A stretch of suffocatingly hot weather may have made it tempting to just stay indoors as much as possible, but a recent study reminds us West Virginia and surrounding states have a great deal to offer outside. The best part is, it just takes a switch from the air conditioning in your house to the air conditioning in your car to go enjoy it.

WalletHub’s 2025’s Best and Worst States for Summer Road Trips placed the Buckeye State at an impressive third in the country. The idea for this particular group of researchers was to find road trips that were fun and budget-friendly, which is a bonus for all of us.

We forget about the options here because we are so used to thinking we must go far afield for vacation and weekend fun. That’s a shame because, according to the study, Ohio is 15th in the country for the number of attractions, 24th for the lowest price of three-star hotel rooms, 15th for the average price of gasoline, 11th for nightlife options per capita, 17th for vehicle miles traveled per capita, 10th for access to scenic byways and 17th for fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. In fact, the only category in which Ohio dropped below the midpoint was for the lowest price of camping, where we ranked 27th.

Ohio has fared better than Pennsylvania, which is ranked 10th overall, and West Virginia, which is ranked 35th overall.

The Keystone State came in 16th in the country for the number of attractions, 17th for the lowest price of three-star hotel rooms, 41st for the average price of gasoline, 10th for nightlife options per capita, sixth for vehicle miles traveled per capita, 25th for access to scenic byways and 19th for fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The commonwealth was ranked 26th for the lowest price of camping.

West Virginia, meanwhile, is 50th in the country for the number of attractions, 35th for the lowest price of three-star hotel rooms, 13th for the average price of gasoline, 40th for nightlife options per capita, 12th for vehicle miles traveled per capita, 27th for access to scenic byways and 47th for fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. When it comes to the lowest price of camping, the Mountain State was sixth.

So, how can any state capitalize on its strengths?

“Different places are different and have something different to promote,” said Craig Webster, an associate professor at Ball State University. “Promotion has to make a place seem to be either unique, pleasant or inexpensive, so finding the right mix of the attributes of the destination and the types of visitors it wants to bring is a bit of an art form.”

Fortunately, we in Southeast Ohio have travel and tourism officials who have perfected that art form — though it sounds as though they’re going to have to keep doing what they are doing (and more) to keep the visitors coming.

While we work to attract those road trippers, consider becoming one yourself — not just here, but all across the Tri-State Area. There really is something special around every corner. Why not spend the summer enjoying it?