America is such a beautiful and diverse country! Many travelers work tirelessly to check off countries and continents. While that is amazing and certainly something I want to achieve, many completely overlook the beauty that is in their backyard! I made it my mission to visit all 50 by my 30th birthday (which was in April 2022). Unfortunately Covid really put a hit on my goal, but I’m still trucking along to hit the last few states!
Thanks for following along on my journey to visit all 50 states!
What counts as a visit?
Many people ask me, “What do you count as a ‘visit’ to each state?”
I have two requirements:
1) I must leave the airport (layovers don’t count)
2) I must do one “activity” in each state. This could include visiting a national or state park, exploring a city or town, visiting some famous site, etc.
Since I am always working to stretch my budget, most of my activities in each state tend to be out in nature. I feel like this is a win-win, because you truly get to see how diverse each state is!
My Journey to 50 States
This became my goal in mid-2017. I was in Hawaii with a friend and posted a picture on the Lanikai Pill Box Hike to Facebook. One of my mom’s friends left a comment about visiting a number of states before I am 30. Little did she know how much that comment would resonate with me!
I love how vastly different the landscape is across America. You get the driest deserts in the Southwest, swamps in the Southeast, mountains in the West, and lush forests in the Northeast. Each state has their own unique history that plays such an important role in their culture even to this day. From the French influence of New Orleans, to the Native American influence of the Southwest, America truly has it all.
Click here to follow along on my journey to 50 states!
Current count: 47/50
Alabama✔️
Alaska✔️
Arizona✔️
Arkansas✔️
California✔️
Colorado✔️
Connecticut✔️
Delaware✔️
Florida✔️
Georgia✔️
Hawaii✔️
Idaho✔️
Illinois✔️
Indiana✔️
Iowa✔️
Kansas✔️
Kentucky✔️
Louisiana✔️
Maine✔️
Maryland✔️
Massachusetts✔️
Michigan
Minnesota✔️
Mississippi✔️
Missouri✔️
Montana✔️
Nebraska✔️
Nevada✔️
New Hampshire✔️
New Jersey✔️
New Mexico✔️
New York✔️
North Carolina
North Dakota✔️
Ohio✔️
Oklahoma
Oregon✔️
Pennsylvania✔️
Rhode Island✔️
South Carolina✔️
South Dakota✔️
Tennessee✔️
Texas✔️
Utah✔️
Vermont✔️
Virginia✔️
Washington✔️
West Virginia✔️
Wisconsin✔️
Wyoming✔️
US Territories:
Washington, DC✔️
American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico✔️
US Virgin Islands✔️
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