Maine Named One of the Best States for Summer Road Trips

Vacationland continues to be an accurate nickname for the Pine Tree State, according to a report that was just released.

Wallethub.com, a personal finance website, recently published a report of the best and worst states for summer roads trips. The great state of Maine found itself as the 10th best in the country. That's a pretty good ranking for our small and picturesque state.

Maine finished right behind Minnesota and just ahead of Alaska on the poll, which saw the state of Texas take down the number one spot for summer road trips.

Maine's total score was a 54.86 out of a possible score of 100. Texas was the only state to score over 60 (60.33). Clearly, these are some tough graders.

The points system was based on three major categories: costs, safety, and activity. These categories were broken down into 32 subcategories to make it as detailed as possible. You can read more about the methodology here.

Maine's scores in both costs and activities were in the bottom 25. However, when it came to the safety category, Maine prospered. According to WalletHub, our fine state was given the number one ranking. This helped boost Maine's overall ranking to 10th.

The rankings are interesting, to say the least. While everyone knows how amazingly safe Maine is compared to other parts of the country, it's a little shocking to see the state struggle in the activity category. This is a state full of wonderful things to do, especially when it comes to outdoor activities in the summer. I would have expected this ranking to be higher. And I'm not alone here. You can check out a great argument for why Maine should be much higher rated from my brother from another mother, Jadd, here.

We may think Maine should be ranked higher, but 10th is still more than a respectable placing, especially when compared to the rest of New England.

The next highest ranked New England state was Vermont at 27. That was followed by New Hampshire at 34, Massachusetts at 44, Connecticut at 48, and Rhode Island DEAD LAST. This is just a tough look for the region. Also, you are telling me Nebraska is a better state to visit than most of New England? That's just weird.

You can check out the entire list here. Where are you road-tripping this summer?