Looking for the ultimate road trip packing list? I’ve got you covered! For everything from solo to couples road trips, weekend trips to month-long stints, here’s everything you need to think about for packing for your road trip in one place.

why this blog? My name is Maddy and I have 7+ years experience working as an outdoor guide. When I’m not guiding overnight wilderness sea kayaking trips, you can find me packing up my Subaru and road tripping throughout the country! My longest road trip was three weeks, and I usually make 4-5 trips a year varying in length.

oh hey there! this article uses affiliate links. that means if you choose to make a purchase I make a small kickback at no additional cost to you.

left: a solo road trip through Wisconsin’s Driftless Region. right: road trip through Olympic National Park.

Ultimate Road Trip Packing List:

Road trips are a great way both to see the country, and to experience everything your region has to offer near home. First part of setting up a road trip plan is to choose your destination or destinations. From here, fill out side trips along your proposed route.

Where to sleep on a road trip:

When it comes to a road trip, you’ve fundamentally got three options for sleeping. You can stay in a hotel or paid indoor lodging, which is the most expensive option. You can camp in a tent and set up/tear down your tent every evening and morning, or you can sleep in your car. Unless, of course, you’re lucky enough to have a camper/RV/or van (which i do not, but you can rent them!)

left: Escape in A frame rental camper. right: car camping in the Shawnee National Forest.

Here’s what you may want to pack for your road trip:

• A car camping friendly tent: Eureka Midori 3 [$187.49], Kelty Late Start [$139.95], Big Agnes Copperspur [$370.93]
• A comfortable inflatable sleeping pad: I have the Nemo Tensor for most trips, and the uber luxurious Exped Mega Mat when I’m travelling with my fiancé or feel like glamping.
• Pillows and blankets from home for added comfort!
• A comfortable down sleeping bag

READ: Solo Car Camping Set Up (no build)

Kitchen set-up ideas for Road Trips:

Much like sleep set up, what you want for your road trip kitchen is highly dependent on what kind of trip you want to have! You can go bare minimum with backpacker-like gear, or you can lean in and do it up a little bit more. Here’s what you’ll want to consider for a road trip kitchen packing list:

• Stove: Double Burner Coleman Stove for a two-burner set up. MSR pocket rocket for true minimalist set up. MSR windburner for good one-person add on for boiling water.
• Dishwear: Sea to summit collapsable dishware for minimalist option, GSI knife and cutting board set, camp pot, camp pan. Note that there’s no real reason you can’t pack some simple dishes and small pots from home; I always bring a handmade ceramic mug. Enamel camp dishwear is also really popular. Also check out the Stanley Go-To set for two.
• Spork
• Cooler: you can end up saving a lot of money on food in the long run by investing in a good, bear-proof and totally sealed cooler. Food on road trips always ends up costing more than you think it will; coming with a game plan can help cut costs significantly.
• Coffee game plan: percolator (wastes fuel), french press (messy but yummy, I use this for groups), simple pour over (my set up is a little fancy but it does in fact make the best cup of coffee)
• A simple way to carry water.

Road Trip Camp Meal Ideas:

For me the hardest (but also most important!) part of a road trip is the food. While I do love to check out the local food along the way, I try really hard to keep costs low. I’ve found that the biggest factor in how much money I end up spending or wasting on a road trip comes down to how well I’ve prepped my meal plan.

Left: the most important meal of the day (coffee) in the Porcupine Mountains. Right: the other most important meal of the day in the Apostle Islands.

The perfect road trip meals are low-mess and with food that doesn’t spoil easily. A cooler here makes a a huge difference. These are mostly vegetarian road trip meal ideas, but they can easily be adapted by adding a meat that doesn’t spoil quickly

• Avocado “toast” with honey, avocado, blueberries and goat cheese. Keep blueberries and goat cheese in cooler. Toast naan bread on a camp stove pan
• Vegan chickpea hash: rehydrated hashbrowns, fry in pan with olive oil, toss in chickpeas, rosemary, chili powder, crushed red pepper, and salt to taste. Can also add onion or bell pepper. Top with avocado. One pan, low mess. Partition chickpeas and hash browns in advance or save leftovers for lunch/dinner since it keeps.
• Real oatmeal: Steel-cut oats, a lot of butter, top with walnuts and blueberries. Add peanut butter. The butter is really key here.
• Arugula wrap: Arugula, tortilla, avocado, blueberries, red onion, potato chips (trust me)
• Quinoa Bowl: Quinoa topped with your leftover Med wrap toppings
• Pasta Pesto: Pasta, pesto, lemon, parmesan, smoked salmon/local smoked fish

(can you tell I’m hungry writing this!? for more idea’s check out Fresh Off The Grid’s 31 Easy Camping Meals)

Road tripping near Las Vegas.

What clothes to pack on your road trip:

The quantity and type of clothes you’ll want to pack for your road trip will depend a lot on where you’re headed and for how long. Still, here’s a capsule style wardrobe that I recommend for most hiking adventure trips, assuming you’ll swing by a laundromat once a week at minimum.

• 10 pairs of underwear
• Two pairs of quick-drying shorts
• Two pairs of hiking pants: one heavy-duty and one lightweight
• Fleece pants to sleep in
• Three cotton t-shirts for lounging/driving+ comfy pants
• One pair of jeans, loose-fit and comfy
• Two long-sleeve shirts for hiking: one baselayer style, one sun hoodie
• One thin hiking fleece
• Your favorite comfy sweatshirt (mine is my Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park Sweater I’m wearing it rn!)
• A puffy jacket
• A raincoat and rain pants
• Swimsuit
• Your favorite hiking boots or trail runners
• Hiking sandals
• Car shoes
• Socks

READ: Day Hiking Packing List

Road Trip packing organization ideas:

For me, the hardest part of a road trip is organizing my gear set up in my car. The perfect road trip in my mind is one that lets me sleep in my car, with my sleeping pad set up on the passenger side and bins of my gear set up on the other. Personally I don’t build out my car with a platform or anything, and just add pillows and a yoga mat to make it level. From here, I use stackable bins to store gear.

Usually I try and have a kitchen bin, a duffle bag of my clothes, my cooler for cold foods, a pre-packed hiking bag, and another bin of “extra” things.

The Gregory Alpaca gear box is a really cool way to have a stackable system if you want something a little more heavy-duty than a hardware store bin. The REI Trailgate is a soft-sided similar option. Ultimately the thing I like most about opting for bins instead of a full build is when I get home, I can simply pull the bins out and convert my car back into the river shuttle vehicle 🙂

Road tripping the Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

Road Trip Packing List: Electronics and Leisure

Okay, so you might think that’s everything but it’s probably not! Here’s the MISC list of things you might want to pack for your road trip.

• A sturdy, water-resistant camera (I’ve used this camera for adventure photography for four years and had photos from it published as full page spreads in magazines. Your camera does NOT have to break the bank.)
• A headlamp, camp light/flashlight, solar-powered string lights for vibes
• External battery to charge your phone/camera
• A book
• A camp chair or camp couch
• Camp table— most of the campsites you would be at will likely have picnic tables so this is generally a skip for me unless I have a specific tailgate set up in mind
• Hiking day pack
• A Hammock

How to Road Trip FAQs:

Planning a road trip is hard! Here are some frequently asked questions about planning a road trip:

Are road trips safe for solo female travellers?

It’s a common misconception that all solo travel is unsafe for solo women, but that’s just not true. While extra precautions while road tripping solo can give you peace of mind, don’t let fear keep you from experiencing your dream road trip! Most of my road trips have been solo. I won’t lie, I’ve definitely felt uncomfortable at times but it’s been extremely infrequent and always in situations where that discomfort, my instincts, prompted me to just change plans and move on.

READ: Solo Female Road Trip Planning Guide

How to road trip on a budget:

Road trip expenses can add up fast. Gas, campsites, hotels, food, park passes, new gear, the works: the best thing you can do to save money on a road trip is budget beforehand. I recommend sitting down and making a list of your planned expenses. For example.

• Gas: $20 per day
• Camping: $15 per day
• Park passes: $35
• Pre-packed menu cost: $120, one person, 5 days
• Restaurant/coffeehaus budget: $100

Beyond your fixed anticipated expenses, be sure to plan a little extra in for emergencies. I recommend always carrying a little cash for the same reason.

Road-tripping Washington State

How to find cool road trip destinations:

Finding cool road trip destinations can be hard, especially if it feels like everyone is able to find “hidden gems” but you. There are a few key places I recommend to learn more about finding the best scenic roadside stops:

The first is Google Maps. In my opinion, Google Maps is the best and easiest road trip planning resource. You can create saved maps and road trip routes right in Maps, and even search terms like “campsites”, “waterfalls”, or “parks” along your route and Google Maps will pull them up. Click on the site as it pops up and check out the reviews and photos to decide if it’s somewhere you’d like to visit.

The second method I’d recommend is blog posts (oh hey! you’re in a good spot). A lot of times bloggers tend to direct travellers to the most popular hikes and things to do in the area, but often times you can find hidden gems as well. That, and popular things are popular for a reason.

The third method for researching the best road trips stops is the old fashioned way. Grab a map, a paper book, and take some notes! This is actually how I’ve found a lot of my favorite, really stunning hikes in the Lake Superior area.

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Still in the depths of road trip planning? check out these other road trip ideas:

• Best Road Trips in the Midwest
• No Build Car Camping Set Up
• Best Women’s Hiking Pants (that AREN’T leggings)
• Beginner’s Backpacking Checklist
• Your guide to the Best Women’s hiking boots

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