Get on the road with these famous literary trips
A-level results are in and those of us with kids are preparing to put our hands in our pockets to fund their “mind-expanding” trip abroad before the hard work – or hard drinking – of university begins. According to insurance firm Endsleigh, almost a third of students have a road trip across North America as their dream destination, almost all of them presumably based on some legendary cross-country commute from popular culture.
Whether they’re into Hunter S Thomson or Jack Kerouac there’s an ideal road trip out there. We’ve compiled routes from some of the most iconic road-trip novels, with tips on what not to miss and an idea of what you can see as you’re speeding down those famous American highways.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S Thomson, Las Vegas to LA
One of the most iconic modern US literary road trips was penned by Hunter S Thomson. Based on a real-life journey undertaken by the author and his attorney, they drove from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in a red Chevrolet Caprice convertible, battling terrifying hallucinations and traffic police. We can’t recommend dousing the car’s footwell mat in amyl nitrate as they do in the book, but the scenery should be enough to grab your attention. After the brash seediness of Vegas you’ll skirt the Mojave National Preserve, travel long, straight, dusty highways through the plains before reaching south California. It could all be over in four hours if you put the pedal to the metal – just watch out for the highway patrol. Recommended vehicle: A red Chevrolet Caprice convertible
Travels with Charley, John Steinbeck, Hamptons to Buffalo
“What are Americans like today?” This was the question John Steinbeck tried to answer in Travels With Charley in 1962. According to the author’s brother, Steinbeck knew he was dying so he bought a camper van and left his comfortable home in The Hamptons with his French poodle Charley to see the country he loved one last time. His journey took him roughly around the outer border of the USA, clocking in at an impressive 10,000 miles. The route takes in most of upstate New York, Maine, Chicago, the Pacific Northwest, California, Texas and the Deep South, then comes back up to New York again. The most vivid part of the novel is his initial 24-hour journey from Sag Habor via ferry to mainland New York. Recommended vehicle: Camper van
Lolita, Vladimir Nobokov, New England to the US heartlands
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.” Lolita’s anti-hero Humbert Humbert sets out on an epic voyage across America with his perverted obsession, the 13 year old Dolores Haze, at his side. Lolita isn’t really thought of as a road novel but much of it takes place on America’s highways; after picking Dolores up from the mysteriously named Camp Q, Humbert Humbert traverses the northern and north eastern regions of the US, travelling from New England deep into the American heartlands and back. Nabokov’s brilliantly florid descriptions of kitsch American highway culture is one of the reasons the novel is considered a 20th century masterpiece. Recommended vehicle: Classic Humber
Roughing It, Mark Twain, Carson City to St Joseph
Before Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – or The Great American Novel, as it’s affectionately known – he wrote a semi-autobiographical travel tale documenting his journey through the Wild West in the mid-19th century. He made what in those days was a perilous journey to join his brother Orion Clemens (Twain’s real name was Samuel Clemens) who had just been made Secretary of the Nevada Territory. The state boundaries have changed somewhat since the novel was written but the route is now more straightforward than ever. Join Route 80, an hour and a half from the start point just outside Kansas City, and keep driving straight for around 22 and a half hours. It’s a must for fans of westerns and you’ll pass right through Salt Lake City, the birthplace of the Mormon religion. Recommended vehicle: Winnebago
On the Road, Jack Kerouac, Denver to San Francisco
On the Road’s characters take such a protracted, sprawling journey across America and beyond that you’d have to take a gap year to complete it. You could, however, complete a section of the trip, taking in some of the most iconic American locales. Soon after the book’s narrator Sal starts his journey he meets up with a group of hipsters in Denver, Colorado and hitch-hikes all the way to the coast of San Francisco. The journey will take you across Colorado, Utah and Nevada before arriving in sun-kissed California for the last stretch of the trip. The journey would take around 18 hours of solid driving, although you’d be better off splitting it into several legs and taking in some of the stunning national parks along the way. Recommended vehicle: ‘49 Hudson Commodore