5 Of The Longest Road Trip Routes In The US That Aren't For The Faint Of Heart

Scientific minds may have figured out the most efficient road trip route across America, but what about the longest and most grueling road trip routes in the U.S.? If you're interested in testing your limits on a long-haul drive across the States, there are a few solid options that can keep you cruising for hundreds or even thousands of miles.

Of course, you might be wondering why someone would want to embark on such an exhausting and expansive journey in the first place. That question is well-answered in director Ken Burns' documentary about the event many consider to be "the first American road trip." In an excerpt from a companion book for the documentary, Burns' quotes American travel writer William Least Heat-Moon to explain the allure of these road-bound excursions. "There's nothing that we can do that is more American than getting in a car and striking out across country," Least Heat-Moon explains. "As a nation we can think of few things that draws us more strongly than a piece of roadway heading we know not where. This is the way we grow up, this is the way we enter our history: get in a car and find the country."

Considering that America's Interstate System is about 46,876 miles long, travelers from coast to coast have plenty of highway available to them for road trip adventures, too. Options range from scenic routes through the West to perfectly picturesque drives through adorable small towns, but there are also some stretches that turn your journey into more of a challenge than a leisurely cruise. For an experience that will test your endurance across seemingly endless miles, here are five of the longest U.S. road trip routes that aren't for the faint of heart.

If you've ever taken a cross-country road trip, the 450-mile route between Belfield, North Dakota, and Mitchell, South Dakota, may not seem too daunting. However, there's more to this drive than you might think. Dubbed "the longest road trip in the U.S. with no restrooms" by Travel + Leisure, the route can take up to seven hours to complete. For those wondering how there could possibly be no restroom options along the way, here are a few things to keep in mind. First, Travel + Leisure's claim is based on a consumer finance company's informal analysis of OpenStreetMap data. Why would a company like this publish a study on road trip routes? It's a documented marketing approach to boost awareness and establish credibility for a brand. So, maybe take the warnings about this drive with a grain of salt. While rest stop options may be limited, there are some out there. In fact, one public restroom location that'll barely impact your drive time is located in Pierre, South Dakota's Steamboat Park.

With that important roadside amenity addressed, let's dig into what you can expect during this trip. The route starts under 20 miles from underrated Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and will take you six or seven hours southeast to Mitchell, South Dakota (home to the Corn Palace, a top destination for Americana culture). Keep an eye out for the Welcome to South Dakota sign while crossing state lines about an hour and a half into the drive, and find two museums — Petrified Wood Park and Grand River — in nearby Lemmon, South Dakota. As you approach Mitchell, awaiting attractions include the South Dakota Hall of Fame and The Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum.

Surpassing the aforementioned Dakotas drive by 317 miles, this road trip route from Kansas City, Missouri, to Lafayette, Louisiana, keeps you on the road for around 12 hours. Similar to Travel + Leisure's coverage, Thrillist shared this stretch in an article on America's longest sections of highway without rest stops. The drive primarily follows I-49, and, as Thrillist explains: "The 528-mile highway has only two rest stops, at an average of 264 miles between each facility." However, per 2026 Federal Highway Administration data, I-49 actually spans 555.31 miles. Additionally, along the way from Missouri to Louisiana, you actually can find more than two rest stops. Options include Bella Vista, Arkansas' Welcome Center Rest Area, Texarkana, Texas' Red River Welcome Center & Rest Area, and Bunkie, Louisiana's Grand Prairie Rest Area.

While there may be some discrepancies in the data about this road trip route's surrounding amenities, what's not in question are the adventures you can have while traveling it. Starting in Kansas City (where you can get some great BBQ), the 767-mile drive will definitely take more than one day to fully experience. After all, there are tons of fun attractions to experience in Kansas City alone. But, if you want to save your stops until you're at least an hour out of town, you can wait and head down I-49 until hitting Big Mouth, the world's largest coal shovel, in Rich Hill, Missouri. After that, keep truckin' into Arkansas, where you can make a quick detour to visit the stunning yet under-the-radar Devil's Den State Park. Then, 300-or-so miles later in Shreveport, Louisiana, take a break to explore local landmarks, museums, and restaurants. From there, you're about three hours from Lafayette, a key stop on another gorgeous road trip.

This next drive bumps the difficulty level up by over a thousand extra miles for an expansive cross-country excursion. Crossing from one coast to the other, the road trip route in question is none other than the days-long journey from Los Angeles to Atlanta. I-40 East carries you through most of this voyage, guiding you out of the Golden State, into Arizona, and across seven other states (New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama) before entering Georgia enroute to its capital city. Spanning 2,174 miles, this drive is no cake walk, but it's also only the third-longest trip on this list. So, before challenging yourself further, gauge your fortitude by spending a week or so cruising toward the Peach State.

Over seven days, travelers can split up the roughly 32 hours of total drive time into chunks of four to five hours. On day one, that amount of time can get you to the Arizona-California state line, where you can stay at a resort on the Colorado River. From there, it'll take about four and a half hours to reach Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park. While traversing New Mexico the next day, you'll encounter the Route 66 Drive-Thru Neon Sign, Petroglyph National Monument, and the city of Albuquerque (home to the world's largest balloon festival). In Texas, you begin the final half of your trip. As you drive, take the time to explore attractions like Texas' Cadillac Ranch (one of the best stops to make along Route 66), Oklahoma's Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, Arkansas' capital city of Little Rock, and Tennessee's Memphis metro area. Once you reach Tennessee, Alabama is the last state to cross before arriving in Atlanta, Georgia.

If you completed the 2,174-mile LA to Atlanta trip with energy to spare, it may be time to approach the final frontiers of American long-haul driving. Adding an extra 1,191 miles onto the LA-Atlanta route, U.S. 20 measures in at a staggering 3,365 miles in length. Per the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, it became the longest road in the country in 1963. It stretches all the way from "Boston at a junction with Massachusetts Route 2 and ends in Newport, Oregon, at a junction with U.S. 101." The highway is separated into east and west sections around Yellowstone National Park and passes through 12 states.

As people who have traveled this route can attest, you could spend an entire month completing this ambitious drive. However, if you need to squeeze this trek into two weeks max, you absolutely can — though you might have to drive just a touch more than four hours a day. If you're committed to staying on U.S. 20 the entire time, just make sure not to rely too heavily on services like Google Maps. As Reddit users in r/roadtrips will tell you, these mapping apps have a habit of veering off course.

Given this route's start in historic, beautiful Boston and end in the lush Pacific Northwest, there is obviously a treasure trove of scenic vistas and roadside curiosities to explore along the way. However, detailing all this drive's best attractions is a feat worth an article of its own. So, for detailed insight into destinations you can look forward to during the ride, check out Explore's dedicated guide to the stunning, cross-country U.S. 20 trip.

Once you surpass the 3,000-mile mark, there's only so much farther you can realistically drive through America without resorting to winding detours and side streets. However, there is an outing from the tip of Maine to the coast of California that surpasses U.S. 20's length by 163 miles. Beginning in Fort Kent, Maine, and routing around Millinocket to avoid crossing over into Canada, this 3,528-mile road trip requires roughly 52 total hours of driving. The endpoint is California's famous bayside city of San Francisco. While every driver is different, a route this long makes paying attention to recommended daily driving limits especially important. According to travel expert Samantha Brown, you may want to avoid driving over four hours a day. Of course, if you really want to push yourself, you could drive for 10 hours or more a day.

Those who want to really enjoy this sprawling adventure will probably want to follow Brown's four-hour limit, though. After all, there's a lot to see across this 3,528-mile stretch. For the full experience, plan to spend about two weeks on this trip. The first day, you'll pass through Bangor, an atmospheric city that helped inspire author Stephen King. On day two, I-95 South leads you out of Maine, through New Hampshire, and into Massachusetts. Between there and the West Coast, you'll cruise through 10 other states before entering California. So, if visiting all 50 U.S. states is on your bucket list, this is a good opportunity to see a good chunk of them.

While detailing all the best attractions to see during this drive could be an article of its own, this list of the best vacation spot in each U.S. state can give you some inspiration for customizing the epic drive from Maine to California in a way that suits your interests.

When tracking down five of America's longest road trip routes, we started by referencing existing coverage of lengthy U.S. drives. While this led us to some helpful jumping off points, a desire to uncover the country's most intense long haul stretches inspired us to look deeper into the topic. If you've read this far, you probably know that this journey involved consulting resources such as the Federal Highway Administration for information on the nation's longest highways and official mileage data. Beyond that, the fact-finding process also included examining maps not just for standard routing info but also to ensure each suggested drive was entirely within the U.S. This was an important step, as Google Maps can easily guide you across country borders for excursions like the one from Maine to California.

The culmination of all this research is the above list of five U.S. drives that definitely aren't for the faint of heart. Before you hit the highway for these or any other excursions, consider reading up on Rick Steves' top tip for anyone going on a road trip. Those who want to enjoy an easy-breezy experience with as little stress as possible may also appreciate these hacks that make road trips so much easier.