Best Drives By State

"Ballzonya" (ballzonya) 10/28/2014 at 18:20 • Filed to: road trips

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WesBarton89 posted earlier about driving the Lynn Cove Viaduct, and it got me thinking...what are the best driving roads by state? I have not done enough travel myself to say I am an expert in this field, but the routes below I have personally driven on several occasions...I recommend you do as well.

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Massachusetts: Route 119 Concord to NH 202/Mt Monadnock - This isn't a super exciting road to me because I grew up driving it, but it does offer some nice turns thru the forest, cool small towns, and some great views especially when you get close to Mt. Monadnock. (Side note, watch out for cops in the <40MPH zones) ~70mi round trip

Maine: Dover NH to Casco to Portland - Take 4 from Sanford ME up to 202 which will take you all the way up to Sebago Lake. From there take the 302 to Westbrook/Portland. While it's not the coastal Maine we all see on postcards, it is equally as scenic, and the inland roads are less crowded than the coastal route. ~90mi

New Hampshire: Mt Washington...heck, even the drive to Mt Washington is fun

Vermont: Route 4 White River Jct to Rutland - A nice ride thru the mountains of Vermont. Plenty of places to stop off for something to eat and some great photo ops. ~45mi

California: Hwy49 High Sierra Loop - Highway 49 will start out in the foothills in Grass Valley and climb through the Tahoe National Forest. Make sure you gas up when you can because there is not much around once you leave GV. The road has a ton of twists and turns...oh and about 3000Ft of elevation. Follow 49 all the way to 89, and then eventually to I80 in Truckee. ~140mi from GV to Truckee

Please feel free to add any of your favorite routes

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Ballzonya 10/28/2014 at 18:28

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Majority of the country roads in NY are pretty good. Lots of sweepers and some esses along with some crests. Fun to drive for sure. Just stay away from Long Island.

TheAutoRules > Ballzonya 10/28/2014 at 18:34

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Wyoming: Beartooth Highway (which actually begins in Red Lodge, MT) to the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway which takes you to Cody. Highway 70 over the Sierra Madre Mountains is excellent because it's twisty with almost no traffic, and the only bears in the area are not the ones that write speeding tickets.

Utah: Highway 12 from Panguitch to Torrey. Scenery unlike anything you can imagine and lots of twists and turns. Just don't doing in the middle of tourist season.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Ballzonya 10/28/2014 at 18:41

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Some more...

Eastern WV Panhandle, there are some great roads through there, maybe a little bit more crowded than preferable, but not too bad. Also, far Western Maryland has some pretty nice roads as well, lots of stuff off the highway. Central PA (Somerset, Bedford) has some nice roads as well. You can travel them if you want to see the Flight 93 Memorial from 9/11. Those are just some of the more local ones to me. If I want to drive nice roads, I don't normally have to drive more than 15 miles to get to any of them within a three state (MD, WV, PA) radius. It's pretty nice.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Ballzonya 10/28/2014 at 18:50

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Tennessee: Anywhere east of Nashville or directly south of Nashville.

Alabama: Like Tennessee, too many to count.

Florida: anything that isn't paved.

desertdog5051 > Ballzonya 10/28/2014 at 19:11

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Hard decision. probably one of my favorites is Deming, NM to Alpine, AZ but there are so many. Many are not mentioned in guides, you have to find them or be told about them. http://www.motorcycleroads.com/Routes/New-Mex…

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Ballzonya 10/28/2014 at 21:03

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For some Canadian content, the best drives I've done in said provinces... not saying they're the best overall, but they're really good..
BC: Just about all the roads through the mountains are pretty sweet, but my favourite is the old Alberni Highway (highway 4) on Vancouver Island, that stretches across the island from Parksville to Tofino. It can get pretty caught up with touristy traffic, as it's mostly one lane in each direction, but on off-season days is excellent.
AB: Haven't had much experience beyond driving though the province between Manitoba and BC, but the drive from Jasper to Banff is pretty nice. Only trouble is there's lots of tourists and wildlife because of the whole National Park thing.
SK: Just don't. Big flat province with lots of straight lines. At least down south. The map shows squigglies up North, but I've never been.
MB: Also... er... yeah. Much of the same as Saskatchewan. However up North is further south in MB. Highway 10 through Riding Mountain National Park is quite good, and highway 19 is even better if you don't mind the gravel... Tourists and Wildlife are less in the summer than in Banff/Jasper, but between Sept and May, it's basically dead. Just watch out for mswak.
I haven't done any driving outside of these four provinces, but the vast expanse of Canadian Shield in Ontario and Quebec looks to promise excellent and mostly empty roads. The mountains in the Atlantic provinces also look promising, as they're continuations of the Appalachian chain.