Connecticut
A state in the Northeast
Connecticut for visitors from abroad: free Weir Farm, Mystic Seaport, the Acela to New Haven, state-park fees for out-of-state cars, no tolls, a 15% room tax.
The USA by state
A state is the unit a road trip is planned in: one rental car, one set of distances, one climate. Each state guide below lists the places in it worth the drive and the order that saves the most miles. States without a guide yet are on the map but not linked.
The Northeast
The Northeast holds the oldest cities, the densest rail and the shortest distances in the country, from New England to New York and Pennsylvania. It is the one region where a trip can work without a car, and its autumn is the season people plan around.
Maine
A state in the Northeast
Maine for visitors from abroad: Acadia and Bar Harbor, Portland and its lighthouse, the coast road, Katahdin, the trip from Boston and the taxes.
Massachusetts
A state in the Northeast
Massachusetts for visitors from abroad: Boston's Freedom Trail, the free bus from Logan, Salem in October, Cape Cod's beaches and the Provincetown ferry.
New Hampshire
A state in the Northeast
New Hampshire for visitors from abroad: the Mount Washington Auto Road and Cog Railway, Franconia Notch, the Kancamagus, Saint-Gaudens and the bus from Logan.
New Jersey
A state in the Northeast
New Jersey for visitors from abroad: the train from Newark airport, the Statue of Liberty ferry from Jersey City, Sandy Hook, Edison's lab and hotel taxes.
New York
A state in the Northeast
New York State for visitors from abroad: Niagara Falls parking and boats, the Adirondacks and Lake Placid, the Hudson Valley, lake-effect snow and hotel tax.
Pennsylvania
A state in the Northeast
Pennsylvania for visitors from abroad: Independence Hall tickets, Gettysburg, Fallingwater, the cash-free Turnpike, trains to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia tax.
Rhode Island
A state in the Northeast
Rhode Island for visitors from abroad: Newport's mansions and the Cliff Walk detour, the Block Island ferry, WaterFire, free park sites, trains from Boston.
Vermont
A state in the Northeast
Vermont for visitors from abroad: Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller in Woodstock, the Lake Champlain ferries, the Vermonter and Ethan Allen trains, and snow.
The South
The South runs from the Atlantic coast and Florida to Texas, and it is where the music cities, the Gulf beaches and the hurricane season all sit. Its summers are hot and humid, so spring and late autumn are the months most trips aim for.
Alabama
A state in the South
Alabama for visitors from abroad: Birmingham's civil rights sites, Montgomery's $5 Legacy Sites, Selma, Tuskegee, Little River Canyon, the coast after Isaias.
Arkansas
A state in the South
Arkansas for visitors from abroad: the baths on Hot Springs' Bathhouse Row, floating the Buffalo River, Central High tours, Crystal Bridges, flights via Dallas.
Delaware
A state in the South
Delaware for visitors from abroad: no sales tax, the six free First State sites, Winterthur, Cape Henlopen, the Cape May–Lewes Ferry and beach tolls.
Florida
A state in the South
Florida for visitors from abroad: three national parks, the Overseas Highway to Key West, Kennedy Space Center, hurricane season, cashless tolls, hotel taxes.
Georgia
A state in the South
Georgia for visitors from abroad: Dr. King's Atlanta, MARTA from the airport, Savannah's squares, the Cumberland Island ferry, park fees and hotel taxes.
Kentucky
A state in the South
Kentucky for visitors from abroad: Mammoth Cave's ticket-only tours, the Bourbon Trail, the 2027 Derby, the Cumberland Falls moonbow and two time zones.
Louisiana
A state in the South
Louisiana for visitors from abroad: New Orleans by streetcar and the $1.25 airport bus, Mardi Gras 2027, free park sites, Cajun country and hurricane season.
Maryland
A state in the South
Maryland for visitors from abroad: Assateague's wild horses, Fort McHenry's star fort, Antietam, the C&O Canal, trains from BWI and Baltimore's hotel tax.
Mississippi
A state in the South
Mississippi for visitors from abroad: the Natchez Trace, Delta Blues Trail markers, Vicksburg's $20 car fee, the Ship Island ferry and the coast after Isaias.
North Carolina
A state in the South
North Carolina for visitors from abroad: the Blue Ridge Parkway after Helene, Biltmore and Asheville, the Outer Banks lighthouses and the Ocracoke ferries.
Oklahoma
A state in the South
Oklahoma for visitors from abroad: the Oklahoma City Memorial, Route 66, Wichita Mountains bison, cashless turnpikes, tornado season and Tulsa's tax vote.
South Carolina
A state in the South
South Carolina for visitors from abroad: the Fort Sumter ferry, Congaree's free boardwalk and fireflies, the Hunting Island lighthouse and hotel taxes.
Tennessee
A state in the South
Tennessee for visitors from abroad: the Great Smoky Mountains, Nashville's music venues, Graceland and Beale Street, Chattanooga, the two time zones.
Texas
A state in the South
Texas for visitors from abroad: two national parks without the $100 surcharge, the free Alamo and missions, long drives, heat, hurricanes, tolls and tax.
Virginia
A state in the South
Virginia for visitors from abroad: Shenandoah's Skyline Drive, the free Blue Ridge Parkway, Jamestown and Yorktown, Dulles flights and four sales tax rates.
Washington, D.C.
A state in the South
Washington, D.C. for visitors from abroad: Washington Monument tickets, the White House by embassy, Capitol passes, Metro from Dulles and a 15.95% hotel tax.
West Virginia
A state in the South
West Virginia for visitors from abroad: the New River Gorge Bridge and Bridge Day, Harpers Ferry's shuttle, Gauley rafting, Turnpike tolls and hotel tax.
The Midwest
The Midwest is the Great Lakes and the plains, with Chicago as its centre and long drives between everything else. Winters here are hard and summers are short and green, which decides most of what a trip can do.
Illinois
A state in the Midwest
Illinois for visitors from abroad: O'Hare and the Blue Line, Chicago's 10.5% sales tax, Route 66, Lincoln's Springfield and the Starved Rock closures.
Indiana
A state in the Midwest
Indiana for visitors from abroad: Indiana Dunes by train from Chicago, its $25 car fee, the Central Time counties, the 2027 Indy 500 and Lincoln's farm.
Iowa
A state in the Midwest
Iowa for visitors from abroad: free Effigy Mounds and Hoover sites, free state parks, Madison County's bridges, the Field of Dreams and no train to Des Moines.
Kansas
A state in the Midwest
Kansas for visitors from abroad: five free national park sites, Tallgrass Prairie's bison, Monument Rocks on private land, Wichita flights and two time zones.
Michigan
A state in the Midwest
Michigan for visitors from abroad: Isle Royale's ferries and winter closure, Sleeping Bear and Pictured Rocks fees, car-free Mackinac Island, the bridge toll.
Minnesota
A state in the Midwest
Minnesota for visitors from abroad: Voyageurs by boat, free national park sites, Boundary Waters permits, Split Rock, MSP's Blue Line and tax-free clothing.
Missouri
A state in the Midwest
Missouri for visitors from abroad: Gateway Arch tram prices, the MetroLink airport closures, Kansas City's free streetcar, Ozark rivers and Truman's home.
Nebraska
A state in the Midwest
Nebraska for visitors from abroad: four free Park Service sites, the Scotts Bluff Summit Road, the March sandhill cranes, two time zones and hotel tax.
North Dakota
A state in the Midwest
North Dakota for visitors from abroad: Theodore Roosevelt's reopened Scenic Loop, a park split by a time zone, the new Presidential Library, fees and winters.
Ohio
A state in the Midwest
Ohio for visitors from abroad: six free park sites, Brandywine Falls parking, the Hopewell earthworks, Hocking Hills, Turnpike tolls and flights via CVG.
South Dakota
A state in the Midwest
South Dakota for visitors from abroad: Mount Rushmore's parking fee, Custer State Park's bison and tunnels, the caves in winter, Badlands and what it costs.
Wisconsin
A state in the Midwest
Wisconsin for visitors from abroad: Apostle Islands sea caves with no park entry fee, the rare ice caves, state park stickers, Milwaukee's 7.9% tax, O'Hare.
The West
The West holds most of the national parks, the Pacific coast, the deserts and the Rockies, plus Alaska and Hawaii. Distances are the defining fact of a trip here, and elevation and road closures matter as much as the calendar.
Alaska
A state in the West
Alaska for visitors from abroad: parks that are free except Denali, cruise or road trip, the railroad's 2027 fares, the Whittier tunnel, bears, light and taxes.
Arizona
A state in the West
Arizona's four national parks, Sedona's passes, the tribal parks the park pass does not cover, Route 66, the months for north and south, and the clock trap.
California
A state in the West
California's nine national parks and which charge visitors from abroad $100 extra, Highway 1 through Big Sur, when to go to each region, taxes and drives.
Colorado
A state in the West
Colorado for visitors from abroad: four national parks and their fees, Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings, free sights near Denver, mountain roads and altitude.
Hawaii
A state in the West
Hawaii for visitors from abroad: four islands, two national parks with no $100 surcharge, Pearl Harbor and state park bookings, the 2026 storms and the taxes.
Idaho
A state in the West
Idaho for visitors from abroad: Craters of the Moon and its cave permits, City of Rocks, Shoshone Falls, the Sawtooths, the Yellowstone road and two time zones.
Montana
A state in the West
Montana for visitors from abroad: Glacier and the three Yellowstone gates, the 400 miles between them, the airports, the Beartooth season and the taxes.
Nevada
A state in the West
Nevada for visitors from abroad: Great Basin with no entrance fee, Hoover Dam, Red Rock timed entry, Valley of Fire's closures, Las Vegas heat and the room tax.
New Mexico
A state in the West
New Mexico for visitors from abroad: park fees with no surcharge, Carlsbad's $1 timed entry, Chaco's flooded roads, Taos Pueblo, Santa Fe, the Balloon Fiesta.
Oregon
A state in the West
Oregon for visitors from abroad: Crater Lake in winter, the $12 state-park permit, Multnomah Falls' summer permit, Painted Hills, no sales tax, smoke season.
Utah
A state in the West
Utah's five national parks in the order that saves the most driving, the months that are too hot or snowy, what a visitor from abroad pays, and Monument Valley.
Washington
A state in the West
Washington State for visitors from abroad: Olympic, Mount Rainier and North Cascades with no $100 surcharge, Seattle, the ferries, mountain roads and rain.
Wyoming
A state in the West
Wyoming for visitors from abroad: Yellowstone and Grand Teton, which airports to fly into, when the park roads close for winter, what the parks cost in 2026.