Prepared? Let the route begin!
"I'm sure we'd all like to tour 350,201 kilometers through the history of the United States . It's a lot of miles, but you can rest easy knowing it's the shortest possible route to visit all 49,603 historic sites. You can't save a single meter by altering the itinerary," he explains. William Cook .
The challenge is based on what is known in mathematics as the traveling salesman problem (TSP) which asks the question: Given a fixed list of cities and the distances between each pair of them, what is the shortest possible route to visit each city for exactly one trip and return to the origin city? Inspired by other maps such as the most efficient road trip through the United States created by Randal S. Olson.
The fastest route through all the historic places in the United States
HOW DOES IT WORK?
You can browse this map and consult the information and images of each of the stops. In Complete version (with a cities menu on the right where you will find New York, Chicago or San Francisco). Be patient because it may take time to load. You can choose the versions divided by regions: Midwest , Central , East and West . Check its user guide here.
San Francisco on William Cook's map
New York on William Cook's map