History of the American road trip in photos

In the early 20th century, when most roads were still unpaved, road trips were a much dirtier, dustier affair. It wasn't until the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act, which called for uniformity in the nation's major thruways, was passed that many of these oft-traveled highways and byways were finally covered in asphalt.

Road trips have always been a way for families to bond and create new memories. But 100 years ago, before SUVs and minivans were even a thought, the time spent on the road would have been much less comfortable.

Before there was a unified, cross-country highway system and fast food restaurants dotting those thruways, finding places to eat on long car journeys could be difficult. Many travelers took matters into their own hands, bringing packed picnic lunches to chow down on whenever hunger hit.

Today, many folks buy bumper stickers from their road trip destinations to brag to other drivers about where they're from and where they've been. We tend to think of this phenomenon as relatively new, but as evidenced by this 1925 picture of two men with a Wisconsin flag pinned to the back of their vehicle, it isn't—it's just now as simple as peeling off a paper backing.

Since the country's first national park, Yellowstone, was established in 1872, the protected areas have become popular destinations for road trippers. In 2022 alone, nearly 312 million people visited our more than 400 national park sites. There is no official word about how many of those guests were on road trips, but it's likely to be a significant percentage.

A couple loads up their trunk with their luggage before setting out on a car trip in the early 1930s.

While many fast food chains took off in the '50s and '60s with the development of the highway system, some chains, like White Castle, and locally owned roadside restaurants began operating in the '20s. Here, a group of travelers stops at a fast food joint selling Southern fried chicken sometime in the 1930s.

In the 1920s, manufacturers began adding built-in trunks to the rear of their cars. As these developed over time, they went from small compartments able to hold just one or two items to roomier spaces with sections for everything from picnic paraphernalia to luggage. By the early 1930s, the luggage compartment, or the trunk, became standard in motor vehicles.

A couple, decked out in their best traveling clothes, set off on a journey in their top-of-the-line convertible.

The Grand Canyon National Park, which first opened in 1919, remains one of the country's most popular road trip destinations. Bigger than the state of Rhode Island, there's plenty for travelers to check out and tons of gorgeous views, like this one from the 1940s, to capture.

An unlucky traveler discusses repair costs with a small-town mechanic in the early 1950s. AAA wouldn't establish its Approved Auto Repair program (which helps consumers identify reputable and affordable mechanics) until 1975, so drivers could only cross their fingers and hope they were getting a good deal.

In contrast to today, people in the mid-20th century would often dress up for travel, whether on a family road trip or a cross-country flight. Today, it's much more common to see people set out on a trip in athleisure.

In the early part of the 20th century, most gas stations were manned with attendants who would pump your fuel and collect your payments (which is now only the case in New Jersey). The first self-service station opened in Los Angeles in 1947,  but it wasn't until the 1970s that self-service stations became the norm.

Since its founding in 1914, Greyhound has been the most popular company for long-haul bus trips. In the '50s and '60s, the chain poured quite a bit of cash into improving their coaches, adding things like picture windows and on-board bathrooms that would make the journeys significantly more comfortable.

McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food chain, began selling hamburgers in the 1940s. After seeing how popular the item was with diners, many other roadside restaurants followed suit, establishing the sandwich as a quintessential road trip food.

Following World War II, motels became one of the most popular overnight stay options for road trippers, beating out campsites and tourist homes. In 1964, a whopping 61,000 mom-and-pop motels were operating across the United States.

In 1964, an inventor named Herb Timms created a system that allowed a single attendant to control all the pumps at a gas station from a remote location. The pumps pictured here at a San Diego gas station are early examples of self-service stations.

The golden arches and their cheap, quick meal options welcome road trippers off Route 11 in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1980.

The Volkswagen Microbus became a symbol of the counterculture almost as soon as it rolled off the assembly line in 1950. Here, a road tripper camps in their bus on a roadside in California.

Long stretches of America's highway system are fairly desolate, where the only things visible out the window are rolling hills and free-roaming cattle. Once in a while, however, the interstate will cut through busy city centers, like this piece of the 405 in Los Angeles, making for much more exciting window-watching.

Talk about jaw-dropping views: California's Pacific Coast Highway, constructed in the 1930s, offers some of the most impressive road trip views in all of America. Stretching nearly 660 miles from San Fransisco to San Diego, the stretch can be traveled in just 10 hours, but nearly all travelers suggest drawing out the drive so you can take in all the trip has to offer.

Stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66 was once one of America's busiest highways. Today, sections of the road are all but obsolete, utilized primarily by nostalgia-minded tourists.

A modern-looking gas station awaits travelers alongside Route 2 in Wisconsin.

Interstate 95 is the East Coast's primary highway. Stretching from Florida to Maine, road trippers looking to drive the length of the Atlantic Coast will spend most, if not all, of their trip on this interstate highway.

Travelers head through the most famous mountain range in the United States—the Rocky Mountains. With hundreds of peaks, some of which reach 14,000 feet, there are incredible views along the entire range of the Rockies.