yakers
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Going To The sun Highway, AL-CAN Highway, Dempster Highway
Top 10 most scenic drives
- Thread starter Gumby
- Start date
yakers
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Route 66!
COcheesehead
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
+1
COcheesehead
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
There are big chunks that are really ugly.
Mr._Graybeard
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2011
- Messages
- 2,981
We drove from Anchorage to Homer in September and loved the scenery. Even some freshly burned out forest had a stark beauty.
mountainsoft
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Agreed. I think highway 14 on the Washington side has prettier views. It's nice both directions, but I think Westbound is a bit prettier.
The Oregon coast is a pretty drive any time.
Mr._Graybeard
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2011
- Messages
- 2,981
One of my favorite stops on 66 was in Clinton, Okla. They had a nice little museum there, but the more fun part was the motel where we stayed overnight. They had a plaque at one room that Elvis Presley supposedly stayed in several times on his way to Las Vegas. The story went on to say that the locals learned one day that Elvis was at the motel, so they rushed over there for autographs, photos, etc. Elvis was supposedly quite gracious to the crowd in the motel parking lot, but after the entourage packed up and moved on the next day, he never came back to Clinton.
"Clinton, Okla. -- the town that drove Elvis away."
It was a nice motel, BTW.
mountainsoft
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
The road up and down Haleakala was socked in fog when we were there so there wasn't much to see except cows on the road until we got above the clouds at the top.
We drove the Kahekili highway 340 on the northwest coast of Maui. Fun drive, but single lane on a windy mountain road. Many people express fear of driving that road, but we really enjoyed it.
We also enjoyed the Hana highway out to Kipahulu, the furthest we could go due to a landslide.
The north shore of Kauaii is a beautiful drive too.
timo2
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
+1
38Chevy454
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Not so much a highway or even a public road, but the road through Colorado National Monument has some spectacular views. The road winds up and into the near vertical cliffs. It's in the park, located right outside Grand Junction CO.
Highway 128, going east along the Colorado river from Moab, UT until near I-70 is a really pretty drive along the river and has some awesome scenery of the red rock mountains.
It's been mentioned here, but the Million Dollar Highway from Durango to Ouray is very nice views. Just don't drive it in a 45 ft motorhome towing a car like I did. Too stressful driving to be able to enjoy the views.
Highway 128, going east along the Colorado river from Moab, UT until near I-70 is a really pretty drive along the river and has some awesome scenery of the red rock mountains.
It's been mentioned here, but the Million Dollar Highway from Durango to Ouray is very nice views. Just don't drive it in a 45 ft motorhome towing a car like I did. Too stressful driving to be able to enjoy the views.
kitesurfer2
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2014
- Messages
- 435
kitesurfer2
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2014
- Messages
- 435
yea, we did the million in a miata
actually, 29 days and camped every night!Attachments
COcheesehead
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Agree with all of the above. These are all very close to me.
mountainsoft
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
We did that one a couple years ago. From what I remember the eastern most section was a forest service road (Paved the whole way) that climbed up the mountain through the forest. It was a nice drive, but there wasn't any real view till you got to the Hells Canyon Overlook. Coming down the north side, Wallowa Lake is a beautiful area with plenty to see and do.
There are a few shots of that area in my home video from our Eastern Oregon trip (around the 4 minute mark): Sep 3, 2017 - Eastern Oregon Trip
GalaxyBoy
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier Nat'l Park is my all-time favorite.
I live very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and even as a child we took regular drives up there for weekend camping trips, church picnics, etc., so I might take it for granted. I use it as an alternate route at times even though it's farther than the regular roads, but it's much less stressful.
I live very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and even as a child we took regular drives up there for weekend camping trips, church picnics, etc., so I might take it for granted. I use it as an alternate route at times even though it's farther than the regular roads, but it's much less stressful.
Ronstar
Moderator Emeritus
We did this is the late 90s. Spectacular view. Our funny story is: when we got to the top, 11,000 ft, we parked the car, and there were about 5 steps from the parking lot to some sort of visitor center. We were completely out of breath at the top of the 5 steps (due to the altitude). We laughed our butts off.
I am not sure this road exists.
I have tried twice to go on it. The first time, there was a big snowstorm up there and the road was closed. The second time (both times during Septembers), the park was on fire, and the road was closed again. Maybe someday...I've been equally frustrated. The best thing to do is just pull off yourself, breath, look around. Just giving them a 5 minute head start and you'll probably never see them again.If the idiot in front of me* on that drive last year had done that I would have had a much better day. Instead, he crept around every curve in the road (and there are a LOT of them) at 15-20 mph, even when the suggested speed was 40. To make matters even worse, when we came to the rare passing zone, he sped up to at or near the speed limit.
After 20+ frustrating miles of this I passed him, but due to him speeding up I could not get back in my lane in time, resulting in a strategically located county constable ticketing me for passing in a no-passing zone.
To this day I suspect the irritating driver in front of me was in cahoots with the county cop.
* Or the one driving my car!
I'll add the sea to sky highway in BC that takes you from Vancouver up to Whistler.
Big Bend National Park
The drive from Panther Junction to the Chisos Basin is short but spectacular. High desert turns to hardwood forest, medrano trees, and pockets of cactus surrounded by the Chisos Mountains.
Bonus: if you exit the west side of the park, you will find a road that follows the Rio Grande River for miles. Plenty of pull-outs. Bring binoculars; then you will see that those spots in the river are people in kayaks.
The drive from Panther Junction to the Chisos Basin is short but spectacular. High desert turns to hardwood forest, medrano trees, and pockets of cactus surrounded by the Chisos Mountains.
Bonus: if you exit the west side of the park, you will find a road that follows the Rio Grande River for miles. Plenty of pull-outs. Bring binoculars; then you will see that those spots in the river are people in kayaks.
SoReadyToRetire
Recycles dryer sheets
Roadsters are welcome.
Gah!!! I sold my 2002 BMW 325 Ci a couple months ago, because I didn't want to have to worry about paying for repairs once I retire. Hope to heck I don't regret it!!! Beautiful, fun car. Enjoy yours for me.
rtroxel
Recycles dryer sheets
Try the 17-mile drive between Monterey and Carmel, California.
