Bruce Springsteen's songs take you on a journey through the United states of america © Jamie McCarthy / Staff / Getty Images

At that place'south zip like a Springsteen song to brand y'all want to travel. The lyrics are packed with the pleasures and freedom of the open route, escaping "a town total of losers", and the redemptive magic of a "last-chance ability drive." Though he's forever known as a Jersey male child, Springsteen's lyrics have carried listeners far beyond the boardwalks of the Shore. To celebrate The Boss turning 72 on September 23, nosotros pulled together a list of travel destinations in the U.s. straight from his songs, along with why you might want to visit them. Then leave the familiar streets behind for somewhere new with the love of your life or your all-time buddy past your side.

Aerial view of a city with glass-and-steel skyscrapers on the edge of a river

Head for the iconic sites in Manhattan © Matteo Colombo / Getty Images

It's midnight in Manhattan: New York City

Springsteen's characters weren't rooted in Jersey, like "Magic Rat" who drove "his sleek machine/over the Jersey country line" or Billy and Diamond Jackie who enjoyed a  "boogaloo downwardly Broadway". Like the stars of "Jungleland" and "New York City Serenade", you'll detect plenty to do in the New York City.

Travel through Manhattan, where you'll find some of the city's virtually iconic sites. There's incredible compages in every direction, like the Empire State Edifice, Chrysler Edifice, and Grand Central Final. Don't miss earth-class museums – head to the Met for antiquities, the Guggenheim for abstruse and gimmicky exhibitions, and The Whitney for American greats like Warhol and O'Keeffe. And of course, New York boasts theater-galore, not to mention fantastic live music – endeavor jazz in Harlem if you're craving a Clarence Clemons sax solo. On a budget? Then check out the free things you tin practise in the city.

I went out for a ride and I never went dorsum: Baltimore

The opening lines to "Hungry Middle" would have you lot believe that it's not worth hanging effectually in Baltimore, but don't fall for it. At that place's a vibrant waterfront that plays host to one of the best aquariums in the US, which includes a rooftop rainforest and a re-creation of an Indo-Pacific reef. The American Visionary Art Museum hosts a drove from "self-taught" artists and is a world-class zone of creativity. Check out the food scene too, where yous tin can find annihilation from fantastic sushi burritos to biscuits and gravy. There's plenty to continue those hungry hearts in town.

See me this night in Atlantic Urban center

Atlantic City, the largest city on the Jersey Shore, doesn't have a lot of the Prohibition-era glamour seen in Goggle box series Boardwalk Empire, but in that location are still many good reasons to visit. You could try your luck in the casinos, or keep to a tighter budget at the amusement arcades on the Steel Pier. At that place are enough of spots to chill out along the vast embankment, and you lot won't want to miss a stroll forth the atmospheric boardwalk.

A neat and tidy square with a fountain and several buildings round the edge seen at twilight

Balboa Park is the cultural centre of San Diego © f11photo / Getty Images

Southern California, down San Diego mode

The protagonist in "Rosalita (Come up Out Tonight)" is hoping to liberate Rosalita from her overbearing parents and run away to "a pretty little place in Southern California, downwards San Diego way" – and it really is an incredibly beautiful part of the world. In Southern California you'll find vast desert landscapes, glorious beaches and spectacular alpine areas. San Diego is a laid-back identify with a globe-famous zoo, and a massive cultural hub at Balboa Park, packed with museums and art galleries.

quaternary of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Asbury Park experienced a revival in the 2000s with hip restaurants downtown and new holding developments beachside, giving it more to its name than simply the Springsteen legacy. Simply while you're at that place, exist sure to stop by rock venue Stone Pony where Bruce and other musicians started their careers.

A straight empty road stretches through Badlands National Park, with large rock formations in the distance against a blue sky

Follow the Loop Rd in Badlands National Park © NaughtyNut / Shutterstock

Trouble in the heartland: Badlands National Park

Bruce's "Badlands" lyrics may be more than focused on the struggle to become past than the stunning Badlands National Park in South Dakota, but all the aforementioned, consider driving the 40-mile Badlands Loop Rd to see its key sights. Expect out for incredible cliffs, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs equally you go, so park up to take on i of the impressive hiking trails.

Streets of Philadelphia

A row of 10 Cadillacs with their hoods buried in the earth stretches out. Each one is covered in colorful marks and graffiti 

Make your marking at the Cadillac Ranch © Nick Fox / Shutterstock

Gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch

The song "Cadillac Ranch" is dedicated to cars and how nosotros'll all cease up in a junkyard eventually. Cadillac Ranch itself is a massive sculpture off I-forty in a field near Amarillo, Texas, made up of ten Cadillacs (some literally saved from being junked). They're all half-buried standing on their ends hood offset. The site has evolved over the years every bit visitors have added scribbles and colors to the cars. Take some spray paint and add your mark when you visit.

Here in Youngstown

Springsteen digs deep into the history of Youngstown, Ohio on his vocal of the same name, charting its history from the moment a miner kickoff struck ore "back in 18-o-three." You can exercise the same at the Youngstown Historical Heart of Industry and Labor, before exploring the broader region – Youngstown is sandwiched between Cleveland to the northwest and Pittsburgh to the southeast, with the Allegheny National Forest to the east. Take your pick of urban cultural offerings, outdoor adventures, or embracing the open up road on the Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway, which runs from Pittsburgh through Ohio along the route of America's first coast-to-coast interstate highway.

On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert

Don't go defenseless "chasing some mirage" in the Utah desert like the character in "The Promised Country". Instead, set up your sights on Moab, the state'south adventure upper-case letter, loved by hikers, bikers, rafters and off-route drivers. Beginner mountain-bikers should try the flat ix-mile Intrepid Trail. Westwater Canyon offers some serious white-h2o rafting with Form 3 and IV rapids; and hikers will enjoy Fisher Towers Trail, which is peculiarly cute at dusk.

From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska with a sawed-off .410 on my lap

It's all-time to non take too much inspiration from the title track to1982'sNebraskaalbum – it is, after all, a fictionalization of the real-life 1950s killing spree undertaken by teens Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate. But the pair's sick-fated ride from Nebraska to Wyoming is prime route trip state, every bit long as you keep the mayhem to a minimum. The wide open prairies are pure Springsteen fodder, where two lanes can actually take y'all anywhere. Here yous can follow in the footsteps of ancient dinosaurs in Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, catch the annual sandhill crane migration, and take in epic starry skies free of light pollution at a Nebraska star party.

This article was kickoff published on September eleven, 2019.

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