RTS: Roadtrip Snacks
A long drive across state lines or a short drive to the post office *needs* snacks
You’ve seen the memes. You’ve probably lived the experience. If you haven’t, now you know. Midwesterners drive a lot. Our perception of how “far” something is, and what is a reasonable distance to drive vs. fly is … different from the rest of the country it seems. Because the U.S. has not maintained and invested in passenger trains, and so far has refused to build a high speed rail system (which would be objectively better), we here in the Upper Midwest are blessed/cursed with a pervasive driving culture. It is normal for people to opt for a long drive over flying or taking the train. It is typical for folks to drive somewhere rather than walk or bike, and in rural areas or even most suburban towns, it would be unsafe or weird if you were walking everywhere. So on the topic of Road Trip Snacks (RTS - let’s make that acronym happen), we are experts.
Growing up, the longest drive was to my grandparents’ house in the upper peninsula of Michigan - the U.P. It was over four hours to get there, and closer to five or six with us kids because we had to stop a lot to go to the bathroom, or get the wiggles out at parks along the way. I don’t have clear memories of RTS on these trips, but I vaguely remember a cooler being packed with sandwiches when I was younger, convincing my parents I needed to buy pizza flavored Combos at the gas station, and stopping at Culver’s for mealtimes as I got older. My college was three hours away from my hometown so on those drives we always stopped at a specific Caribou Coffee on the way up and down, but there wasn’t a *required* snack I HAD to have on those drives, and honestly I wish there was one. Now, my husband’s family all lives in Wisconsin so many times a year, we are making the trek to south central Wisconsin to visit. I pack some food and we buy some food, but with a long drive, it’s important to have some options.
Here is what I pack:
A 36 ounce insulated water jug from Aldi to keep my water cold
2 Yeti tumblers (also insulated) with cold water
Granola bars (most recently these fig bars)
Whatever chocolate we have laying around in the cabinet
This is what we tend to buy on the road:
Coffee
More water if we’re out
Sweet and/or sour gummy candy
Beef stick or beef jerky
Pickle or salt & vinegar chips that I have a craving for at 10 a.m. - there’s just something about a morning bag of chips that feels right on the road
Whatchamacallit and/or Take 5 candy bar
These RTS fall into these categories: sweet, sour, salty, and umami with a diversity of textures ranging from soft to gummy to crunchy. When I polled my Instagram followers, my need for an assortment of snacks was confirmed. I’m telling you, the people of the Deep North know how to snack. There were snacks submitted that people ONLY eat when they’re on the road, snacks that are packed and snacks that are bought along the way. Below are highlights from the polls, with some extremely stellar RTS and full menus I plan to replicate on the next road trip.
I asked: What snacks//drinks are a MUST on the road?
Sweet Tart Ropes
Beef jerky
Apples, sunflower seeds, V8, coffee, water, beef jerky, Diet Coke, LaCroix
Pickle Pringles, yellow Gatorade
Beef sticks
Orange crackers with cheese (I wish I knew more about this one!)
Jerky, corn nuts, bubble water, chips
Chocolate covered pretzels from Trader Joe’s
Corn nuts
Sour Patch kids, chili cheese Fritos
Dots, Pretzels
3 types of drinks, 3 types of salty snacks
Cheese Munchies
Sweet and salty trail mix, gummy candy
Gummy orange slices
Goldfish, meat, cheese, chocolate
Teriyaki jerky, Twizzlers bites, trail mix with added M&Ms (genius)
Salami sandwiches, pretzels, cold water, gummy candy
Sour patch watermelon, Haribo gummy bears, sour cream and onion chips
A drink, something salty (2 options), something sweet
Veggies & fruit pieces to crunch on
Some people chimed in, insisting that car snacks were not just for road trips, but for day-to-day living, which as a person who is always prepared, I understand deeply. Others made sure to mention that you have to consider the season when packing RTS to avoid food that will freeze or melt into mush depending on the weather. Someone else said that they “pack RTS like an unsupervised 9 year old,” which to me, is the GOAL. A little bit of chaos, a lot of joy! I loved hearing from other people who love talking about food for this write-up, so if you don’t follow me on Instagram yet, feel free to request to follow. I think I’ll do more polls and such about upcoming posts there. If that’s your thing, see you over there!
Things I Like
Organizer from Container Store - honestly, perfect for snacks! Buy one for refrigerated snacks for the cooler & one for non refrigerated snacks
Stackable bead organizer from Michael’s - a box for every family member or to really organize the snacking situation. Plus it’s a stacking set of 4!
The CSA I get has a few summer shares left. If you’re interested, check it out here. I will be talking about it a lot this summer anyway so might as well cook and preserve along with me, right?!
Honestly so into Dansk home products (always but especially lately)
Gardening TikTok - lmk if you have any tips to make sure the squirrels MIND THEIR BUSINESS this year and leave my plants alone
With warmer weather returning to the Upper Midwest, and summer drives to the lake, cabin, and to visit friends and family, I hope you have some new inspo for your snack needs! LMK what I missed and what you’re snacking on lately in the comments.
May your week be gentle and may you eat well. 🌲🥣