there. It is very easy to visit the more popular South Rim of the Grand Canyon from Flagstaff and skip the stay we did in Jacob Lake. If you are looking for great hiking in the Grand Canyon, this might be preferable to the North Rim. Lastly, we decided after all of our hiking adventures, we wanted, nay deserved, a bit of pampering, so we added on a last minute stop in Las Vegas. We spent most of that time poolside in 100+ degree heat. it was glorious but there are shorter routes to Yosemite from Zion.
The stops on our 35 day trip- full list below
If you have more time, I could have spent more days in Montréal or St Louis which are both great cities with lots of culture, great food, and many things to do. I also wish we had the time to spend an extra night in both Detroit and Tucson, where we only had time to pass through really.
On the road in New Mexico
If you are wondering why we stopped in a town called Truth or Consequences, let me say, this was one of my favorite one-night-just-passing-through stops. Not only did it break up the long drive to Tucson but it got its name because in 1950, the radio program of that name announced that the first town to rename itself Truth or Consequences would get the honor of being the location from which they would air their 10th anniversary show. Hot Springs, NM took the bait and got the prize. As the original name suggests, the town has lovely hot springs that are well worth the indulgence.
We tried to keep our driving around 4-5 hours per day. After the first week (and with a shared driving load) anything under 4 hours felt like a piece of cake. There were a couple of longer drives that we decided to make, for example Montréal to Toronto and Dodge City to Santa Fe, because there was really nowhere in between that we wanted to stop. Doing this a couple of times was not too bad but since we were on the road almost every day or every other day, I am glad we kept the drives at a less arduous length.
Rain on the plains of Kansas
The times and miles listed below are taken from Google Maps and do not account for traffic, pit stops, or specific destinations within the cities.
I have also listed a brief summary of some of the things we did in these cities, but is by no means comprehensive.
OUR TRIP
Depart NYC
4 hrs, 16 mins- 200 mi
Day 1 Cooperstown, NY (Baseball Hall of Fame)
4 hrs, 38 mins- 264 mi
Day 2 & 3 Montréal, QC (great food and architecture)
5 hrs, 31 mins- 337 mi
Day 4 & 5 Toronto, ON (great vegetarian options, Royal Ontario Museum)
4 hrs, 15 mins- 231 mi
Day 6 Detroit, MI (Henry Ford Museum)
4 hrs, 28 mins- 288 mi
Day 7 Indianapolis, IN (quaint neighborhood architecture)
3 hrs, 25 min- 242 mi
Day 8 & 9 St Louis, MO (City Museum, Gateway Arch, unique pizza)
4 hrs- 249 mi
Day 10 Kansas City, MO (good vegetarian options)
3 hrs- 200 mi
Day 11 car trouble, pit stop in Wichita, KS
2 hrs, 36 min- 155 mi
Day 12 Dodge City, KS (Boot Hill Museums- not worth a visit)
6 hrs, 37 min- 420 mi
Day 13 Santa Fe, NM (great food and art, Georgia O’Keefe museum, unique architecture)
1 hr, 30 min- 70 mi
Day 14 Taos, NM (Taos Pueblo, Earthship)
4 hrs, 27 min- 280 mi
Day 15 Truth or Consequences, NM (Hot springs)
4 hrs, 27 min- 302 mi
Day 16 Tucson, AZ (Biosphere 2)
4 hrs, 14 min- 257 mi
Day 17, 18, 19 Flagstaff, AZ (cute shopping)
3 hrs, 23 min- 203 mi
Day 20 Kanab, UT (Bryce Canyon National Park)
3 hrs- 174 mi
Day 21 Torrey, UT (Capital Reef National Park)
2 hrs, 36 min- 156 mi
Day 22, 23, 24 Moab, UT ( Arches and Canyonlands National Parks)
4 hrs, 24 min- 273 mi
Day 25 Page, AZ (Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon)
1 hr, 30 min- 80.5 mi
Day 26 Jacob Lake, AZ (Grand Canyon North Rim)
1 hr, 47 min- 80 mi
Day 27, 28, 29 Springdale, UT (Zion National Park)
2 hrs, 38 min- 165 mi
Day 30 Las Vegas, NV
4hrs, 30 min- 266 mi
Day 31 Bishop, CA (Mammoth Lakes)
3 hrs, 44 min- 163 mi
Day 32 & 33 Fish Camp, CA (Yosemite National Park)
Route via Yosemite Valley 3 hrs, 13 min- 119 mi
Day 34 Angels Camp, CA
2 hrs, 20 min- 127 mi
Day 35 Arrive- Berkeley, CA,
If anyone actually wants to use this to plan their own trip please feel free to reach out with questions or comments.
Driving to Monument Valley in Navajo Nation
Remember to drive safely!
