Survey Says: Texas Is Tops For A Summer Road Trip

Here's some positive news for the Lone Star State

The Road

I frequently drive across Texas from Lubbock to Austin or Dallas and I find it to be one of the things I look forward to the most. Texas has reasonably well kept highways (and interstates) and reasonable speed limits. Those roads have also been populated with bigger and better travel stops that add a lot of fun and relief to the long drives.

The Times Have Changed

There was a time when a road trip in Texas was a dangerous thing. There used to be long spaces without a soul in sight, gas stations that closed at dusk, and not much traffic that might be of help. You may also find it hard to believe, that food of any sort, was not readily available, especially that of the quick serve variety. Yes, our no well-travelled state used to have a bit of a wasteland feel. Now there are travel centers across from travel centers that are next to travel centers (I'm not even making this up) and every kind of quick serve restaurant along the roadside.

The Survey

The Wallethub study ranked Texas #1 for road trips after it scored well in an impressive set of metrics. Studied were Costs, Safety, and Activities, with multiple criteria making up each category. Texas scored high in both costs and activities that the low safety ranking (39th) was more than made up for.

The Scenery

If you are from out-of-state or have not travelled Texas, you may not even realize all of the scenery that is available. It's true that there are long stretches of almost desert, but there are also long stretches of green pastures and even wooded areas. Let's not forget that we also have a heck of a coastline. All of these things add up to Texas being a great place to take a road trip.