Recommend a travel stop.

[SC Maintenance]

I will never understand getting brisket at the gas station, while some mom-and-pop BBQ place is probably within a few miles.
The same is with that Whataburger junk. They opened here last year, long lines, now you can barely see one car.

Their sandwiches are OK but overpriced. There salads are overpriced but at least there fresh. As to the why - you can get gas, grab something to eat, and be moving again in 10 minutes. When time is money, its worth it. Fine dining it is not.

 

[Chris142]

There's a pretty good fence, if you don't climb it you probably won't get kicked

Oh. I thought they were out wandering around like oatman. My wife got dumb and almost got kicked in oatman.

 

[97prizm]

This is about a year (or less) into the future. Planning to take a family roadtrip from Charlotte NC to Grand Canyon. Self, wife, and 2 kids, currently aged 4 & 1.

Still debating on staying in hotels VS buying a small camper to tow behind the Pilot. Likely will go the Hotels & Airbnb route, but not 100% yet.

Would like to have a fun family-friendly place to visit daily, while covering an average of ~350 miles per day or more. Obviously with kids the stops are going to happen every 2-3 hours, so that will limit the daily mileage some. But having a fun daily stop should give everyone something to look forward to daily, instead of just going straight there and back with only fuel/food/restroom stops. I'm considering taking one route there and a different route back, for change of scenery and whatnot...

What would be some "must see" places along the way, without breaking a bank? Free is great, but I know most nicer places have admission fees. Anything more than $40-50/person goes out the window, as $200 almost daily for 3 weeks just on attractions is not in the cards currently.

Looking forward to your recommendations. And yes - I've tried a couple "trip planning" sites. But their AI just keeps pushing the high priced places, and I'm sure there are fun things to do along the way and cool places to visit, without blowing all the savings on it. Hopefully some here can share such places.

The grand Canyon Caverns, or the giant impact crater. A couple of years ago I was visiting family and my parents asked what I wanted to see while in Arizona. I had never heard of the Grand Canyon Caverns but it was an Amazing trip. The meter crater national park is quite spectacular.

 

[97prizm]

I'm in love with New Mexico, and Colorado. You are passing through a bunch of opportunities that I personally enjoy.

Santa Fe has excellent food, and pop an edible and go to Meow Wolf.

Stop by Madrid NM for more good food with a bunch of retired science nerds and local shopping.

Alberqueue, Los Alamos both have excellent Nuclear museums.

West of Los Alamos is a giant Caldera.

The Very Large Array should be the 8th wonder of the world, and is finally open to the public again from the pandemic.

If you like Native American stuff, Bandolier National Monument, Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Hiking opportunities abound, my favorite is the Lincoln National Forest, which is also close to White Sands National Park, and a giant Lava field that you can see from google maps.

This could eat up a few days at least. Good luck.

White sands, the aviation museum, and the pistachio and winery in Alamogordo is really fun.

 

[02SE]

My advice is don't come out west. There's nothing to see, it's hot, and there's no water.

 

[cptbarkey]

White sands, the aviation museum, and the pistachio and winery in Alamogordo is really fun.

seconding the winery near the giant pistachio, the bottles we took home didnt last long

 

[Killer223]

Coming through New Mexico you have to stop at https://maps.app.goo.gl/t8mDmMqyQCJLddVSA.
it's cool.
there is a really cool auto museum https://maps.app.goo.gl/pNFH719aRAAsdni88 for a pee stop and fuel up. it's just inside the NM boarder from Texas.
the petrified forest tour is a nice drive. paved.
once in flagpole a stop at https://maps.app.goo.gl/2Esp6Sd2M3aEZTTX9 Lowell observatory is nice.
a nice 1/2 day hike https://maps.app.goo.gl/AvMJNhua1uK3dKP66 lava tubes, you'll need 2-3 good headlamps, and sturdy shoes, jackets as it's 45-50 degrees inside the cave.
I would absolutely do the drive up 64. into the canyon, (if you enter early enough, like before 5am, no gate fee) stay on the 64 through to Cameron, then turn north and head to page, stop at horse shoe bend, and maybe even glen canyon dam. sights one won't soon forget.

Horseshoe Bend · 1001 Page Parkway, Page, AZ 86040

âââââ · Scenic spot

maps.app.goo.gl

from there make your way to kayenta via the 98 then the 160. turn and head north on the 163 to191 to moab, and make to the 70 and head home.

 

[AZjeff]

Didn't read every response but have to ask OP, are these stops for the kids or the adults? If for the kids disregard 90% of the suggestions because the 2 year old will never remember and the 5 year old will remember fun things, gross things like getting sick all over mommy, and both will remember the endless driving. If for the adults do the adult stuff you're interested in and drag the kids along.

Cadillac Ranch is right along I-40 at Amarillo and kinda fun and different. Take spray paint and let them paint the cars, everyone else in the world who's stopped there has.

At Grants NM you can get off and go 30 minutes south through lava flows to a classic roadside attraction, Bandera Crater and Ice Cave. Driving west from there is El Morro National Monument where pioneers and the earliest Spanish explorers carved their names in the cliff face near a water hole. You can go west/north and get back on I-40.

Just inside the Az/NM border is a kitzy souvenir place with teepees and animals up on the rocks that kids would love. Further west there are dinosaurs along the highway at other tourist traps. At Holbrook go down main street and stop at the teepee motel. Petrofied Forest is just east of Holbrook too. There's an IMAX at the Grand Canyon that's pretty neat.

There have been 126 documented mountain lion attacks in North America in the past 100 years. And 15 black bear attacks in Arizona. There may be a man tough enough on BITOG to stab a lion or bear to death and I'd like to meet him. Living in Az I'd be 100 times more concerned about snakes, scorpions, and poisonous spiders.

 

[dumkid]

Oh yeah I forgot y'all don't have snakes under every bush. Anyhow, if you see a rattlesnake it's not gonna attack you but it probably won't run away either, just go around it. The scorpions like messy unused houses with lots of bugs and gaps around the doors, and if you aren't allergic to them you'll survive a sting. It'll hurt though. The scorpions are also pretty good at hiding and can survive being smacked by a flip flop so if you see one make sure you thoroughly smash it

 

[Nukeman7]

If the kids won't be overwhelmed, you should check out the Meow Wolf exhibits in Grapevine, Texas or Santa Fe, New Mexico. I find the interactive contemporary art displays to be fun and creative for the whole family.

Meow Wolf Artists Collective

 

[Graham Piccinini]

My advice is don't come out west. There's nothing to see, it's hot, and there's no water.

In my opinion - East Coast has a lot more to offer. But wifey keeps talking about going to Grand Canyon for a few years now, so I think the trip will have to happen, if I wanna stay married lol jk.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Didn't read every response but have to ask OP, are these stops for the kids or the adults? If for the kids disregard 90% of the suggestions because the 2 year old will never remember and the 5 year old will remember fun things, gross things like getting sick all over mommy, and both will remember the endless driving. If for the adults do the adult stuff you're interested in and drag the kids along.

Cadillac Ranch is right along I-40 at Amarillo and kinda fun and different. Take spray paint and let them paint the cars, everyone else in the world who's stopped there has.

At Grants NM you can get off and go 30 minutes south through lava flows to a classic roadside attraction, Bandera Crater and Ice Cave. Driving west from there is El Morro National Monument where pioneers and the earliest Spanish explorers carved their names in the cliff face near a water hole. You can go west/north and get back on I-40.

Just inside the Az/NM border is a kitzy souvenir place with teepees and animals up on the rocks that kids would love. Further west there are dinosaurs along the highway at other tourist traps. At Holbrook go down main street and stop at the teepee motel. Petrofied Forest is just east of Holbrook too. There's an IMAX at the Grand Canyon that's pretty neat.

There have been 126 documented mountain lion attacks in North America in the past 100 years. And 15 black bear attacks in Arizona. There may be a man tough enough on BITOG to stab a lion or bear to death and I'd like to meet him. Living in Az I'd be 100 times more concerned about snakes, scorpions, and poisonous spiders.

Good points. I'd like a good mix of both. I can track my memories back to 3-4 years old. Don't remember anything before that. So the little one likely won't remember anything, but hopefully the older one will get nice deep core memories for a lifetime. Plus there are pictures. We're old school, so will likely make a physical photo album of the trip and stops along the way.
Thanks for the tips on the crawly creatures.

 

[AZjeff]

It doesn’t take much to make kids happy. Motels with fun playgrounds will do it.

In your position with real young kids I’d consider flying out, renting a minivan and spending a lot less time driving and more doing stuff. You could shorten the trip length do more and maybe cost the same or less. Also consider a big driving day then a short one with fun stuff.

 

[zzyzzx]

I understand that Buc-ee's is nice. Not that I have ever been to one.

 

[y_p_w]

In my opinion - East Coast has a lot more to offer. But wifey keeps talking about going to Grand Canyon for a few years now, so I think the trip will have to happen, if I wanna stay married lol jk.

You're not going to find anything like the American southwest on the east coast. Perhaps it's not "better", but it's certainly different. I'd think that in and of itself might be something worthy of a visit. There's certainly a reason why most of the national parks in the United States are in the west, because that kind of large scale experience is harder to find east of the Mississippi.

However, a long road trip like you're thinking of with a 1-2 year old might be challenging. We did trips from Northern California to Disneyland with a two-year old, but that only took about 6 hours. And our kid could easily just fall asleep. But over and over again for a couple of weeks would have been more challenging because that's more opportunities for a meltdown.

I'm all for long road trips, and I've done those before, but when I was older or as an adult. However, you're probably a better judge of what your own children can handle. However, there's nothing wrong with just flying in.

 

[Brons2]

In my opinion - East Coast has a lot more to offer. But wifey keeps talking about going to Grand Canyon for a few years now, so I think the trip will have to happen, if I wanna stay married lol jk.

East Coast has a lot more people to offer. But if you think there's more natural features in the East, you haven't seen the West.

Just a little biased, Oregon native here.

 

[dumkid]

Here's pics from my last trip to the canyon

 

[gfh77665]

Definitely stop at a Buc-ees, even if you don't buy anything (but you will!).

Then, there's this: https://www.bigtexan.com/

It right on your way in Amarillo. Do not miss it!