10 Last-Minute Summer Road Trips for Lit Lovers

Summer of 2021 is almost in the rearview.

Before we know it, the kids will be going back-to-school, daylight will steadily continue to decrease, and before we know it we will be planning for the upcoming holidays.

Before that happens, I say we fill the gas tank and carpe diem the mess out of the last few weeks of summer!

Where to go? Here is a good place to start your planning: 10 Last-Minute Summer Road Trips for Lit Lovers.

Abilene, Texas

Abilene is known as "The Storybook Capital of America," which is a pretty big boast and enough to make me want to check it out in person. Home to the largest collection of public storybook sculptures, host to the Children's Art & Literary Festival each summer, and complete with a museum and gift shop, Abilene warrants more than a side-eye as a literary destination for lit lovers of all ages. 

Trout Creek, Montana

The Hobbit House is the perfect place to rest your furry feet, my little friend. Nestled in forested mountains near Trout Creek, the Hobbit House is a "luxury lodging experience full of imagination" that will leave you appreciating Tolkien's Hobbiton in a more concrete way. Book your fantastical time via VRBO (or by clicking here). 

Kansas City, Missouri

Having traveled to KCMO this spring for the express purpose of visiting this amazing landmark, I can say without a doubt that it is a must-see for every lit lover. The unique architecture of the downtown public library boasts 25 foot tall book spines that are 9 feet wide of all of your favorite classics from Tolkien to Harper Lee to Dickens. You will not be disappointed.

Monroeville, Alabama

Ever heard of a little book titled To Kill A Mockingbird? Well that book put the Old Monroe County Courthouse on the map for classic lit lovers. Not only is it the original from which the Hollywood adaptation was precisely rendered, it is also the place from which Harper Lee would sit in the balcony with her childhood friend Truman Capote to watch her father practice law. Deserves a little look-see, don't you think?

Durango, Colorado

I'm up for a trip to Colorado just about any time. You, too? Be sure to make Durango a destination - specifically Room 222 of the Strater Hotel. Why? Because Louis L'Amour wrote many of his novels & short stories in that very room.

Springfield, Massachusetts

The Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden in Springfield, Mass. is a bucket-list destination. Fond memories of my own as well as my kids surround Dr. Seuss' magical worlds of things 1 & 2, cats in hats, foxes in boxes...well, you get it, don't you? If I found it this hard to narrow it to one photo, can you fathom how fantastical it will be in person?

DeSmet, South Dakota

An immersive Little House on the Prairie experience? Yes, please! Sign me up for some of that! A fan of Little House from the TV show as a kid, I became even more enamored with all things Little House when I read through the series with my kids. Twice. I am so into LHotP that Pioneer America is my favorite time period in history. Mark my words, it will be my first destination when time travel becomes a thing.  Until then, we have DeSmet. Now...who's with me?

Concord, Massachusetts

Any Little Women fans out there? Then you're going to want to plan a trip to Orchard House in Concord, Mass., THE house where Louisa May Alcott penned the novel. In fact, LMA spent most of her childhood in that very place. You can almost see the March sisters frolicking about, can't you?

Lenox, Massachusetts

Get a glimpse of how the powerhouses of the Gilded Aged lived at The Mount, the Massachusetts home of Pulitzer-prize winning author Edith Wharton. Born into privilege and a societal structure we find difficult to comprehend, Edith Wharton's writing gave a glimpse behind the curtain of mega wealth at the turn the of the last century and The Mount is an exceptional place to see that on display.

Route 66

Up for a road trip? How about an epic Route 66 trip from Oklahoma to California? Load up the car with the family and follow John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath from Sallisaw, OK to the Midpoint Cafe in Texas to Bakersfield, California to Los Angeles.

What makes your list of must-see destinations for lit lovers? Leave a comment and share why you chose it. 

Happy trails, my reading friends.