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This summer is looking like a homebody's heaven. We just ran a survey, and a quarter of y'all said you're staying closer to home, and 15% are ditching flights in favor of cars, trains, and other modes of transport because fares are too high. If you want to stay home home, do your thing. But if you're itching to get out, just feeling like "out" might mean less Italian piazza and more cruising, windows down along the Pacific Coast, good news: You have options! 

This summer, staying closer to home or opting for a train or road trip doesn't mean settling. The US has top-tier scenery, and many people miss it because they're flying over it. Indulge us. Check out our favorite road trips and train routes below, plus some tricks for getting more out of each, so even if you're not venturing far, you'll still have a great adventure.

Road trips

Gas prices are trending down. That means summer road trips are looking up. 

Where: Glacier National Park, Montana

Distance: 50 miles

Fly into: Glacier Park (FCA) in Kalispell

Most national parks have scenic drives, but few are as spectacular as Going-to-the-Sun Road. Built in the early 1930s, it cuts the park nearly in half from northeast to southwest. Take your time, stopping frequently to see the many glaciers that give the park its name, plus the mountain peaks and dramatic valleys between them. 

Pack provisions and go for a hike, or camp at one of the five campgrounds along the route. While Going-to-the-Sun Road is technically a one-way trip, many visitors double back. The scenery changes depending on which way you're headed.

Where: Virginia, North Carolina

Distance: 469 miles

Fly into: Charlottesville-Albemarle (CHO), Asheville (AVL)

The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the Blue Ridge Mountains (part of the Appalachian range) and connects two of the East's best national parks: Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains. In addition to the natural beauty and scenic stops along the way, there are also noteworthy cultural attractions, like Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Asheville's Biltmore Estate (the largest private home in the US, open to visitors), and the Blue Ridge Music Center where you can learn about Appalachian music and see live performances.

Where: Seattle to San Francisco (there's also a San Francisco → Los Angeles leg)

Distance: ~1,100 miles

Fly into: Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK), San Jose (SJC)

Highway 101 (aka the PCH once you hit California) stretches clear up the West Coast. From Seattle, head for the lush rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula, then drive south along the 101. In Oregon, stop in Astoria for a "Goonies" tour, the cheese factory in Tillamook, popular beaches in Newport, the small towns of Bandon and Brookings, and the ever-changing dunes of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. 

Once you cross into California, you're in redwood country. Redwood National Park is the obvious draw, but Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park offers a less-crowded walk among the giants. You can drive through a tree in Klamath before taking in artsy Arcata and Eureka. Further south, explore Point Reyes National Seashore, take a walk through Muir Woods National Monument, and finish off your voyage in San Francisco.

For more great American road trips, check out our guide.

Train trips

Amtrak hit all-time-high ridership in 2025. One look at these routes, and it's easy to see why. 

Route: Chicago ↔ Emeryville, CA

Distance: 2,438 miles

Fly into: Chicago (ORD, MDW), San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK) 

Amtrak's longest daily route (52 hours) is also widely regarded as its most beautiful. The California Zephyr connects Chicago to the San Francisco Bay Area, but the termini are just the beginning. 

In between, you'll traverse the Great Plains, ride through the Rockies, climb Glenwood Canyon, follow the Colorado River, crest the Continental Divide, descend into Utah's desert canyons, pass the Bonneville Salt Flats, crawl through the Sierra Nevadas, catch a postcard-perfect glimpse of Donner Lake, then rumble through Sacramento before halting in the Bay. Seven states. An epic adventure. Book a sleeper room if you can.

Route: Seattle ↔ Los Angeles

Distance: 1,377 miles

Fly into: Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), Los Angeles (LAX)

Despite the name, the Coast Starlight doesn't hug the Pacific for its entire length. But when it does, around Santa Barbara, the payoff is worth the wait. This quintessential West Coast train passes an almost comical range of landscapes. 

From Seattle, you'll trace Puget Sound through the forests of Washington before crossing into Oregon and following the Columbia River. The drama builds through NorCal, where Mount Shasta rises to over 14,000 feet, and the landscape opens into the Sacramento Valley. By the time the train sweeps south through wine country and into Santa Barbara, you're riding right along the Pacific. 

Book a roomette for the overnight leg, and use the Sightseer Lounge (a glass-ceilinged observation car) to catch the scenery unrestricted.

Route: New York City ↔ Toronto

Distance: 544 miles

Fly into: New York City or Newark (JFK, LGA, EWR), Toronto (YYZ)

The Maple Leaf route is a standout for the sheer fact that it runs right past Niagara Falls. The stop isn't long enough to see the falls properly, so you'd need to deboard and spend a night. The train crosses into Canada at Niagara Falls, clears the US-Canada border, then rolls along the shore of Lake Ontario through Hamilton and into Toronto.

It's an ideal two-city trip by rail: Depart New York in the morning, arrive in Toronto in the evening, spend a few days, and fly home. Or reverse it and fly into Toronto, so you have New York waiting at the end. The Hudson Valley stretch out of Manhattan is worth staying awake for, and Toronto Union Station-one of the most impressive train terminals in North America-is a destination in itself.

For more of the best train journeys in the US, check out our guide.

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