Hi everyone,
I'm a big roadtrip fan, and it looks like I'll finally be able to afford to add a few more states to my trip list this year 
I'm planning to rent a car and drive from Portland, OR to my family in Detroit, MI and then fly back. The trip will go through the following states, mostly via freeway:
- Oregon
- Idaho
- Montana
- South Dakota
- North Dakota
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Michigan
I'm looking to hit the highlights in each state (i.e. Mount Rushmore) ; I know there's a lot to do in each state by itself, but this is more of a quick tour. I'm also driving mostly through Oregon and Michigan, since I've lived in both states for some time.
Is a trip like this possible in 1-2 weeks? I was originally thinking I could do this in a week, but now I don't think it's possible.
Please let me know your tips on timeline and places to visit. It's a really rough plan at the moment, and I wanted to get idea of how much time before I start planning all the specifics.
Thanks!
Matt
Northern U.S. Road Trip Ideas
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Welcome to Fodors Matt. This forum is more for general travel discussions (Luggage, trip insurance, those sorts of things) and isn't read by many Fodorites.
See the 'Change Forum' pull down menu? Click that and re-post your questions on the United States board. There you can tag your thread for all the states you hope to visit.
Lots more folks will read/respond over there.
Looking forward to seeing your post on the US Forums.
For my travel tip I will say that renting a car in Portland and dropping it in the Midwest is not a good idea. Take the Empire Builder to Whitefish and rent a car there to see Glacier NP.
Get back on the Empire Builder and go to Williston ND and rent another car to see whatever you want to see in ND and then head down to see Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monument. Return the car to Williston and get on the Empire Builder to Minneapolis/St. Paul to see Minnesota and Wisconsin. Wisconsin Dells has a train station within walking distance of a nice boat tour. Take the train on into Chicago and rent a car there to see whatever else you want to see.
Fly back home without paying a big drop off fee.
You could even get off the train in Spokane in the middle of the night and rent a car to see a small part of Idaho.
@janisj Thank you, I'll do that right after this reply.
@tomfuller Thanks for the tips, I am an Amtrak fan, though I'd be concerned about how long some of those trips may take. How much time would you say the trip you described takes?
Matt