Travel Journals
City with lake-side beaches and former tallest building in the world makes surprising entry in America’s best road trips
A SURPRISING city has been named one of the best road trips in the United States by a popular travel magazine.
Travel and Leisure released its list of the 23 best road trips in America, and one shocking metropolitan destination was named as a top road trip spot.
Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive offers a trip for travelers of all ages: from its bars to its beaches, no one will ever be bored.
Lake Shore Drive spans the length of the city, reaching a total of 15 miles.
The beach-lined drive has a backdrop of tall skyscrapers, and, most notably, the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower and once the world’s tallest building.
Travel and Leisure called the towering structures “the rock stars of American architecture.”
Along the drive, visitors can marvel at the Willis Tower, a 110-story skyscraper that stands 1,451 feet tall.
Architecture lovers can also admire the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed nineteenth-century building, The Rookery.
For some fun and games, travelers can stop at Navy Pier for carnival rides, shops, and, in the summertime, you may even catch fireworks.
Break up the trip with a stroll around Millennium Park for interactive displays at the Crown Fountain, a show at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, and a walk along the BP Pedestrian Bridge.
In Millennium Park, visitors can also stop by the iconic Cloud Gate sculpture, also known as “The Bean.”
For a refreshing dip, stop by one of the city’s famous beaches.
Oak Street Beach is known for its lively atmosphere and Lake Michigan views, while North Avenue Beach is best for bar hopping.
North Avenue Beach is also conveniently located near the Lincoln Park Zoo, allowing families to enjoy a relaxing visit to the 35-acre zoo.
Art enthusiasts can visit The Art Institute of Chicago for captivating exhibitions and over 300,000 pieces of art.
The art institute also features its own architecture and design collection and hosts changing exhibitions throughout the year.
Things to do near Lake Shore Drive
- Willis Tower
- Millennium Park
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Oak Street Beach
- Wrigley Field
- Boystown
This year, the institute is running a gallery for European design and an exhibition of Japanese Prints.
Only five minutes away from the iconic highway is Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs play.
During baseball season, Wrigleyville is packed with Cubs fans drinking beers and hopping from bar to bar all within walking distance from the field.
Just moments away is Boystown, the city’s famous LGBTQ+ friendly area with an abundance of coffee shops, gay bars, and thrift stores.
Taking in the whole city isn’t a one-day feat, but luckily, there are plenty of hotels for weary travelers to stay the night at.
From budget accommodations to five-star stays, there’s a spot for every budget.
Travel Journals
A road trip on Ireland’s rugged northern coast, where the food is as good as the views
House martins and swallows are our constant companions, whether snapping up fluttering mayflies in the car park of Glencar Waterfall during a downpour or swooping from the eaves of The Shandon Hotel that overlooks Marble Hill Strand beach in Donegal, where linen-coloured sand slips into grey-green ocean.
It might only have celebrated its 10th official birthday in 2024 but Ireland’s 2,500km (1,550-mile) Wild Atlantic Highway has been used by generations of these nippy little migratory birds, who fly from the Sahara to spend their summers in the UK and Ireland.
The clever things know about Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coastal Route too.
Aside from the 60-million-year-old natural geometrical marvel that is Giant’s Causeway, this 193km stretch of raggedy, bewitching coastline, which starts in Belfast and ends in Derry, often gets lopped off road trips. But no more.
As part of the Shared Island initiative, which “aims to harness the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement to enhance cooperation, connection and mutual understanding on the island”, Tourism Northern Ireland and Fáilte Ireland have teamed up to remind visitors that once you hit the end of the Wild Atlantic Way, the sea has not run its course, the cliffs do not peter out and the Guinness really does not dry up.
Less than a seven-hour flight from the UK, this maritime province in Atlantic Canada makes for a refreshing summer road trip
I love the office view I have,” said Kinnon, smiling beneath his baseball cap as he squished in beside me to guide his rigid inflatable boat out of Ingonish Harbour and into the chilly waters off Nova Scotia.
It was definitely better than my office view in London on a glorious June day in eastern Canada. A majestic sea eagle wheeled above our heads, a puffin bobbed about beside the boat and – in the distance – sleek gannets plunged down in search of fish.
Lobster fishermen methodically pulled up pots, an action repeated up to 275 times a day during their short season. I watched one crew take seven of the crustaceans from a single pot, throwing back another 13 that were too small or carrying eggs.
Looming behind them were the pine-covered cliffs of a finger-like peninsula that juts out between two sweeping bays, where the previous day we had hiked a woodland trail.
Now we were searching for whales. “Can you smell that: stinky minke?” asked Kinnon as a stench like rotting fish and cabbage wafted over the water.
Grey backs arced through the waves to gasps of delight from my fellow passengers. The mammals disappeared into the deep, before popping back up in different places around our little boat.
Kinnon told us about spotting killer whales. “I love seeing them. But they eat these guys, so I’m a bit torn over their appearances.”
We saw a few more minke before powering back to the harbour. My wife and I had chosen Nova Scotia for a road trip on something of a whim, lured by its relative proximity to the UK, compared with most of North America (a less than seven-hour flight) and its Celtic heritage. It has the largest Gaelic-speaking community outside Scotland.
Our trip began in Halifax, the province’s fast-growing – but chilled out – capital. Its bustling boardwalk, stretching almost three miles along the city’s waterfront, is studded with bars, restaurants and ice-cream parlours.
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic grabs attention with its Titanic artefacts – reflecting how 150 of the victims recovered from the disaster were laid to rest in three of the city’s cemeteries.
Yet I found myself unexpectedly moved at the other end of the boardwalk, by the Canadian Museum of Immigration.
It is located at Pier 21, where more than 1.5 million people landed during the past century in search of new lives. The exhibits gave a glimpse into the huge challenges – and discrimination, at times – facing the waves of refugees, orphans and war brides flowing through.
The impact was underlined by handwritten notes from visitors. One woman stated she was there on her 50th birthday to honour her Italian father, adding that he never forgot his life-changing journey and would proudly tell her of his arrival at Pier 21.
Canada’s modern role as a nation built on migration was underlined. “I thank my parents for their love and sacrifices for me,” wrote one Asian man. “Also Canadians for their welcoming generosity.”
A Ukrainian family who arrived two years ago thanked Halifax for embracing them with its “ocean life” and “green lawns”, declaring that the region “took our hearts” by reminding them of the Black Sea and Carpathian mountains they fled due to war.
Nova Scotia has 8,300 miles of coastline and you’re never more than 50 miles from the sea, so this is a land of lighthouses and seafood. As we headed north to Advocate Harbour, we found its roads to be uncrowded (and Canadians must be among the planet’s politest drivers).
This drive took us past the Bay of Fundy, with tidal bore rafting that is like a muddy and wet rollercoaster, and weird “Flower Pot Rocks” – pillars of sandstone carved by fiercely-churning tides, topped with clumps of trees.
We stayed at Wild Caraway, a restaurant with rooms run by a friendly young couple called Andrew and Fiona. The vibe was informal. But the food, often foraged locally, was inventive: fiddleheads – furled fronds of ferns – with balsam fir and lemon were followed by halibut and asparagus in chive sauce.
A superb breakfast, delivered to our cabin, needed to be walked off on nearby beaches fringed with driftwood and devoid of people. Later, a “seacuterie” platter arrived with potted prawns and rollmop herring, which we washed down with beers sitting by the fire pit in the yard as dusk descended.
We drove hundreds of miles, snaking through a forested wilderness landscape filled with bears, moose and raccoons in this underpopulated slice of Canada that sits on similar latitude to southern France (and Nova Scotia can also boast of producing some fine wines).
We took a detour to Arisaig – a lobster port named after the Scottish highland village that neighbours my wife’s home town of Mallaig.
The Cabot Trail – a highway loop around Cape Breton, famed for its hilly twists and steep turns – was gentler than anticipated, despite often-impressive views.
Chéticamp was a fun stop with its folk-art feel and French speakers, a reminder of how the French and English tussled over Nova Scotia for more than a century on terrain originally inhabited by the Mi’kmaq people.
I feared the historic port of Lunenburg, a World Heritage Site, might be a tourist trap – but it turned out to be delightful.
Finally, we drove back to Halifax for a blowout at Drift, a striking harbour-side restaurant, before bedding down in the casual luxury of the Muir Hotel ahead of our hop home over swirling Atlantic seas that define this laid-back corner of Canada.
Getting there
Air Canada flies to Halifax from Heathrow, while WestJet flies from Edinburgh.Staying there
The Muir Hotel in Halifax has doubles from C$600/£329 per night.Wild Caraway Restaurant & Rooms, Advocate Harbour, has doubles from C$188/£103 and cottages from C$313/£171.
More information
The writer travelled as a guest of Tourism Nova Scotia.
canada.ca/en
Windsurfers can catch some air at Doug’s Beach State Park, just east of Lyle, Washington.
The Pacific is cold, the Sandy River is mobbed, local public pools have limited hours and long lines, and your secret mountain swimming hole is either not so secret anymore or still inaccessible after the fires of recent years. The giant Columbia River is here for you. Sure, I-84 and train tracks can complicate access. Industrial neighbors, container ships, and barges aren’t always the backdrop of your summer beach dreams. But you can find water lapping on sand or stones at many spots along the river’s run, from where it meets the Pacific all the way through the Columbia River Gorge and farther inland.
Here are some spots within an hour and a half of Portland, organized by river mile: Mile 0 is where the Columbia meets the Pacific Ocean at Cape Disappointment, and river mile 101 is where the Willamette joins the Columbia.
In some places, currents, debris, and nearby industrial activity or boat launches make swimming or even wading unwise. Always obey posted signs, and use the river at your own risk.
Looking west at Jones Beach, near Clatskanie.
Jones Beach
River mile: 46
Closest town: Clatskanie, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Wave to the cows, horses, and deer on your way to this windswept expanse of sand popular with fishers. Bring a picnic blanket—the few picnic tables here look like they might have come from the set of The Road Warrior, as does the askew sign letting visitors know that ATVs are not allowed. —Margaret Seiler
Along the road at Dibblee Beach.
Dibblee Beach
River mile: 65
Closest town: Rainier, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Most of the signs at this Columbia County park aren’t about water safety or park etiquette—instead, they threaten huge fines for neglecting to pay the day-use parking fee. (OK, we get it!) That dubious welcome aside, this lengthy stretch of sand just west of downtown Rainier is, like Jones, popular with fishers. —MS
Fishing at Prescott Beach.
Prescott Beach
River mile: 71
Closest town: Prescott, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 1 hour
The Columbia County park day use fee is required here, too, but you won’t find all the menacing signs like at Dibblee. You will find scattered benches, picnic tables, and fire rings/grills. There’s a designated fishing area, and you’ll want to bring a designated driver so you can stop at the storied Goble Tavern on your way home. —MS
A front-row seat to industrial activity at Trestle Beach.
Trestle Beach
River mile: 83
Closest town: Columbia City, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 45 minutes
Not the most peaceful spot thanks to the Knife River facility dropping sand and other materials onto barges right in front of the beach, but still a sandy strand lined with trees and popular with dog owners and fishers. The gate to the parking area is locked promptly at the posted time (generally 5pm, but it changes to 7pm in the summer), so don’t get stuck. —MS
Tiny Columbia City is home to the even tinier Pixie Park.
Pixie Park
River mile: 84
Closest town: Columbia City, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 45 minutes
You might think this park, on property owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution, was so named because it’s just so darn adorable, but it actually owes its moniker to a boat known as the Pixie. The Caples House Museum is nearby. —MS
Reeder Beach, one of Sauvie Island’s five beaches.
Sauvie Island
River mile: 94
Closest town: Portland, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 35 minutes
Sauvie Island is technically home to five beaches—Reeder, North Unit, Walton, Collins, and Warrior Point. One of the more popular of the five, Walton is a solid all-around family beach, and on hot days it can be hard to get a parking spot nearby. (Make sure to pick up a parking pass, required in all wildlife areas on Sauvie Island. As of 2025, weekends and holidays through Labor Day also require a free beach pass, which can be booked online two weeks in advance.) The beach offers soft sand, temperate water, and a picturesque view straight across to Washington. If you can handle a little nudity, the clothing-optional Collins Beach boasts clearer water and fewer crowds. —Katherine Chew Hamilton
Kelley Point: better for a picnic than a swim.
Kelley Point Park
River mile: 102
Closest town: Portland, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 20 minutes
Kelley Point is a beautiful place to ride your bike, sit on a log, have a picnic, and watch the ships go by, as the City of Portland technically prohibits park users from swimming or entering the water here due to “unsafe and unpredictable conditions.” Several people have drowned at the park, including two within one week in 2016, because of the high currents where the Willamette and Columbia meet. Given the number of trash barges we’ve seen floating along, staying out of the water sounds OK to us. —KCH
Wintler Community Park
River mile: 110
Closest town: Vancouver, Washington
Travel time from downtown: 18 minutes
This eastern terminus of the five-mile Columbia River Renaissance Trail from downtown Vancouver offers restrooms, picnic tables, a steep sandy beach, and a view of the action at PDX airport across the river. There’s a parking fee required from May 1 to September 30. —MS
Broughton Beach
River mile: 110
Closest town: Portland, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 18 minutes
By Salty’s, the Sextant, and the airport, this Metro-managed beach always has something odd happening: an unexplained intact melon just sitting there, a man with a guitar sitting alone on the hood of his car playing a song you swear you heard in a dream. Oh, and there’s a giant, windswept sandy beach with room for you, me, and everyone we know. Metro requires a day-use parking fee, and if you get hooked on the bike path that runs along Marine Drive you might want to invest in the annual pass. (The pass also works at Metro’s Chinook Landing Marine Park, about nine miles east of Broughton, but that park is primarily a boat launch site and not really a beach. Chinook Landing has an archery range, too.) —MS
One of the spots at Cottonwood Beach is lined with several grounded historical boats.
Cottonwood Beach
River mile: 123
Closest town: Washougal, Washington
Travel time from downtown: 30 minutes
One of the Lewis-and-Clarkier spots on this list, Cottonwood Beach has plenty of interpretive signs about the Corps of Discovery’s stop here and the Indigenous groups that long called the area home, along with several historical watercraft. Get there early on a summer day to claim one of the little private patches of sand down the hill from nicely distanced picnic tables. Multiple signs remind visitors that there’s no alcohol allowed (with an added sign proclaiming “NO TOLERANCE” in case it was unclear), so make a post-beach stop at the 54˚40″ brewery taproom for a Half Cocked IPA and perhaps some pizza. —MS
Clothes or no clothes? The choice is yours at Rooster Rock.
Rooster Rock State Park
River mile: 129
Closest town: Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 30 minutes
Rooster Rock, divided into family-friendly and clothing-optional areas, is far enough away to feel like an escape from the city while easily fitting into a half-day trip. When temperatures rise, people cram onto a small sandy peninsula, beer cans crack open, Bluetooth speakers blast reggaeton, and you might catch people floating by on swan-shaped inflatables. The clothing-optional area brings its own party vibe. There are restrooms and picnic tables for enjoying a feast with a view of the water—note that if you’re planning on bringing a cooler to the sandy beach, you’re in for a bit of a walk. The water may have its fair share of floating debris, but the picturesque scenery and carefree vibes make up for it. —KCH
Viento State Park
River mile: 161
Closest town: Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 1 hour
Dodge some of the Hood River crowds and score some shade by taking a dip a few miles west of town at Viento State Park, also popular with windsurfers (viento means wind, after all), where you can also camp—the tent sites up the hill are farther from the water but are a bit calmer than the ones you’ll find between the railroad tracks and I-84. —MS
If the beach gets boring, there’s a climbing wall and playground just steps away at Hood River Waterfront Park.
Hood River Waterfront Park
River mile: 169
Closest town: Hood River, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 1 hour, 10 minutes
This plush spot offers a roped-in section for swimming, a sandy crescent for sunbathing, a bird’s-eye view on the kiteboarders and windsurfers weaving their way across the river, clean restrooms, and a notch-above-the-ordinary playground with a rock climbing wall. No need to pack a picnic, either—you can easily walk to any of several great lunch spots, including Pfriem Family Brewers, Solstice Wood-Fire Pizza, or Ferment Brewing Company. —Julia Silverman
Blooms on the beach at Mayer State Park.
Mayer State Park
River mile: 181
Closest town: Mosier, Oregon
Travel time from downtown: 1 hour, 20 minutes
While this area is better known for the Gorge views offered uphill at the Rowena Crest Overlook, down at river level Mayer State Park provides a rocky beach and duck-packed coves to explore, plus a boat launch and lifejackets to borrow. A day-use fee (or an annual state parks pass) is required to park. —MS
Splashing around at Doug’s Beach, on a rare day with no windsurfers.
Doug’s Beach
River mile: 184
Closest town: Lyle, Washington
Travel time from downtown: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Just east of Lyle, Washington, Doug’s Beach State Park offers a shaded beach and picnic tables. You’ll need a Discover Pass to park here along SR-14 (the lot is well patrolled, so don’t risk going without), and be very careful crossing the tracks. —MS
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