Ranking the 19 Best and Worst Favorite Day Trail Mixes

Road trip snacks can be so much fun. Back in the day, those snacks always included a big container of GORP (Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts). Even now, I still like to have a good trail mix along for the ride. And when I say good, I mean I want a trail mix that tastes good whether I am eating it one piece at a time or throwing back a whole handful. While I’ve added a few ingredients to my GORP, I still aim for an appropriate balance of flavors — whether sweet and salty or savory and spicy.

So, when ranking these Favorite Day trail mixes from Target, that’s exactly what I went looking for — a good blend of flavors, the option to pick and choose individual pieces or paw a handful, and something that would keep me road-trip satisfied from departure to destination. And I’m happy to say I’ve found some new favorites that will be joining me on future journeys.

Coming in last, this tropical trail mix includes roasted peanuts, sweetened banana chips, dried sweetened mango, coconut-coated pineapple, chocolate chunks, almonds, yogurt-flavored coated raisins, and dried sweetened cranberries. While I’m not a big fan of dried fruits, I was open to trying all of these.

The banana chips immediately reminded me why I am not a fan. Their texture was strange — slightly chewy, hard, and crisp at the same time. And this mix is very banana chip-heavy!

The coconut-coated pineapple was overly sweet and barely tasted like pineapple, while the mango was oddly tangy and the sweetened cranberries came off too sour. There were no other ingredients to shine the spotlight on. This one was definitely a pass for me.

I was excited to try this one when I looked over the ingredients: seasoned peanuts, salsa-flavored corn sticks, corn nuggets, seasoned crackers, and pumpkin seed kernels with a hot chili lime flavor. It all sounded intriguing — but I was immediately disappointed.

The seasoned crackers were hard and dry, both in taste and texture. That same sentiment applied to a lot of the pieces. From the crackers and the sticks to the hollow, snappy corn, everything was almost tooth-breaking hard.

The seasoning was good and came across the most on the peanuts — it was sharp, salty, and spicy, carrying a good chili-lime flavor and a nice tart zing. I could have eaten a whole bag of the seasoned peanuts. But the mix as a whole was difficult to chew.

The first thing I went for in this mix were the dark chocolate-flavored pecans. They sounded lovely but looked deceptively plain. Upon popping one in my mouth, I realized the pecans did have a subtle flavor, as if they had been soaked in or steamed with some quality dark chocolate.

Next, I reached for what I thought were dark chocolate-covered coffee beans — which ended up being nuts. It was a hunt to find the coffee beans, which was disappointing. They were the only thing that offered an espresso flavor, though their texture reminded me of corn nuts, which I didn’t care for.

While I was really excited about this trail mix, I found it disappointing. Trying to identify the different pieces was difficult, and attempting to get a mouthful of all the flavors was impossible.

I am a huge fan of salted caramel, so I was very excited about this one. The pretzel balls were crunchy and salty and the butterscotch-glazed almonds were savory, sweet, and delicately coated. But the caramel-filled mini cups were a bit runny, and the caramel-flavored drops tasted strongly of butterscotch. 

I don’t think this trail mix delivered on its name. Instead, it tasted more like butterscotch pudding than anything caramel. And while it might seem like splitting hairs when it comes to arguing taste profiles between butterscotch and caramel, they are worlds apart. I prefer the taste of caramel, especially when that’s what I’m promised.   

As far as balancing the sweet and salty flavors, the salt was scant and only found on the pretzel bites. If the peanuts had been salted it would have evened things out more. But it still would have not been salted caramel.

This mix gives you peanuts and raisins — some plain, some covered in chocolate, and some covered in yogurt flavoring. So, while it’s elegant to look at, its execution is pretty basic. 

I didn’t get much flavor from the yogurt coating, even in terms of sweetness. Everything else was exactly as you would expect. So, all in all, this mix is just packed with a lot of chocolate-covered peanuts and raisins. It’s not bad, but it’s nothing exciting.

I wouldn’t define this as a trail mix — it just feels like a couple of different elements were tossed together, and it just tasted fine. Even when you put all the elements into one bite, you only get one flavor.

This trail mix had some amazing pieces. The coffee-glazed pecans had an exceptionally sweet, buttery richness — I could have eaten a whole bag of them. The caramel cashews were luscious and savory. And the chocolate pretzel balls were equal parts sweet, salty, and yummy. 

But then the salted caramel praline almonds had a very artificial flavor. The white chocolate coffee beans had a carbon aspect that left a bitter, burnt aftertaste on my tongue. Pairing just one of the coffee beans with a pecan, cashew, or pretzel left them tasting scorched and ruined everything about this mix that I liked. So, while this had some big hits, it also had some big let-downs. A mouthful of these flavors leaves the bad components outweighing the good, which is a shame. 

I expected to get a lot of cookie dough flavor from this mix, but it was difficult to tell the cookie dough bites apart from the cookies and crème ones. Even after I differentiated between them, I thought that the cookie dough bites were extremely small and didn’t really deliver on flavor. However, I will say their texture was spot-on. 

The cookies and crème bites were much bigger than the cookie dough, but didn’t really hit on flavor either. If these two components had swapped sizes, I think this mix would have been better. As is, it’s just okay — but not as good as I expected. I did enjoy the salty and crisp pretzels, since they helped ground the sweetness. Unfortunately though, this sweet mix just didn’t hit the spot. 

Everything in this trail mix sounded delightful, from the peanuts to the white confection coated-flavored marshmallows, Reese’s Pieces, peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets, milk chocolate peanut butter cups, graham cookie squares, and peanut butter-flavored drops. But it left me wanting s’more. The coating on the marshmallows was thick and oddly flavored. The peanut butter-filled pretzels tasted like they had absorbed the flavor of another candy, and I couldn’t really taste the peanut butter.

On a positive note, the graham cracker squares were so good and the peanut butter cups tasted just as you would expect. And of course, the Reese’s Pieces didn’t disappoint. But overall, there was a lot going on here that was just too sweet, which was slightly off-putting.

I really appreciate what Favorite Day was trying to do with this mix. It’s well done, as far as the strawberry lemonade flavor goes. The sour strawberry-flavored golden raisins, lemon-flavored fizzy clusters, strawberry-flavored confectionary chips, lemonade-flavored seasoned cashews, and lemon-flavored dried apples were all well-executed. Nothing tasted strange or artificial, which is hard to do with so many flavorings going on.

Sadly, though, this mix is head-over-heels sweet. While you can differentiate between the flavors easily, there are just too many sweet elements and not enough salty or savory flavors to balance them. This is definitely something I would reach for if I wanted a candy because of its interesting and well-executed flavors. But as far as a trail mix, I would pass this to the sweet treat lovers.

The milk chocolate peanut-flavored cereal squares in this mix are so delicious. I appreciate how the powdered sugar coating makes them almost melt in your mouth, and how balanced the chocolate and peanut butter flavors are. Meanwhile, the peanut butter cups are perfectly petite, and the peanut butter and chocolate chips are both creamy. The peanuts add a nice flavor and textural contrast. Since they’re plain, their flavor balances out the sweetness well. 

Though it’s difficult, you can still get everything in one bite — but it’s a bit rich. It’s perfect for a nibble, but it doesn’t set you up for eating several handfuls of it. That said, I wouldn’t mind dipping my hand in for a piece every few miles.

The cheddar jalapeño seasoning is tossed evenly over every piece of this trail mix. And while you do get a little salty, cheesy, slightly spicy bite from each element, it changes with each piece you taste. The almonds are deep and earthy, the corn nuggets have an airy pop, and the dried cheddar bites are extremely rich and cheesy. While the pumpkin kernels get lost, they also seem unnecessary.

Throwing everything back in one bite gives a very wide array of pleasing textures. The jalapeño cheddar spice is thinned out and doesn’t come on too strong, with the nutty tastes balancing the cheesy bites. I wanted to keep going back for more, but after a couple of bites, I felt a warmth in my chest that was a little like heartburn. And as yummy as the mix is, I don’t think that’s necessarily a good feeling for a road trip.

A huge waft of strawberry and sugar bursts from this bag as soon as it’s opened. Favorite Day didn’t hold back on the cotton candy idea and it made for a really amusing treat!

The shortbread chips had a nice texture — creamy with a hint of strawberry flavor — while the yogurt-covered raisins came across as a lightly-sweetened soft candy. The popping candies were lush and sweet, with a fun crackle that came through in the back of the mouth. (As someone who grew up with pop-rocks, I will say these were pleasantly more subtle.) And rounding out all of that sweetness were the vanilla crème-flavored almonds, which were buttery, lightly sugared, and crispy, with the almond flavor keeping the sweet in check.

When you get a handful of everything it does taste very much like cotton candy and is really fun to eat. However, with its candy flavors, I wouldn’t want this to be the only trail mix on my road trip.

If you like coconut and are looking for a basic trail mix, this would be it. Made with cashews, coconut macaroon-flavored almonds, plain almonds, semi-sweet chocolate chunks, and dried coconut, there’s nothing fancy here.

The coconut macaroon-flavored almonds are really just coconut-covered almonds, and are only slightly sweet. The almonds and cashews give the mix a very grounded and savory flavor, while the sweetened coconut and chocolate levels out the other side.

This is a safe choice for a fresh trail mix and one you could easily make yourself at home. If I were to do that, I would use unsweetened coconut chunks. While these were not overly sugared, I found myself wanting a more natural taste from this.

With all of the peanut butter elements you’d think this mix would go overboard, but it really doesn’t. The peanut butter pretzel balls are salty, the raisins rich, and the plain peanuts earthy. The peanut butter M&M’S offer more of a chocolate flavor than they do peanut butter, and the peanut butter chips are small so as not to overwhelm.

There is also a nice blend of textures here. The pretzel balls and M&M’S both offer a nice crisp in their own ways. The raisins are chewy, while the chocolate, peanut butter chips, and chocolate cups are all smooth.

It’s easy to throw all of these flavors in the mouth together or eat one at a time, which is great for a trail mix. Although when you do throw them all together, it’s still not very exciting. While it has all the right parts, I wanted to be more wowed by the flavor, and it never really went very far in any direction.

I loved the nostalgia this mix brought to me. The old-school sweet and salty trail mix reminded me the most of GORP. My mom would always throw in a few things she had left over from baking into our homemade mix, like chocolate chips and mixed nuts.

It’s easy to grab a handful and get a taste of everything involved. And while I am not a fan of raisins, they make sense here — they add an appropriate savory flavor profile to the other elements. And, as mom would say, “They’re good for you.”

Where the sweet factor is high, saltiness comes in with a multitude of peanuts. It’s not exciting, but it does hit the spot. This trail mix delivered on what I was looking for, and I didn’t even realize I wanted more – until I tried the ones ranked higher.

While this is very similar to the regular monster mix, the taste and texture profiles in this mix made me feel I was enjoying a more mature version. Made with peanuts, raisins, semi-sweet chocolate candy, dark chocolate coated pretzel balls, and chocolate chunks, there is a sophisticated nod to the subtle side of sweetness here.

The coated pretzel balls have the texture of a malted milk ball, which is nice to have in the mix. It gives a bready saltiness that brings out the richness in the dark chocolate. The dark chocolate and semi-sweet pieces are rich and savory, and paired with the raisins, I got a hint of red wine. This is a great new twist to the old trail mix that elevates it a level above the regular monster. Easy to throw back in handfuls or singles, it’s quite a pleasing mix indeed.

I’m not a traditional s’mores lover, as I’ve always found them to be too sweet. However, this mix gets it just right.

Graham cookies give a delicious, crunchy texture and a rich cinnamon flavor. The confectionary-coated dried marshmallows add a fun little snap that smooths into a bit of a smoky flavor. S’mores coated peanuts give you a little taste of everything s’mores, and the semi-sweet chocolate and nuts bring a blunt balance to the sweetness, keeping it from becoming too rich.

The coated peanuts and graham cookies are a bit big, making it difficult to get everything in one mouthful, but when you do it’s extremely well-balanced and pleasing. A combination of just a few pieces still gives you a delightful s’mores flavor. And while that is very exciting, the next flavor was even more adventurous.

This trail mix has jumped all over the puckering, zesty seasoning of a dill pickle in the most exciting ways. Seasoned peanuts, corn sticks, cashews, pepitas, and almonds — every bite of this trail mix is covered in dill pickle, and I loved it all.

The flavor was quick and punchy. Dill pickle announced itself at an 11 in intensity and then allowed the other elements and spices to come through. Imagine dill pickle and ranch seasoning and you get the total profile. The corn sticks gave this mix a great texture, and although the pumpkin seeds got a little lost, I didn’t miss them. While I do prefer my trail mix to have a sweet and salty taste, I appreciated the savory-spicy balance here — however, that is the one element that keeps this mix from the number one spot.

This mix offered more of what I was looking for in the salted caramel arena. While the milk chocolate caramel cups were creamy and smooth, it was the milk chocolate caramel balls that stole the show. They were pleasingly tough and chewy — as a good caramel should be — and their buttery rich flavor made me want more.

To even out those sweet and savory notes, this mix is very nut-heavy. The salty peanuts and cashews perfectly keep the chocolate and caramel from going into the too-sweet zone, and when you get them all in one bite it creates a very caramel turtle type taste, which I absolutely loved. Everything in this mix is perfectly balanced in size, so it’s easy to grab a handful (which you’ll want to do more than once). This bag of deconstructed turtles was the treat I didn’t know I was missing in my life.

I tried each element from each mix separately and then tasted them together to get the complete taste profile. Some easily hit or missed the mark. Some individual pieces would make for great bagged snacks on their own, but there were only a few that nailed the balance of what I consider to be a consummate trail mix. A great trail mix has an assortment of textures and flavor profiles. It delights the palate in all the best ways, and does more than satisfy a craving; it fills a hunger. The top mixes on this list do that exceptionally well.

The mixes in the middle are worth snacking on but I feel like they’ll only take you so far. And the ones at the end don’t even meet you in the middle. However, the top contenders on the list would keep me hooked no matter how long the trip. And I wouldn’t be asking, “Are we there yet?” until I hit the bottom of the bag.