Departing May 23, 2026 • Lehi, UT → East Coast → Home
This epic road trip covers 25+ Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints historic sites plus stops in Elkhorn, Chicago, Cedar Point, Niagara Falls, Boston, and New York City. The route heads east through Winter Quarters and Nauvoo, loops through the Great Lakes and Northeast, then returns west through Missouri and Wyoming. The Hofheins family will be joining the Pynes from the start through Kirtland, OH! 🎉
Several stops require advance tickets: Cedar Point, Zoombezi Bay, Maid of the Mist (Niagara), Journey Behind the Falls (Canada side), Statue of Liberty ferry, Steamtown train rides, and the Shedd Aquarium. If doing the Arrowhead Stadium Tour, book at chiefs.com early — tours sell out. Check MLB schedules and grab White Sox, Red Sox, and Royals tickets as soon as the 2026 schedule is released. Don't wait — summer dates fill fast!
Everyone needs a valid passport to cross the Rainbow Bridge to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and back. Make sure all passports are current well before May 23!
All Church historic sites are free with guided tours. Most are open Mon–Sat 9–5. Sunday hours are limited (typically 12–5). Sacrament Meeting is planned for Days 2, 9, and 16 — use the Church's meetinghouse locator to confirm times. Note: the John & Elsa Johnson Home is ~25 min south of Kirtland in Hiram, OH, and Haun's Mill is on gravel roads — GPS may not be reliable, download offline maps. The Emma Hale/Harmony Site is only 4 miles from the Priesthood Restoration Site — easy to combine in one stop.
Book early for Nauvoo (very limited rooms), Sandusky/Cedar Point (fills months ahead), and NYC. The new Day 18 Kansas City overnight means you'll need a room in the Independence/KC area — add that to your booking list. Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Courtyard are solid mid-range picks throughout the 20-day trip. If considering an RV or trailer, the KC/Independence area has good RV parks and NYC-area campgrounds in New Jersey are the best bet for avoiding city parking headaches.
Zoombezi Bay (Jun 8) opens around 10 AM — get there right at open on a Monday to beat crowds. Admission includes the Columbus Zoo same day! For Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds, bring a poncho — you WILL get soaked. At Indiana Dunes, wear sandals you can get sandy. Cuyahoga Valley's Brandywine Falls trail is an easy 1.5-mile loop — perfect for all ages. If doing Watkins Glen, wear non-slip shoes — the gorge trail gets wet and slippery near the falls.
Comfortable walking shoes are a must — you'll log serious miles at Nauvoo, NYC, Boston, and the new Church history sites. Pack ponchos for Niagara and Zoombezi Bay. Bring water and sunscreen for outdoor sites like Adam-ondi-Ahman, Far West, Haun's Mill, and the Joseph Smith Birthplace hike. Swimwear for Niagara, Zoombezi Bay, Cedar Point Shores, and White River tubing. Passports for everyone for the Canada side of Niagara. Cash or check for Mary Yoder's Amish Kitchen — no cards accepted!
churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/locations for updated hours and site info on all Church history sites. maps.churchofjesuschrist.org to find Sunday meetinghouses along the route. nps.gov for Steamtown, Indiana Dunes, Cuyahoga Valley, Seneca Falls, and Statue of Liberty tickets. chiefs.com/stadium-tours for Arrowhead Stadium. mlb.com for White Sox, Red Sox, and Royals schedules. sheddaquarium.org to pre-book Chicago aquarium tickets.
License Plate Bingo — spot plates from all 50 states. Crossing 17 states gives you a great shot at filling your card! Alphabet Game — find every letter A–Z on signs, billboards, and trucks in order. 20 Questions — someone thinks of a person, place, or thing and everyone gets 20 yes/no questions. Cow Counting — each side of the car counts cows; passing a cemetery wipes out your total!
What Year Was It? — one person names a Church history event, others guess the year. Prophet Quiz — name the Church presidents in order, their key events, and how long they served. Pioneer Trail Trivia — who led which pioneer company, what happened at which camp, and how far did they walk? Scripture Chase — read the first line of a scripture and race to guess the reference.
At every stop, each person has to capture one specific type of photo — rotate the challenge each day! Ideas: a jumping photo, a reflection shot, something tiny and something huge in the same frame, a candid of someone else in the group, the most creative selfie, or something that starts with the first letter of the site's name. Vote on the best at dinner each night!
After every stop, everyone rates it 1–5 stars and gives one sentence explaining why. Keep a running tally in a notebook. At the end of the trip, crown the winners: Most Spiritual, Most Fun, Most Surprising, and Most Overrated. It's a great way to process each experience and sparks fantastic conversations in the car.
Before each stop, give everyone a list of things to find or accomplish: spot an original artifact, find a date carved or engraved somewhere, learn one fact not in the guidebook, find something that surprised you, or ask a tour guide a question they have to think about. First one to complete the list wins a treat from the next gas station!
Story Chain — each person adds exactly one sentence to a running story. The results are always hilarious. Would You Rather — pioneer edition! "Would you rather pull a handcart across Wyoming or ride a horse with no saddle?" Name That Tune — hum or whistle a hymn or Primary song and others guess. Pictionary on Paper — draw a Church history scene on a notepad and others guess the event.
Give everyone their own small notebook at the start of the trip. Each day, write or draw: one thing you learned, one thing that surprised you, one thing you want to remember forever, and one funny thing that happened. Read entries aloud at dinner. At the end of 20 days you'll have a priceless record of the trip from everyone's perspective.
Google Maps Guessing — before checking, everyone guesses how many miles or minutes to the next stop. Closest wins. Slug Bug — classic VW Beetle spotting. The Quiet Game — last one to make a sound wins (great for tired legs of the drive!). DJ Battle — each person gets 3 minutes to play their favorite song while others rate it 1–10. Highest average score wins the aux cord for an hour.
All 25+ stops — click any pin for details