Minnesota Just Beat Every Other State for Summer Road Trips

Road Trips: A Family Tradition

In our family, you could always count on taking some sort of summer road trip. Usually, it was across the country to visit relatives on the East Coast or in Montana. It was always in a station wagon (remember those), and I was always in the "way back" fighting motion sickness the whole way.

Once we got where we were going, there was fun to be had, but getting there was sometimes more of an adventure than I needed!

Get our free mobile app

Minnesota: The Top State for Summer Road Trips

Now, Wallet Hub has done some road trip investigation and has come up with the best state in the country for road trips. Regrettably, it is not one of the states I have done extensive road-tripping through, but that may have to change.

Minnesota takes the crown for the absolute best state in the U.S. for taking a road trip. How did it get that designation and honor? Well, Wallet Hub did a deep dive into exactly what makes Minnesota a perfect place for road trips and used a lot of statistics to prove their point.

How Wallet Hub Evaluates Road Trip Destinations

Wallet Hub compared all 50 states in three basic categories: A) Costs, B) Safety, and C) Activities. Within those categories, they considered things like gas prices, the cost of car repairs (I guess they assume people will have car issues on the road, like I always do), the cost of camping, hotels, and vacation rentals.

In the safety category, they examined road congestion, population density, road quality, car thefts, violent crimes, and vehicle miles traveled per capita.

The activities category was really busy; considering everything from how ideal summer weather was in each state, to the number of miles of shoreline, national park recreation visitors per capita, the number of fairs and festivals in each state, nightlife options, accommodation and food services, and lots more!

As it turns out, Minnesota is a very safe state to drive in; the state spends a lot on its parks and recreation areas, it has the fourth most fairs and festivals per capita in the country, camping costs are low, and so are car repairs. These and many other factors make it worth taking a road trip in Minnesota.

See the complete report at Wallet Hub.

Minnesota's Must See World's Largest Roadside Attractions

If you are making some family summer vacation plans maybe check out Minnesota's Roadside Attractions like the World's Largest Otter, Pelican, Babe The Blue Ox, and more!