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
When you go to the Explore tab on the desktop site or tap the Search & Explore bar in the mobile app, you can either select a category or search for places yourself.
Search is best used for finding places by name, such as "Yellowstone National Park" or "Cracker Barrel", or finding places by keyword, for example, "mini golf".
If you're searching by keyword, tap the first result to search the map for that name/keyword on the website. If you're searching by keyword on the mobile app, tap the Search button next to the search bar.
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.
If you're searching for a specific name or address in the search bar, be sure to select the best matching result from the drop down. Another way to use the search bar is to search for a city or town and select it from the results to zoom into that area on the map.
Categories
Places on Roadtrippers are assigned categories, making it easy to discover and find new places.
- If you're using the website, you can browse categories in the Explore tab. The Explore tab is the first option in the tool dock on the left of your screen. It is also in the website header.
- If you're using the app, you can browse categories from 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. If you explore 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.
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 globe icon on the right side of the map and de-select the checkbox next to Auto 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, click Explore from the website header or click the Explore tab from the tool bar on the left 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 icon to save it to your favorites, or click the plus icon to add it to your trip.
- If you want to explore another category, click the X in the category search bar and select a new category. Roadtrippers currently supports browsing one category at a time.
- With or without a trip open, tap the Search & Explore bar at the top of the map.
- Select the category you're interested in to load places 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 tap the Filters button at the top of the map and select from the secondary categories like beaches, state parks, and trails.
- 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 3 dots with lines icon 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.
- With or without a trip open, tap the Search & Explore bar at the top of the map.
- Select the category you're interested in to load places on the map, then you'll be able to use filters to select secondary categories and more.
- For example, if you select the Sights & Attractions category, then you can tap the Filters button at the top of the map and select from the secondary categories like roadside attractions or scenic points.
- 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 3 dots with lines icon 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 in Explore, you'll see a list of results along with filter options at the top (just below the category name in the Search & Explore bar).
- You can choose from quick filter buttons or click the "Filters" button at the top of the list to view all options.
- Click the "Filters" button to browse and select all of our filters. You can select multiple filters, but applying too many may result in no results 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 selecting a category from the Search & Explore bar described above, you'll see a list of results for that primary category and options to filter the results at the top of the map (just below the category name).
- There are some quick filter buttons to choose from or you can tap the "Filters" button at the front of the list to see all the filter options.
- To look at the secondary categories and all of the available filters, tap the "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. The secondary categories will be listed at the top and all other filters are below that. 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 selecting a category from the Search & Explore bar described above, you'll see a list of results for that primary category and options to filter the results at the top of the map (just below the category name).
- There are some quick filter buttons to choose from or you can tap the "Filters" button at the front of the list to see all the filter options.
- To look at the secondary categories and all of the available filters, tap the "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. The secondary categories will be listed at the top and all other filters are below that. 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 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 back arrow in the top left.