Got some free time this summer and a driver’s license? From the towering trees of California’s Redwood Highway to a 50-mile joyride along the coast of Maui, The Daily Beast has the ultimate rundown of the most scenic drives in the United States.
Wyoming, Idaho, 263 miles
Home to grizzly bears and roaming herds of buffalo, Yellowstone and the Tetons are a wildlife paradise. The Yellowstone Grand Teton loop takes you through the heart of the Wyoming Rockies to explore the nation’s first national park before making its way down the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway to the majestic Teton mountain range. The last leg of the loop winds around shimmering lakes and the towering Tetons, whose snow-capped peaks rise 13,000 feet. Be sure to take your hiking boots to explore world-class trails; mine your own opals at Opal Mines of Spencer, the “Opal Capital of the World”; or stop at the 114-foot Mesa Falls in Fremont County.
Idaho, Oregon, 208 miles
For more than 200 miles of blue skies, fresh air, and barely a soul in sight, the Hells Canyon All-American Road is one of America’s most peaceful highways. You’ll pass sparkling rivers, dip through lush valleys, or even share the road with a cattle drive. You’ll also see panoramas of the Oregon Rocky Mountains. Hells Canyon, the namesake of this scenic highway and its primary destination, is the deepest canyon in North America. The river gorge is the perfect stop for the adventurous, with plenty of opportunity for whitewater rafting, hiking, fishing, and wildlife viewing.
Montana, 52 miles
Named for its expansive sky and mountain-scaling roads, Going to the Sun Road is the best way to experience Montana’s Glacier National Park. From June to the first snowfall, you can travel the rugged path left by colossal glaciers and continue over the Continental Divide, the only place in the country where water flows to the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Hudson Bay. Along the way you’ll pass pristine wilderness, mountains, glistening lakes, river gorges, glacial canyons, and the long Garden Wall, a steep alpine area. The 6,646-foot-high Logan Pass is one of the area’s most impressive lookout points, along with Jackson Glacier overlook, where the gargantuan ice formations that carved the park’s valleys and sculpted its harsh terrain can still be seen.
Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, 120 miles
Lookout Mountain Parkway links together 120 miles of rural roads through Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. Lookout Mountain itself extends for about 80 miles across these three states, but there are many other attractions along the parkway. The 90-foot Noccalula Falls is named for a Cherokee princess who threw herself off instead of marrying someone she did not love; a bronze statue of the princess overlooks the falls now. The Sequoyah Caverns offer underground passageways that lead past fossils and subterranean lakes. Be sure to stop at Point Park, a few miles south of Tennessee. The park features the highest point on Lookout Mountain, at 2,126 feet, and also Ruby Falls, which plunges more than 1,000 feet underground to chambers covered with onyx and dripstone.
Illinois, 100 miles
You can’t get much farther from the urban landscape of Chicago than this scenic drive through Illinois. The 100-mile road can be navigated year round, but it is nicest during the spring and fall. The main attractions here are the Shawnee Hills, otherwise known as the Illinois Ozarks, but there are many other sites along the way. Aside from the 270,000-acre Shawnee National Forest, the Garden of the Gods is a great spot, with huge sandstone formations left behind when the waters of an ancient inland sea dried up. Be sure to check out Cave-in-Rock State Park, featuring a huge cave where river pirates once lured pioneers to steal their supplies. And the town of Golconda offers a chance to marvel at re-created 19th-century architecture from the town’s glory days.
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, 470 miles
Great River Road takes you along a portion of the Mississippi River, up one side and down the other. While visitors journey to the road all year, it is best in the summer because of all the river excursions. Those who go later in the year can enjoy the fall foliage. Along the way, Little House on the Prairie fans should swing by the town of Pepin, which is very close to author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthplace. Another great place to stop is Pikes Peak State Park, where Gen. Zebulon Pike built a fort a full year before he did the same on the more famous spot in Colorado.
South Dakota, 350 miles
This drive is a 350-mile loop through southwest South Dakota. Traveling east on I-90 from Rapid City brings you to Badlands National Park, a huge landscape of natural ridges, spires, canyons, and fossilized remains. More than 244,000 acres of the park are open to hikers, though novices should stick to the trails. But there are lots of other sites to see on this drive as well. The Black Hills National Forest is home to the 60-million-year-old hills of the same name. On the way back to Rapid City, head to Mount Rushmore, carved with the faces of four presidents. South of Mount Rushmore, farther down the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, is Custer State Park on Iron Mountain, which is known for its wildlife, including one of the largest herds of bison in the country.
California, 230 miles
Redwood Highway winds 230 miles up California’s northern coast. This drive is not for the faint of heart—fog in summer and rain in winter can make the driving conditions dangerous. But those who choose to brave the danger, or travel at another time of year, are richly rewarded. The redwood tree is the star attraction on this trip, and the tallest of all living things can be seen at many stops along the way. The Avenue of the Giants, a 33-mile road through one of the state’s largest redwood forests, features some trees that reach more than 300 feet in height. But there is more to see than just big trees—the Gold Rush town of Eureka is a time capsule of sorts, with more than 10,000 intricate Victorian homes and an Old Town section where everything is housed in vintage buildings.
Hawaii, 50 miles
The Hana Highway is a 50-mile joyride along the coast of Maui. The highway itself offers much of the excitement, with 600 tight curves and 54 one-lane bridges. But there are lots of attractions along the way: the black-sand beaches of Waianapanapa State Park, the three waterfalls at Waikani Falls, the exotic plants of Keanae Arboretum, and many others. Any travelers seeking some added insight on their drive should be sure to buy a Hana Road Self-Guided Drive CD, which narrates the trip as you drive.
