There is nothing so grand as getting in the car and heading down the highway on a road trip with kids. Then again, road trips with kids come with its own peculiar set of challenges. In this guide we celebrate the all-American family road trip, while offering road-tested tips from parents who have logged countless miles with their kids. There are blog pages chock full of tips and gear picks. We’ve also created detailed road trip plans along popular road trip routes. There is no better place to kick start your planning for your family’s next road trip.
Looking for road trip itineraries? Scroll down or click on your neck of the woods:
Midwest Road Trips | East Coast Road Trips | West Coast Road Trips | Southwest, Mountain & Desert Road Trips | Southern & Texas Road Trips
Practical Tips for Planning a Family Road Trips with Kids
- Get our free Road Trip Games Printable. Print out these games and keep the kids device free and entertained for part of the journey.
- Wondering where to start? How to Plan a Road Trip Itinerary
- Hate the messy car? Learn How to Organize the Inside of your Car for a Road Trip
- Thinking of a long journey on the road? Our tips for extended road trips with kids will help prepare you!
- Finding Pit stops en route: parks, hikes, & roadside attractions
- How to stay connected to technology on the road (charging, cell service, and more!)
- The Best apps for kids while on the road (Avoid the “Are we there yets?”)
Favorite Road Trip Planners: Itineraries and Guides
Whether you’re hitting the road for a long weekend or you have a month to let the road take you far from home, here are road tested, family-friendly road trip itineraries. Planning your route and figuring out what there is to do along the way can be time consuming. These road-trip itineraries will give you a nice head start on planning you trip.
U.S. and Canada Itineraries for Road Trips with Kids
MIDWEST ROAD TRIPS WITH KIDS:
- Explore Lake Superior’s North Shore
- Visit Lake Michigan’s Sunset Coast with your family
- Hit the road to travel from Minnesota to South Dakota
- This epic Chicago to Yellowstone National Park Road Trip is the perfect way to escape the city
- Take a trip along Lake Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Road Trip
- Explore the start of Route 66 in Illinois
- What to See in North Dakota and Eastern Montana on a I-94 Road Trip through Medora ND
EAST COAST ROAD TRIPS WITH KIDS:
- Take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville on a family-friendly Road Trip
- Journey on an Epic Road Trip Through Canada’s Eastern National Parks
- Head from Connecticut to Bay of Fundy National Park – Family Road Trip Plan
- See Canada’s Majesty: Nova Scotia Road Trip Trip
- A Family Road Trip on West Virginia’s Country Roads to the New River Gorge
- A Family-Friendly Road Trip from Charleston SC to Savannah GA
- Hit the road on a New Brunswick Road Trip to Hopewell Rocks, the Reversing Falls and Campobello Island
- Explore Virginia’s Blue Ridge Parkway on this kid-friendly road trip
WEST COAST ROAD TRIPS WITH KIDS:
- In Trekaroo & Ciao Bambino!’s Grand California Road Trip, we take your family from San Francisco down the coast to San Diego, stopping in Carmel, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles (including Disneyland!) in between.
- Visit California’s Mountain National Parks in one epic road trip
- Traveling from San Diego, CA to Oregon Via I-5 – Family Friendly Road Trip Plan
- A an extended road trip from SoCal to Montana on I-15 Road Trip Itinerary
- Take a California Hwy 101 Road Trip from San Jose to San Diego
- Drive California’s Stunning Highway 1 – Family Road Trip Plan
- Pacific Northwest Exploration: Road Trip from British Columbia to Oregon on I-5
- Drive the Canadian Rockies from Vancouver to Calgary (through Banff National Park!)
- Explore the deserts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah on this desert road trip for families
SOUTHWEST & MOUNTAIN ROAD TRIPS WITH KIDS:
- Ride along Utah’s Scenic Highway 12 – a Family-Friendly Road Trip
- Take an Epic Road Trip through the Southwest’s Amazing National Parks
- Explore the Rocky Mountains: Jackson Hole to Yellowstone Road Trip
- Drive Highway 189 and 89 from Provo, UT to Jackson, WY
- Take a trip on the Loneliest Road – Hwy 50 in Nevada and Utah
- Our Utah Road Trip Itinerary for Families takes families through three stunning national parks.
- Explore the deserts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah on this desert road trip for families
- This epic Chicago to Yellowstone National Park Road Trip is the perfect way to escape the city
- What to See in North Dakota and Eastern Montana on a I-94 Road Trip through Medora ND
SOUTHERN & TEXAS ROAD TRIPS WITH KIDS:
- Take a West Texas Road Trip: Big Bend, Sonora, & More
- Explore this Great Smoky Mountains Road Trip Itinerary for Families
- From the Keys to Central Florida, explore this Florida Road Trip Itinerary for Families
- No matter where you start, explore these Road trip itineraries to Orlando
- Explore Virginia’s Blue Ridge Parkway on this kid-friendly road trip
- A Family Road Trip on West Virginia’s Country Roads to the New River Gorge
- A Family-Friendly Road Trip from Charleston SC to Savannah GA
- Take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville on a family-friendly Road Trip
Photos in this post by: flickr/Alaskan Dude | Bigstock/maximkabb | Bigstock | Canva