What are the state-funded rest stops like in your state?
Posted by shnanogans@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 168 comments
Im on a road trip and thinking about the difference between the states’ rest stops. Ohio turnpike rest stops are INCREDIBLY nice. Huge indoor area with multiple restaurants, vending machines, a convenience store, and tons of clean toilets. Illinois used to have a bunch of cool “oases” that were built over the highway, similar quality to Ohio but most of those have shut down. Michigan (I’ve only gone up the west side of the state so it could be different elsewhere) are basically shacks on the side of the road with a vending machine, maybe. I guess that’s the consequence of not having toll roads.
capt_scrummy@reddit
In most of Arizona, they are just a building or two with toilets and maybe some vending machines.
Sea-Kitchen3779@reddit
The ones on the NYS Thruway were totally fine, but someone decided they needed to be replaced, and now the bathrooms are too small and the food options are even worse.
MadeMeMeh@reddit
I am glad I am not the only person with this opinion. Every single update except 1 has been a downgrade. It was the dirty one with a with a Boston Pizza that was in pretty miserable shape.
Plus the convenience stores have gotten more expensive with smaller selections.
Also I can't remember another specific stop but they only have a Chick-fil-A and a Starbucks and stopping there on Sunday is anytime but breakfast is double miserable.
Master-Collection488@reddit
One I stopped at a few years back had a Timmy Ho's.
44035@reddit
The stops on the Ohio Turnpike have to be nice because the travelers are a captive audience, basically. You don't normally exit the Turnpike just to get a Big Mac.
aphasial@reddit
Honest question: Why not? That seems like very normal behavior as a Californian.
shelwood46@reddit
Most of the toll roads on the East Coast/Midwest have food court & gas rest stops set up so you never have to exit. I drive 80 from Eastern PA up to Detroit (well, as far as Toledo), and on 80 in PA, which is not a toll road, you get the "just a bathroom and vending machines" rest "Areas" along with some truck stops with stuff right off the highway, but in some areas you need to drive 20+ miles to find an open gas station and/or food. OTOH, 80 in Ohio is a toll road, so all that stuff is right there and mostly open 24/7, no driving into scary who knows where and not finding anything open. It's part of why I don't mind the tolls.
aphasial@reddit
Ahh, so this is a toll road thing. I guess that makes sense.
We really don't have many toll roads here out West, and none of the length that would require an actual rest stop to be offered for safety purposes. And in SoCal at least, the actual toll roads that I'm familiar with (vs just HOV lanes) all use transponders and are controlled in such a way that you wouldn't be penalized for exiting and re-entering to a hit a McD or get gas or something.
shelwood46@reddit
They are starting to rejigger a bit (the NY Thruway is doing the transponder thing) but also if you are doing a long drive, it's still way easier to not have to get off the main road, esp if you are a woman driving alone. Plus they place them so they are at regular intervals so you can plan your potty breaks/fill ups well.
Master-Collection488@reddit
There's a bit of a rural route that allows Western NYers to avoid the Thruway and MOST of its tolls. You still have to pay for I-9 and cross the Tappan Zee or another bridge that's in The City.
On the downside, unlike the Thruway you really have to make it your business to KNOW when the last exit with "facilities" that are open at night before you get into the Southern Tier deadzone of one-horse towns. The trick is to find a town with a gas station & fast food right by the exit that isn't going to jerk you into a one-way towards getting lost in a strange small city. Penn-Yan isn't too bad a choice. MOST of the towns before you hit the dead zone have things in the places you'd expect them to be and make it about as easy as the Thruway.
I think it's SR-5? There's a three digit numbered route that overlaps with it part of the way. 390 gets you there from Rochester or the Thruway. Buffalo probably has a short-cut to it of its own? Wouldn't know.
WorthPrudent3028@reddit
That PA stretch of I80 is all nothingness. Stroudsburg is the only real town on it. Might be the longest stretch of interstate through nowhere on the entire east coast.
KoalaGrunt0311@reddit
Apparently, the reason there's not typically restaurants at interstate rest stops is federal prohibitions against commercialization of the interstate system. Turnpike rest areas are considered exempt from this because they're considered private and not public.
potchie626@reddit
We don’t have toll roads here in California that work the way they do there, and loved the setup. I drove from Baltimore to Philadelphia and liked that gas and food were in between the north- and southbound lanes that made it much easier to stop and go.
olivegardengambler@reddit
How is going to say, the only state, and I mean the only state that fucked up toll roads in my experience, was oklahoma. Somehow the speed limit is 65 mph across like the first hundred miles of it as soon as you leave Joplin Missouri, and I came to one, in this pisses me off to this fucking day till I get nothing else has. If it was literally anywhere else, I don't think I would have had it as much of a fucking shit, but for some fucking reason fucking oklahoma, their fucking welcome fucking plaza, on the toll road, had bathrooms that were only open when The visitor Center inside was staffed from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. . I had never seen such bullshit before. You mean to tell me you're collecting millions and millions of dollars every fucking year, and you could not afford or you don't want to bother to hire a janitor to work there when the people that I don't fucking know, tell you about how there's a clinic that can get you a medical marijuana card for $25, so you can buy enough edibles that would tranquilize a herd of motherfucking elephants for the cost of a VCR, and then can blow your life savings on video poker that isn't even real video poker at the casino across the street, aren't there? Damn, I know that the only four fucking jobs you can get in Oklahoma is either being a cop, a farmer, working at a casino, or working at a dispensary, but God damn I didn't know the labor situation was that bad.
time-for-jawn@reddit
👍
uhbkodazbg@reddit
Because you generally have to pay a toll to get off the highway and pay again to get back on. It costs more than just staying on the highway and stopping at an oasis.
nattyodaddy@reddit
You gotta pay the toll troll to get in
An_Awesome_Name@reddit
A lot of the east coast/midwest turnpikes are tolled access. There aren't that many exits, and tolls are charged based on entry/exit, and distance. The more you enter and exit the turnpike, the more you pay in tolls.
A lot of states like New York and Massachusetts have moved away from exit-based tolling in the past decade, but plenty like Ohio and Pennsylvania still have it.
No-Clerk-5600@reddit
Tell that to Indiana.
no_blueforyellow@reddit
No, but I WILL exit to get a butter burger.
stuck_behind_a_truck@reddit
Man, I wish Culver’s would make it to the west coast
redflagsmoothie@reddit
The Ohio turnpike feels … ceaseless…when you’re on it.
OK_Ingenue@reddit
Ours on the West Coast are nice. Usually they take advantage of nature so the settings are nice. They have picnic tables, bathrooms, information about the area. Look like they are part of the state park system but I’m not sure.
Def no food courts.
Master-Collection488@reddit
New York's are a lot better than they were when I was a kid in the 70s.
Nevada has NONE (but there's no toll roads, either).
Arizona's are basically just big gas stations/truck stops. They won't likely stop you from using their rest rooms, but they're pretty much in a store.
MillieBirdie@reddit
Some of the ones in Virginia have a big counter where you can buy all kinds of peanuts.
annaoze94@reddit
I don't know who funds what but the Oasis ones in the Chicago suburbs that are essentially bridges over the highway are cool as hell. They might actually be on tollways so they might not be state funded actually but I don't know
yozaner1324@reddit
A couple bathroom buildings in the middle of a grassy area with trees and possibly picnic benches. They have drinking fountains, dog areas, trash cans, and often a vending machine. Some places might have a small statue or plaque if something important happened nearby. I've never seen a store or restaurant at a rest stop.
Verbz@reddit
As a NWer, it kinda blew my mind to see the East Coast ones with full food courts and gas stations, etc. I was used to a barely functioning bathroom and maaaaaaybe a vending machine behind a metal grate.
Shot-Artichoke-4106@reddit
It's pretty much the same in CA. I think its because both states have so much cool other stuff, we don't need to put a lot of stuff there :-)
HillBillie__Eilish@reddit
I beg to differ. Driving from Oregon to California often is like driving in two worlds.
Oregon: Decent rest stop, clean bathroom. Efficient.
California: CLOSED. Also CLOSED. CLOSED. CLOSED.
Shot-Artichoke-4106@reddit
Apparently, my experience differs from yours - lol.
My point was that unlike places like Ohio, where rest stops are highly complex, rest stops in OR and CA are pretty basic - bathrooms, outdoor space, picnic areas, but not food courts or stores.
RachelRTR@reddit
It's because they are privately owned roads. All the rest stops down south are bathrooms and maybe vending machines.
HillBillie__Eilish@reddit
That is very true!!
jeremiah1142@reddit
Washington: decent rest stop, clean bathroom. Efficient. Except 1/2 the bathrooms at the rest stop are closed.
Anianna@reddit
There are states that want to add restaurants and gas stations to their rest stops, but are denied by a federal law passed in the 50s that prohibited sale of food or fuel at rest stops as of 1960 because restaurants and gas stations along exits didn't want to have to compete with more convenient rest stops. Rest stops that already offered those things were grandfathered in.
Even more recently, there was a ban on expanding at rest stops, so when our rest stops need more toilets, we are forced to add portajohns to handle the demand rather than provide adequate facilities to motorists.
In the late augts, many states faced budget crises and were forced to shutter some of their rest stops without the funding from commercialization enjoyed by some northern states. In my state, rest stops were finally reopened by negotiating with Geico to fund many of our programs in return for putting up signs advertising the company and putting their logo on our roadside assistance vehicles.
So, the states that have small buildings and only offer vending machines would very much like to look like to offer the nicer rest stops in some northern states, but federal law prohibits it.
Craigh-na-Dun@reddit
Pretty nice in Intermountain West states. Clean, usually with picnic tables, doggie area, family bathroom.
elangomatt@reddit
I notice you didn't mention Indiana. The few I've been to in Indiana have been absolutely terrible. The one I have stopped at a few times on the way from the Chicago area to Louisville KY looks like it was built when the interstate was first built and nothing else since. There isn't even indoor space for vending machines so the machines are outside in a crappy wooden shed with the sun beating down on them. The last time I was there though everything was at least working which I couldn't say was the case last year when there was only 1 working sink and urinal.
HavBoWilTrvl@reddit
NC has nice rest stops but they are just that. Most will only have vending machines for snacks and drinks. Most have walking trails and picnic tables in addition to the very clean toilet facilities.
TrickyShare242@reddit
Also don't sleep there. MJ lost his dad to an NC rest stop.
DoctorDickedDown@reddit
Just don't get into gambling debt
TrickyShare242@reddit
This man knows his conspiracy.
redflagsmoothie@reddit
NY state just replaced all of theirs and are almost done with construction of the last few. They’re really new and nice and clean…for now. They have all sorts of different fast food restaurants in them too, Panera, Chick Fil A, Burger King, Starbucks, Popeyes, some others. NO McDonald’s.
The MA ones are older and some of them can be really shitty, but I also think that’s a product of their age. Also most of them have a McDonalds. I spend a lot of time driving back and forth across both states.
MadeMeMeh@reddit
You don't like the ones in MA? Since the update to the NY rest stops I make a point of stopping in Lee in hopes I can make it all the way to Buffalo without having to stop again.
Before the update I always used to stop in Guilderland or Chittenango.
cohrt@reddit
Too bad all the new ones are shit. They all tiny. Bathrooms have like 5 stalls now and god help you if you try and get food during a lunch or dinner rush. Barely any room for people to stand in line.
redflagsmoothie@reddit
No I agree with you, the designs are horrible.
1table@reddit
I am in Massachusetts and we have all of what you described depends on what road you are on. We have a burger king off the highway by my house that has always been the murder Burger King cause there was a murder in the bathroom. Some are just toilets and vending and others are fill on mall type places. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Alexandra_Zapp#:\~:text=Zapp%20was%20on%20her%20way,Zapp%20entered%20the%20women's%20bathroom.
Maxpowr9@reddit
MA has awful rest stops. I'd argue that Carlton is probably the best, which is such a low bar.
Outside of Western MA, there isn't much need for rest stops since an exit is at most, 2mi away.
MadeMeMeh@reddit
I am not sure about East of Springfield but Lee and Blandford have pretty good rest stops.
1table@reddit
Idk like you mean the ones on the pike? I mean they even have dog runs now which is impressive IMO since they are so old lol. I’m talking about route 95 or 24, they are old sure but awful? Idk I’ll take a working bathroom over a portapot any day of the week. I have been to so many visitor centers throughout the country with those it’s so crazy.
squarerootofapplepie@reddit
Also as a state we’re most likely at the end or beginning of most journeys so nobody needs a rest stop.
TexasForever361@reddit
Well I remember the one on the way from Corpus Christi to San Antonio and the signs said “Watch for Snakes”.
There’s on leaving Sacramento headed north that’s more specific that says “Watch for Rattlesnakes“.
We can’t all be Ohio I guess. 😜😜
Comfortable-Study-69@reddit
Texas ones are pretty simple. Usually just some picnic tables/pavilions, an air-conditioned building with some historical stuff from the area and some plaques, some vending machines, water, a lot of bathrooms, and a few pay phones.
JimNtexas@reddit
Don’t forget the storm shelters! I would say the newer are kept exceptionally clean. Also they have offices for law enforcement, which is a nice safety feature.
Arleare13@reddit
Not my own, but I think New Jersey’s deserve a shoutout. Not for anything related to the services, which vary heavily. But because they’ve named them all after famous New Jerseyans. There’s the Frank Sinatra Service Area, the Thomas Edison, the Grover Cleveland, the Judy Blume… I think my favorite is the Jon Bon Jovi Service Area.
I’m not even joking, I love it. It’s really distinctive.
concrete_isnt_cement@reddit
I think we use the term differently out west. We don’t really have anything with businesses in it like that, just little roadside parks with restrooms and vending machines.
Round-Sprinkles9942@reddit
Trash! And omfg you go to the bathroom too early there's gonna be some tweaker jacking off in the bathroom in the middle of everything. New job with long commutes making me head to work around 3:00 am and my morning number 2 kicks in right at this rest area between columbia n Charleston SC. First time I was shocked, wanted to call police or highway patrol? Didn't really know who to reach out to, but just instead got the hell out of there and went to work. Next day, diff dude, same thing but he was making vids on his phone or possible streaming. Twice so far, but tolerance building quick, cause I just shook my head with a stank face at him, got on a toilet and took a loud loud shit I hope ruined his video.
Eff-Bee-Exx@reddit
Essentially just parking areas. Some are scenic view points. The more elaborate ones will have outhouses and maybe a picnic table or two.
Key-Mark4536@reddit
Yep, here’s Chulitna River along the Anchorage-Fairbanks route. Just a parking lot, non-plumbed bathrooms, and a picnic table. Anything else you’ll have to bring yourself. Nice scenery, but you’re 20 miles from even a gas station, so don’t expect much.
Wafflebot17@reddit
Cleanish bathrooms and vending machines
JoeCensored@reddit
They've been improving. Good overhangs, park benches, well kept bathrooms, and vending machines. I think I've seen one with a cafe, but that's not typical.
20 years ago they had bathrooms in the same condition as a run down gas station.
qwerty_ca@reddit
There are state-funded rest stops in California?
WarrenMulaney@reddit
Have you noticed though how damn long it takes to refurbish rest areas? I swear the one about 30 mins outside of Paso Robles was closed for like a year.
JoeCensored@reddit
Oh man, I'm pretty sure I've seen some closed for over a year as they're updated.
potchie626@reddit
That’s the one on 46, right? I used to go back and forth during the holidays and it was worked on for soooo long.
WarrenMulaney@reddit
Yep. That’s the one. The wife and I would make the drive over there about every other month. We started betting each other if it would be open or not.
HillBillie__Eilish@reddit
Up north on the way to Oregon they're always closed.
Sudden-Belt2882@reddit
I think a lot of it has to do with how they are typically far from population centers.
shelwood46@reddit
When I was a kid in the 70s many of the rest areas (or waysides as they called them) had group outhouses and a manual pump outside for water, it was GRIM.
sluttypidge@reddit
Fairly nice in the ones I've been to. Some act as tornado shelters.
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7yearlurkernowposter@reddit
They are my #1 source of free paper maps.
LexiNovember@reddit
Florida rest stops are either really beautiful or seem likely to be inhabited by serial killers, depending on the location. I don’t know the actual crime stats but there have definitely been late night solo stops I’ve made at spots on Alligator Alley where I was like “Whelp. Hope I don’t die.”
T-Rex_timeout@reddit
I will use an emesis bag in the car before I would use the one in big cypress again. I have never seen a literal shithole before. I am confident there was a snake in there.
Gatorae@reddit
Yeah, our interstate rest stops are boring/gross by day and I would avoid them at all costs at night. The Turnpike stops are all really nice with clean bathrooms, well lit, with pretty good food and drinks. Auntie Anne's is hard to beat for road food.
LexiNovember@reddit
And Sbarro’s! All the mall food that isn’t really worth venturing to a mall to get but hits the spot on the road.
Bastyra2016@reddit
I’m not generally a rest stop person. When I lived in NJ I would use what seems now to be called the Bon Jovi Service Plaza. It had reasonably clean bathrooms, a Burger King (and a few other options). Like someone said I’m not getting off the parkway for gas and something to eat unless I have to. I now live in GA. If you have a dog they are better than a gas station for pet relief as they generally have a large grassy area. The parking lots are illuminated at night but they seem a little dicey to me especially in the wee hours of the morning. The bathrooms are “gas station” quality. They usually have a drinks vending machine. They don’t sell gas. I’d never pick one over a QT,Circle K or Loves gas station. I would choose it over a two pump gas station with the bathroom outside though….
houndsoflu@reddit
Concrete, tile, clean, but damp.
ucbiker@reddit
Virginia’s are pretty barebones just bathrooms, maps, and vending machines but at least they’re clean.
Traditional_Entry183@reddit
Unfortunately, they permenantly closed some of them, and others seem to be under constant construction despite not being very nice. My family almost always just stops at Sheetz now instead of the rest area because its nicer and we can get a drink.
Cleveland_Grackle@reddit
Full of homeless in beat up campers.
shnanogans@reddit (OP)
State?
Cleveland_Grackle@reddit
OR
TehWildMan_@reddit
Alabama's, i59 between Birmingham and Chattanooga in particular, are pretty barebones. Consistently clean bathrooms, but it feels like every single thing about them was built when the interstate highway was built and never refreshed.
Other than that, you have some barely illuminated parking spaces, some grassy areas to walk pets in, travel brochures and some vending machines I'm not sure anyone has ever touched.
TheRandomestWonderer@reddit
A lot of them have been and are being redone. They’re always clean. The vending machines are fine. We travel from north Alabama to Gulf Shore and to Dothan quite often, so we’re there quite a bit.
swedusa@reddit
The original ones along 65 between Mobile and Montgomery are being replaced. The new welcome centers at the state line are pretty good.
blue_eyes2483@reddit
I don’t remover the exact location but the one I stopped in AL last month was brand new and had a visitors center with about 5 employees just standing around. It was just over the TN border and I think had a rocket in display years ago
TehWildMan_@reddit
That would be the one on 65 Southbound near the al-tn border. Haven't been there in a while, but the Saturn IB that was displayed there was torn down about a year ago (turns out rockets weren't meant to sit on the ground for half a century), although I believe the state is procuring a replica to fill it's space.
Nacho_eating_Zombie@reddit
Can't say I have ever been to a rest stop in my own state but Indiana has a nice one, stopped by it a couple of times on my way too and from Missouri over the years. Missouri has some nice ones too...and now I want to travel down to Missouri again lol.
moxie-maniac@reddit
In New Hampshire, a rest area is likely to have a State Liquor Store, either in the "regular" rest area or a separate liquor store rest area. NH doesn't have a sales or income tax, so makes money selling booze.
shnanogans@reddit (OP)
Im no highway safety expert but that sounds like a terrible idea
Mayor__Defacto@reddit
There used to be? Not sure if it still is, a law in Massachusetts that liquor stores couldn’t be open on Sundays. As a result anyone who needed to buy wine/liquor on Sunday had to go to NH.
squarerootofapplepie@reddit
That hasn’t been the case in 15-20 years.
tungFuSporty@reddit
State liquor stores close at 7 pm. So you have to drive to Mass. after hours.
b-sharp-minor@reddit
Between loading up on wine and liquor and Common Man apple cider donuts, it's worth driving through New Hampshire just for the rest stops.
MusicalMerlin1973@reddit
Nh: What state funded rest stops? Oh wait. Yeah. YOU SHOULD STOP HERE TO BUY LIQUOR!!!! It’s been that way since my childhood. Now that there’s seemingly a state liquor store in every town I don’t know why those exist on i93 past the hooksett tolls.
Mass: I think they still have a few. But they got rid of the ones on rt3 north of rt128 two decades ago. The ones on the pike past Worcester are decent.
Maine: pretty awesome. Except: why a starchucks? They don’t have fast service. If I want a coffee on the road I want one fast so I can get back on the road. Standing in an interminable line is not restful. It’s overpriced sugar imo. DD may be hot garbage but at least they’re fast.
NY (at least on the thruway). Sorry guys, those are dumps to go with that trashy road. Former locals I met last year at one said different decade same status.
Ct: meh. But there’s Boy Scouts with coffee on the weekends often times.
NB: closed whenever I’m going by. Maybe because by the time I get there it’s after 7.
NS: I can’t recall any
virtual_human@reddit
Most of the ones in Ohio, where I am, are nice but you don't need toll roads to have nice ones.
rcjhawkku@reddit
Just drove on I-70 through Ohio. Most of the stops were closed.
HailMi@reddit
There are nice things in Ohio!?! Well I'll be...
LaCreatura25@reddit
Hard to believe I know lol. Cuyahoga Valley National Park is an underrated gem and I'll die on that hill
l3onkerz@reddit
Yeah I frequent between Cincinnati and Columbus and the one north of Lebanon is really nice but it’s also newish.
rcjhawkku@reddit
The stops on I-70 in Kansas aren’t always that nice, but there’s one every 30 miles or so, which is a great convenience to men of a certain age.
commandrix@reddit
The official Florida visitors' centers along the interstates are nice. If you're just entering Florida, make a pit stop at one of them. You won't regret it. However, it's possible that they're the only nice "rest stop" type deals in Florida.
Mysterious_Toe_1@reddit
I'm in SW Michigan and you're spot on about our rest stops. Actually I'd much rather stop at a Pilot truck stop than any rest area in Michigan. I didn't even know they could be that nice until I started taking the Ohio turnpike as far as I could to get to Virginia to visit family. It felt like the safest, cleanest, most convenient road trip of my life. Kudos to you Buckeye State
weirdoldhobo1978@reddit
The few highway rest stops that Alaska are mostly just pit toilets and that's it. Some of them don't even have paved parking.
Pyehole@reddit
In Washington I regularly have to travel 2.5 hours north to visit and support my mom. Outside of the major cities, in those stretches are three rest stops. All of them are basically parking lots with a restroom. It's perfect, I can use the restroom without feeling obligated to spend money at a business that is supporting it. I can stretch my legs, walk my dog if I have it with me, toss out trash from my car and when need be even take a nap in my car.
If I want any services there is no shortage of businesses right off of the interstate that can provide those for me. And they're well advertised with signage ahead of the off-ramps. There's no need to build a special business oasis.
balthisar@reddit
You think the Michigan ones are shacks? You mentioned "state-funded" but then immediately tout how the private enterprise funded rest stops are so good. Among state funded rest stops, Michigan's are some of the best in the country.
Ohio's state funded (not on the turnpike) are similar to Michigan's. Go to Texas if you want to experience a shack on the side of the road.
saginator5000@reddit
Quite nice and well maintained. They make sure to renovate them every so often and the bathrooms are clean and spacious. The vending machines are normally well-stocked, too.
DOMEENAYTION@reddit
I agree. Our rest stop bathrooms are probably the biggest public bathroom stalls I've been in.
ShiraPiano@reddit
California’s suck. I miss Massachusetts rest stops, one of only a few things I miss about that state.
ResortRadiant4258@reddit
Iowa rest areas are VERY nice and there are lots of them Kansas rest areas are horrific and very few even exist.
FreydisEir@reddit
I feel like ours are pretty average. Bathrooms, a few pamphlets about local attractions, and picnic tables outside that make a decent lunch spot if you packed lunch. Maybe some vending machines, but maybe not. I usually only stop at a rest area on the interstate if I absolutely have to pee before the next gas station. If I want snacks or something to eat, I’ll drive on to an exit with a gas station.
upnflames@reddit
New York rest stops have become really expensive and inconvenient in recent years. I sometimes stop at one on the way to Albany that's got like a green apple store or something like that in it. It's basically a green organic themed seven eleven where everything is three times as expensive and half as good. $18 dollars for stale coffee and an old microwaved egg sandwich, I hate it so much.
Also, they took out all the McDonald's and replaced them with shake shack's. Like, what the fuck. I eat shake shack when I'm high, or I decide that i just don't give a fuck about the rest of my day. It's the one fast food joint that somehow makes me feel shittier after eating it than even McDonald's, and it takes twice as long, and it's twice as expensive, and there's nothing on the menu that I can eat in my damn car. I truly hate the schmucks who run NY transport.
callmeKiKi1@reddit
California rest stops are very utilitarian, at least in the Northern part of the state. There is a bathroom, a place to walk a pet, and that is all. There may be signs warning you about rattlesnakes for entertainment.
potchie626@reddit
I have a feeling that they’re like that because they’re usually really far away from any town. But, even ones close to cities, like the one with Junipero Serra, south of San Francisco, are still pretty basic.
Some have some info about local animals and fauna, but rarely have nice picnic spots.
I am glad they’re there when needed though. A lot of times I don’t to stop for long so it’s nice to only stop for a few minutes to hit the bathroom.
cohrt@reddit
Been shit ever since they started “refurbishing” them. They’re super tiny now, bathrooms are smaller too. Plus most of them have been closed for years since they decided to tear most of them down all at once.
AndrewtheRey@reddit
The ones I know of in Indiana that haven’t shut down are pretty basic. Just bathrooms, tourism brochures, and vending machines
Connect-Brick-3171@reddit
Delaware only has one, to the best of my knowledge, a little east of the University. I've been there a couple of times. They have the usual gas stations. The place is clean, restrooms ample. There's a minimart for snacks and regional souvenirs, some fast food type of places. Where it excels is in its tourist corner. Substantial collection of tourist brochures covering much of the region with not only Delaware, but NJ to the east, adjacent Maryland, and Pennsylvania north to the Poconos.
potchie626@reddit
I stopped in during my only trip driving in the area, about 20 years ago. It was nice to hop off, get gas, cinnabon, and drinks for the rest of the trip, and mark off another state I had “been to,” since it doesn’t count if you only drive through it.
beeredditor@reddit
There’s very few rest stops in Southern California, and those that exist are pretty spartan.
okamzikprosim@reddit
Georgia is nothing particularly interesting, but Maryland is a state that deserves serious kudos for their rest stops.
Boatman1141@reddit
The ones I've seen here in Arkansas are actually pretty nice. They seem few and far between though.
WritPositWrit@reddit
NY is variable depending on the highway, but usually pretty nice. PA can be a bit rustic, excepting the Tpk, where they are spacious but not super clean. NJ can be a bit run down.
Odd-Help-4293@reddit
I feel like Maryland doesn't have a lot of rest stops, since there's usually a town with at least a gas station and a fast food restaurant at each highway exit. The one I can think of off the top of my head is on 15 near the PA border, and that's the "bathrooms and vending machines" type.
deltronethirty@reddit
My favorite ones are upstate NY. One in particular had a playground, hiking trails, visitor's center with high speed internet, a vending machine full of summer sausage, local dank cheeses, artisan chocolate and the best cup of coffee I've had from a machine.
Meilingcrusader@reddit
We famously have absurdly large liquor palaces at our rest stops to sell cheap alcohol to people for Massachusetts. Well and our own people, we are a famously drunk state
RickMoneyRS@reddit
All I've ever seen of Texas is a parking lot, maybe a few picnic tables. If you're really lucky you might see one those cheap cast iron grills or a non-functioning vending machine locked in a cage.
Traditional_Trust_93@reddit
I'm more familiar with the rest stops on I-35 on the way to Duluth from the cities. They're nice. Kinda look like a greeting center you'd see at a state park or something. Well maintained and they've got dog areas.
kateinoly@reddit
NIce. Clean.
Qnofputrescence1213@reddit
I’m in Minnesota. I don’t even remember the last time I stopped at one.
However, I drove across upstate NY in 1999. I was incredibly impressed with the rest stops on the turnpike. Yeah, Ohio had decent services, but they didn’t look like old farmhouses!
the_real_JFK_killer@reddit
I'm not even sure if we have state funded ones in texas, but the private ones are great.
QuinceDaPence@reddit
Not sure what you're referring to as a private rest stop but yeah we have public rest stops and they are typically very nice.
Now truck stops and Buc-ees are private but those are not the same as "rest stops"
pinniped1@reddit
Kansas - they're full service areas with food and gas on the turnpike. Other highways they're more basic but still reasonably nice.
Missouri - bare bones
Iowa - really nice, their welcome centers often have other things in them and are staffed well. They also have some basic rest areas.
tschwand@reddit
Missouri has a couple of nice ones down in the boot heel. Talk about the great New Madrid earthquake. Most are just your average building with restrooms and vending. But some are not much more than an enclosed hole in the ground to do your business.
Sp4ceh0rse@reddit
In Oregon, they tend to be nicely maintained but pretty simple. Bathrooms, picnic areas, pet relief area, that’s about it.
mysecondaccountanon@reddit
I've experienced uniformity in many rest stops on the PA Turnpike
Graycy@reddit
The new rest stops are parklike with sidewalks around a huge open grassy area. The building is centered with public parking on one side and trucks the other. The only thing I don’t like, especially in inclement weather, is the walk to the building is pretty far, unlike the old stops. It’s further for handicappers and the old folks too. But it’s scenic.
Hatweed@reddit
The rest stops are about the only parts of the PA highway system that aren’t terrible.
stillnotelf@reddit
The last two Christmases, the rest areas along 64 and 81 in VA have either been totally closed or been closed fancy Porta potties with open regular Porta potties in the parking lot, with no way to wash your hands. No actual toilets or open buildings....just closed buildings in the background. (I'm sure it's not all of them....just the ones I needed)
aphasial@reddit
You'd think California would have intense rest stops, but they're really just glorified restrooms and parking areas. Rather than service-based, official "rest stops", we simply have small offramps and tiny communities that pop up, with gas stations, fast food, a motel or three, and a few other services.
The first time I drove back east and encountered a state-official rest stop like you're describing, I was very, very confused, because they seemed completely superfluous to what was actually needed or how drivers actually acted out west.
Lobenz@reddit
Agreed. Most of the rest areas in California are very utilitarian but offer a relatively clean restroom, water and often vending machines. They seem more trucker friendly in that they allow trucks to park over night.
With that, there are many, many more of the communities you suggested that have popped up on exits that offer some nice amenities, often good food and some decent motels.
Particular-Cloud6659@reddit
Vermont has incredible ones, wooded, often with locals with a farm stand and vermont rockers, sonetines a green house. Really beauriful buildings in a pretty setting.
Mass has regular ones. Gas station, a few restaurants, like a dangelos, boston market, fresh city salad, papa ginos, mcdonalds, auntie annies. Just basic mall court food a foot court style seating area in and out. An area for dogs. A coffee shop or 2.
TillPsychological351@reddit
Vermont's are nice, but they don't have restaurants or shops.
Iamonly@reddit
They exist and are usable. That's about it.
Primary_Excuse_7183@reddit
lol glad you said state funded… because bucees is the official rest stop of the state of TX 😂
shnanogans@reddit (OP)
I’ve never been to a bucees but I have a XXL tie dye bucees t shirt I sleep in that I got from a thrift store. I hope to go there one day ❤️🐿️
TheBimpo@reddit
Spartan and serviceable. A place to use the bathroom and stretch out. A few vending machines. We could use some new ones.
Sundae_2004@reddit
Traveled thru TN to AR; and went from gorgeous to feeling gaslit. Tennessee was large with lots of pamphlets in separate building (from restrooms) touting tourism. Arkansas was like, ”Well, we know we need to provide bathrooms but the tourists can just plot their next destination on this map behind plexiglass with a tack ‘you are here.”. :P
doa70@reddit
Rest stops and roads were terrific in Ohio last time I was out there, a couple years ago. The line crossing from Ohio to Indiana was very noticeable, big dropoff.
VitruvianDude@reddit
The rest areas in Oregon, like most in the West, have no commercial facilities. Instead, they are a pleasant, scenic spot to use the restroom (which usually isn't too badly maintained), stretch the legs and maybe have a picnic. They aren't crowded and are placed every 30 to 50 miles on the two cross-state interstates.
Guapplebock@reddit
Wisconsin has clean, comfortable and mostly no frills rest areas with just vending. I'd like to see what privatization could bring.
steve-d@reddit
Most of the rest stops in Utah are in great shape.
stinson16@reddit
They’re fine. Pretty much the same as your description of Michigan rest stops. But they serve their purpose, they’re always clean in my experience, toilet paper is usually well stocked, soap is always stocked. They usually have a vending machine and some offer hot coffee. Some of them have picnic tables if you bring your own food. They have grassy areas for dogs. Pretty bare bones, but good enough.
Uptheveganchefpunx@reddit
Most of them have free coffee in Washington too.
CorgisHaveNoKnees@reddit
California, land of the automobile, are really crappy, when you find one.
CalTrans is supposed to be improving them, but the picture of the proposed rest stop looks just like the old ones.
anneofgraygardens@reddit
In California they're mostly just meh bathrooms on the side of the road with a vending machine.
I stopped at the one at Donner Pass on I-80 just a couple weeks ago and there were two different signs telling people not to play in the snow because caltrans hates fun. Also an amusingly euphemistic monument to the Donner Party. It was like "many members of the group died of starvation and exposure".
j_ly@reddit
Here in Minnesota, we just spent $7.2 million upgrading one of ours.
_bibliofille@reddit
North Carolina's are generally unremarkable, as in usually not "nice", but not gross either. You'll likely find some vending machines and decent bathrooms. They're well lit and frequently patrolled by cops.
HarveyMushman72@reddit
Pretty Spartan. Toilets, maybe a vending machine, picnic tables.
IsisArtemii@reddit
Ours are not always in popular areas. Generally pretty nice. Sometimes in-between towns. If it’s a camp ground, you might get hot water showers!
Soundwave-1976@reddit
It really depends, some are really nice when you first cross into the state. Visitors centers, state info and such. The ones on less used roads are more or less outhouses that are "cleaned"
fatmanwa@reddit
In Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming it's like a little park with a bathroom. Sometimes they have a concession stand staffed by volunteers. As you drive closer and then finally get into Texas, they just get worse to non-existent. At least the roads I have driven from the NW to/from Texas.
UltraShadowArbiter@reddit
I remember them being pretty nice, but I'm pretty sure the last time I was at one was like, a decade and a half ago.
Otherwise-OhWell@reddit
Illinois' are fine. Iowa's are better. Those are the two I'm most familiar with.
Chicago1871@reddit
Northern Illinois has really cool midcentury modern rest stops that span over the tollways.
They’re getting torn down and replaced with cheaper ones.
https://youtu.be/gWH0BBuSpaU?si=dnP-9BDQv9L_gd2q
Vachic09@reddit
Variable to some extent, but they're usually pretty clean and well maintained
notthegoatseguy@reddit
My understanding is the various turnpikes (OH, PA, NJ) pre-date the Interstate Highway Network and can have commercial activity at their Rest Areas, whereas the newer parts of the Interstate network commercial activity outside of vending machines is prohibited. I think its both to keep traffic running smoothly, and also a bit of a benefit to nearby communities to encourage economic development near exits.
MargaritasAndTacos@reddit
Apparently our vending machines are criminals, because we keep them all behind bars
I was surprised vending machines live freely in other states