8 Kid-Friendly Road Trip Stops Between Southern California and Utah

We do the drive between Southern California and Utah a few times each year. Our origin and destination point changes occasionally but still we have traversed up California, through the corner of Arizona and into Utah more times than I can count. Here are our favorite spots to stop with our kids, from south to north. 

1) Marchfield Airforce Base in Temecula: This place looks awesome. It’s a big airplane museum great for letting the kids run. We also know of great blueberry picking in Temecula!

2) Barstow Station McDonald’s: Have you ever been to a McDonald’s IN a train station? That’s what this is. Little kids go nuts for it especially little boys. Beware there are lots of trains for sale. Also warning, the restaurant is small and popular, which means it’s crowded. I wasn’t very impressed with the bathroom situation either.

3) Eddie’s World Barstow: Am I allowed to have a favorite on this list? Because it’s between this one and Beaver Creamery. This place is awesome. My kids loved the ceramic people mosaics. We played “I Spy” for quite a while! The food was pretty good, I liked the mini corn dogs and the steak fajita salad. The real draw though is the bathroom. They are super clean and new AND they have a peeing game in the men’s urinal! You probably won’t leave without browsing their extensive travel friendly toys or buying some candy from the rows upon rows of every kind of candy you could ever want.

4) Las Vegas: There’s so much to do in Vegas you could make a whole trip out of it! We love the M&M World Store, the Bodies Exhibit in the Luxor (also the Titanic Exhibit), The Bellagio Fountains and so on. I’ve also heard there’s a cool Chevron Station in Jean, Nevada that’s the largest in the US. There are some fun things to look at there and it’s a good place to run around.

5) Seven Magic Mountains: This is a roadside photo op stop that’s fun for kids. It’s nothing special and there’s no food, but it’s fun to stop and take a picture by the colorful rock stacks.

6) Cafe Rio Mesquite Nevada: This is a Cafe Rio that’s right off the freeway. It’s a bigger restaurant so ideal for the kids to run around. Also sometimes it’s nice to have a big delicious salad on a road trip instead of typical road trip fare. Get the pulled pork salad with guacamole and cilantro lime dressing. Also little secret, kids get a free quesadilla with an adult meal. It’s not on the menu but they will do it if you ask!

7) Chik-Fil-A St. George: This Chik-Fil-A is right off the highway and it has a playground! Closed on Sunday. We also like playing on the St. George Temple grounds (a bit out of the way of the freeway) and playing at the dinosaur park.

8) Beaver Creamery: Looking for some delicious road trip ice cream? You’ve found it! We love stopping here for the delicious food and the ice cream. At the back there’s a tractor themed playground! I love the strawberry salad here. In non-COVID times they have a cheese sampling room where you can try tons of different kinds of cheeses.

Are you headed to Utah soon and want some help planning your trip? I would love to help with our Custom Itinerary Builder!

Here’s what people are saying about our products:

“Camille planned our trip to San Francisco with our kids. We loved the mix of playgrounds and cultural sights. Everything she suggested was perfect for our kids and we had a blast too! I honestly felt like I was being led around San Francisco by a mom friend who understands the struggle of traveling with kids.”

— Lacey, mom of 5

“We used the San Diego With Kids E-Book on our recent trip to San Diego! I loved that I could pull it up on my phone and instantly have a mom-verified list of things to do. She even included parking for every single activity. We will definitely be using Kids City Guides for our future trips!”

— Paige, mother of 4

“Kids City Guides Disney Hacks book saved our trip! I loved how all the practical information was at the beginning and then we had a ton of fun reading the Disney Trivia sections at the park. We barely waited in any lines following her advice. This mom knows Disney. ”

— Lindsay, mother of 2

“I was totally overwhelmed planning our Los Angeles trip with my 18 mo old. I got a Kids City Guides custom itinerary and it made everything so easy! All I had to do was show up and Camille told me the best places to go and when. I really liked being able to focus on having fun with my son instead of trying to figure out what to do next in a new place.”

— Sylvia, mother of 1

Wondering how we afford travel as a family of four? No we aren’t sponsored by anyone, super rich, nor do we travel the world full time with our kids.

We are a normal suburban family with school, work, a mortgage, and sports obligations. If we can figure out a way to fit travel into our life and our budget, you can too!