North Carolina Among Best States For Summer Road Trips

NORTH CAROLINA — Summer time. The kids are done with school, and many parents take time off work to plan a getaway with the family. And according to a new report from consumer finance site WalletHub, North Carolina is among the best states in the country for a road trip.

Despite hassles like rising gas prices, traffic woes and the cost of travel, a AAA study found that 64 percent of families traveling this summer plan to take road trips.

With that in mind, WalletHub ranked all 50 states based upon the cost of road trips, safety and the number and quality of activities available.

North Carolina came in at No. 2, second to only Wyoming when it came to the best states to hit the road.

According to the rankings, the top 10 states for U.S. road trips were:

1. Wyoming
2. North Carolina
3. Minnesota
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. Louisiana
7. Washington
8. New York
9. Utah
10. Colorado

Ranking dead last was Rhode Island, followed closely by Connecticut, Delaware and — this one may surprise you — Hawaii.

When it comes to Most Scenic Byways, The Tar Heel State tied for No. 1 with California, and was ranked No. 11 when it comes to cost of road trips, No. 28 in safety and No. 7 in activities.

You can read WalletHub's full study here.

Patch Editor Shannon Antinori contributed.

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Photo by Dasha Petrenko/Shutterstock