What are the best roads in America?

[epzik8]

My vote goes to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The mainline, Northeast Extension and all the other components of the system.

[slorydn1]

Any mixture of US-129 (Tail of the Dragon) US-441 (Smoky Mountain Parkway) NC-143/TN-165 (Cherohala Skyway) or the Blue Ridge Parkway/Skyline Drive tandem should be a great start for you.

NC28 added on to a trip up to the Smokys I thought was a great prelude route to US 129.  It felt like that 28 had almost just as many curves, was much longer, and certainly was much less patrolled.  I took my Camaro through there the year I moved back to California during a minor snow storm in I want to say March?  It was past opening weekend for the bikers so it was kind of nice to have the road to myself.

Strangely enough, I had typed NC-28 in my post and then deleted it before posting because I thought I had added to many routes already. Yes 28 is very interesting as well. NC-209, NC-215 (etc etc etc) too. Just did US-421 near Mountain Home, TN again 2 weeks ago-that was a hoot. Any of the roads in western NC/eastern TN/southwestern VA could qualify, actually.


Rothman, it sounds like I might have to visit North Adams some day!

[inkyatari]

Pine Hills Road, Wolf Lake, IL

IL-71 through Starved Rock State Park, IL

IL-84, Savanna, IL - Hanover, IL

US 20, Stockton IL to Galena, IL

AZ 88, Apache Highway

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Minnesota:

MN 61
MN 95, I-94 to Taylors Falls
MN 16, Lanesboro to La Crescent
MN 11, Island View to Baudette
US 61, Hastings to La Crescent

[OCGuy81]

HI 11/19, taking the ring around the entire island.  Beautiful drive.

[sbeaver44]

My top 5, probably:

Blue Ridge Pkwy/Skyline Dr
US 16A near Mt Rushmore
WA 20/North Cascades Hwy
WA 14 along the Columbia River
NC 28 (already mentioned)

[Rothman]

Rothman, it sounds like I might have to visit North Adams some day!

Well, the town itself is pretty beat up (although MassMoCA helped it out). It is Willamstown's older, uglier sister. The surrounding area is quite scenic, though.  Besides the Mohawk Trail's end, you can also go to Natural Bridge State Park (a marble natural bridge and home to one of the only (if not only) marble dams in the country) and drive or hike up Massachusetts' highest point, Mount Greylock (surprisingly, the Appalachian Trail is not the best route up the mountain; its routing has been bemoaned many times over.  Other trails provide shorter and more enjoyable routes up to the summit).

[Max Rockatansky]

My top 5, probably:

Blue Ridge Pkwy/Skyline Dr
US 16A near Mt Rushmore
WA 20/North Cascades Hwy
WA 14 along the Columbia River
NC 28 (already mentioned)

Personally preference for me in the Black Hills would be SD 87/Needles Highway through Custer State Park.  Lots narrow roadway near the peaks of the Black Hills just don't go there when the Sturgis Rally is being held.  U.S. 14A through Deadwood and Spearfish Canyon is pretty nice also. 

[texaskdog]

The one time I drove the "Going to the Sun" Highway in Montana, I really enjoyed it.  That was over 40 years ago, so I don't know how it may have changed; hopefully not much.

Doubt it, very natural!

Beartooth Highway.  Natchez-Trace Pkwy

[ColossalBlocks]

I have a list. These are my personal opinions.

I-22 from Birmingham to Tupelo.

US 67 from Festus, Missouri to Corning, Arkansas.

US 412 from Hayti, Missouri to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I-55 from St Louis, Missouri to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, don't drive it at night though.

Missouri SR 19 for it's entire length.

US 36 in Missouri.

I-49 in  Missouri.

I-44 in Missouri, in between Devils Elbow and St Robert, they have the Uranus Fudge Factory! 

US 50 in Missouri.

And that is it.

[texaskdog]

This is going to be a long list for me so I'll start with two state and work my way around the country.  I'll refrain from anything that might be considered a 4WD or high clearance road.

I think if the list is this long, it maybe misses the point of "best".

It appears he's ready to list every single road he's been on that is paved.

Like when I went to the "Yes" page and asked them to pick a few favorite songs lol

[Max Rockatansky]

This is going to be a long list for me so I'll start with two state and work my way around the country.  I'll refrain from anything that might be considered a 4WD or high clearance road.

I think if the list is this long, it maybe misses the point of "best".

It appears he's ready to list every single road he's been on that is paved.

Like when I went to the "Yes" page and asked them to pick a few favorite songs lol

I'm still fairly amused that the dirt/gravel roads I picked weren't noticed in that original lot.  I still put AZ 88 in my Arizona top 5 picks and UT 261 for Utah.  I definitely would have put Pikes Peak in even if it wasn't largely surfaced like it used to be. 

Speaking of not-surfaced and best roads, here is my personal top 5 for Florida:

1.  US 1 (Overseas Highway):  This one is kind of cliche and obvious but really it is one of the best roads in the country for scenery and really transportation history.  Aside from the modern Overseas Highway there is plenty older alignments from State Road 4a to find along with the wreckage of the Overseas Railway. 

2.  US 98 (Florida Panhandle from Perry to Pensacola):  Really this route goes along some of the best coastal land on the Gulf of Mexico.  There isn't really much in terms of major cities and largely it a scenic drive if you got the time to not use I-10.

3.  FL A1A (north segment):  The northern most segment of FL A1A crosses some good stuff like Amelia Island, the Mayport Ferry, all the beaches on the Atlantic near Jacksonville, St. Augustine, two National Monuments, and even Daytona Beach...which can be nice if you are into racing.

4.  FL 19:  Really this is a pretty road and really pretty much in the boons.  The segment through Ocala National Forest is especially nice and was my personal favorite for traveling between Orlando to Jacksonville.

5.  Everglades Loop Road:  This is a 23 mile road just south of US 41/Tamami from the edge of Everglades National Park through to the Big Cypress preserve.  Out of the 23 miles only 6 of it is paved but will take you past the ghost town of Pinecrest (Monroe County not the suburb of Miami) where Al Capone had a mansion.  The dirt segment is very well maintained and can be traveled by car so long as it isn't too wet.  Unlike US 41, FL 9336, US 27, and I-75 there is no obstruction for the wildlife in terms of accessing the roadway...so expect to see lots of gators looming about.  Sadly Monroe County Station burned down recently, it was a nice old general store that was supposedly going to be restored that dated back to the early days of the Tamiami Trail.  I don't have my old notes but I believe it was signed once as Monroe County Route 94 and was in competition with the Tamiami Trail to be on US 94.

In regards to "best" roads personally I don't think there really is a cap per se.  I'm more into the scenic and challenging drive aspect in what I consider to be the "best."  In that regard there is so many that yeah...I guess it got a little easy to go overboard.  I was concerned the conversation that was here previously was going to detract from the this thread hence why I deleted it. 

[cpzilliacus]

(1) I-70, the following sections (west to east):
- I-15 to Grand Junction;
- Glenwood Canyon to Denver;
- Limon to Topeka (yes, I really like this long section across eastern Colorado and most of Kansas);
- Through St. Louis and crossing the Mississippi River and;
- Breezewood to Frederick.

(2) I-95 (south to north):
- I-26 to I-20 in South Carolina (so empty for being near the Atlantic Coast);
- I-495 to I-695 (just how good can a "free" Interstate be?);
- New Jersey Turnpike from Exit 6 to the GWB (where else is there great freeway design (with "so much going on" through Elizabeth and passing EWR) followed by  the reward of the big bridge?); and
- Augusta to Houlton (also long empty stretches, especially north of Bangor).

(3) I-405 (San Diego Freeway).  No other road says Southern California like this one.

(4) Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, all of both.

(5) U.S. 13 crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in  Virginia.

(6) U.S. 48 (ADHS Corridor H), eastern and western sections, eventually to become one highway with great scenery.

(7) I-68 (all of it).

(8) I-66 from I-81 to U.S. 15 at Haymarket.

[adventurernumber1]

There are a lot of nice and scenic roads in my area. If I had to pick one of the best in my immediate neck of the woods, it would be GA SR 2/GA SR 52 from Chatsworth to Ellijay. This is a beautiful mountain drive, and this stretch of road alone gives Georgia Highway 52 the title of my all-time favorite state highway. This stretch of road actually used to carry US Highway 76's designation, until US 76 was rerouted to be safer for truck traffic. The current US 76/GA SR 282 road from Ramhurst (south of Chatsworth) to Ellijay is still nice, and it has alternating passing lanes, but it is nothing compared to the drive on GA 2/GA 52.

I would say that CA 1 is probably one of the best roads in America, from what I have seen and heard.

I would also say that all of Interstate 17 in Arizona is one of the best stretches of interstate in this country, from what I have seen and heard - along with Interstate 70 in Colorado and Utah, as was mentioned upthread. Another stretch of interstate that comes to mind is Interstate 84 in Oregon, through the Columbia River Gorge. And there are so many more than even that.

I-22 from Birmingham to Tupelo.

You wouldn't expect it by looking at a paper map, but Interstate 22 is actually quite scenic. It has beautiful rolling hills and such. I have found it to be an interesting-looking interstate when eyeing it on Google Maps Streetview.


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[plain]

I-95 in Baltimore. I will never, EVER be tired of driving that stretch

[jwolfer]

I-95 in Baltimore. I will never, EVER be tired of driving that stretch

I used to love the Harbor Tunnel when i was a kid.. And then when i was in high school the Ft McHenry Tunnel opened.. Really cool as well

LGMS428

[Roadgeekteen]

Have not got around to much, but I like Hawaii 200 across the big island.

[RobbieL2415]

These are roads that I've actually driven:

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (US 13), Cape Charles to Virginia Beach, VA.  Always a crowd-pleaser.

New York State Thruway Mainline and Berkshire Extension (I-90).  One of the US's first "superhighways".  Just beautiful to watch the landscape and terrain change from mountainous to rolling plains over 250 miles.

New Jersey Turnpike (I-95 and NJ 700).  This is the best in the sense of how it incredibly it moves a high volume of traffic.  Really a gem of engineering IMO.

[MNHighwayMan]

Best I've experienced is the street in front my house, which was patched two years ago as they did some water main repairs. It's as smooth as a baby's backside now.