Where to Go for Spring Break: 5 Great U.S. Road Trips for Every Family

Some of my most vivid travel memories from my ’80s and ’90s childhood are of watching my dad Tetris together the luggage in the back of our family station wagon while my mom loaded the Playmate cooler with cream cheese and jelly sandwiches as my siblings and I demarcated our back-seat territory with pillows to get ready to ride.

Whether we were southbound from our home in Northern Virginia for our annual Outer Banks beach trip in North Carolina or headed cross-country on a summertime national parks spree, the promise of a road trip was always loaded with a sense of wonder at how far we could drive from our own backyard.

And the great American road trip never goes out of style. These days, my own kids have continued the tradition of braving long hours in the back seat of our minivan for countless drives throughout the U.S. East and the South.

As the United States swings into high gear this year to mark 250 years since its founding, it’s an ideal year to celebrate and embrace all the communities, big and small, throughout the country. Road trips are one of the best ways to do so—and spring break is a perfect time to hit the road, with its moderate weather and colorful blooms. Here’s a cheat sheet of road-trip ideas to consider for a stateside family spring break this year.

A classic Florida route

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Florida’s busiest beach towns make it challenging to find a serene spot on the sand during spring break. As a resident of the Sunshine State (who explores here extensively with my family), I recommend kicking spring break off inland in Orlando and bypassing the theme parks in favor of freshwater fun in nature.

Make a villa or hotel room at Evermore Orlando Resort, fronting an eight-acre lagoon water-park pool. This can be your base for snorkeling in the freshwater springs at nearby Wekiwa Springs State Park or for going tubing along the spring-fed river at Kelly Park/Rock Springs. Incredible animal encounters await at Gatorland, an old-school Florida attraction with a family-friendly zip line over alligator- and croc-filled habitats, not to mention resident capybaras you can feed and pet (the affiliated nonprofit Gatorland Global aims to support alligator and crocodile conservation efforts and research in Florida). Nearby at Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures, scout for gators in the wild and ogle nesting bald eagles during a ride on Lake Tohopekaliga, a 22,700-acre wilderness known for great bass fishing.

From the Orlando area, drive about 100 miles south through the state’s center to the inland community of Sebring for a stay at the recently renovated and historic Roanoke Hotel, which opened in late 2025 in the heart of downtown. Spend a day strolling the nature trails at Highlands Hammock State Park, home to more rare and endemic species than any other Florida state park (Florida panthers, Florida scrub jays, and gopher tortoises among them). And don’t miss another wild airboat road with Airboat Wildlife Adventures through the wetlands of Arbuckle Creek and Lake Istokpoga.

By the time you arrive in Miami, 170 miles south, you’ll be ready to relax in a cabana poolside with the kids at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami, fronting Biscayne Bay in Brickell. Definitely book a celebratory dinner at the hotel’s pop-up restaurant, Nuna, helmed by renowned Peruvian chef Jaime Pesaque of Lima’s Mayta.

When you’re ready for some beach time, give the spring break crowds on Miami Beach a pass in favor of strolling nature trails to quieter sandy coves that have ocean views within Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, a seven-minute drive from the hotel.

Portland, Willamette Valley, and the Oregon coast

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Kick off a Pacific Northwest spring break road trip with urban fun in Portland, where the cherry blossoms burst into bloom from mid- to late-March at the Portland Japanese Garden. Hotel Lucia in downtown’s Pearl District is a great base for exploring, and the hotel offers complimentary Shinola bikes. And, for adults, there’s a complimentary craft beer hour in the evenings.

A downtown art installation that debuted in 2025, Portland Aquarium offers something totally unexpected: It has no animals, but it showcases 5 biomes and 100 cartoon animals living in them.

On your way to Salem (about 47 miles south of Portland), detour for a stop at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. Here, the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival (March 20–April 26, 2026) harkens springtime with fields abloom with tulips, hot-air balloon rides, crafts, wine tastings, and a kids’ play area.

More wine-tasting awaits in Salem, in the heart of the Willamette Valley. Before or after a stop for the parents at family-friendly winery Brooks, kids can step into a fantasy land of rides and comedy shows at Enchanted Forest, a storybook-themed amusement park that opens March 21, 2026, for the season. Also in Salem, the Gilbert House Children’s Museum has interactive exhibits and an outdoor discovery area where they can climb, build, and explore.

Continue 65 miles south to Eugene for the Cascades Raptor Center, where rescued and rehabilitated owls, hawks, eagles, and vultures reside. Then check in at Eugene’s Valley River Inn in time to enjoy the sunset over the Willamette River with a glass of local wine.

Finally, break for the Oregon Coast and the town of Florence, about 60 miles due west, where you can sandboard down the dunes at Sand Master Park or go horseback riding on the beach with C&M Stables. Stop to see the country’s largest naturally formed basalt rock sea cave at Sea Lion Caves, a privately owned reserve home to a year-round colony of Steller sea lions.

Then surprise the kids (ages 10 and up only) with a stay in one of the last lightkeeper’s cottages on the Pacific Coast at Heceta Lighthouse, or book a room overlooking the wild beach at Driftwood Shores.

Northern Texas

Photo by IrinaK/Shutterstock (L); photo by W. Scott McGill/Shutterstock (R)

Route 66 turns 100 years old in November. Start the celebrations early by kicking off spring break in the Texas Panhandle city of Amarillo. The famed historic highway once ran right through town in the city’s U.S. Route 66–Sixth Street Historic District. Get in the vintage spirit by shopping for preserved signs and browsing for antiques among 13 blocks of shops and restaurants, or head west of downtown to Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, the exact midpoint of Route 66, which is famous for “ugly pies” in classic flavors like coconut cream and pecan. A visit to the roadside Route 66 art installation, Cadillac Ranch, is also a must.

South of town, plan a horseback-riding adventure in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and keep an eye out for roadrunners and North African aoudad sheep, which were introduced to the area in the 1950s. You can stay within the park at a collection of cabins or opt for a canvas tent at Palo Duro Glamping, with firepits and grills and complimentary breakfast and ice cream.

It’s a roughly five-hour drive south (stop in the towns of Vernon or Childress for lunch to break the trip) to reach Mineral Wells Fossil Park, where admission is free. Here, you can hunt for shark teeth and ancient coral fragments in a former gravel pit. Just east, at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, rent a canoe or kayak from the park store to paddle the 640-acre lake, or borrow a loaner fishing rod (no license required) to toss out a line from a pier.

It’s roughly an hour-and-a-half drive east to Dallas, where the Hilton Anatole has the city’s best resort pool (with slides and a lazy river) and makes for a great base for tackling the nearby ziplines and rope courses at Trinity Forest Adventure Park or feeding giraffes and tortoises during a day at the Dallas Zoo.

Plan a day trip to walk in the tracks of theropods and other giants that once roamed the terrain along the Paluxy River at present-day Dinosaur Valley State Park, one and a half hours southeast of Dallas. You can go for a dip in the river at Blue Hole or head upriver for shallower beaches.

Nevada and Utah

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Start in Las Vegas and visit some kid-friendly attractions, such as Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium and the four-acre Flamingo Wildlife Habitat, before taking in an all-ages show; we recommend Jabbawockeez’s high-tech dance performance at MGM Grand. Stay the night at a fun themed hotel—the Venetian Resort Las Vegas and New York–New York are great options—or relax in luxury poolside at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas before hitting the highway.

Check out and drive about four hours northeast to arrive in Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park, where you can hike the easy Moss Cave Trail to a waterfall in a grotto and sleep in one of the stargazing domes at Clear Sky Resorts.

A short drive away at Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, families can traipse along a flat trail (with several shallow river crossings to add to the adventure) to see the Escalante Natural Bridge. Consider staying in a vintage Airstream or one of the stylish cabins at Ofland Escalante, where cooking over a campfire with chef-prepared dinner kits, s’mores, and waterfall hikes are all in a day’s fun.

The next day, drive an hour north to Capitol Reef National Park (a less-crowded alternative to Zion National Park), where the sandstone canyons, domes, and monoliths of Cathedral Valley are the backdrop as you hike, splash in streams, and hunt for petroglyphs. A mile from the park’s entrance in Torrey, Capitol Reef Resort has luxurious Conestoga wagons, cabins, and teepees you can stay in, as well as family adventures including jeep safaris and hikes with llamas.

Maryland to Massachusetts

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History lessons taught in the classroom can fall flat. But when you plan a spring break itinerary in the Northeast that taps America 250 hype and ties in sites your kids have studied in school, the stories that shaped the country’s earlier years will really resonate.

In Baltimore, visit the birthplace of the National Anthem, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, a star-shaped fort where Francis Scott Key felt inspired to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” upon witnessing the American flag still streaming after a British bombardment. Consider catching the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for a home baseball game, that most American of sports. Then check in at The Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, with Inner Harbor views. It’s a 10-minute stroll from the National Aquarium, one of the finest aquariums in the country, which offers sunrise tours before regular opening hours so you can help to feed the animals their breakfast.

Drive roughly two hours northeast to Philadelphia for a pilgrimage to the Liberty Bell, and take a guided tour of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed. Then spin through one of the oldest and largest public markets, Reading Terminal Market, where you can snack on delicious Amish doughnuts worth waiting in line for, at Beiler’s Doughnuts.

It’s a five-hour drive from there to Boston, but plan to stop to see the scenic harbor in Mystic, Connecticut, along the way to burn off some energy. Olde Mistick Village, built to resemble a 1720s village with a churning water wheel and pretty buildings, has a lively open-air setting where you can shop for fudge, saltwater taffy, and other souvenirs while getting another dose of history.

Once you arrive in Boston, consider checking into the Goodnight Moon–themed suite (available for bookings through April) at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. Wind down your history-focused spring break by visiting Paul Revere’s House (downtown Boston’s oldest building) along the Freedom Trail and touring the USS Constitution, also known as “Old Ironsides,” a warship that served as a training ship during the Civil War and on which kids can adventure down steep ladderlike stairs to explore below deck.