Editing Rest area (section)

==== Welcome centers ====
{{Main|Welcome centers in the United States}}

[[File:West Virginia Welcome Center Princeton I-77 US-460.jpg|thumb|A [[Welcome centers in the United States|state welcome center]] in [[West Virginia]]. State welcome centers are often located near state or municipal borders in the United States.]]

A rest area often located near state or municipal borders in the United States is sometimes called a [[Visitor center|welcome center]].  Welcome centers tend to be larger than regular rest areas, and are staffed at peak travel times with one or more employees who advise travelers as to their options.  Some welcome centers contain a small [[museum]] or at least a basic information kiosk about the state.  Because air travel has made it possible to enter and leave many states without crossing the state line at ground level, some states, like California, have official welcome centers inside major cities far from their state borders.  In some states (such as Massachusetts), these rest areas are called tourist information centers<ref name=masspikeserviceplazas>{{cite web
| url=http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/TravelServicePlazasTouristInformationCenter.aspx
| title=Travel Service Plazas & Tourist Information Centers – Traffic & Travel Resources – Highway Division
| website=Massachusetts Department of Transportation
| access-date=September 16, 2011
| archive-date=June 28, 2017
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628051447/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/TravelServicePlazasTouristInformationCenter.aspx
| url-status=dead
}}</ref> and in others (such as New Jersey), [[visitor center]]s.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/our-roadways.html|title=NJTA – Service Area Listing |website=State.nj.us |access-date=July 16, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071213221232/http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/nj-vcenter-serv.htm| archive-date = December 13, 2007}}</ref>