The 50 State Challenge: A Quest to Visit Every State
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an innate love of travel. When I was in my early 20s, I sat down and typed out my bucket list. The first item I jotted down was “Visit all 50 States”.
My parents got me started on this goal when I was younger. With them, I visited:
Although, to be quite honest, I don’t remember most of those trips.
Once we had kids, my desire to visit all 50 states (including revisiting the ones I went to as a child) grew. Fortunately, our kiddos love traveling just as much as I do, and they’re always down for a road trip!
We’ve been tracking our travels on 5suitcases.com since 2020. In this post, we’re finally compiling a list of where we’ve been and our progress towards visiting all 50 states. We’ll also help you set up your own 50-State Challenge!
Table of Contents
Most Visited States in the US:
Least Visited States in the US:
- West Virginia
- Vermont
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
Start Your Own Quest to Visit All 50 States!
Pick Your Path
Your first step is to set a goal. Do you want to visit all 50 states before a certain age? Or do you want to set an open-ended goal? This part is entirely up to you. If you want to quest to be a true challenge, you can set a specific age for which you want to achieve this feat. Many people select milestone ages for this, such as 50 Before 30, 50 Before 40, 50 Before 50, etc.
50 Before 50 has a nice little ring to it, but I opted for an open-ended goal instead.
Decide What Qualifies as "Visiting" a State
This is another fun part of planning your 50 State Challenge. Your next task is to determine what qualifies as visiting a state.
- Will you count a state if you drive through it?
- Do you need to do an activity in the state to count it?
- Do you have to spend the night in the state to mark it off your list?
- Will you need to purchase something in the state to receive credit?
- Do states that visit on a layover in the airport count?
We decided early on that we needed to do something in a state for it to count as visiting it. This means that although my kids drove through Tennessee in 2023, since we didn’t do anything there, we can’t count it as one they have visited.
We also follow the general rule that airports don’t count.
Bonus Quests
Adding a Bonus Quest to your 50 State Challenge makes it even more fun! Consider what your interests are in this step.
Some ideas:
- Visit all the National Park Sites
- Visit all of the ballparks/football stadiums
- Run a marathon in each state
- Hike a trail in each state
We’re trying to visit all the National Park Sites in addition to our 50 State Challenge. This is a huge challenge considering there are more than 430 National Parks Sites!
How to Visit All 50 States
Now that you’ve nailed down how to approach the 50-State Challenge, it’s time to start planning some road trips! This is my favorite part!
Start by planning road trips that are close to home. If you’re from Tennessee or Missouri, you’re in luck because your state shares a border with 8 other states! If you’re from Hawaii or Alaska…this will be more challenging. Same for our friends from Maine.
We are from Florida, which shares a border with Georgia and Alabama. There is only one other state, Washington, which shares a border with only 2 states.
The other 45 states share a border with at least 3 states, giving them a little advantage.
Decide how far you’re willing to drive. Our kids have been going on 6+ hour road trips since they were knee-high to a grasshopper. Driving with them from Florida to North Carolina is a breeze. Now that they are older, we’ve bumped our radius to 12-hour drives. This means we can cover about 800 miles in one day.
Fun Fact: The average American visits 12 states in their lifetime.
The map above shows the states our kids have visited (in red) over the last 3 years. Based on this radius, there are 4 more states that we can road-trip to: Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Ohio.
All the other states will take a bit more creativity, such as flying or breaking our driving up into 2 or more days.
Our kids have visited these states over a series of different road trips. We have family in North Carolina, so we travel through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina frequently.
2022- Road trip from Florida to Virginia. Flight to DC.
2023– Road trip from Florida to Kentucky
2024- Road trip from Florida to Alabama. Mason-Dixon Road Trip from Florida to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and DC. See our full itinerary here.
Fun Fact: More people visit North Dakota as their 50th state than any other state!
How We Select Our Destinations
On January 1, 2024, we added a bit of spontaneity to our road trips. We placed the names of all of the states the kids have not visited into a hat and selected one at random. Each kid got to pull a state from the hat. We then placed only those 3 states into a hat, and a grownup selected a state.
The kids selected West Virginia so I quickly went to work to plan a road trip to West Virginia. Since we were so close to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey, we crossed those off our list, too.
While this spontaneity might not be for everyone, we love the idea and decided to make it our New Year’s tradition! This year, the kids pulled Arizona, New Mexico, and Tennessee. I was really hoping for New Mexico (since it is the only one from those 3 that I haven’t been to, yet), but we ended up drawing Tennessee. Within hours, we booked flights to Tennessee.
Download your Printable US State Cards!
Our Adventures (Thus Far!)
Alabama
We took the kids on a road trip to Alabama to visit a friend. We visited the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site and explored Auburn University.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop ✅
- Stinky ✅
Alaska
Ashley and I went on a cruise to Alaska with friends and family in 2017. We hiked and visited neighboring islands via rib boat in Ketchikan, strolled around the town of Skagway, and hiked to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
Arizona
In 2011, I flew to PHX with my mom and Nana for a West Coast road trip. We visited Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and the Hoover Dam.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✖️
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
California
On the same West Coast road trip, we hit up San Diego, La Jolla, and Calico, California. We visited Mission San Juan Capistrano and Balboa Park.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✖️
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
Delaware
One of the stops on our 2024 Mason-Dixon Road Trip was New Castle, Delaware. We toured the historic New Castle Courthouse, an old cemetery, and the historic district.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop✅
- Stinky ✅
Florida
We call the Sunshine State home. Despite looking smaller on the map, Florida is huge. It takes about 8 hours to go from northern Florida to the southernmost point in Key West and just over 5 hours to cut across the state to the western border.
We’ve spent most of our time exploring north and central Florida. We plan on exploring more of the panhandle and Gulf Coast next.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop✅
- Stinky ✅
Georgia
We live about 10 minutes from the Georgia border, so we visit the Peach State frequently.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop✅
- Stinky ✅
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa
Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos from my visits to these 3 states. We lived in Illinois when I was young. While we lived there, my parents took me to Indiana and Iowa, but I have only vague memories of the states. Looks like I’ll have to revisit with the kids and add photos at a later time!
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✖️
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
Kentucky
We visited Kentucky in 2023 on our first sponsored trip. We visited Mammoth Cave National Park, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace, the National Corvette Museum, and other popular attractions.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop✅
- Stinky ✅
Louisiana
I visited Louisiana with my parents when I was a teenager. We spent a few days exploring the Latin Quarter and the Garden District.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✖️
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
Maryland
We visited Maryland in 2024 on our Mason-Dixon Road Trip. We visited Baltimore, where we learned about the War of 1812 and the battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner at Fort McHenry.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop✅
- Stinky ✅
Mississippi
On our road trip to Louisiana, we made a pit stop in Biloxi, Mississippi. We spent time enjoying the beach, as a family.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✖️
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
Nevada
One of my West Coast Road Trip stops was in Las Vegas, Nevada. We hung out on The Strip and visited the Hoover Damn.
I visited Louisiana with my parents when I was a teenager. We spent a few days exploring the Latin Quarter and the Garden District.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✖️
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
New Jersey
We visited New Jersey on our 2024 Mason-Dixon Road Trip. We stopped by Fort Mott to explore the post-Civil War fort.
I visited Louisiana with my parents when I was a teenager. We spent a few days exploring the Latin Quarter and the Garden District.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop ✅
- Stinky ✅
New York
My parents are both originally from New York. Growing up, I would spend my summers staying with both sets of my grandparents in upstate New York. Over the years, I’ve explored several places, such as Niagara Falls, Syracuse, and the Women’s Rights National Historical Park.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✖️
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
North Carolina
Fun Fact: North Carolina was the first state our kids visited outside of Florida! It is also Ashley’s birth state.
Ashley and I have family in Western North Carolina, so we visit often.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop ✅
- Stinky ✅
Ohio
It’s been nearly 20 years since my last visit to Ohio, and I haven’t stumbled across any photos. I was supposed to visit again in 2024, but my trip got canceled. I’m sure we’ll make the trip with the kids sometime.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✖️
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
Pennsylvania
I’ve visited Pennsylvania on numerous occasions. My most recent trip was with the kids in 2024. We visited Gettysburg, Eisenhower’s Home, and Hersheypark.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop ✅
- Stinky ✅
South Carolina
South Carolina is another state that we have visited countless times. Some of our favorite places to explore are Charleston, Beaufort, and Congaree National Park.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop ✅
- Stinky ✅
Tennessee
Despite having visited Tennessee many times, I don’t have any photos from my trips. We are flying to the Volunteer State for Thanksgiving this year so the kids can cross it off their list.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
Virginia
Fun Fact: I was born in Virginia!
The kids have now visited Virginia twice. Our favorite trip took us to Williamsburg, where we got to see, firsthand, what life was like during colonial times.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop ✅
- Stinky ✅
Washington
Ashley and I spent some time in Seattle before our 2017 Alaskan cruise.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
West Virginia
In 2024, we took the kids to West Virginia, where they experienced real snow for the very first time! We went sledding on the longest sled run on the East Coast and spent some time at Blackwater Falls State Park.
Fun Fact: 2 weeks after they saw snow for the first time, it snowed at our home in Florida! It was the first time it has snowed here since 1989.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✅
- Smiley ✅
- Scoop ✅
- Stinky ✅
- Blackwater Falls State Park: Home to the Longest Sled Run on the East Coast
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is another state I visited when I was younger. I honestly don’t have any recollection of visiting…so I almost can’t even count it. Looks like I’ll have to make new memories with the kiddos when we go.
- Elle ✅
- Ashley ✖️
- Smiley ✖️
- Scoop ✖️
- Stinky ✖️
Save a Pin & Start Planning Your Adventure
For future reference, save our “The 50 State Challenge.” Pin one of the images below to Pinterest. Go ahead and follow 5 Suitcases on Pinterest while you’re at it!
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