Road Trip in November -- Midwest? Far West??

Hi Jamie,

My name is Kalpana, and we live in New Jersey. We have a 1 month long vacation for the entire month of November, and we are planning on doing a roadtrip across US. We haven't seen much of mid-west and West, and since we have such a long break, we would like to see the maximum we can and make this lifetime roadtrip memorable. Since November is late fall/early winter period we are not sure, which parts of US will be interesting to cover?

Could you please help give us some tips and help us plan a memorable road trip?

We will really appreciate your help and guidance.

With Best Regards,

Kalpana

==

Hello Kalpana --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you. Because of the weather turning wintry, November can indeed be a challenging time to travel, but if you follow the birds and head south, there are some great places to explore. My "Southern Pacific" road trip, following old US-80 and other roads between Savannah Georgia and San Diego California, would seem like the best bet as a main route, with lots of opportunities for detours and diversions, since you have such a nice long amount of time to spend traveling. New Orleans, San Antonio Texas, The Pueblo Indian cultures of New Mexico (like Taos, shown above), and the red-rock deserts of Arizona and Utah, all await you!

November is still "fall color" season in the southern Appalachians, so maybe you could kick off your trip with a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway, and along the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park?

Keep an eye on higher elevations, even in North Carolina, and be prepared to make some changes to your plans if a winter storm comes through (like at the Grand Canyon, which is 7000-feet above sea level!). The great thing about a road trip is that you have a lot of flexibility, and the good thing about "off-season" travel is that most motels etc will have plenty of rooms and be glad to see you. (Rates are often a lot lower, too.)

I cover all these places in my big "Road Trip USA" book, and I think you'll have a great time.

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
--
Road Trip USA