I have driven across the USA a few times, and each time I set out to visit as many automotive museums as I possibly could. I planned ahead, using the Automotive Museum Guide, and had a bunch of museums to visit.

Then the reality of time constraints became abundantly obvious.  Technically, I could visit about 50 automotive museums between California and Georgia without going too far out of my way. 

If the goal was to take a picture of the building and keep moving, there would be no problem. However, once you start actually visiting each museum and spending anywhere from 30 minutes to hours at each location, time quickly disappears.

The time spent at each museum is only one aspect. You also have to account for how long it takes to get to the next museum, which in itself isn’t that big of a deal. The big wrench in the plan is always going to be museum open hours.

Each time I’ve driven across the country, I inevitably had to drive right by museums I couldn’t visit because they weren’t open.  I was either in the area on a day the museum wasn’t open or the time I was in the area was too late or too early.

I definitely have limited time when I travel, and although I’d love to visit as many museums as possible, I just don’t have the time and even the ones I do stop at, are often rushed so I can get back on the road.

If you have an RV and unlimited time, this would be the way to visit all the automotive museums. I wouldn’t be surprised if you spent an entire year trying to stop at every museum. Perhaps, one day I will try.

While most automotive museums have set hours, there are some that operate by appointment only. These are the museums that are between museums with regular hours and “museums” or private collections that open occasionally for special events or groups.

The Remlinger Classic Car Museum was founded by Jim Remlinger. This is Jim’s private collection, but he has made it viewable to the public as long as they schedule an appointment to visit.  You’ll see some drag cars, muscle cars and limited editions.

JWJ Cycle Museum is another museum you can only visit by appointment. Brothers Jack and Warren started this museum and have amassed a good-sized collection of vintage bikes that they’ve made accessible to see if you make an appointment to visit.

Halderman Museum Barn is a special museum dedicated to the life of Gale Halderman who was the one responsible for the design of the original Mustang in 1965. Much of the museum is Gale’s personal collection, which pays tribute to the Mustang. This museum is open to the public, but you have to make an appointment to visit.

Make sure you always reach out directly to the automotive museum you’d like to visit if there is any concern about when they will be open, how much admission is, or what is currently on display.

I do my best to keep the guide up to date, and this email each week is how I manage it, the best I can. The guide is just meant to make it easy for you to find the automotive museums. Once you find where you’re going, it’s best to go directly to the source.

Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum

 Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum

P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.