The next time you’re thinking about taking a vacation, consider packing a few sandwiches, rolling down the windows, and heading off down historic U.S. Route 20 for an epic road trip. It’s America’s longest highway and packed with beautiful sights and interesting attractions. Here are a few reasons why you should hop on Route 20 as soon as possible.

It’s the longest highway in the country.

Historic Route 20 At 3,365 miles from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon, Route 20 is one of the only uninterrupted routes you can still take across America that captures the spirit of an old-fashioned road trip. The two-lane road became a U.S. highway in 1926 and resisted the trend of conversion to a four- or eight-lane superhighways that has affected routes like I-90, I-35, and I-94.

Route 20 passes through 12 gorgeous states.

Historic Route 20 If you drive the entire highway, you’ll pass through Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon. This gives you a chance to experience an incredible variety of landscapes and environments across the country.

You’ll see some of the most amazing national parks in the country.

Flickr/Bob Matcuk Route 20 will take you through a few of the most dramatic national parks in America. If you’re headed west, the first park you’ll encounter is Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which is famed for its stunning waterfront and rolling dunes. The highway will also take you to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and through the surreal landscapes of Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Technically, the highway ends at the eastern entrance of Yellowstone and restarts at the western entrance, but this is only because numbered highways are not designated within national parks.

Route 20 will take you through some of the most historic and fascinating cities in America.

Flickr/Nicholas Erwin You’ll start off in Boston and travel west through Albany, New York, passing through places like Toledo, Chicago, Gary, Casper, Sioux City, and Boise. Route 20 is a great path to travel if you’re interested in hitting as many urban attractions on your road trip as possible.

But the route will also take you through countless “frozen in time” small towns.

Wikimedia Commons/Derek Jensen Be prepared to drive through an endless array of small towns with Main Streets that seem stuck in another age. Many spots look almost exactly as they did in the 1950s, like charming Cherry Valley in New York.

You’ll be a part of American history.

Historic Route 20 A ride down Route 20 has been a classic American road trip for decades. As travel trends continue to change, the era of the great American cross-country car ride might be fading. Explore U.S. Route 20 while you can and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Click here to find out more about traveling Route 20. For another incredible American road trip, check out this journey through middle America that will wow you.

Historic Route 20

At 3,365 miles from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon, Route 20 is one of the only uninterrupted routes you can still take across America that captures the spirit of an old-fashioned road trip. The two-lane road became a U.S. highway in 1926 and resisted the trend of conversion to a four- or eight-lane superhighways that has affected routes like I-90, I-35, and I-94.

If you drive the entire highway, you’ll pass through Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon. This gives you a chance to experience an incredible variety of landscapes and environments across the country.

Flickr/Bob Matcuk

Route 20 will take you through a few of the most dramatic national parks in America. If you’re headed west, the first park you’ll encounter is Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which is famed for its stunning waterfront and rolling dunes. The highway will also take you to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and through the surreal landscapes of Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Technically, the highway ends at the eastern entrance of Yellowstone and restarts at the western entrance, but this is only because numbered highways are not designated within national parks.

Flickr/Nicholas Erwin

You’ll start off in Boston and travel west through Albany, New York, passing through places like Toledo, Chicago, Gary, Casper, Sioux City, and Boise. Route 20 is a great path to travel if you’re interested in hitting as many urban attractions on your road trip as possible.

Wikimedia Commons/Derek Jensen

Be prepared to drive through an endless array of small towns with Main Streets that seem stuck in another age. Many spots look almost exactly as they did in the 1950s, like charming Cherry Valley in New York.

A ride down Route 20 has been a classic American road trip for decades. As travel trends continue to change, the era of the great American cross-country car ride might be fading. Explore U.S. Route 20 while you can and make memories that will last a lifetime.

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