Cross-Country Road Trip: California to New Jersey
In June of 2019 my friend, Rachel, and I drove cross-country from San Diego, CA to Williamstown, NJ. This road trip looked a little different than the one with my aunt - Rachel and I planned our trip around hiking!
Day 1: We started out the trip driving 8 hours to Zion National Park in Utah. We did a small hike the first afternoon that led us to a very small waterfall and involved a lot of bouldering. It wasn’t overly challenging, but we definitely weren’t expecting to have to climb with our hands!
Day 2: The next day we woke up before the sun to catch the first shuttle at 6 am to hike Angels Landing. I definitely recommend doing this hike early because it is super popular and can get really crowded. This hike took us about 4.5 hours, so by the time we were making our way down around 11 am it was already so much busier (and so much hotter!). Nowadays, you need a permit for this hike, so keep that in mind! This was my first ‘real’ hike and it was HARD. It’s 5 miles round trip and you gain almost 1500 feet in elevation. There’s even a chain section where you hug the side of the mountain and hold onto chains for safety. This part is so thrilling, I honestly loved it, but it was scary! I definitely wouldn't recommend this hike to anyone afraid of hikes, unsteady on their feet, or to young children (although we did see kids on the hike). This hike is strenuous, so please proceed with caution! Nonetheless, the views were stunning and I was so proud of myself for accomplishing this hike!
We did the beginning of The Narrows hike, but were unprepared because we didn’t have water shoes, so we didn’t do the entire thing. Next time, I’d love to do that one! We spent the rest of the day exploring Zion and doing some smaller, less strenuous hikes. By the end, we walked over 30,000 steps and 12 miles! So it’s safe to say we were sleepy by the end of the day!
Day 3: The next morning we got up early again and drove 2 hours to Bryce Canyon National Park. The canyon is famous for its spire-shaped rock formations and crimson-colored hoodoos. We hiked down into the canyon and explored the park for a few hours. We got lost and our 3 mile hike turned into 8 miles, which was honestly super scary in the heat, especially because we ran out of water! But we eventually made it back up to the top of the canyon!
Day 4: Our original plan was to drive to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado next. However, after doing some research I found out that the park was closed for snow! In the end of June! We couldn’t believe it, but we’re glad we found out ahead of time and didn’t go out of our way to the park. Instead, we drove straight through Colorado and ended up stopping in Kansas for the night.
Day 5: We had to drive the entirety of Kansas (over 400 miles), so we wanted to make a stop to make it a little more exciting. We decided on Mushroom Rock State Park (it’s about as fun as it sounds lol). Nonetheless, it was nice to make a stop and explore something very fitting for Kansas! We drove a few more hours and spent the night in St. Louis.
Day 6: The next day consisted of a lot of driving through Illinois and Indiana. The traffic made me appreciate the lack of people in Kansas. Our next stop was a gorgeous waterfall hike in Ohio - Cuyahoga Falls. The falls surpassed our expectations and were thriving. I will say I definitely didn’t miss the humidity of the east coast, but the views were worth it!
Day 7: We made one final stop in Lancaster, PA to surprise my Grandma. It was nice to spend the afternoon catching up and eating lunch with her. After 2 more hours in the car, we finally made it to Williamstown, NJ! I grew up here, so seeing my friends from high school was a blast! I spent 2 days here before continuing my journey 15 hours to Florida with my mom.
In total I went 3800 miles, through 19 states, over 10 days. I just love road trips! Thanks for following along. Have a beautiful day!