The best places to visit in 2021 are remote and socially distanced locales across America. Thanks to COVID-19, we saw the return of the great American road trip. Eighty percent of travel this fall was by car, an AAA Travel survey found. Outdoor destinations draw the most drivers, whether that’s Keystone, SD (home to Mount Rushmore), or Colorado Springs, CO (both debuted on AAA’s top 10 road trip hot spots). Places near lakes and rivers—like Emory, TX; Slade, KY; and Mannford, OK—saw an uptick in popularity, too.
And with so many people still working from home (82 percent of companies surveyed by Gartner plan to offer remote work post-pandemic), extended vacations are becoming increasingly popular. Airbnb found travelers are seeking stays of more than 28 nights in low-density areas, from western Maine and Vermont to Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park and Whitefish, MT.