Follow Gordon, Gino and Fred’s lead and discover majestic mountains, epic coastlines and great cities on a US road trip
Claire Webb - 30 March 2020
Gordon Ramsay, Gino D’Acampo, and First Dates’ Fred Sirieix embark on the US leg of their road trip this week. The trio will motor to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Napa Valley in their RV, before heading south to Texas. Roadtripping is as American as apple pie, and the possibilities are endless. You could go west for epic Pacific Coast views, revel in Route 66 nostalgia in the Midwest, or explore the sublime topography and musical heritage of the East Coast’s Appalachian Mountains. In Florida, you can even island-hop on its Overseas Highway.
WEST COAST CRUISE
California’s 656-mile Highway 1 snakes along the Golden State’s rugged coastline from San Francisco to San Diego via Los Angeles. It’s a journey that’s best spread out over a week, taking time to enjoy the sweeping ocean views, stretch your legs on scenic walks and chill out in beach towns such as Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara. The winding, cliff-hugging Pacific Coast Highway is the most dramatic stretch. It’s bordered by Big Sur’s redwood-blanketed mountains and takes you over gorge-spanning Bixby Creek Bridge – a breathtaking feat of engineering. You can continue north from San Francisco on the equally stunning Highway 101 to Oregon’s windswept capes and Washington’s untamed Olympic Peninsula.
APPALACHIAN ADVENTURE
The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway swoops through the forest-carpeted southern Appalachian mountains of Virginia and North Carolina, linking the Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah national parks, and owes its name to the blueish mist that collects in the valleys. The scenery is especially glorious in autumn when the maples, scarlet oaks, hickories and sweet gums don fiery autumn garb.
Discover Virginia’s bluegrass, old-time and country music history on the Crooked Road (a heritage trail that overlaps with the Blue Ridge Parkway) or take a detour to Dolly Parton’s kitsch theme park, Dollywood – the Queen of Country grew up in a two-room cabin in the foothills of the Smokies. It’s easily combined with a road trip to Nashville, where boisterous honky-tonk bars await.
TEXAN CITY TOUR
Texas is roughly the same size as France, so it would take at least a month to explore its diverse attractions: over 350 miles of coastline with sandy barrier islands, Big Bend National Park’s hulking, weather-beaten mountains and expansive desert. However, you can tick off Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Fredericksburg in a leisurely ten days, clocking up 350 miles in total and spending a couple of nights in each place.
Oil-rich Houston has fabulous museums and restaurants, cosmopolitan San Antonio has a fascinating history and a delightful network of café-lined canals, while Austin is outdoorsy and Texas’s live music mecca. Originally a 19th-century German settlement, charming Fredericksburg is the capital of the Hill Country – the Lone Star State’s wine region.
THE MOTHER ROAD
Built in the 1920s, Route 66 meandered nearly 2,500 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles and was a lifeline for migrants escaping the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Christened “the Mother Road” by John Steinbeck and immortalised by Nat King Cole, America’s legendary asphalt artery disappeared from maps in the mid-80s after being eclipsed by fast but bland interstate highways. But with the help of a decent guidebook, you can still find its old byways, which wind through the Midwest and are lined with ghost towns, abandoned gas stations, kitsch attractions, classic motels and retro diners dishing up a nostalgic slice of Americana.
Only a week to spare? Stick to Arizona: step back in time in the sleepy town of Seligman, which looks like a western movie set; bed down in a 50s-built concrete teepee in Wigam Village; and take a detour to the Grand Canyon.
FLOAT TO FLORIDA KEYS
If you’re after maximal views and minimal miles behind the wheel, you can’t beat the Florida Keys Overseas Highway. This 113-mile road skirts the Everglades National Park – a tropical wilderness where alligators roam – and links the Florida Keys’ island chain. The most famous of the 47 bridges is the Seven Mile Bridge, which glides over dazzling blue-green waters. The stop-offs are spectacular, too: snorkel or scuba-dive in Key Largo’s coral reef state park, feed rescued turtles at Marathon’s Turtle Hospital, and admire Key West’s pastel, Caribbean-style houses and Ernest Hemingway’s old home.
WEST COAST CRUISE
California’s 656-mile Highway 1 snakes along the Golden State’s rugged coastline from San Francisco to San Diego via Los Angeles. It’s a journey that’s best spread out over a week, taking time to enjoy the sweeping ocean views, stretch your legs on scenic walks and chill out in beach towns such as Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara. The winding, cliff-hugging Pacific Coast Highway is the most dramatic stretch. It’s bordered by Big Sur’s redwood-blanketed mountains and takes you over gorge-spanning Bixby Creek Bridge – a breathtaking feat of engineering. You can continue north from San Francisco on the equally stunning Highway 101 to Oregon’s windswept capes and Washington’s untamed Olympic Peninsula.
APPALACHIAN ADVENTURE
The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway swoops through the forest-carpeted southern Appalachian mountains of Virginia and North Carolina, linking the Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah national parks, and owes its name to the blueish mist that collects in the valleys. The scenery is especially glorious in autumn when the maples, scarlet oaks, hickories and sweet gums don fiery autumn garb.
Discover Virginia’s bluegrass, old-time and country music history on the Crooked Road (a heritage trail that overlaps with the Blue Ridge Parkway) or take a detour to Dolly Parton’s kitsch theme park, Dollywood – the Queen of Country grew up in a two-room cabin in the foothills of the Smokies. It’s easily combined with a road trip to Nashville, where boisterous honky-tonk bars await.
TEXAN CITY TOUR
Texas is roughly the same size as France, so it would take at least a month to explore its diverse attractions: over 350 miles of coastline with sandy barrier islands, Big Bend National Park’s hulking, weather-beaten mountains and expansive desert. However, you can tick off Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Fredericksburg in a leisurely ten days, clocking up 350 miles in total and spending a couple of nights in each place.
Oil-rich Houston has fabulous museums and restaurants, cosmopolitan San Antonio has a fascinating history and a delightful network of café-lined canals, while Austin is outdoorsy and Texas’s live music mecca. Originally a 19th-century German settlement, charming Fredericksburg is the capital of the Hill Country – the Lone Star State’s wine region.
THE MOTHER ROAD
Built in the 1920s, Route 66 meandered nearly 2,500 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles and was a lifeline for migrants escaping the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Christened “the Mother Road” by John Steinbeck and immortalised by Nat King Cole, America’s legendary asphalt artery disappeared from maps in the mid-80s after being eclipsed by fast but bland interstate highways. But with the help of a decent guidebook, you can still find its old byways, which wind through the Midwest and are lined with ghost towns, abandoned gas stations, kitsch attractions, classic motels and retro diners dishing up a nostalgic slice of Americana.
Only a week to spare? Stick to Arizona: step back in time in the sleepy town of Seligman, which looks like a western movie set; bed down in a 50s-built concrete teepee in Wigam Village; and take a detour to the Grand Canyon.
FLOAT TO FLORIDA KEYS
If you’re after maximal views and minimal miles behind the wheel, you can’t beat the Florida Keys Overseas Highway. This 113-mile road skirts the Everglades National Park – a tropical wilderness where alligators roam – and links the Florida Keys’ island chain. The most famous of the 47 bridges is the Seven Mile Bridge, which glides over dazzling blue-green waters. The stop-offs are spectacular, too: snorkel or scuba-dive in Key Largo’s coral reef state park, feed rescued turtles at Marathon’s Turtle Hospital, and admire Key West’s pastel, Caribbean-style houses and Ernest Hemingway’s old home.