How long would it take to hitchhike across the USA?

[Jmac323]

My plan was to hitch out to California from Philadelphia and see No Values fest and then spend the summer surfing. How far ahead should I plan on leaving?

 

[Joey Garbanzo]

How far ahead should I plan on leaving?

How long is a piece of string? 🤷‍♂️

The answer to this depends on what route you would be taking, there are a bunch of different ways to get there, from straight and direct to a slow crawl and sight see various spots along the way.

Look at an atlas and find a path of travel, do you want to stick to major interstates and hitch out of travel plazas? Smaller highways and country roads? Then ask specific questions about the path you have chosen will get you better results.

If you plan on being resourceful enough to make this your first hitch hiking trip yet you need us to plan your route step by step for you maybe a greyhound or amtrak might be a better option. Just saying...

 

[Otter]

It depends.

One time it took me 4 days to hitch from WA to TX. But on the way back, I had to hitch for a little over a month.

Sometimes the rides you need come through, and sometimes they just fucking don't.😮‍💨

How early you leave, depends on how badly you want to be there in time for the festival.

 

[timeeeee]

I took really good records on a long trip in 2019 so I often use these as a rough guideline - over 54 days of rides, I averaged 160 miles a day. This doesn't include the times I spent all day looking for a ride, just to have to find a place to sleep and try again the next day, so it might be too high. It also includes a lot of intentionally short or off-the-beaten-path legs so it might be too low. The longer your trip, the more likely you are to get super lucky sometimes, and the more likely you are to get stuck somewhere for days at a time.

Echoing what everyone else said, it's a crapshoot. It's my favorite way to travel, unless I'm trying to get somewhere by some date, in which case I spend the whole time stressed out. I think CA -> Philly I would estimate 2 weeks, but if I wanted to actually enjoy it and feel any confidence about getting there in time I would leave a month early.

Personally if I was doing this and trying to make good time, I would stick to interstates, and have a tentative route in mind but be ready to improvise and go off-route in favor of long rides as long as there's still a good way from there to Philly.

 

[WanderLost]

One thing you could do is leave about 3 weeks or a month before the date of the show with enough money for an emergency bus ticket if you're late. That way you dont have to stress too much about the schedule. Traveling with a time limit kinda kills the experience so take your time and enjoy yourself. If you get long rides dont turn them down for fear of being too early you could always get there early and go camp somewhere nice or go sight seeing in Fresno lol if you want to or find a couch to surf.

Its not uncommon to get rides that go across whole states or more, and you might get one going most of the way, but you should research which routes have the smoothest interstates and stick to those unless you feel like doing more walking/waiting.

Just search best hitchhiking routes on this site and you'll see people talking all about it.

 

[Bibs]

Best case scenario, no bullshit, straight shot is around 50 hours coast to coast.
That said I've never ever been that fortunate, philly to fuckno in my experience is a three to four week trip on the hitch.
hwy 76, 70, 44, 40, 58 and 99, you'll probably have to deviate a bit but if you leave early enough you'll be fine unless something unspeakable happens.
Good luck be safe have fun

 

[sevedemanos]

as long as it takes to drive it, technically.

then again, have fun standing with your thumb out for countless hours hearing nothing but passing engines

 

[bote]

echoing what time said, I think 2 weeks is plenty/realistic. Less than that if you hit up truck stops and talk to drivers. This can feel weird, but in my experience it's usually the quickest way to go cross country. Where you gonna surf?

 

[Jone]

It's possible to go very fast. It's possible to go slow. Amtrak is SO NICE have you ever done it? It's the most amazing thing.
My friend once made it from LA to Montreal in like three days no kidding. She is a hot girl tho.
Anyway two weeks to a month? Sure.
Sticking to truck stops is a good idea. Turning down short rides, at times, can be a good idea (if you are in a good spot, like a busy truck stop) asking to get dropped off at truck stops can be a good idea. Not going downtown can be a good idea. Asking people to go out of their way and drop you on the far side of town is a great idea. Hwy 40 is a great idea, it has the most freight traffic of any hwy. Consider taking a bus/public transit to Harrisburg to get on the 81 to the 40.
Good luck!!!

 

[sevedemanos]

never once got a ride from a truckstop. ime only way to get back to the rails is on an onramp. some old lady or a tweaker in a beat up old sedan

like RVers, truckers dont gasf about anything but their cargo