Pittsburgh to Detroit road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops
The best stops to add to a Pittsburgh to Detroit road trip itinerary are the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, Cedar Point and the National Museum of the Great Lakes. By car, the distance from Pittsburgh to Detroit is 285 miles, with a driving time of around 4h13m.
Planning a Pittsburgh to Detroit road trip itinerary
A road trip from Pittsburgh to Detroit connects western Pennsylvania to Michigan. But more importantly, it links two of the most outrageously underrated cities in the US.
Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania is a monstrously underrated city, with a series of stellar attractions. Get great views from the top of the Duquesne Incline, enjoy the globally-themed rooms at the unmissable Cathedral of Learning and become immersed in pop art at the Warhol Museum.
You can explore Pittsburgh with a hop-on, hop-off bus pass. Pittsburgh experiences include bike tours full of stories, guided whiskey-themed walks and craft beer sampling on a multi-brewery tour.
For Pittsburgh hotels with great reviews, try the Italian villa-style Priory Hotel or the often good value Drury Plaza Hotel Pittsburgh Downtown.
Top things to do in Detroit include the excellent architecture walking tours, the Sealife Michigan Aquarium and the Legoland Discovery Centre. The Motown Museum and Ford Piquette Avenue Plant are great, too.
Pittsburgh to Detroit distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Pittsburgh to Detroit is 285 miles. That makes for a driving time of around four hours and 13 minutes.
The quickest route heads along the I-76, I-80, I-90 and I-75.
The best road trip stops along the Pittsburgh to Detroit drive are the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, Cedar Point and the National Museum of the Great Lakes.
Pittsburgh to Detroit road trip stops: Rock N Roll Hall of Fame
There are several strong attractions in Cleveland, including the Cleveland History Center. But the big stand out is the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. It’s an extremely reverent trawl through rock ‘n roll history, looking at the origins and development of the genre. There’s a massive amount of memorabilia, with sections devoted to several Hall of Fame inductees.
The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame is dense, detailed and capable of sucking up the best part of a day.
Alternatively, Cleveland tour options focus on neighbourhood food scenes, the city’s best craft breweries and Downtown’s public art.
Pittsburgh to Detroit drive: Cedar Point
Cedar Point near Sandusky, Ohio, is one of the world’s great theme parks – particularly if you’re a rollercoaster fan. Unlike other amusement parks, which maybe have one or two good rollercoasters and plenty of filler, Cedar Point has an extraordinary collection of top grade thrill rides.
Steel Vengeance is the fastest, longest and tallest hybrid coaster, but there are five coasters that top the 200ft height mark here.
Attractions between Pittsburgh and Detroit: National Museum of the Great Lakes
The National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio, really embraces the scale and scope of its subject. The aim is to show how the Great Lakes have shaped America’s cultural, economic and political history, covering everything from the Underground Railroad to Prohibition-era rum-runners.
The highlight of the visit is the Col. James M. Schoonmaker, once an iron ore freighter plying its trade on the lakes, now a museum ship.
Other Toledo experiences include Toledo Zoo.
More Pittsburgh road trips
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More Detroit road trips
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