Best State For Road Trips Right Next Door

Road trips in our family always were and still are a big production.

There was a whole process you had to go through. It started with packing way more clothes than you'd ever wear on a two-week trip. You also bring too many bags of shoes. But before you put anything in the car, you had to clean it.

If you hadn't cleaned the car all year, you did it before vacation. Why? I'm still not sure. However, there is something about starting a vacation with a clean vehicle inside and out.

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READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Lallycooler. 

At this point, you drag out the cooler you're going to stuff with too many beverages and enough sandwiches for an army and get that in the car. This is followed by thermoses of coffee to keep you going. And don't forget all the snacks - chips, crackers, and cookies - because munching keeps you going on a long road trip too.

You make sure you've got your tunes, a book, or podcasts lined up, and you're just about ready to hit the road. Did you forget something? Probably. But you can pick it up along the way.

Does this sound familiar to you?

Almost 80% of Americans will be going through a somewhat similar process this summer, because they'll be hitting the road for an adventure. Because of that, personal finance website Wallet Hub released a report on the Best and Worst States for Road Trips.

Their goal is to help road warriors have a fun and wallet-friendly trip. So they compared all 50 states across three different categories - Cost, Safety, and Activities.

READ MORE: As temps soar, area roads are buckling, see the photos.

Within those categories, they investigated things like gas prices, car repair prices, lowest price of camping, lowest price of a 3-star hotel room, vacation rentals per capita, vehicle miles traveled, driving laws, quality of roads and bridges, national parks, zoos and botanical gardens, fairs and festivals, idealness of summer weather and much more.

When they were done crunching numbers, Minnesota came out on top of the list of best states for a road trip. South Dakota came in 32nd and Iowa 20th.

Here are the Top 5 Best States for a Road Trip:

1. Minnesota
2. New York
3. Ohio
4. Utah
5. Louisiana

Here are the 5 Worst States for a Road Trip:

1. Montana
2. Vermont
3. Rhode Island
4. Connecticut
5. Delaware

According to Chip Lupo, a Wallet Hub analyst:

The best states for summer road trips therefore are those that keep costs low while providing the best driving experience and most fun activities.

To see the complete study, go to Wallet Hub.

Source: Wallet Hub