POI along a route?

Most states have a booth at the first rest area.

There's always the "big" items which every one knows about. You know, Mammoth Cave, Disnyland, Mount Rushmore. But for every thing else, you just have to search. The internet is your best friend to scope out attractions along your route. Punch in any search engine the name of a town or city you are passing, and jump to the "tourism" information. More stuff will come up than you can possibly ever have time for.

There are certain things I enjoy, and have a couple books, specific for "Indiana".... Weird Indiana (but the Weird America series is now in almost every state too). And books on little unknowns about Indiana. Another favorite attraction for me are "Ghosts and UFO sightings". And there are thousands and thousands of "hits" you'll get on the Internet for just about any location you plug in.

Another way to find a subject that is interesting to YOU, is to stoop at Road Side rest stops or Welcome Centers on the interstates and pick up the fliers and brochures on display.

Sometimes, you just have to take an exit and see what's there. I don't think there is an easy way, and it all depends upon your own interests.

We also really enjoy road side fruit and vegetable stands. Sometimes they really have some unusual items for sale, more than food. So we are always watching for these stands.

Your GPS (if you have one) usually has that option. It tracks your current location and tells you what's around.

I will search for info prior to the trip and see If I can get some literature sent to me. right now I am planning a trip along the Mississippi River and found some great info on line and links to different states websites where I can request maps and tourist info. I have found some neat places over the years doing it this way.
I will also look at community calendars to see what is going on in the towns we visit.

Crowe wrote:
Your GPS (if you have one) usually has that option. It tracks your current location and tells you what's around.

My TomTom GPS has this capability. I also use the TripAdvisor app on my iPad. It has a "Things to Do" tab which can be used to see what attractions, oddities, etc. are nearby.

If you are a little techie and are looking for specific types of things ie Walmarts, National Parks, low clearance bridges, red light cameras etc. Go to poi-factory.com and you can download files for specific interests like All Walmarts in North America. They have instructions on how to convert/import into most major GPS brands. In many devices you will also get alerts when you approach a POI.

Download Roadtrippers app. It's one of the best for cool places to see and things to do along a route

An old-school approach is to get the AAA tourbooks for the area and look up the towns you're passing through or near. Sometimes that's a little more convenient for scanning for interesting things to do than scrolling through items on a GPS screen.

If you're looking for something more specific (e.g. the next Steak 'n' Shake), the GPS wins hands down IMHO. My Magellan has a specific "search along your route" option in addition to the usual "search near here" and "search near this place" options. Probably other makes are similar.

rwbradley wrote:
If you are a little techie and are looking for specific types of things ie Walmarts, National Parks, low clearance bridges, red light cameras etc. Go to poi-factory.com and you can download files for specific interests like All Walmarts in North America. They have instructions on how to convert/import into most major GPS brands. In many devices you will also get alerts when you approach a POI.

X 2 for POI Factory. The tutorials will guide you through the steps for your specific GPS. I was able to download a file for all the National Park CGs that can accommodate an RV. Another file had all the Arches in Utah. One had all the Visiter Centers for the National Parks.

One download has all the rest areas from all the states combined into one file.

I have been downloading these and creating a personalized map for an upcoming cross country trip. It is getting pretty big with lots of layers. I can turn them on and off at will. Once done, I am going to attempt to send them to my GPS for a backup when internet is not available for the iPad/Macbook. The iPad already doesn't like the full map -lol. I may have to go back and delete all the clutter that is not on our route.

It is a pretty cool site. It is made up of people who just like to play with GPS stuff.

I use my smart phone and do a query based on our interests. For example, we like to visit museums. Let's say I'm going to be in Denver. I'll do a search on "museums in Denver". I'll get a whole list of museums in that area. It works for anything you're interested in such as parks, monuments, art galleries, fishing holes, etc.