Travel writers have been calling 2020 "the return of the great American road trip." With many Americans still leery of air travel (damn you, COVID-19) vacationers are now thinking about hitting the road this summer in the family truckster. I grew up in a fairly large family and we were not exactly wealthy. I wouldn't say poor, but closer to lower than middle class. That meant no airplanes on family trips. Flying was far too expensive to take everyone and all of our crap, so instead, we would pile into the old Ford conversion van and hit the road with our coolers packed full of sandwiches and carrot sticks so we wouldn't have to waste valuable time and money at drive-thru restaurants.

The Road Trip Expert says around 500 miles a day on the road is about as far as you should drive without experiencing too much fatigue. 500 miles will take approximately 8 hours +/-.  Obviously, you can safely push the limits if you have more than one driver. Alternately, you can throw caution to the wind, grab another giant Redbull and try to make that 12-hour drive in one day. I've done it. It sucks. Not recommended.

Looking at the map, here are six fun places you can drive to in about 8 - 9 hours (or less) from Billings:

6 Road Trips a Day from Billings

With gas prices low, pack a cooler full of sandwiches and hit the road this summer!

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