When the Spirits Call, Take the Scenic Route
Spring may be the season of new life, blooming flowers, and sunny skies—but for the true paranormal enthusiast, it’s also the perfect time to chase ghosts on the open road. With winter’s grip loosened and roads cleared for wandering spirits and wandering souls alike, springtime road trips take on a special magic. There’s a unique thrill in mixing blooming countryside with abandoned asylums, shadowy forests, haunted hotels, and ghost towns full of whispers.
Haunted road trips in spring offer something other seasons don’t—contrast. Between lush rebirth and decaying past, sunshine and eerie chills, vibrant landscapes and ghostly apparitions, the tension creates the perfect backdrop for an unforgettable adventure. Whether you’re a ghost hunter, folklore lover, or just someone craving the unknown, this list of America’s most haunted springtime road trips will fuel your curiosity and awaken your senses.
Pack your camera, your courage, and maybe a little sage—you’re about to hit the road less traveled… and far more haunted.
1. The Haunted Highlands: Colorado’s Phantom Byways
Route: Denver → Central City → St. Elmo → Silverton
Total Distance: ~300 miles
Best Time: Mid to late spring (May-June)
Start in Denver and head into the mountains toward Central City, once called the “richest square mile on Earth.” It’s also home to the Gilpin County Courthouse, where the ghost of a judge is said to still issue sentences to the living. The Central City Opera House also holds its own ghost stories, including a lingering female spirit in red.
Next, roll through the ghost town of St. Elmo, where the spirit of Annabelle Stark reportedly still watches visitors from the decaying hotel. End your trip in Silverton, a mining town with haunted hotels, including the famously creepy Grand Imperial Hotel. The combination of thin air, rugged history, and ghost stories makes this route one of the eeriest and most scenic in the West.
2. Southern Gothic Spirits: Georgia’s Ghostly Coastal Drive
Route: Savannah → Tybee Island → St. Simons Island → Jekyll Island
Total Distance: ~130 miles
Best Time: March–May
Start in Savannah, one of the most haunted cities in the U.S. Take a walking tour of Bonaventure Cemetery, visit the Sorrel-Weed House, or grab a drink at Moon River Brewing Co., where ghostly patrons still linger.
Next, head to Tybee Island, where Civil War history and lighthouse ghosts roam. Continue down the coast to St. Simons Island—don’t miss the Lover’s Oak and tales of weeping ghosts underneath its mossy canopy.
End on Jekyll Island, once the retreat of the Rockefellers and Pulitzers. Stay at the Jekyll Island Club Resort, where former guests may still be enjoying eternal leisure. The moss-draped roads and sea mist will make you feel like you’re drifting between worlds.
3. The Ghosts of Route 66: Arizona’s Haunted Americana
Route: Flagstaff → Jerome → Prescott → Oatman → Kingman
Total Distance: ~300 miles
Best Time: April–June
This stretch of Route 66 is a highway to haunted heaven. Begin in Flagstaff at the Hotel Monte Vista, where guests report phantom bellboys and disembodied voices.
Next, head to Jerome, a notorious ghost town turned art haven, perched on a hillside and still home to the spirits of miners and madams. Check into the Jerome Grand Hotel, formerly a hospital with a lingering chill and plenty of ghostly patients.
Drive through Prescott—don’t skip the Hassayampa Inn—and on to Oatman, where wild burros roam and ghost stories linger in the historic Oatman Hotel (Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooned here, and some say never left). Finish in Kingman, a Route 66 gem with haunted diners and old railroad lore.
4. The Northeast Nightmares: New York to Massachusetts
Route: Sleepy Hollow → Hudson Valley → Salem
Total Distance: ~200 miles
Best Time: April–May
Start in Sleepy Hollow, NY, home of Washington Irving’s headless horseman and real-life haunted sites like the Old Dutch Church and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Spring here is lush and hauntingly beautiful.
Follow the Hudson River north and visit places like Bannerman Castle, said to be cursed, and the town of Hudson, where Victorian mansions hide ghost stories of their own.
End in Salem, MA, famous for its witch trials. While most people visit in fall, spring offers fewer crowds and just as many spirits. Take a haunted history tour, visit the Witch House, and stay at the Hawthorne Hotel, where ghostly guests refuse to check out.
5. Bayou Shadows: Louisiana’s Paranormal Backroads
Route: New Orleans → Plantation Country → Baton Rouge → St. Francisville
Total Distance: ~140 miles
Best Time: March–May
Begin in New Orleans, America’s voodoo capital, filled with haunted bars, cryptic cemeteries, and restless spirits. Join a ghost tour through the French Quarter, or visit Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, one of the oldest (and most haunted) bars in the U.S.
Drive upriver to Plantation Country, where you’ll find The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, long rumored to be one of the most haunted homes in the South. You can spend the night if you dare.
Stop in Baton Rouge for haunted theaters and Civil War ghosts, and savor the eerie beauty of the bayou, where spirits float like mist across the water.
The Road Beyond the Living
There’s something undeniably enchanting about haunted road trips in spring. Maybe it’s the way new life collides with old death, or the contrast between warmth and cold chills. These journeys aren’t just about visiting spooky sites—they’re about embracing the thin veil between worlds, where stories linger in footsteps, laughter echoes in empty halls, and legends refuse to fade with time.
So roll down the windows, turn up the volume on your favorite ghost story podcast, and follow the whispers. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, you’ll return with tales worth telling—and maybe a passenger you didn’t invite.
