Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Colorado
2300 mi/12 mpg * 2.75 $/gal = $527 in gas for an RV or a pickup towing a trailer
Southern Route:
Day 1: MD to Hocking Hill State Park, OH, 6.5 hours
Day 2: OH to Garden of the Gods, IL, 7 hours
Day 3: IL to Ozark National Scenic Riverway, 3.5 hours
Day 4: Elk City State Park, KS, 5 hours
Day 5: Lake Scott State Park, KS, 5 hours
Day 6: Vail, CO: 6 hours
Day 7: Bryce, UT, 7 hours
Day 1: Hocking Hill State Park OH with Corkscrew Falls, Rock House and Ash Cave, 6.5 hours from MD. Ledges and Brandywine Gorge Trail in Kuyahoga State Park are higher rated, but the pictures don't look as cool.
Garden of the Gods, Herod, IL, 7 hours from Hocking Hill State Park. This is the #3 trail in IL. Little Grand Canyon is #1 and looks interesting as well, but is 45 min further away. 7 hours is a long day of driving to begin with.
Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Camdenton, MO 5.25 hours from Garden of the Gods: Ha Ha Tonka consists of 3,752 acres and has just over 17 miles of walking trails. The state park has many interesting and unique features, including sinkholes, caves, bluffs, and a natural bridge. It is also the home to Missouri’s 12th largest spring and the ruins of a turn of the century stone castle that burnt down
*OR* Ozark National Scenic Riverway, 3 hours 20 min from Garden of the Gods
*OR* Glade Top Trail This gorgeous 23-mile drive is the state's only National Forest Scenic Byway; it includes the Mark Twain National Forest and the Hercules Glades Wilderness Area. Be sure to stop at the route's multiple overlook pull-outs to see jaw-dropping panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.
For twenty-three miles, the two-lane, all weather gravel road follows narrow ridge tops rising approximately 500 feet above the surrounding rolling countryside, and overlooks and passes through many limestone/dolomite glades interspersed with open and closed woodlands and forests.
Missouri has among the greatest abundance and diversity of glades in the United States and the Glade Top Trail lies within the heart of some of the best remaining examples of this unique natural community.
For hiking near there, Coy Bald Trail in Hercules-Glade
Elk City State Park, KS, 5 hours: The Elk River Hiking Trail has been designated as a National Recreation Trail under the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Trail System and Backpacker magazine has rated it the best hike in Kansas. The trail treats the walker to an adventure in southeast Kansas on the cusp of the Chautauqua Hills and Osage Cuestas region.
TRAIL DESCRIPTION
The Hiking Guide to Kansas by Catherine Hauber & John Young describes the trail like this:
"The trail, which winds along a rocky ridge on the north side of the lake, travels along sheer rock walls, under rock canopies, through rock tunnels and chambers, up rock steps to bluffs overlooking the lake, and around giant boulders, sometime balanced precariously on end in seeming defiance of gravity. We were fascinated by the mushroom-like rocks, table rocks, ledges, and a rock hollow carved by a small waterfall."
Lake Scott State Park, KS 5 hours from Elk City
Vail, CO 6 hours from Lake Scott State Park, KS
Or instead of Vail, do Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO which also puts us driving through Moab.
Bryce: 7 hours from Vail, CO or 4.5 hours from Moab, UT
Escalante:
Zion:
Salt Lake City: 4.5 hours
American Heritage Center, Larame, WY: 6 hours
OR Dinosaur National Monument in UT/CO and then the #1 scenic drive through CO to Estes
Scenic Driving tour of the Sandhills region of Nebraska: 7 hours
No. 1 – Sandhills Journey
Starting Location: Grand Island, NE
Ending Location: Alliance, NE
Length: 272 miles
Best Season to Drive: Spring, Summer, and Fall
See this drive on Google Maps
Ending Location: Alliance, NE
Length: 272 miles
Best Season to Drive: Spring, Summer, and Fall
See this drive on Google Maps
This route along Nebraska’s Highway 2 has frequently been deemed one of the most scenic drives in the country, and it doesn’t take travelers long to see why. Before setting off, explore the city of Grand Island and all of its offbeat cultural venues or enjoy a hiking trail through the prairie. The highway later passes through the Nebraska Sandhills - a 20,000 square mile stretch of rolling dunes covered in soft grass - with the hand-planted Nebraska National Forest standing like an oasis in the desert right in the middle of it all.
Could drive directly to the Nebraska National Forest in Natnick, NE, and then finish the Sandhills Journey in Grand Island, NE.
Grotto of the Redemption, Iowa: 5.5 hours. Most of the cool Iowa drives run North/South along a river. Not conducive to making progress toward home.
Chicago, IL: 7 hours. Who knows what we could do here. One of the highest rates sites is the giant silver bean. That would take about 5 minutes to see.
Cedar Point Amusement, OH: 5 hours At this point we are sick of mountains, trees, and rocks.
Maryland: 7 hours
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