Gas prices: Here's how much the 'optimal' US road trip would cost right now

The "optimal" US road trip is back, and the gas budget (all else equal) is about $1,000 higher than it was when Randal Olson created the original map in 2015.

Today: about $2,350 at $4.29 a gallon. In 2015: about $1,300 at $2.37 a gallon.

Researcher Randal Olson recently unveiled Optimal Road Trips , and its 2026 landmarks trip hits the top landmark in each of the lower 48 states and Washington, D.C.: 49 stops, 13,949 miles, and about 224 hours of driving.

At Monday's national average of $4.29 a gallon for regular, according to AAA , gas for that loop would run about $2,350 in an average new gas-powered car.

Those figures assume about 25.5 miles per gallon, the average for a new gas-powered vehicle in the 2024 model year, according to the EPA .

And of course, gas prices vary by state:

Priced at each state's own average for the miles driven there, the loop comes to about $2,395, a bit more than the national-average math given that about half the route's miles run through states in the West where gas costs more than the national average.

California is the priciest stretch. The route covers about 860 miles there, at $6.17 a gallon, the highest of any state, for about $208 in gas. North Carolina is the cheapest state, at $3.61 a gallon, but the route spends only about 80 miles there.

The longest legs are Montana, about 960 miles and $170 in gas, and Texas, about 870 miles and $130.

Back in 2015, Olson asked Reddit's r/theydidthemath community what the original trip would cost. The most detailed answer, he said, priced it at about $9,000 for a family of four in a rented RV, including $3,607 in gas at $2.37 a gallon.

Gas is up about 41% from a year ago, and it has stayed above $4 a gallon for a record stretch . Oil has traded between about $88 and $101 a barrel this month, with attacks in the Strait of Hormuz pushing it higher.

The site's other ready-made trip, every national park in the lower 48 , is longer: 51 stops, 16,103 miles, and 270 hours behind the wheel. Gas for that one would cost about $2,710 at today's price.

And then there are time, food, and lodging costs. At eight hours a day, 224 hours of driving works out to 28 days on the road, Olson noted, and a month of hotels and meals adds up. Ferries are another line item: The routes end at the docks for island stops like the Statue of Liberty, Mackinac Island, and Dry Tortugas.

Olson posted the relaunch to Reddit's r/DataIsBeautiful, where he has been a moderator for almost 13 years, on Oct. 7. It passed 5,000 upvotes and drew nearly 1,000 comments in its first day.