Rooted in Richmond

A lot of people ask us about our road trip route from Seattle to Richmond.  And it’s a great question – there are so many good options!  If we had more time or weren’t traveling with a human kid and a fur kid, I’d want to drive down the coast to Northern California and then head east, with lots of time spent further exploring Utah and Colorado.  Some of my favorite road trip and adventure memories are set in Zion National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.  Time does matter on this trip, though, as does the toddler’s patience.  To travel the most efficient route while also exploring some new areas, we’ll head east on I-90 and jump up to I-94 around Billings, Montana.  We’ve spent a lot of time on I-90 in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, but I-94 will be new territory.  We’re excited to get to North Dakota, a state we’ve not yet visited, and check out Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  From there, we’ll drop down through Minneapolis, swing around Chicago, and head southeast toward Virginia.

The trip is 2,925 miles and 44 hours in total, including a stop in Roanoke, Virginia to pick up our smaller car, which is being shipped to my parents and will beat us there.  Check out our route on the map below.

 

We’re planning to make the drive in nine full days.  We’ll average about five hours of driving each day, interspersed with lots of stops for picnics, parks, and hikes.

 

Day	Date		Start	Finish
1	5/30	Wednesday	Seattle	Coeur d’Alene, ID
2	5/31	Thursday	Coeur d’Alene, ID	Bozeman, MT
3	6/1	Friday	Bozeman, MT	Miles City, MT
4	6/2	Saturday	Miles City, MT	Bismarck, ND
5	6/3	Sunday	Bismarck, ND	St. Cloud, MN
6	6/4	Monday	St. Cloud, MN	Madison, WI
7	6/5	Tuesday	Madison, WI	Indianapolis, IN
8	6/6	Wednesday	Indianapolis, IN	Charleston, WV
9	6/7	Thursday	Charleston, WV	Richmond

There are no reservations and no specific plans.  Spontaneity is the name of the game!  I’ve started a Pinterest board to track ideas for places to stop each day and will keep adding to it through the trip.  Have travel tips or places you’ve always wanted to check out?  We’d love for you to comment and tell us what kid- and pet-friendly stuff we should explore along the way!