The best places to camp on bucket-list U.S. road trips

Unless you're a last-minute, free-wheeling type, a lot goes into planning a major road trip along an iconic U.S. route like Route 66, the Great Northern or the Atlantic Coast Highway. Fortunately, The Dyrt, the camping app built by the largest RVing and camping community in the country, just dropped a set of comprehensive guides to iconic U.S. road trip routes, and pinpointed the best places to camp along each route.

The Road Trip Collection covers seven of America’s most quintessential long-haul drives. Each guide includes a short history of the route, key facts, the best time of year to go and a realistic trip length that actually leaves room for hikes, diners and scenic detours. Most importantly, every guide names the top ten best places to camp along the way, as determined by the dedicated reviewers using the app. Here's a brief overview.

The Atlantic Coast Highway runs 1,500 miles from Cape May to Key West, trading I-95 traffic for ocean views. It threads through eight states, linking barrier islands, historic seaside towns and national seashores. The standout campsite is Assateague State Park Campground. Pitch your tent on the sand and you might wake up to wild ponies grazing near the dunes. There are modern bathhouses, easy beach access and steady sea breezes.

For a true coast-to-coast adventure, the Great Northern stretches more than 3,200 miles from Bar Harbor to Seattle, tracing much of U.S. Highway 2 near the Canadian border. It’s quieter than southern interstates, with forests, lake country, open plains and the Rockies unfolding over the length of the journey. Along Maine’s craggy shoreline, Blackwoods Campground in Acadia National Park puts you in coastal forest with quick access to rocky Atlantic views and Acadia’s best trails.

If you like your highways wide open, The Loneliest Road crosses 3,073 miles from Annapolis to West Sacramento. Nevada’s famously empty stretches earned the nickname, but the full drive delivers small towns, desert basins and alpine passes. In the Plains, Marysville City Park is a charming stop, with free camping under shade trees and clean facilities just minutes from the highway.

History buffs will love the Oregon Trail route, a 2,000-mile journey from Independence to Oregon City. It follows the path of 19th-century pioneers across prairies, high plains and the Columbia River Gorge. At Rock Creek Station State Recreation Area, you can camp beside a preserved stage station site and hike to see actual wagon ruts carved into the earth.

The Pacific Coast Highway needs little introduction. Running 1,650 miles from Port Angeles to San Diego, it delivers misty rainforests, redwood groves and cliff-hugging curves. Kalaloch Campground sits on a bluff above the Pacific, with beach access and front-row seats to sunset.

Then there’s Route 66, the 2,448-mile mother road from Chicago to Santa Monica. Vintage motels and neon signs still line parts of the route. Near Illinois’ farmland, Lincoln's New Salem Historic Site offers wooded camping beside a reconstructed 1830s village.

The TransAmerica Trail spans more than 4,200 miles from Astoria to Yorktown, sticking to backroads through 10 states. At Fort Stevens State Park Campground, you can explore military ruins and even spot a shipwreck before heading east.

Each guide breaks these routes into manageable segments, with suggestions for landmarks, museums, restaurants and local hikes. Take a look here and start planning your bucket-list road trip.

7 most iconic U.S. road trips and the best place to camp along each

• Atlantic Coast Highway (Cape May, NJ to Key West, FL)—Assateague State Park Campground
• Great Northern (Bar Harbor, ME to Seattle, WA)—Blackwoods Campground
• The Loneliest Road (Annapolis, MD to West Sacramento, CA)—Marysville City Park
• Oregon Trail (Independence, MO to Oregon City, OR)—Rock Creek Station State Recreation Area
• Pacific Coast Highway (Port Angeles, WA to San Diego, CA)—Kalaloch Campground
• Route 66 (Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA)—New Salem Historic Site
• TransAmerica Trail (Port Orford, OR to Yorktown, VA)—Fort Stevens State Park Campground