Top Day Trips in United States

Greensboro Bend (Hill Farmstead) ★ 4.9 · Burlington

Hill Farmstead Brewery at 403 Hill Road in Greensboro Bend (Shaun Hill, 2010) holds top-of-world RateBeer rankings. Remote, little cell service.

Blackberry Farm (Walland) ★ 4.9 · Knoxville

Blackberry Farm in Walland 30 minutes south of Knoxville, the Relais and Chateaux foothills resort with chef Cassidee Dabney at The Barn, runs top dining.

Tip: Reservations are tightly held for non-overnight guests; lunch is the easiest entry point if you can secure it.

Little Washington Virginia (Inn at Little Washington) ★ 4.9 · Washington DC

Little Washington Virginia on a day trip from Washington DC is the village 1.5 hours west where Patrick O'Connell's Inn at Little Washington holds three.

Tip: The tasting menu runs $358 and books out months ahead; the Inn also has 24 rooms if you want to overnight.

Santa Fe (60 minutes north) ★ 4.8 · Albuquerque

Santa Fe one hour north of Albuquerque on I-25 is the capital food day trip, with The Shed red chile, Cafe Pasqual's Pueblo Mexican and Plaza Cafe blue.

Mills River (Sierra Nevada Brewing) ★ 4.8 · Asheville

biltmore-village

Sierra Nevada's Mills River brewery campus, 15 miles south of Asheville, is the East Coast production brewery for the California-based Pale Ale icon.

Tip: Free 45-minute tours need a reservation. Weekend afternoons add free regional bluegrass at the amphitheater.

Lockhart (BBQ Capital of Texas) ★ 4.8 · Austin

Lockhart in Caldwell County is the BBQ Capital of Texas, a 45-minute drive south from Austin with the three legendary smokehouses: Black's (1932).

Tip: Hit Black's first as it opens at 10am; Smitty's wood-fired room closes around 18:00, plan the loop in that order.

Annapolis ★ 4.8 · Baltimore

Annapolis pairs the Maryland capital's colonial waterfront with serious crab houses; cracking a dozen at a dock table is the canonical Chesapeake day out.

Portland, Maine ★ 4.8 · Boston

Portland Maine, two hours north of Boston, is New England's most decorated food city. Eventide Oyster Co, Fore Street, Duck Fat and a 100-restaurant Old Port.

Tip: Amtrak Downeaster from North Station runs five round trips a day. The brown-butter lobster roll at Eventide is the must-eat order.

Stowe (Alchemist and von Trapp) ★ 4.8 · Burlington

Stowe is the Burlington food day-trip default. Hit The Alchemist Brewery and Visitor Center for Heady Topper four-packs at 100 Cottage Club Road,

Davidson for Kindred ★ 4.8 · Charlotte

Davidson, NC is the Charlotte day-trip for Kindred, Joe and Katy Kindred's anchor contemporary American restaurant on Main Street since 2015 and a multi-year.

Tip: Book through Resy two to four weeks ahead. Open Tue-Sat 17:00-22:00 and Sun 17:00-21:00.

New Glarus (Little Switzerland) ★ 4.8 · Madison

New Glarus, the Swiss-settled village south of Madison founded in 1845, runs Swiss bakeries, the New Glarus Brewing Hilltop taproom and chalet shops.

The French Laundry ★ 4.8 · Napa

6640 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599

Thomas Keller's three-Michelin-star restaurant in Yountville is one of the world's most celebrated since 1994. The 8-10 course tasting menu changes daily.

Tip: Book via Tock at 08:00 exactly on the day booking opens (typically 2 months out). Both the Chef's Tasting and Tasting of Vegetables menus are available.

Lynchburg, Tennessee ★ 4.8 · Nashville

Lynchburg, 75 minutes southeast of Nashville, hosts the Jack Daniel's distillery and Miss Mary Bobo's, a 1908 boarding-house Southern lunch in a single.

Tip: Miss Mary Bobo's lunch books weeks ahead; sign up for the distillery tour at the same time. Lunch seatings are 11:00 and 13:00.

Berkeley for Chez Panisse ★ 4.8 · Oakland

Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse on Berkeley's Shattuck Avenue in 1971 and codified California cuisine. Four-course set menu nightly, book one month out.

Willamette Valley (Dundee, Newberg, McMinnville) ★ 4.8 · Portland

Oregon's premier wine country runs through Dundee Hills, Yamhill-Carlton and McMinnville, with 100+ cellars within 50 miles of Portland. Booking recommended.

Tip: Book tastings two weeks ahead in summer. Jory Restaurant at The Allison Inn in Newberg is the Pinot-and-lunch pairing of record.

Newport and Bowen's Wharf ★ 4.8 · Providence

Newport, 45 minutes south, is the city of Gilded Age mansions and Aquidneck Island seafood. The Black Pearl on Bannister's Wharf is chowder canon.

The Hackney - Washington NC ★ 4.8 · Raleigh

110 E Main St, Washington, NC 27889

Tip: Reserve at least two weeks ahead; seatings fill quickly. The Hackney also connects to a small-batch gin distillery on site. Washington NC is Beaufort County's seat on the Pamlico River and worth a short walk around before the meal. The drive east is straightforward on US-264.

Charlottesville for Bodo's Bagels and Tavola ★ 4.8 · Richmond

Charlottesville is 65 miles west on I-64. Bodo's Bagels on Preston Avenue and Michael Keaveny's Tavola in Belmont define the day-trip food day.

Apple Hill (Camino, Placerville) ★ 4.8 · Sacramento

Apple Hill on the Camino-Placerville road, 45 minutes east of Sacramento, runs October apple-picking, cider mills and donut farms across 50-plus growers.

Chimayo (Rancho de Chimayo) ★ 4.8 · Santa Fe

Chimayo is the heart of New Mexico red chile country; Rancho de Chimayo (2016 James Beard America's Classic) plates the canonical stuffed sopaipilla.

Bluffton, SC (May River) ★ 4.8 · Savannah

Bluffton, SC sits on the May River 20 miles north of Savannah. Old Town restaurants include Brandon Carter's FARM (sister to Common Thread) and the Oyster.

St Petersburg (Downtown and the Pier) ★ 4.8 · Tampa

St Petersburg downtown runs a stronger waterfront restaurant scene than Tampa, with the Pier complex carrying Fresco's, Doc Ford's and Teak waterfront grills.

Girdwood and Alyeska (Seven Glaciers) ★ 4.7 · Anchorage

Girdwood is the Anchorage day trip 45 minutes south by Seward Highway, with the Seven Glaciers tram-top fine dining room and Jack Sprat in the village center.

Biltmore Estate (Antler Hill Village) ★ 4.7 · Asheville

biltmore-village

Biltmore Estate runs the most-visited US winery and three restaurants in Antler Hill Village (Cedric's Tavern, the Bistro, Village Social). Estate admission.

Tip: Buy estate tickets in advance. The winery tour is included; Cedric's Tavern lunch needs a 1-week reservation.

St. Michaels (Eastern Shore) ★ 4.7 · Baltimore

St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore is a wooden-boat harbour town built for slow seafood lunches, with crab houses, oyster bars and waterfront dining.

Decatur (Big Bob Gibson) ★ 4.7 · Birmingham

Decatur sits 85 minutes north of Birmingham via I-65 with Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, the 1925 birthplace of Alabama white sauce on smoked chicken.

Cape Cod (Wellfleet and Chatham) ★ 4.7 · Boston

Cape Cod's outer flats produce Wellfleet oysters, the East Coast benchmark; Chatham boats land day-boat scallops at the Chatham Pier Fish Market.

Tip: Mac's Shack in Wellfleet for raw oysters; Chatham Pier Fish Market for scallops to take home. Summer-weekend traffic peaks Friday and Sunday afternoon.

Ipswich and Essex clam shacks ★ 4.7 · Boston

Ipswich and Essex on Boston's North Shore are the original fried-clam towns. Lawrence Chubby Woodman invented the dish in Essex in 1916. Booking recommended.

Tip: Summer weekend lines at Clam Box and Woodman's run 60 to 90 minutes. Visit weekdays before 17:00 for the easy seat.

East Aurora (Bar Bill Tavern) ★ 4.7 · Buffalo

Bar Bill Tavern on Main Street in East Aurora has run wings and beef on weck since 1967, drawing wing fans from across the country for the 30-minute day trip.

Waterbury (Ben and Jerry's Factory) ★ 4.7 · Burlington

Ben and Jerry's Factory at 1281 Waterbury-Stowe Road runs 30-minute guided tours daily 10:00-18:00; tickets release two weeks ahead and sell out.