What You Need to Add to Your Summer Travel Bucket List

So much to do, so little time. Here are a few must-dos to add to your summer bucket list. 

Yup, we made it through winter. Now is the time to start pulling together a summer bucket list. So let’s get going. Not sure where to start? Here are a few musts to add to your summer bucket list to get you started.

Be on the path of the Total Solar Eclipse on August 21.

On August 21, the first total solar eclipse in 99 years will take place, but you need to be on the path. By that I mean, get thee to Wyoming. Grand Teton National Park is one of the best places in the entire country to be for this once-in-a-lifetime event (which will last just 2.5 minutes). Or, head to Casper for the six day Wyoming Eclipse Festival, which will include historical tours, a 10K race, even ASTROCON 2017, an astronomy convention that will answer all the eclipse questions that keep you up at night.

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Photo by: Piriya Photography

Piriya Photography

Do a state-to-state road trip, on just one interstate.

Hop in the car and drive from one side of a state to the other side of a state, but only using one interstate, like I-94 in North Dakota. It’s just under five hours from Fargo on the east to Beach on the west and there’s so much to see in between. Plan to stop at the iconic Fargo Theatre and Vinyl Taco before heading west to see the World’s Largest Buffalo Monument in Jamestown, the Dakota Dinosaur Museum in Dickinson (including Larry, the 25-foot triceratops), and of course, Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

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Photo by: Noel Hendrickson

Noel Hendrickson

Go camping or glamping in a national park.

Everyone should go camping under the stars at least once. Hello, s’mores. All the better if you can score a campsite inside one of our iconic national parks, like Grand Canyon or Yosemite. Many take online reservations, but some do have first-come, first-served campgrounds, which can fill up by noon each day. Another option is a KOA, which has campgrounds within a few minutes of many major parks, including Yellowstone and Carlsbad Caverns. Not ready for camping? Rent an RV. It’s easy to rent an RV that will easily fit your entire family and it’s a nice bonus to be able to sleep on a bed each night.

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Photo by: Nick Ocean Photography

Nick Ocean Photography

Hike a new trail, or a new to you trail.

Summer is a great time for hiking, so pick a trail and go. There are many online resources, like AllTrails, which can help you find the right trails for you given where you’re going and how far you want to go. It can also help you find dog-friendly trails, the best trails for kids, for wildlife and even for waterfalls. And, there are even new trails waiting to be hiked, like the Backbone Trail in Los Angeles, a new 67-mile stretch that takes hikers through the Santa Monica Mountains between Point Mugu State Park in Malibu and Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades.

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Photo by: Dougal Waters

Dougal Waters

Road trip and snap a photo with at least three welcome signs.

You can’t take a road trip without snapping a photo with at least one state welcome sign. You’ve got to show friends and family (or at least everyone on Facebook) where you’ve been. Rebecca Darling of R We There Yet Mom? is an avid road tripper, as well as an avid welcome sign photographer, taking photos of her three children in front of most state welcome signs. Not every sign is a good candidate for a photo, according to Darling, who only stops for signs that have an area where you can fully pull off the road. She also tries to avoid signs along major highways.

Welcome to Georgia Sign

Welcome to Georgia Sign

Take a photo in front of state signs on a road trip.

Photo by: Rebecca Darling

Rebecca Darling

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