4-6 weeks in the US

[Pluvia]

We've both been to the US a few times before — New York 20 years ago, a fortnight in Florida, a trip to visit friends in Cape Cod, a driving holiday that started in Las Vegas and took in the Grand Canyon, the Mojave and ended in LA.

We're planning a longer trip either in September/ October 2023 or spring 2024. My partner's focus is the great outdoors/ natural wonders and I can do some of that but want a good dose of art and culture, mainly galleries and architecture.

We're starting in New York for three or four nights, then Boston — and after that we just have a random list of places including Yosemite, Bruce Canyon, Yellowstone and major art galleries and museums etc in most of the big cities. All the usual highlights but the possibility of going a bit off-piste. We have done New Zealand in a similar way and discovered that we like the places that no one goes to just as much as the places everyone goes to. We don't know whether to hire a car or whether to use a mixture of flights and trains and car hire... So many possibilities. Has anyone here done something similar? Reflections and info welcome.

The west has the best bits, but if you are starting east visit Chicago (good art), Mount Rushmore, glacier national park (stay in the lodge if possible), down to Yellowstone, then over the rockies into Utah - Zion was great, night at furnace creek Death Valley is fun, Yosemite, crater lake, redwood national park, the Oregon coast is a lovely drive, mt St. Helens, mt Rainer, Seattle has the culture you mentioned (highly recommend museum of flight) then if time permits go over to the Olympic peninsula then take ferry to Victoria or take the ferry from WA to Alaska. I'm assuming car but most of this is doable by train and don't forget the greyhound, we found it fun.

I've lived in the west so I'm bias, also been to all this listed

Thanks for confirming that we need to focus more on the west. I'm beginning to think we need to do two trips — a northern one (your route sounds wonderful) and then back via a southern route. I'm wondering if we have a few days in LA, Boston and Washington to start and then fly or take a train to SF and drive back east. We're trying to cut down on our carbon and flights, so this might be our last trip to the US and we want to make it one to remember.

We're looking at a similar trip in august 23. We will have 2 kids in tow though.

I'd like to go to Texas and think the kids would enjoy some train rides. We'd like to go to Hawaii too.

It's such a big place and few obvious places to focus on.