By Liam Isola This winter, we’ve already discussed the best US cities for snowbirds and some great international flight deals. Today, we’ll cover a winter road trip route that may combine a bunch of the cities on the snowbird list.
Winter can also be an excellent time to visit National Parks, as many are much less crowded compared to the peak summer season. During the first winter of the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to go out west and rent a campervan to see a bunch of national parks.
It was my first camping experience out west, and it was an incredible one. With some unbeatable rental car deals, I also drove from Las Vegas to New Orleans, with a bunch of stops along the way. So, I have a little bit of experience with this topic.
This ambitious winter road trip spans 11 states and, if nothing else, should keep you a lot warmer than what you’d experience up north. Also, you can use this as an outline instead of a rigid guide; there are plenty of add-ons you could make. I’ll certainly discuss a few.
Winter Road Trip: Starting/End Point
This is a coast-to-coast winter road trip. So whether you want to start by going east to west or west to east, it is completely up to you.
The start/end point cities are Charleston, South Carolina, and Los Angeles. Both cities are popular winter getaways, and you can’t go wrong with spending time in either one. However, if you’d like to see the country, best get a move on!
I think the trip gets more exciting as you head west into the desert, so if you want to save the best for last, try east to west.
The Itinerary
Here’s a list of some of the stops you can make with the driving times. It is by no means an exhaustive list; it’s intended as more of an outline. There are plenty of stops to make along the way.
- Charleston, SC to Savannah, GA: 2 hr 10 min
- Savannah, GA to St. Augustine, FL: 2 hr 50 min
- St. Augustine, FL to Gulf Shores, AL: 6 hr 40 min
- Gulf Shores, AL to Biloxi, MS: 2 hr
- Biloxi MS to New Orleans, LA: 1 hr 25 min
- New Orleans, LA to Houston, TX: 5 hr 30 min
- Houston, TX to Austin, TX: 2 hr 40 min
- Austin, TX to San Antonio, TX: 1 hr 20 min
- San Antonio, TX to Big Bend National Park, TX: 5 hr 50 min
- Big Bend National Park, TX to El Paso, TX: 4 hr 30 min
- El Paso, TX to Tucson, AZ: 4 hr 50 min
- Tucson, AZ to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ: 2 hr 10 min
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ to Phoenix, AZ: 2 hr 20 min
- Phoenix, AZ to Joshua Tree National Park, CA: 3 hr 20 min
- Joshua Tree National Park, CA to Los Angeles, CA: 2 hr 30 min
If you were to do this trip without making any intermediate stops, it would be just over 50 hours of driving. Which, honestly, I don’t think is terrible for a trip with 15 stops.
Potential Stops/Side Trips
Starting in Charleston, South Carolina, one of the most beautiful American cities, you can make a two-hour and 20-minute detour north to go to Congaree National Park.
From Savannah to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US, Amelia Island, and Jacksonville are easy detours.
This would add quite a lot of driving to the trip, but for the warmest weather you’re going to find, keep heading down to South Florida. Miami and Key West are two excellent options for escaping the wintry weather up north.
Otherwise, head from Saint Augustine toward New Orleans, where you can make stops in Gulf Shores, AL and Biloxi, MS. Before making your way to Houston, you can stop in Baton Rouge, LA, and Lafayette, LA. The latter is a great place to learn about Acadian and creole cultural heritage and eat great food.
Winter Road Trip: Southwest Pit Stops
While combining three of Texas’s biggest cities, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, you may want to check out the Texas Hill Country. There are beautiful natural areas, cities with German heritage like Fredericksburg and New Braunfels, and delicious BBQ.
On the way from Big Bend National Park to El Paso, Marfa is certainly worth stopping at. This weird West Texas town is a haven for artists. Alpine is another nice small town to visit in the area.
Once in El Paso, there are a number of National Parks within a few hours’ drive. That includes the Guadalupe Mountains, which are never busy, and the incredible Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. White Sands National Park, also in New Mexico, is another option.
Before Tucson, you can check out Chiricahua National Monument, which has unbelievable rock formations. In Tucson itself, don’t miss out on Saguaro National Park.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is one of my favorite places in the entire country, I’d highly advise you visit before going to the Phoenix/Scottsdale area.
After Joshua Tree National Park, and before Los Angeles, I’d also recommend visiting the Mojave National Preserve, which actually has a higher density of Joshua Trees. Unfortunately, many were charred by wildfires and have an apocalyptic, but still beautiful, yellow tint to them.
One of my favorite National Parks, Death Valley, is a couple of hours north of Mojave. Despite what the name may imply, it’s big enough and varied enough to spend a handful of days in.
Once you’re in LA, you could do an iconic drive up Pacific Coast Highway, or head down to San Diego. Either way, you can’t really go wrong on this winter road trip, which has a mix of towns, cities, and natural areas.
Other Options
This winter road trip is designed for you to conveniently enjoy the best winter weather the country has to offer. If the cold doesn’t bother you, there are certainly some changes you can make. You could spend a lot of time exploring New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, which are some of the most beautiful states in the nation.
However, parts of these states get a whole lot of snow in the winter and get bitterly cold. More planning will be required for trips through these parts. However, some national parks are easily accessible no matter the time of the year.
You could continue heading north from Phoenix up through Sedona and Flagstaff and visit Grand Canyon National Park. Out east, Petrified Forest National Park is one of the most underappreciated places I’ve ever been to.
I’ve been to Utah’s iconic Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon in the winter, and thankfully, got lucky with the weather. There was definitely some snow on the ground in Bryce Canyon, but not enough that it made hiking terribly dangerous.
Regardless, there are plenty of options, and I hope you can go on this winter road trip someday!