by Two Outliers 
In this article, we list our top 72 favorite songs about travel and adventure, with the option to listen to them on a Spotify playlist. As full-time nomads and constant road-trippers, we spend a lot of time in the car, which means hours upon hours of listening to music. In 2021 alone, we drove over 10,000 miles on our journey from Virginia to California and back. So needless to say, we spend an inordinate amount of time listening to music in the car.
Often, we find ourselves gravitating towards songs that align with our two favorite things – travel and adventure, but it can be hard to find songs that fit that mood. Songs that inspire wanderlust, that make you feel like a you just took a deep breath of mountain air, that remind you of a travel memory, or, in their own unique way, perfectly capture the essence of life on the road. It’s not one particular genre or type of music, just anything that makes you feel inspired to pack your bags and go on an adventure!
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Our life as nomads
In March of 2021, we sold most our belongings, packed up what was left into our Jeep Cherokkee, left our apartment in Virginia and hit the road: California bound! We drove from Virginia to St. Louis before making our way to Denver.
After spending a week in Denver, we continued to Southern California, then to southern Utah, Arizona, northern California, Idaho, South Dakota, Minnesota… eventually we decided we loved life on the road too much to ever give it up and we made this nomadic lifestyle permanent.
We both secured jobs that would allow us to work remotely full-time during the week and are now full-time nomads. We typically settle into a new “home base” each month with space for us both to work, usually in small towns strategically located near beautiful places with abundant opportunities for outdoor adventuring.
P.S: You can read more about us here and keep up with our road trip adventures here.
Inspiration for our Songs about Travel & Adventure Playlist
We love listening to music that stokes our wanderlust and gets us excited for new adventures. We’ve found it tough to find songs that fit that bill, so we’ve been slowly compiling our own playlist as we come across songs we relate to.
Our lifestyle demands a lot of road tripping, and over the many miles and hours in the car, we’ve crafted the perfect playlist of songs about travel and adventure that we’re excited to share with you!
We hope our playlist will leave you feeling inspired to get out there and see the world!
Details | 64 Best Songs about Travel & Adventure
Our music taste tends to lean towards the Folk, Americana, and blues-y Country genres, and that’s mainly what you’ll find on this playlist.
A few of our favorite bands, like Caamp, Trampled by Turtles, Turnpike Troubadours (we are beyond thrilled they are back together!), Lord Huron, and The National Parks, make an appearance on the list a few times. We hope you love these songs as much as we do, and that our playlist inspires you to hit the road, start a new adventure, or discover a new place that you love!
In the article below, we list our favorite songs about adventure and travel, sorted roughly into the following categories:
- Wanderlust & travel inspiration songs
- Songs about the outdoors and nature
- Songs about road tripping
- Songs inspired by specific locations
And if you don’t see one of your favorites, let us know! We are always looking for new music and would love to add new songs to the list.
Download our Songs about Travel & Adventure Spotify Playlist
For our complete list of songs about travel and adventure already in playlist form and ready for your enjoyment, enter your email below and we’ll send you a link to download our ultimate travel playlist on Spotify.
We add to the Spotify playlist periodically as we find music that inspires us, so it may contain additional songs not yet included in this blog post. Happy listening!
Songs about travel inspiration & wanderlust
The songs in this section are sure to stoke your wanderlust, leaving you with the urge to “see the world” and travel to “the ends of the earth“! If you’re planning a trip, setting off on a new adventure, or just dreaming of future travels, you are sure to find some lyrics you relate to from the songs below.
As we packed up our lives in Virginia and planned to become full-time nomads, we found ourselves relating to Rob Baird’s “Fade Away”. We were certainly packing our “bags a little heavy this time”, with no immediate plans to return to the place that we had always called home, but we were so “ready for the big ol’ world” and the pain of leaving home was overshadowed by our urge to explore!
- See the World | Caamp
- Vagabond | Caamp
- Never Come Back Again | Austin Plaine
- As We Ran | National Parks
- Sprawl II | Will Daily
- 7 Wonders | Jon Robert Hall
- Mason-Dixon Line | Judah & the Lion
- Only the Wild Ones | DISPATCH
- Next to You | John Vincent III
- See the World | Brett Dennen
- Free | Zac Brown Band
- Starting Over | Chris Stapleton
- Traveller | Chris Stapleton
- Nomads | John Craigie
- Hopeless Wanderer | Mumford & Sons
- Ends of the Earth | Lord Huron
- Ba Ba Ra | The National Parks
- Wildflowers | Trampled by Turtles
- I’ve Been Everywhere | Johnny Cash
- Castaway | Zac Brown Band
- The Life You Chose | Jason Isbell
- Mountain Song | Little Chief
- Sleep on the Floor | The Lumineers
- Fade Away | Rob Baird
- Borderlines | Hollow Coves
- Wherever I Go | The National Parks
- Middle of Nowhere | Vancouver Sleep Clinic
- Borderlines | Hollow Coves
- Open Road | Roo Panes
- Woodland | The Paper Kites
- Yellow Eyes | Rayland Baxter
- Wild + Free | Andrew Simple
- Every Mile | Layup
Songs about the outdoors & nature
The songs in this section are inspired by adventure in the great outdoors and the beauty of the world around us. These songs will make you want to hit the trails, climb that mountain, go on a camping trip or just inspire you to get outdoors.
Perhaps my favorite song on this list, “Blue Above the Green” by Mike Edel perfectly captures that feeling you get when you’ve reached the summit after hiking up a mountain. When you look up, all you can see is green leaves and blue sky. If you’re a hiker, this may become your new favorite song!
- Blue Above the Green | Mike Edel
- Specks | Matt Pond PA
- Mountain Sound | Of Monsters and Men
- Painted Sky | The National Parks
- Coastline | Hollow Coves
- Mountains | Jess Taylor
- To the Mountains | Lizzy McAlpine
- Meet Me in the Woods | Lord Huron
- Mighty Mountains | National Park Radio
- The Woods | Hollow Coves
- Wildflower | The National Parks
- Old Pine | Ben Howard
- The River | Good Old War
- These Mountains | Sunday Best
Songs about road tripping
This section includes songs about traveling on the road! From Willie Nelson’s classic “On the Road Again” to lesser-known gems like National Park’s Radio’s “The Road Ahead”, these songs will make you want to pack a bag, “fill the car with gasoline” and hit the road.
Hollow Coves’ song “The Open Road” perfectly describes the urge to travel, when you’ve been feeling stuck in your hometown for too long and you just “miss the way it feels to roam“, that feeling of freedom that the open road ahead of you brings, as every twist and turn brings the possibility for new adventure.
If you’re planning a road trip, add this song to your travel playlist and you’ll be listening on repeat as your “troubles fade away“!
- America | Austin Plaine
- All the Debts I Owe | Caamp
- On the Road Again | Willie Nelson
- Heads Carolina, Tails California | Jo Dee Messina
- The Open Road | Hollow Coves
- Life is Good on the Open Road | Trampled by Turtles
- The Road Ahead | National Park Radio
- Born to Be Wild | Steppenwolf
- Ramblin’ Man | Allman Brothers Band
- Road Runner | Vincent Neil Emerson
- Lost, Scared & Tired | Jared & The Mill
Songs inspired by specific locations
These songs about specific locations will make you want to travel to new places and seek out somewhere new to explore!
Maybe you’ll be inspired by the “red sandstone” landscapes in Sedona, set “off to Colorado” to find that “rocky mountain high“, lay peacefully watching for “shootin’ stars in Oklahoma“, be enchanted by the mystery of the Marfa Lights as they “dance across the horizon” or come “alive down in New Orleans“. Wherever your travels take you, these songs are sure to add new places to your bucket list!
During our 2021 road trip, we absolutely fell in love with Idaho (so much so that we ended up buying a piece of land…), and we played Yonder Mountain String Band’s song Idaho on repeat as we road tripped from Idaho Falls to the Sawtooth Mountains. This Bluegrass tune truly captures the beauty of state! Add it your playlist and you may just find yourself planning a trip to Idaho…
- Oklahoma Stars | Turnpike Troubadours
- Wyoming | Family & Friends
- Stockholm | Judah & the Lion
- New Orleans | Parachute
- Colorado | CHAPPY
- Sedona | Houndsmouth
- Shenandoah | Trampled by Turtles
- Morocco | Moon Taxi
- Ohio | Caamp
- Colorado | Alex Gunthrie
- Carolina | Corey Smith
- Idaho | Yonder Mountain String Band
- Rocky Mountain High | John Denver
- Alabama Pines | Jason Isbell
- Marfa Lights | Kaitlin Butts
About the artists
We love all the artists and bands on this list, but we wanted to highlight a few of our favorites.
Caamp
When I find a new artist that I love, I can listen to their songs on repeat for hours. This is Caamp for me! We started listening to their songs on our first cross country road trip and then went to a Caamp concert and we’ve been hooked ever since!
Evan Westfall, Taylor Meier and Matt Vinson make up the trio behind this American Folk band originally from Ohio. Caamp released their first album in 2016 and has been gaining popularity ever since. Many of their songs are about nature, being outdoors, and traveling, which is part of why we love them so much!
The National Parks
Songs from The National Parks take up several spots on our list of the best 72 songs about travel and adventure! This Indie folk/pop band formed in Provo, Utah consists of 4 members, Brady Parks, Sydney Macfarlane, Cam Brannelly and Megan Taylor Parks. They released their first single in 2013 and have since released four albums, “Wildflowers”, “Places”, “Until I Live”, and “Young”.
The National Parks songs have many songs about the beauty of the world around us, from the peaks of the Grand Tetons to the “painted sky” of the desert in the southwest. In fact, their single “As We Ran” was written for a short documentary by REI called “Love in the Tetons”.
Hollow Coves
Another group that takes up a few spots on our list of songs about travel and adventure is Hollow Coves, an Australian Indie band led by sing-songwriters, Ryan Henderson and Matt Carins.
The band’s earthy folk songs are inspired by the singers’ own travels, and their passion for seeing the world shines through in their music. In fact, their first album released in 2017 was titled ‘Wanderlust”, and includes several of the songs on our list, such as “Coastline” and “The Woods.”
Other useful resources
Planning a road trip or a new adventure? We think you may find some inspiration and useful information here:
- Travel tips | 11 Proven Tips for Road Tripping with a Cat
- Road trip| Complete List of Road Trip Camping Essentials
- Road trip | 27 Highlights of Our Life on the Road in 2021
- Southwestern USA | The Ultimate 1 Week Arizona and Southern Utah Road Trip
- Wyoming | 18 Best Hikes in Grand Teton National Park
What are your favorite songs about travel and adventure?! What songs would you add to the list? Let us know what you think of our playlist – we would love to hear from you!
Wow an amazing list and photo!
thank you! we love this playlist, enjoy!