LIFETIME GOALS

The quest to visit all 50 states: How many have you seen?

NEW YORK » I recently reached a goal that I’ve been working on for most of my life: I visited all 50 states.

And I’ve been surprised by how many others I know who have been on the very same quest. “We’re seeing more and more people with this goal,” said Alicia Rovey, founder of the All Fifty States Club, in an interview for AP Travel’s “Get Outta Here!” podcast. “It seems like any room you go in, there’s at least one person that is trying to get to all 50.”

What’s behind the trend? Gas is cheap. The 50-state bucket list appeals to all age groups, from millennials who love to travel, to folks who travel a lot for work, to empty nesters and retirees with time for road trips.

For Americans, traveling around the U.S. is also cheaper and less daunting logistically than traveling internationally. And because the U.S. is so big and diverse, every region has something different to offer, from cities to farms, from mountains Travel Editor Beth Harpaz standing beneath a “Welcome to Idaho” sign near Gibbonsville, Idaho, and the Montana border. Idaho was Harpaz’s final destination on a quest to visit all 50 states. to beaches, from Southern food to Tex-Mex.

Some travelers use apps or online maps to track their travels. Others use real maps. Alyssa Kauanoe sells a product online called JetsetterMaps ($28) that lets travelers “scratch off the states you’ve been to and get your own personalized travel map.”

Because there’s no real way to check on those applying for membership in the All Fifty club, “we don’t ask for proof,” said Rovey. “It’s kind of an honor system.”

WHAT COUNTS?

For a visit to count, Rovey says, “You have to touch the ground and breathe the air.” That “rules out airplane layovers.” But she says most 50-staters set their own stipulations: having a meal, spending the night, going to a historic site or spending time with a local.

Jefferson George visited 50 states in 50 days. He drove to the lower 48, starting in Maine and ending in Seattle, then flew to Alaska and before noon on day 50, made it to Hawaii. But he didn’t just set foot in a place to check it off: “I wanted to see something of note in each state, whether it was an established attraction like the North Rim of the Grand Canyon or something maybe a little more obscure like the first paved road in America in a little town, Bellefontaine, Ohio.”

Kelly Will did the 50 states in a year, using social media to find families to stay with everywhere

SUADE LLC, ALYSSA KAUANOE VIA AP This undated photo provided by Alyssa Kauanoe of Suade LLC, shows one of their “JetsetterMaps Scratch Your Travels USA Map,” unscratched.

SUADE LLC, ALYSSA KAUANOE VIA AP A detail of their “JetsetterMaps Scratch Your Travels USA Map.”

SUADE LLC, ALYSSA KAUANOE VIA AP Alyssa Kauanoe of Suade LLC, shows one of their “JetsetterMaps Scratch Your Travels USA Map,” partially scratched off. Kauanoe, who sells the maps on Etsy, Amazon and other sites, said the product is designed to be “fun and customizable” so that...

CHRIS ROVZAR VIA AP Kelly Will in Stoneham, Maine, with Rod Rovzar, who took her ice fishing. Will visited Stoneham as part of a year-long trip to see the 50 states by visiting with locals and immersing herself in communities.

ELON HARPAZ VIA AP