There are two parts to the Explore tab on Roadtrippers - searching for places and browsing categories.
One of our favorite parts of a road trip is discovering new places along the way, and we hope you'll find some new places to check out by using our categories to explore places on the map! Whether you want to look for offbeat attractions, need to find a campground to stop at, or a place to grab a meal - you can use categories to find all the best spots near your route or near your current location.
If you already know some of the places you'll be visiting, you can use our search tab to add those to your trip.
Search is best used when you know the name of a place. Categories are best for discovering types of places along your route.
Scroll through this article to learn more about searching and using categories to discover places, or click a title in the list below to jump to a section:
Search by keyword: chains, addresses, or specific destinations
When you tap the Search & Explore bar you can either select a category or search for places yourself.
Searching for chain type stops
On our website, if you’re searching for a place that’s part of a chain (like Walmart, Cracker Barrel, or Love’s), type the chain name into the search bar. Then select the first result under Quick Start to search the map for that chain.
On the mobile app, tap the Search & Explore bar, enter the chain name, and then tap the Search button next to the search bar to see those locations on the map.
When you search the map this way, Roadtrippers will look for places in the area of the map that's in view that have the keyword in the name, description, or category.
For the best experience finding a type of place, like a coffee shop, rather than finding a specific place, like "Starbucks", we recommend using categories instead of the search bar.
Searching by specific name, address, or city
If you’re searching for a specific place or address, type the name or address into the search bar and select the best matching result from the dropdown. You can also use the search bar to enter a city or town -selecting it from the results will zoom the map into that area.
Categories
Places on Roadtrippers are assigned categories, making it easy to discover and find new places.
You can browse categories on the map view by tapping the Search & Explore bar at the top of the map.
You can browse categories with or without a trip loaded on the map. Tap any category to apply it to the map. To remove categories, click the X to the right of the applied category, or simply tap a different category to apply a new one.
If you apply a category with a trip loaded, Roadtrippers will look for places within a radius of your route. If you explore without a trip loaded, Roadtrippers will look for places in the location in view on the map.
With categories covering a broad range of places, you can find everything from diners to abandoned attractions, and famous college football arenas in between. Virtually any interest can be explored within our categories.
They are organized as primary categories > secondary categories. For example, if you want to find a bed and breakfast along your route, select the Hotels & Unique Stays category. Then, you can filter the results to the type of place you want to stay at, such as Bed & Breakfasts. Pins will appear on the map for places categorized as a bed & breakfast.
You’ll also notice that the pins on the map come in different colors and icons. For example, when you select the Sights & Attractions category, you might see blue camera icons and orange ticket icons. These icons make it easy to identify what type of place each pin represents. Many places fall into more than one category. For instance, a theater could be listed as both an activity and an attraction!
Note: The Overnight RV Parking filter is only available to Roadtrippers Premium members. You can learn more about our membership tiers by clicking here.
Results on the Map
After selecting a category, places appear on the map in the form of pins or small circles.
- The places shown are determined by the part of the map you're viewing and the place's rating.
- There is a limit to how many places will appear on the map at once - so the more you zoom in, the more places you will see in a given area.
Zoomed out, it might look like there's a small number of attractions across the United States. After zooming in closer to an area by using the + button on the right side of the map, more places appear. The larger, illustrated icons on the map are Extraordinary Places - these are hand-picked by the Roadtrippers team of experts, we promise each one is worth the detour.
Auto Places
Note that on the desktop site, you can disable most of the automatic places displayed (except for the ones shown with an illustration, these are part of the map and can not be turned off).
Click the map layers icon on the right side of the map and de-select the checkbox next to Places.
This may help make details like city names or highway numbers more visible on the map. This feature is not available in the mobile app.
Selecting Categories
See the instructions below to learn how to select categories to find places to stop on your trip!
- With or without your trip open on the map, click the search bar at the top of your screen.
- Click on one of the primary categories to load it on the map, then you'll be able to use filters to select secondary categories and more.
- For example, if you select The Great Outdoors category, then you can click the Filters button at the top of the list of results and select from the secondary categories like beaches, state parks, and trails.
- You'll see places appear as pins on the map and can zoom in or move the map around to look at specific areas. You can also look at them in the list of places the left.
- If you see a place you're interested in, click on it to go to the place page where you can learn more, click the heart or bookmark icon to save it to your favorites, or click the Add button to add it to your trip.
- If you want to explore another category, simply click the search bar again and select a new category, or click the X in the search bar to clear all categories from the map. Roadtrippers currently supports browsing one category at a time.
- Open the map with or without a trip open.
- Select the category you're interested in from below the search bar to load places on the map. Swipe to see more categories.
- With a category applied, tap Filters and you'll be able to use filters to select secondary categories and more.
- You'll see the places appear as pins on the map and can zoom in or move the map around to look at specific areas. You can swipe through the places at the bottom of the map or tap the List View button in the upper left to see them in a list view.
- If you're done looking at that category and want to remove it from the map or select a new one, tap the X on the right of the category bar. Then you can select a different category to explore or just search for a place by name if there's a specific place you want to add to your trip.
- Open the map with or without a trip open.
- Select the category you're interested in from below the search bar to load places on the map. Swipe to see more categories.
- With a category applied, tap Filters and you'll be able to use filters to select secondary categories and more.
- You'll see the places appear as pins on the map and can zoom in or move the map around to look at specific areas. You can swipe through the places at the bottom of the map or tap the List View button in the upper left to see them in a list view.
- If you're done looking at that category and want to remove it from the map or select a new one, tap the X on the right of the category bar. Then you can select a different category to browse or just search for a place by name if there's a specific place you want to add to your trip.
Applying Filters
See the instructions below to learn how to select filters to get more specific results for the types of places you're interested in!
- After selecting a category from the search bar, you'll see a list of results to the left of the map. There is a filter option above those results.
- You can either use the quick filter buttons or click the Filters tool at the top of the list to see all available options.
- When using the Filters tool, you can select multiple filters at once, but keep in mind that applying too many filters may result in no matches being found.
- After selecting filters, click the blue "View Places" button at the bottom right to apply them and see your results. To clear your selections, click "Reset Filters" in the bottom left. To close the filters window and return to the map, click the "X" in the top right.
- After applying a category as described above, you'll see a filter button.
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Tap that "Filters" button to see all of the options to narrow down the results.
- After selecting "Filters", you can scroll through to browse and select any filters you want to apply. You can select as many filters as you'd like, but keep in mind that if you apply too many, we may not be able to find any results.
- After selecting filters, tap the blue View Places button at the bottom right to apply them and see your new set of results. If you want to clear your selections, tap the Reset Filters link in the bottom left to de-select all the filters you previously applied. If you just want to close out of the filters window and go back to the map, tap the X in the top right.
- After applying a category as described above, you'll see a filter button.
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Tap that "Filters" button to see all of the options to narrow down the results.
- After selecting "Filters", you can scroll through to browse and select any filters you want to apply. You can select as many filters as you'd like, but keep in mind that if you apply too many, we may not be able to find any results.
- After selecting filters, tap the blue View Places button at the bottom right to apply them and see your new set of results. If you want to clear your selections, tap the Reset Filters link in the bottom left to de-select all the filters you previously applied. If you just want to close out of the filters window and go back to the map, tap the X in the top right.
Sorting Category Results
When you’re browsing places in a category, you can choose from four sorting options to help you find what you’re looking for:
Popularity (Default)
Popularity is a blended score that highlights the places travelers find most useful and interesting. It considers several signals, including how complete its information is, how other users rated it, and how frequently it gets added to trips.
Distance From You
Sorts places based on how close they are to your current location. This is helpful when you want to find something nearby, like food, gas, or an attraction along your route.
Rating
Shows places from highest to lowest rating so you can quickly see the most loved spots in that category.
Number of Reviews
Ranks places by how many reviews they’ve received on Roadtrippers. This helps you identify spots with a larger volume of feedback, which can give you more confidence in what to expect.