The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), officially California State Route 1, is the single most celebrated road trip in the United States. Running 655 miles along the Pacific Ocean from San Diego north to San Francisco, it passes through some of the most photographed coastline in the world. The route hugs dramatic sea cliffs, winds through ancient redwood groves, and connects a string of unforgettable beach towns.

The stretch through Big Sur — roughly 90 miles between San Simeon and Carmel — is considered the finest driving scenery in North America. Bixby Creek Bridge, perched 260 feet above the Pacific, is the most photographed bridge in California. Morning fog rolling in off the ocean creates an almost surreal, cinematic atmosphere, especially in summer when the marine layer burns off by midday.

For the best experience, drive the route northbound (San Diego to San Francisco) so the ocean views are on your left and directly in your sightline. Avoid weekends between June and August if possible — the highway is single-lane in sections and traffic can back up severely at popular viewpoints.

US Highway 1, the Overseas Highway, is the only road that drives you literally over the ocean. Stretching 106 miles from the Florida mainland to Key West, it crosses 42 bridges over the warm, crystal-clear waters of Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. At every turn, turquoise water stretches as far as the eye can see on both sides — an experience unlike any other road in America.

The original Seven Mile Bridge, built in 1912 by railroad magnate Henry Flagler, runs parallel to the modern highway and is now a historic walking and cycling path. From its midpoint, on a clear day, you can see the curve of the Earth on the horizon. Key Largo, the first major island, offers world-class snorkeling at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park — the only living coral reef in the continental United States.

Plan to spend at least two nights driving this route; the Keys reward slow exploration. The town of Islamorada is the sportfishing capital of the world, while Marathon offers excellent seafood and sunset views that rival Key West itself.

Highway 163 through Monument Valley is perhaps the most recognizable road in America. The straight, slightly undulating two-lane highway, flanked by the towering sandstone Mittens and Merrick Butte, has appeared in dozens of films from John Ford Westerns to Forrest Gump. This is the visual shorthand for the American Southwest — raw, ancient, and awe-inspiring.

The buttes of Monument Valley rise as high as 1,000 feet above the valley floor, sculpted over 270 million years from Permian-age sandstone. The valley sits within the Navajo Nation, and the Navajo people have called this area home for generations. To access the valley floor and the famous 17-mile Valley Drive, you must pay the $20 per vehicle Navajo Nation entry fee at the visitor center. Hiring a Navajo guide for a jeep tour adds an irreplaceable cultural layer to the experience.

The classic "Forrest Gump point" — a pullout on Highway 163 roughly 13 miles north of Kayenta — is marked and easy to find. Go at dawn or sunset for photography; midday light flattens the red rock dramatically.

The Hana Highway (Hawaii Route 360) is one of America's most thrilling and visually overwhelming drives. The 64-mile route from Kahului to Hana on Maui's northeastern coast crosses 59 bridges — 46 of them single-lane — and winds through 620 turns carved into jungle cliffs. Waterfalls pour directly onto the road in some sections, and the air smells of ginger, plumeria, and salt.

The journey is deliberately slow — plan 3 to 4 hours each way, and consider staying overnight in Hana to truly absorb the experience. Road closures and traffic are common; arriving at the trailheads before 9am makes an enormous difference. The Seven Sacred Pools at Ohe'o Gulch (technically part of Haleakalā National Park) offer the most dramatic freshwater swimming in the state.

Stop at every roadside stand you see — banana bread, fresh coconut, and passion fruit drinks sold from front gardens are among the genuine pleasures of this drive and directly support local Hawaiian families.

The Beartooth Highway (US Route 212) connects Red Lodge, Montana to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park across 68 miles of some of the most spectacular alpine terrain in the lower 48 states. Charles Kuralt of CBS News called it "the most beautiful drive in America," and it's difficult to argue with that assessment.

The road climbs to 10,947 feet at Beartooth Pass, well above the treeline, offering 360-degree panoramas of the Beartooth Plateau — a vast landscape of granite peaks, glacial lakes, and summer snowfields. From the top, on a clear day, you can see the outline of the Earth's curvature. The road descends in dramatic switchbacks, each turn revealing a new angle on the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

This highway is typically open from late May through early October; exact dates vary with snowfall. Even in July, temperatures at the summit can drop to near freezing — bring layers regardless of the season. Wildlife is abundant along this route: bighorn sheep, mountain goats, marmots, and occasional grizzly bears are all regular sightings.

The Cascade Loop is Washington State's premier road trip — a 440-mile circular route that showcases the state's extraordinary geographic diversity in a single journey. Starting near Seattle, the loop climbs through the dramatic North Cascades, descends into the arid apple orchards of Wenatchee, passes through the historic mining town of Winthrop, and returns via the fertile Skagit Valley tulip fields.

The North Cascades Highway (SR 20) — the spine of the loop — is often described as one of the most scenic mountain roads in North America. It crosses two mountain passes and passes through the North Cascades National Park, where glaciers are visible from the roadside. The highway is closed in winter (typically November through April) due to avalanche risk.

Clockwise or counterclockwise both work equally well. Counterclockwise (north via the coast, return via the mountains) means you hit the most dramatic scenery — the Cascades — when you're fresh rather than at the end of a long trip.

The Kancamagus Highway (NH Route 112), known locally as "the Kanc," is the premier foliage drive in New England and one of the most celebrated autumn road trips in the entire country. The 34.5-mile National Scenic Byway cuts through the heart of the White Mountain National Forest, crossing the Swift River multiple times and climbing to 2,855 feet at Kancamagus Pass.

The highway has no commercial development — no gas stations, no fast food, no traffic lights. What it does have is an uninterrupted canopy of sugar maples, American beeches, and yellow birches that turn the hillsides into a fire of reds, oranges, and yellows each autumn. Peak foliage typically falls between late September and mid-October, but exact timing shifts by elevation and year — check the NH Division of Travel & Tourism's real-time foliage map before going.

The Kanc is a fantastic summer drive too, with multiple easy waterfall hikes accessible directly from roadside pullouts. Sabbaday Falls (0.4 miles, easy) is the most rewarding short hike on the entire route.

Parke County, Indiana holds a record that draws visitors from across America every fall: 31 historic covered bridges, more than any other county in the United States. Dating from the 1850s through 1920, these beautifully preserved wooden structures span the winding creeks and rivers of west-central Indiana, most of them still open to vehicle traffic today.

The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, held every October for 10 days, is one of Indiana's largest festivals and draws over a million visitors. But the drives are equally rewarding in spring and summer, when the rural landscape is emerald-green and you're likely to have the bridges entirely to yourself. Pick up the official covered bridge map from the Parke County Visitor Center in Rockville and self-guide your route.

The most photographed bridge is Bridgeton Covered Bridge (1868), which spans Big Raccoon Creek near a working grist mill — an extraordinary preserved slice of 19th-century rural America.

Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States, crossing Rocky Mountain National Park from Estes Park on the eastern slope to Grand Lake on the west at elevations reaching 12,183 feet. For 11 miles, the road travels entirely above the treeline across open alpine tundra — a landscape more reminiscent of the Arctic than the American West.

The Alpine Visitor Center, located at 11,796 feet, is the highest visitor center operated by the National Park Service and one of the most dramatic overlook points in the country. On a clear summer afternoon, you can see well over 100 miles in every direction. Elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and pikas are commonly seen right from the road — the tundra elk herds are especially visible in September during rut season.

The road is open from Memorial Day weekend through mid-October, weather permitting. It closes entirely in winter due to snow. Altitude sickness is a real concern at these elevations — drink plenty of water, ascend gradually if possible, and avoid strenuous activity on your first day above 8,000 feet.

The Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway travels through the western mountains of Maine — one of the least-visited and most pristine landscapes in the eastern United States. The 35.6-mile route connects a chain of large, clear lakes set among forested hills, with the Appalachian Trail crossing the highway at Height of Land, one of the most breathtaking roadside viewpoints in New England.

Rangeley Lake itself covers 6,000 acres and is renowned for its landlocked salmon and brook trout fishing. The town of Rangeley offers excellent locally-owned restaurants and lodges — a wonderful basecamp for exploring the byway over a weekend. Mingo Springs, just outside town, is a reliable spot to see moose in the early morning and at dusk.

The detour to Smalls Falls on Route 4, about 12 miles south of Rangeley, takes you to a series of cascading falls and a natural swimming hole that is one of Maine's best-kept secrets. The 10-minute walk from the parking area is among the easiest hikes with the most dramatic payoff in the state.

Oregon's stretch of US 101 runs the entire length of the Oregon Coast, one of the most rugged and unspoiled coastlines in North America. Unlike California's PCH, Oregon's coast has no private beach ownership — every beach is public — and the landscape is dramatically wild, with sea stacks, tidal pools, and Sitka spruce forests lining the road. Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach (235 ft tall) is one of the most recognizable coastal landmarks in the Pacific Northwest. The Sea Lion Caves near Florence, the largest sea cave in North America, is a fascinating stop, while the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area offers sand dunes rising up to 500 feet just minutes from the ocean highway.

Alabama's Coastal Connection Scenic Byway winds 130 miles along Mobile Bay and the Gulf Coast, connecting the charming towns of Dauphin Island, Fairhope, and Gulf Shores. This is one of the most underrated road trips in the South — quieter and less commercialized than Florida's Gulf Coast, with excellent fresh seafood, antique shops, and the stunning white-sand beaches of Gulf Shores State Park. Fairhope is one of the most picturesque small towns in America, with a utopian-founding history, bluff-top parks overlooking the bay, and a thriving arts scene.

Michigan Route 22 along the Leelanau Peninsula is the Midwest's answer to the Pacific Coast Highway — 116 miles hugging the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, passing through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (voted "Most Beautiful Place in America" by Good Morning America viewers), cherry and apple orchards, and the award-winning wine country surrounding Traverse City. The Sleeping Bear Dunes climb up to 450 feet above the lake — climbing them and running back down is a rite of passage for families. The nearby Dune Climb is strenuous but extremely rewarding at the summit.

Route 66 is the most historically significant road in America, stretching 2,448 miles from Chicago's Grant Park to the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Established in 1926, it became the primary migration route during the Dust Bowl era and was immortalized in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath as "the Mother Road." 2026 marks Route 66's 100th anniversary — making this the single most significant year in the highway's history to make the drive. Centennial events, restorations, and celebrations are planned along the entire route throughout the year.

While Interstate 40 has replaced much of the original highway, over 800 miles of original Route 66 pavement remains drivable. The best preserved sections run through Missouri's Ozarks, Oklahoma's small towns, New Mexico's adobe villages, and Arizona's Petrified Forest. The Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas — ten Cadillacs buried nose-first in a wheat field, spray-painted by visitors — is one of America's strangest and most beloved roadside attractions.

The Richardson Highway (AK Route 4) is Alaska's oldest road, running 364 miles from Valdez on Prince William Sound north to Fairbanks through some of the most awe-inspiring wilderness in North America. The route crosses Thompson Pass (2,678 ft), where annual snowfall regularly exceeds 500 inches — the highest recorded in Alaska. The drive passes alongside the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Worthington Glacier (a roadside glacier you can walk on), and through Copper Center, a historic Gold Rush settlement. In summer, the light never fully fades, and the landscape feels otherworldly — endless spruce forest, braided rivers, and mountains in every direction.

The Whiteface Veterans' Memorial Highway climbs 5 miles to within 200 vertical feet of Whiteface Mountain's 4,867-foot summit, offering 360-degree views encompassing the Adirondack High Peaks, Lake Champlain, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and on exceptionally clear days, Montreal. It is the only paved road to a High Peak summit in New York State. Built in 1935 and dedicated to veterans of World War I, the highway charges a per-vehicle toll and is open from mid-May through Columbus Day. A tunnel and elevator from the upper parking area carry visitors the final 276 feet to the true summit castle.

US Route 6 through Massachusetts and Rhode Island delivers 118 miles of quintessential New England — Cape Cod's cedar-shingled cottages and salt marshes, Rhode Island's Gilded Age mansions in Newport, and a coastline dotted with classic lighthouses. This is one of America's oldest roads, following ancient Indigenous trails and Colonial-era post roads. The Cliff Walk in Newport (3.5 miles) runs between the ocean and the backyards of the Vanderbilt and Astor mansions — free, open to the public, and one of the most extraordinary urban walks in America. September and October offer the best combination of warm water, golden light, and dramatically fewer crowds than summer.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is America's most visited national park site, connecting Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina across 469 miles of unspoiled Appalachian ridge. Built between 1935 and 1987, it has no commercial traffic, no traffic lights, and a 45 mph speed limit — it is designed entirely for scenic driving. The parkway is glorious year-round, but peak autumn foliage (late September in the northern sections, mid-October in the south) transforms it into one of the most visually stunning drives on the planet — a continuous tunnel of blazing reds, oranges, and yellows stretching to the horizon.

The Great River Road follows the Mississippi River from its headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans, Louisiana — 2,069 miles through 10 states. It is the longest designated scenic byway in the United States. The river changes character dramatically along its length: intimate and clear in Minnesota, wide and bluff-lined through Iowa and Wisconsin, navigated by enormous barges through Missouri and Tennessee, and becoming subtropical as it approaches the Louisiana delta. This drive connects Native American burial mounds, Civil War battlefields, Mark Twain's hometown, jazz-era river towns, and the extraordinary food culture of the Delta and New Orleans.

Life magazine dubbed US Route 50 across Nevada "The Loneliest Road in America" in 1986, and the name stuck. The 287-mile stretch from Fernley to Ely crosses five mountain ranges, four valleys, and some of the most empty desert in the lower 48 states — long sections pass nothing but sagebrush and sky for 50 miles at a stretch. Rather than hiding from this reputation, Nevada leaned into it: towns along the route stamp a "Loneliest Road Survival Kit" passport, and you can earn an official certificate of survival by getting it stamped in each town. The road follows the route of the original Pony Express and passes through Eureka, one of the best-preserved 1870s mining towns in the American West.

The Badlands Loop Road (State Highway 240) through Badlands National Park covers 40 miles through one of the most surreal landscapes in North America — jagged spires, layered buttes in red, orange, and white, and vast grasslands where bison, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep roam freely. The formations began eroding about 500,000 years ago from ancient marine sediment, and the layers tell 75 million years of geological history. The Fossil Exhibit Trail (0.25 miles, fully accessible) displays actual fossil casts in outdoor cases. The Badlands are certified as an International Dark Sky Park, making nighttime stargazing one of the finest experiences in the entire Midwest.

Wyoming State Highway 130, the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, climbs from Centennial (elevation 8,074 ft) over the Medicine Bow Range to Saratoga, crossing its high point at 10,847 feet above sea level. The alpine landscape along the top — crystal lakes, granite outcroppings, and wildflower meadows — rivals the scenery of the more famous Beartooth Highway but sees a fraction of the visitors. Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 ft) towers above the highway and is accessible via a relatively short but demanding hike. Lake Marie, at the top of the pass, offers mirror-flat reflections of the surrounding peaks on calm mornings that are stunning for photography.

Arkansas State Highway 23, the Pig Trail National Scenic Byway, earns its designation through 19 miles of dramatically curving road through the Boston Mountains of the Ozarks — one of the most technically enjoyable and visually stunning short drives in the entire South. The road follows Mulberry River canyon through hardwood forest, with tight curves, elevation changes, and river crossings that make it a favorite among motorcyclists from across the region. In October, the Ozark hardwood forest ignites in brilliant fall color — deep reds from black gum and scarlet oak, bright yellows from hickory and tulip poplar — making this one of the most underrated fall foliage drives in the country.

US 385 South from Marathon, Texas cuts through the Chihuahuan Desert to Big Bend National Park — one of the largest and most remote national parks in the contiguous United States, covering 801,163 acres along the Rio Grande on the US-Mexico border. The drive is an exercise in understanding the scale of the Texas desert — a vast, open landscape of creosote flats, volcanic mountains, and the river canyon that forms a natural international boundary. Big Bend contains three distinct ecosystems: Chihuahuan Desert, riparian riverbed, and the Chisos Mountains (which receive enough rain to support a lush forest at their 7,832-foot summit). The Rio Grande River Road, a rough dirt track along the river inside the park, is considered by many the most scenic drive in the entire state of Texas.

The Pikes Peak Highway is the highest paved road in the United States, climbing 19 miles from the toll gate near Cascade, Colorado to the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak — one of the most visited mountains in the world. The route was paved in its entirety in 2011, making it accessible to any road vehicle in reasonable mechanical condition. The summit served as the inspiration for Katharine Lee Bates' poem "America the Beautiful," written after she rode a mule wagon to the top in 1893. On a clear day, the view from the summit encompasses over 100 miles of Colorado plains, the Front Range, and distant New Mexico mountains.

The highway is open year-round, but the upper section sometimes closes briefly for winter storm clearing. The famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb ("Race to the Clouds"), held each June since 1916, draws racing fans from around the world. The summit visitor center — reconstructed and reopened in 2021 — houses a café serving the famous Pikes Peak donuts (at 14,000 feet, the air pressure changes the frying chemistry, making them uniquely dense and delicious).