Arts & Lifestyle

The Enduring American Road Trip

Lincoln Ahn

30 Sep 2025 — 2 min read

Photo by Olezzo / Adobe Stock

Sometimes the best way to experience the world isn't by flying to exotic locations. As Christopher Elliott from Forbes argues, the road trip is an accessible, practical way to see America using what you have in your driveway. America's love of road trips could give insight on how to make drives in general more pleasant.

America is on course for one of the biggest summers for driving vacations in recent memory, perhaps ever. While overall travel is down, road trips are up. Travel research firm MMGY says 51% of Americans took at least one road trip in the last year, an increase from 46% in 2017. And a new survey by Hankook Tire found 83% of Americans plan to drive the same or more this year.

Pilot Flying J's survey found the top reasons people take road trips are that it’s more affordable than any other forms of transportation (57%), they have more control over the trip and plans (51%) and they like being able to stop whenever they want along the way (50%). Road trips have been a national fascination since the first cross-country road trip in 1903. Since then, we've had On The Road, Travels With Charley, Easy Rider, and, of course, National Lampoon's Family Vacation to remind us that we love road trips.

Talk to road trippers and they'll tell you why they travel – and why the time for recognizing the great American road trip is long overdue.

"When you're traveling cross-country with companions, you learn so much about the people you’re with," says Lowthorp, a consultant from Minneapolis, who is planning a big road trip to Los Angeles this summer. "You talk to them about subjects that never came up before. Traveling in such close quarters, you can get on each other’s nerves and learn a lot that way. It’s a one-of-a-kind bonding experience and road trips with friends are among my favorite memories. It's a great way to learn more about yourself and how you deal with unexpected circumstances."

Other factors mentioned that make for enjoyable road trips include salty snacks, interesting locales, good music, and beautiful scenery. Although not all car trips are centered around vacationing and sightseeing, there are still transferable elements from road trips that can be used to make driving overall more enjoyable. As a designer aiming to make long car trips more enjoyable, incorporating and encouraging these activities and elements are important. In particular, the encouragement of communication between the front and back row on destinations, restaurant recommendations, and interesting sights could yield a better experience between parents and children. One of the most common complaints when traveling with children is that they can become restless and start to ask "are we there yet" and other time-related questions. Figuring out a way to encourage more positive conversation related to interesting things happening outside the vehicle could lead to bonding moments similar to road trip conversations.