Travel Channel, USA Today partner for one-hour special

June 6, 2012 by Kevin Ritchie

Bert Kreischer

U.S. cable net Travel Channel, newspaper USA Today and map publisher Rand McNally have teamed up to produce a one-hour television special called Best of the Road.

Produced by CBS Eye Too Productions, the program will chronicle Rand McNally’s annual cross-country road rally, which takes viewers on a search for the best small towns in the United States, as voted for in an online poll. It will be hosted by Travel Channel personality Bert Kreischer (pictured above) and air on July 25 at 8 p.m. EST/PST.

The show will follow several teams as they depart from Washington DC on June 15 and travel the U.S. to find towns deemed the “most fun,” “most patriotic,” “most beautiful,” and “friendliest town in America” before ending up in Seattle on July 15.

Viewers can follow the teams online via the Best of the Road website, Twitter page and by using the hashtag #bestoftheroad. Outtakes and exclusive footage will also be made available on TravelChannel.com.

“This special will put our viewers in the driver’s seat as they take this unprecedented journey alongside three of the teams participating in this cross country adventure,” Travel Channel general manager Andy Singer said in a statement. “We are thrilled to hitch a ride on this road trip and explore and celebrate America’s best small town destinations.”

Tags: Bert Kreischer, Best of the Road, Rand McNally, Travel Channel, USA Today