5 Winter Road Trip Ideas for Families



Why let the winter months stop you from taking a road trip? This winter, join us as we head down to five cities in the United States.

Take a look at Travelmath’s 5 winter road trip ideas for families:

Charleston SC
Charleston was voted for the third consecutive year as Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Top City in the United States. The city has well-preserved architecture, authentic southern food, rich history and warm southern hospitality.

Drive 11 hours 15 minutes from cold Philadelphia PA to Charleston or stop at Rocky Mount NC, your halfway point before proceeding the next day.

Minutes away from the city are many well preserved plantations and gardens of South Carolina. Some of these plantations have been around since the 1600s with moss-covered oak trees, slave cabins, working monasteries, mansions and gardens with blooms.

Boone Hall Plantation, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Hampton Plantation State Historic Site and Drayton Hall are some of the oldest plantation houses in America. Drayton Hall is the oldest unrestored plantation house in the country and is a must-visit if you are traveling to Charleston.

Austin TX
If you are living in the Texas, Oklahoma or New Orleans areas you may want to consider a road trip to Austin TX. In recent years Austin has become the hub for live music lovers. Music is played in more than 250 locations throughout the city including concert halls, clubs and coffeehouses.

Austin is an easy six hour drive from Norman OK. It is only 373 miles.

San Diego CA
Average January temperature in San Diego CA is 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Although it does require a jacket, you don’t need winter boots to walk around the city of San Diego. In eight hours two minutes you could escape the cold in Sacramento and be in the San Diego Zoo visiting giant pandas, giraffes and other exotic animals with your family.

The San Diego Zoo is a must-see zoo in the nation. The Panda Trek was created with a bamboo forest habitat suitable for the giant pandas. The zoo has four giant pandas and their names are Bai Yun, Gao Gao, Yun Zi and Xiao Liwu.

Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg FL
Tampa Bay is beyond white sandy beaches and Busch Gardens. The bay area is filled with historical sites like Ybor City and its famous art museums like the Dali Museum. Tampa is a one hour 27 minute drive from Orlando.

According to The Dali Museum, the entire place has a collection of key works by Salvador Dali. Visitors can view major works in every medium showing his amazing talent. The Collection includes 96 oil paintings, many original drawings, prints, sculpture, photos, manuscripts and an extensive archive of documents. These were private collections of Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, donated to the city of St Petersburg Florida. http://thedali.org/home.php

The museum opened on January 11, 2011 in a new building. The building itself is a work of art.

Ybor city is another attraction in Tampa if you like to trace the art of making cigars and the Cuban and Italian cultures in Florida. Ybor City has been known as Tampa’s Latin Quarter for over a century. Here you can dine in a century old restaurant and watch a flamenco dance performance while sipping Spanish sangria.

Gatlinburg TN
The Hollywood Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg TN has over 40 real Hollywood movie and TV cars including The Avengers’ S.H.E.I.L.D. Hummer H3T and The Beach Boys Ford Thunderbird. Here is a link to a video about the museum:


Gatlinburg is three hours 47 minutes away from Nashville TN and eight hours 57 minutes from Cleveland OH. Located at the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg is a popular vacation spot year round. Guests come from all over the country during winter months to stay in the mountainside chalets, log cabins and country bed and breakfasts.

No matter where your winter road trip takes you, remember to use Travelmath’s online calculator when planning your trips.




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