There are two kinds of road trip books, and most lists only give you one.
The first kind helps you plan: which highway to take, where to stop for pie, how many hours the drive really takes once you add photo stops. The second kind is the book you read on the way, in a motel bed or at a campsite, because someone else’s road trip makes your own feel bigger.
This list of the best road trip books covers both. We start with the route guides and scenic drive books, then move on to the classic road trip stories, from Kerouac and Steinbeck to Bill Bryson’s very funny tour of small-town America.
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How we chose: For guidebooks, we compared edition dates, number of routes, maps and planning detail. For stories, we looked at which books come up again and again on road trip reading lists and why. We haven’t driven every route in every book. Road conditions change, so always check before you go.
Quick Answer: What Is the Best Road Trip Book?
For planning a U.S. road trip, get The Open Road: 50 Best Road Trips in the USA. It gives you 50 ready-made routes with maps, stops, food and places to stay.
For a beautiful gift, choose Epic Road Trips of the Americas (Lonely Planet) or Wanderlust Road Trips if they love traveling abroad.
For a road trip story to read on the way, start with Blue Highways or Travels with Charley. And yes, On the Road is still the classic.
Best Road Trip Books: Quick Comparison
On a phone, swipe the table sideways.
| Book | Type | Best for | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall The Open Road | Route guide (USA) | Planning U.S. road trips | Check price |
| Premium Epic Road Trips of the Americas | Illustrated hardcover | Gifts & inspiration | Check price |
| Best gift Wanderlust Road Trips | Illustrated hardcover | Worldwide drives | Check price |
| Moon Pacific Northwest Road Trip | Regional guide | Washington, Oregon & B.C. | Check price |
| Road Trip USA | Route guide (USA) | Cross-country back roads | See review |
| Blue Highways | Travel memoir | Reading on the road | See review |
| Travels with Charley | Travel memoir | A classic, easy read | See review |
| On the Road | Novel | The original road trip book | See review |
All 20 books are reviewed below. Prices change often, so check the current price before you buy.
Planning Book or Story? Which One You Need
Planning a real trip?
Get a route guide with maps, mileage and stops. Newer is better. See route guides
Buying a gift?
Pick a scenic drive hardcover with big photos. See gift books
Visiting one region?
A regional guide goes much deeper than a national one. See regional guides
Want something to read?
Grab a road trip memoir or novel. See classic stories
Best Road Trip Planning Books (USA)
1. The Open Road: 50 Best Road Trips in the USA by Jessica Dunham
Best for: Anyone planning road trips around the U.S., from a long weekend to a cross-country drive.
If you only buy one road trip planner, make it this one. Moon’s The Open Road (2nd edition, 2023) gives you 50 complete road trips across every region of the U.S., in a chunky 736-page paperback with a fold-out map.
The classics are all here: Route 66, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the California coast and big loops through the national parks of the West. Each trip comes with maps, roadside stops, where to eat and where to sleep, plus tips for traveling with kids and pets.
What we like most is how flexible it is. You don’t have to do a whole route. Many people use it to find a scenic detour near a place they’re already going, then come back to it again and again for the next trip.
- Huge range of routes across the whole U.S.
- Food, lodging and roadside stops for each trip.
- Easy to adapt to short or long trips.
- Great value for how much you get.
- Big and heavy for a paperback.
- Less depth per route than a regional guide.
- 2023 edition; check hours, hotels and park rules before 2026 trips.
2. Road Trip USA by Jamie Jensen
Best for: Travelers who want to skip the interstates and drive the old two-lane highways.
A cult favorite for decades, Road Trip USA follows classic cross-country routes on old two-lane highways, mile by mile. It’s packed with diners, quirky roadside attractions and small towns you’d never see from the interstate. Get the newest edition you can find.
See it on Amazon3. National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways
Best for: Drivers who care more about the views than the destination.
This guide focuses on America’s most scenic drives: mountain passes, coastal highways and quiet country roads, with maps and highlights for each. It’s a great add-on to The Open Road when you want to turn a boring stretch of highway into a beautiful one.
See it on Amazon4. Rand McNally Road Atlas
Best for: Every car, especially on trips through the rural West.
It’s not exciting, but it might be the most useful book in your car. Large parts of Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana have no phone signal for long stretches. A paper atlas never runs out of battery and shows you the big picture that a phone screen can’t. Buy the current year’s edition.
See it on AmazonBest Scenic Drive Books and Road Trip Gifts
These big, photo-filled hardcovers are made for dreaming. They’re the books people leave on the coffee table, and the ones that turn “someday” into an actual trip.
5. Epic Road Trips of the Americas (Lonely Planet)
Best for: Scenic drive lovers, photographers and gift buyers.
This full-color, 320-page hardcover (2022) features 50 drives across North America, South America and the Caribbean. You’ll find famous routes like the Pacific Coast Highway and Hawaii’s Road to Hana, along with drives you’ve probably never heard of.
It’s more than pretty pictures. Each route has a map, a difficulty rating, practical tips, suggested detours and ideas for similar drives. Many come with a first-person story from someone who actually drove it, which makes it a great read even if you’re not going anywhere soon.
- Beautiful photography and design.
- Real stories from people who drove each route.
- Practical tips and similar-drive ideas.
- Excellent gift.
- Covers a huge area, so less detail per route.
- Not U.S.-only.
- Too big to keep in the glovebox.
6. Wanderlust Road Trips: 40 Beautiful Drives Around the World (Moon)
Best for: Travelers dreaming of road trips abroad.
What if your next road trip wasn’t in the U.S. at all? This 304-page hardcover (2021) features 40 drives across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia: coastal roads, mountain passes and slow journeys through rural landscapes.
It’s lovely to flip through, and it’s a great way to discover routes you’d never think to look up. Just remember that driving abroad means checking local road rules, insurance and rental-car requirements separately.
- Drives from six continents.
- Beautiful photos and illustrations.
- Great coffee table book and gift.
- Not focused on U.S. road trips.
- Light on detailed logistics.
Best Regional Road Trip Guides
Already know where you’re going? A regional guide spends 300+ pages on one area instead of a few pages, so you get real itineraries, day-by-day plans and far more stops.
7. Moon Pacific Northwest Road Trip by Allison Williams
Best for: A road trip through Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.
The Pacific Northwest packs a lot into one loop: Seattle, Portland, Vancouver and Victoria, plus the Oregon Coast, the Olympic Peninsula and Mount Rainier. This 352-page Moon guide lays out a full two-week road trip, with shorter sections you can mix and match if you have less time.
- Deep coverage of one great region.
- Mix of cities, coast, rainforest and mountains.
- Flexible itineraries.
- 2021 edition: check ferries, border rules and park entry.
- Only useful for this region.
8. Moon Route 66 Road Trip
Best for: Anyone driving the “Mother Road” from Chicago to Santa Monica.
Route 66 is America’s most famous road trip, but large parts of the old road are hard to follow without help. This Moon guide takes you along it section by section, with the neon signs, old motels, diners and detours that make the trip special.
See it on Amazon9. Moon Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip
Best for: Driving the West Coast, including California’s Highway 1.
If your coastal trip goes beyond Oregon and Washington, this is the guide to pair with (or choose over) the Pacific Northwest book. It follows the coast with stops for beaches, redwoods, seafood and the famous Big Sur stretch. Highway 1 sometimes closes after landslides, so check Caltrans before you go.
See it on AmazonBest Road Trip Memoirs and Travel Stories
These are the books that make long drives feel like an adventure, even before you’ve left the driveway. Great for audiobooks, too.
10. Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon
Best for: Anyone who loves back roads and small towns.
After losing his job and his marriage, the author set off around America in a van he called “Ghost Dancing,” sticking to the small roads drawn in blue on old maps. The 1982 book is full of conversations with the people he met along the way. For many readers, it’s the best American road trip book ever written.
See it on Amazon11. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
Best for: A warm, easy classic to read on the road.
In 1960, John Steinbeck set out to rediscover America in a camper truck, with his French poodle Charley riding shotgun. The book is gentle, funny and thoughtful. Some later writers have questioned how much of it happened exactly as described, but it’s still a joy to read, especially on a slow drive.
See it on Amazon12. The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
Best for: Readers who want to laugh out loud.
Bill Bryson borrowed his mother’s car and drove nearly 14,000 miles through small-town America, looking for the perfect town from his childhood memories. He doesn’t find it, but the trip is hilarious. If you loved A Walk in the Woods, you’ll love this.
See it on Amazon13. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Best for: Readers who like big ideas with their road trip.
A father and son ride a motorcycle from Minnesota to California, and along the way the narrator works through questions about quality, work and how to live. Part road trip, part philosophy, it’s been a cult classic since 1974. Not a light read, but an unforgettable one.
See it on Amazon14. A Life on the Road by Charles Kuralt
Best for: Fans of slow travel and good storytelling.
For years, Charles Kuralt drove America’s back roads in a motorhome for his CBS “On the Road” segments, telling stories about ordinary people. This memoir collects the best of those years. It’s kind, curious and full of America’s small moments.
See it on Amazon15. The New American Road Trip Mixtape by Brendan Leonard
Best for: Hikers, climbers and van-life dreamers.
Outdoor writer Brendan Leonard spent months living out of his car, driving between climbing areas, trailheads and campsites around the West. It’s a modern, short and honest take on the road trip, perfect for the JoinHikes crowd.
See it on Amazon16. The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto “Che” Guevara
Best for: Readers curious about South America.
In 1952, a young medical student and his friend Alberto Granado set off across South America on an old motorcycle. His diary shows how the trip changed the way he saw the world. A good pairing with Epic Road Trips of the Americas.
See it on AmazonBest Road Trip Novels
17. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Best for: Anyone who wants to read the book that started it all.
Published in 1957, On the Road follows Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty racing back and forth across post-war America. It’s messy, restless and full of energy, and almost every road trip list starts here. It’s best read when you’re itching to get going.
See it on Amazon18. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Best for: Adults who want a chaotic, darkly funny classic.
A journalist and his lawyer drive a convertible across the desert to Las Vegas on an out-of-control “assignment.” It’s wild, over-the-top and very much for adults, but it’s on nearly every list of great road trip books for a reason. (Heading that way yourself? Our Las Vegas to Zion drive is much calmer.)
See it on Amazon19. The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley
Best for: Readers who want a fun, modern road trip story.
A young woman and an elderly lady end up on a cross-country road trip that’s part caper, part odd-couple friendship. Light, warm and easy to read, it’s a great pick for long drives or a beach day.
See it on Amazon20. Paper Towns by John Green
Best for: Teens on a family road trip.
When his mysterious neighbor disappears, Quentin follows a trail of clues, leading to a frantic road trip with his friends. Funny and heartfelt, it’s one of the most popular young adult road trip novels and a smart way to keep teens off their phones in the back seat.
See it on AmazonBest Road Trip Book by Type of Traveler
| If you are… | Get this |
|---|---|
| Planning any U.S. road trip | The Open Road |
| Avoiding the interstates | Road Trip USA |
| Buying a gift | Epic Road Trips of the Americas |
| Dreaming of driving abroad | Wanderlust Road Trips |
| Heading to Washington or Oregon | Moon Pacific Northwest Road Trip |
| Driving Route 66 | Moon Route 66 Road Trip |
| Driving the California coast | Moon Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip |
| Looking for a book to read on the way | Blue Highways or Travels with Charley |
| Wanting to laugh | The Lost Continent |
| A hiker or van-lifer | The New American Road Trip Mixtape |
| Traveling with teens | Paper Towns |
Best Road Trip Books for National Park Trips
Most great American road trips end up at a national park. Use The Open Road to choose your route, then a park guide for the details. Our list of the best national park books covers those, including the 2026 National Geographic guide to all 63 parks.
Some of our favorite park road trips to start with: the Yellowstone and Grand Teton road trip, the Zion to Bryce Canyon drive and a Hanksville, Utah loop through some of the strangest landscapes in the West.
How to Use a Road Trip Book (Without Over-Planning)
1. Pick one route
Choose a route that fits your days. Don’t try to fit in every stop the book suggests.
2. Add 30% to drive times
Photo stops, food and wrong turns always add time. A “4-hour” drive is often 5 or more.
3. Choose where to sleep
Decide which places deserve a full night, not just a quick stop.
4. Check the details online
Books get old. Confirm road closures, park reservations and hotel bookings before you go.
5. Leave a free day
The best part of many road trips is the stop you didn’t plan.
Common Road Trip Mistakes to Avoid
- Too many miles per day. Six or more hours of driving every day wears everyone out.
- Ignoring the season. Mountain passes and some scenic roads close for snow, sometimes into early summer.
- Trusting an old guidebook blindly. Restaurants close and rules change. Use the book for ideas and the web for details.
- Running low on gas in remote areas. In parts of the West, the next gas station can be 100 miles away. Fill up when you can.
- Relying only on your phone. Download offline maps and keep a paper atlas and a power bank in the car.
Road Trip Books vs Google Maps
They do different jobs. Google Maps finds the fastest way from A to B. A good road trip book tells you which way is worth taking, and what’s worth stopping for. Use the book to plan the route, the app to drive it, and an offline map for the places with no signal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best road trip book?
For planning U.S. trips, The Open Road: 50 Best Road Trips in the USA. For reading on the way, Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon or Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck.
What is the best book for planning a USA road trip?
The Open Road gives you 50 ready-made routes with maps, stops, food and lodging. Road Trip USA is a great choice for back-road, cross-country drives.
What is the most famous road trip book?
On the Road by Jack Kerouac (1957). It’s still the book most people think of first.
What is the best road trip coffee table book?
Epic Road Trips of the Americas from Lonely Planet, or Wanderlust Road Trips if you want drives from around the world.
What is a good road trip book to read in the car?
Travels with Charley, The Lost Continent and The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise are all easy, fun reads. They’re great as audiobooks too.
What is the best road trip book for the Pacific Northwest?
Moon Pacific Northwest Road Trip by Allison Williams. It covers Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, including the Oregon Coast, Olympic Peninsula and Mount Rainier.
What is the best Route 66 book?
Moon Route 66 Road Trip is a popular, practical guide for driving the old road from Chicago to Santa Monica.
What is a good road trip book for teens?
Paper Towns by John Green is a popular young adult road trip novel.
Do I need a road trip book if I have Google Maps?
It helps. Apps give directions, but books tell you which routes and stops are worth your time. Many rural areas also have no cell signal.
Are older road trip guides still worth buying?
Yes, for route ideas and inspiration. But check hotels, restaurants, road closures and park rules online before you go.
Final Verdict: Which Road Trip Book Should You Buy?
Planning a U.S. trip? Get The Open Road. Buying a gift? Epic Road Trips of the Americas, or Wanderlust Road Trips for globetrotters. Heading to the Northwest? Moon Pacific Northwest Road Trip.
And throw one story in the bag, maybe Blue Highways. The best road trips are a little bit planned and a little bit not. These books help with both.
Our top pick: Check The Open Road on AmazonPlan Your Next Road Trip
Editorial disclosure: This list is based on publisher information, edition details, book content, reader reviews and widely shared road trip reading lists. Editions and prices change. Always check road and park conditions before you travel.