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Underrated Routes

Started by JoePCool14, October 07, 2022, 12:23:04 PM

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JoePCool14

I was originally going to ask this just in the Midwest board. But upon searching, I saw there hasn't been a thread about this topic before that I could find. So, let's expand this search nationwide.

I've been on a route clinching kick for a few months now. It's a fun pastime that gets me out of the house and exploring. Plus, I get to listen to music, relax, and take a break from life. Most of you already know that about clinching.  :-P

One thing I want is to find any interesting routes to see that I don't know about or haven't seen yet. I enjoy clinching the roads that are closest to me, given their convenience. But I would love to venture out a bit further one of these days to see something different. It would be a nice bonus to also have a destination in mind instead of picking routes aimlessly. The entire route doesn't need to be super interesting, so even if there's just a few miles that stand out, that's still cool.

I originally was going to propose a challenge to find routes within a 75-mile radius of Chicago, since that's roughly where I live. But let's change that to a 50-mile radius of the nearest major city. That way, anyone who lives there could see something interesting without having to make it a very long trip. It doesn't have to meet that goal; you just get "bonus points" if it does.

Lastly, keep in mind the title of the thread is Underrated Routes. We all already know about the Loneliest Road or the Pacific Coast Hwy. Let's hear about those hidden gems you've found on your travels and what makes them special.

Maybe once we get a few down, I'll edit this post with a good list should anyone come across this topic later.

:) Needs more... :sombrero: Not quite... :bigass: Perfect.
JDOT: We make the world a better place to drive.
Travel Mapping | 60+ Clinches | 260+ Traveled | 8000+ Miles Logged


roadman65

In Florida it's SR 471 in Polk and Sumter.  It's a straight line shortcut from Lakeland to the north along the I-75 corridor and has minimal traffic, great sight distance, and will never ever be developed due to its alignment through wetlands.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

Max Rockatansky

CA 49 is probably the second most scenic state highway in California pound for pound after CA 1 but somehow is massively overlooked. 

Some other underrated scenic state highways in California that come to mind as rarely being discussed:

-  CA 198 in Warthan Canyon
-  CA 25/Airline Highway south of Hollister
-  CA 180 east of Grant Grove into Kings Canyon
-  CA 33 north of Ojai on the Maricopa Highway

NWI_Irish96

IL 2 along the Rock River in Ogle County
US 12 in Indiana between 6th Street and Ogden Dunes, and between Mineral Springs Rd and Beverly Shores
Indiana: counties 100%, highways 100%
Illinois: counties 100%, highways 61%
Michigan: counties 100%, highways 56%
Wisconsin: counties 86%, highways 23%

Hobart

I'm definitely using the "few miles clause". Illinois 83 is mostly a crowded suburban arterial, but the stretch between Palos Park and Illinois 171 (Archer Avenue) almost completely runs through forest preserves. It's very pretty (although not as much as 107th Street on the other side of the Cal - Sag), and I remember it very fondly from the times my mom had to drive me from our home in Tinley Park to the Quinlan and Fabish store up in Burr Ridge.

Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on October 07, 2022, 12:41:59 PM
IL 2 along the Rock River in Ogle County
US 12 in Indiana between 6th Street and Ogden Dunes, and between Mineral Springs Rd and Beverly Shores

I second US-12. I've had to drive it between US Steel's Gary Works and their Midwest Plant, and the stretch between Miller Beach and the Marathon right by Ogden Dunes was always very scenic and enjoyable.
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JayhawkCO

Within 50 miles of Denver, I'll put up a few:
CO74 - the back way to Evergreen and nice foothills scenery
CO105 - a far more scenic (with mountain views and horse ranches) drive from Denver to Colorado Springs (there is a gap in the route)
CO67 - very scenic little drive even more the back way down the Colorado Springs (with a rougher dirt road gap in the route)

Flint1979

I would say in Michigan M-134 is a pretty underrated route. It starts about 20 miles north of the Mackinac Bridge and goes through the Les Cheneaux Islands area filled with cottages and boats. It then takes you to De Tour Village where you hop aboard a ferry to continue onto Drummond Island. Drummond Island is cool and in some areas you will feel like you're still on the mainland but instead you are on an actual island with the Canadian border jutting around it. I know this route well as my summer house in Cedarville is along the route.

US-2 from St. Ignace to Manistique is pretty well known to Michiganians but to people outside of Michigan it might not as well known. It follows the Lake Michigan shoreline with views of the lake all along the route.

I'm sure most people have heard of M-22 and US-23 along the shoreline but I think a rather underrated route is M-25 as well. It follows the rim of the thumb along the Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron shorelines starting in Bay City and ending in Port Huron it has several places to stop with beaches and state parks along the way.

I remember last summer I was at a Culver's in Saginaw and got talking to this older guy and a lady who had a couple of kids with her. She mentioned that they were on vacation from California and were thinking about what to do for a vacation so they got the idea let's go see the Great Lakes. As I was talking to them they mentioned that they were staying in Bay City and wanted to go to Port Huron for the next day of their trip. The older guy says just get on 75 south and then take 69 over to Port Huron, then I said well I think they want a little more of a scenic trip then getting their the quickest way so I told them if you want to see the Great Lakes you won't see anything between here and Port Huron taking 75 to 69 but you'll see plenty if you take M-25 which is a bit longer but much more scenic and I told them they can start on M-25 right in Bay City and keep following it until it ends in Port Huron. With all that said I'd love to help anyone that wants to travel to Michigan and see this state.

kirbykart

One that is quite scenic but doesn't get talked about enough is NY 86 between Lake Placid and Wilmington.

kphoger

Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2022, 12:50:56 PM
Within 50 miles of Denver, I'll put up a few:
CO74 - the back way to Evergreen and nice foothills scenery
CO105 - a far more scenic (with mountain views and horse ranches) drive from Denver to Colorado Springs (there is a gap in the route)
CO67 - very scenic little drive even more the back way down the Colorado Springs (with a rougher dirt road gap in the route)

My top pick for underrated Colorado route: 141
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

JayhawkCO

Quote from: kphoger on October 07, 2022, 02:11:12 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2022, 12:50:56 PM
Within 50 miles of Denver, I'll put up a few:
CO74 - the back way to Evergreen and nice foothills scenery
CO105 - a far more scenic (with mountain views and horse ranches) drive from Denver to Colorado Springs (there is a gap in the route)
CO67 - very scenic little drive even more the back way down the Colorado Springs (with a rougher dirt road gap in the route)

My top pick for underrated Colorado route: 141

Sure, but the OP request routes within 50 miles of a major city. Grand Junction being a major city is a bit hyperbole, plus the prettiest parts of CO141 are more than 50 miles away from GJ.

kphoger

Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2022, 02:14:39 PM
Sure, but the OP request routes within 50 miles of a major city. Grand Junction being a major city is a bit hyperbole, plus the prettiest parts of CO141 are more than 50 miles away from GJ.

Fair enough.  The stretch between GJ and Gateway is quite picturesque, but it does pale in comparison to what's farther south.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

kphoger

TX-16 between Bandera and Kerrville–the former being approximately 50 miles west of San Antonio.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

JoePCool14

Quote from: kphoger on October 07, 2022, 02:26:03 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2022, 02:14:39 PM
Sure, but the OP request routes within 50 miles of a major city. Grand Junction being a major city is a bit hyperbole, plus the prettiest parts of CO141 are more than 50 miles away from GJ.

Fair enough.  The stretch between GJ and Gateway is quite picturesque, but it does pale in comparison to what's farther south.

Just a reminder that if it's further than 50 miles, it's still fair game. I was just saying to focus on routes that are close to cities. Feel free to still post about other ones.

:) Needs more... :sombrero: Not quite... :bigass: Perfect.
JDOT: We make the world a better place to drive.
Travel Mapping | 60+ Clinches | 260+ Traveled | 8000+ Miles Logged

JayhawkCO

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 07, 2022, 02:44:55 PM
Quote from: kphoger on October 07, 2022, 02:26:03 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2022, 02:14:39 PM
Sure, but the OP request routes within 50 miles of a major city. Grand Junction being a major city is a bit hyperbole, plus the prettiest parts of CO141 are more than 50 miles away from GJ.

Fair enough.  The stretch between GJ and Gateway is quite picturesque, but it does pale in comparison to what's farther south.

Just a reminder that if it's further than 50 miles, it's still fair game. I was just saying to focus on routes that are close to cities. Feel free to still post about other ones.

Sure. Best underrepresented routes on this board in Colorado farther away are:
CO141 (as kphoger brought up)
CO12 - I love Southern Colorado and the area around Cuchara is probably the place I'd most like to buy land out here
CO145 - the portion between Dolores and Telluride is probably known as scenic, but I liked the part from Placerville and Norwood too
CO139 - Douglas Pass is gorgeous, especially in spring when the vegetation is really green
CO149 - Feels like the most remote in Colorado (which, other than some stuff in the plains, it pretty much is)
CO65 - Grand Mesa is gorgeous
CO92 - Right along the Black Canyon near the southern terminus is really nice

Really off the beaten path:
CO142 - Looks just like a straight road in the San Luis Valley, but has nice vistas all along the way, especially heading eastbound

Avalanchez71

Quote from: roadman65 on October 07, 2022, 12:30:49 PM
In Florida it's SR 471 in Polk and Sumter.  It's a straight line shortcut from Lakeland to the north along the I-75 corridor and has minimal traffic, great sight distance, and will never ever be developed due to its alignment through wetlands.

I had this exact route in mind for this thread.

Avalanchez71

TN SR 12 from Nashville to Clarksville is a nice alternative that isn't very busy and has some scenery.  That part of Nashville isn't as developed as other corridors with the exception of the section close to SR 155.

TheHighwayMan3561

#16
MN 38
MN 6 from MN 18 to MN 200
MN 7 along Big Stone Lake
MN 11 from International Falls to Baudette
MN 95 from I-94 to US 8
MN 1 from MN 61 to US 53
MN 135

Now to be fair, most of these are part of state-designated scenic byways, but little-regarded for the most part nonetheless.
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Quillz

California:

46 between Cambria and Paso Robles. I had to take this route due to the closure of CA-1 through Big Sur, and I'm glad I did. Gains elevation and offers some very scenic views.

33 from Meiner Oaks to the 41 junction. The Maricopa Highway is very pretty, and the alignment through the Central Valley offers kind of an "old world" tour of the area. This is how you would have traveled through the west side of the valley in the days before Interstate 5. Then you can connect to 41 and travel towards Fresno and the Sierra.

169 (eastern segment). Kind of an obscure route to reach, as its only connection to the rest of the state network is 96, although you can also take Bald Hills Road from the Redwood Curtain to reach it. This follows the course of the Klamath River, was originally intended to be part of 96, and in general is another very beautiful drive.

LilianaUwU

One might say QC 199 is underrated, even though the 100k tourists on the Magdalen Islands every year disagree.

While QC 132 in the Bellechasse area is much more scenic (and is advertised as such), one can also catch pretty good views from A-20 itself.
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Flint1979

Another underrated Michigan route is M-29 between Port Huron and New Baltimore. It falls the St Clair River south of Port Huron.

US 89

Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 07, 2022, 02:59:47 PM
CO65 - Grand Mesa is gorgeous
CO92 - Right along the Black Canyon near the southern terminus is really nice

Fully agreed. I've clinched both, they were awesome, and there was almost nobody else on them.

I'll submit Utah 39 and Utah 167 for overlooked roads near Salt Lake. Everyone always talks about stuff further south like the Cottonwoods and Timpanogos areas. To be fair, the mountains down there are higher, but 167 is really hard to beat in spring when it's green and the mountains to the west still have snow on them. 39 takes you through basically everything northern Utah has to offer - flat wide open farmland, urban hellscape (not really, Ogden is cool), awesome narrow canyon, mountain valley, more canyon, some high rolling hills, smaller canyons, and a wide river valley. Best in fall when the leaves are changing colors.

JoePCool14

Quote from: Flint1979 on October 10, 2022, 11:48:54 PM
Another underrated Michigan route is M-29 between Port Huron and New Baltimore. It falls the St Clair River south of Port Huron.

That sounds like a really good one for the Detroit area.

These are some great suggestions so far, and hopefully they get people's minds going. Anyone have any other ones for the Midwest in particular?

Quote from: Hobart on October 07, 2022, 12:50:01 PM
I'm definitely using the "few miles clause". Illinois 83 is mostly a crowded suburban arterial, but the stretch between Palos Park and Illinois 171 (Archer Avenue) almost completely runs through forest preserves. It's very pretty (although not as much as 107th Street on the other side of the Cal - Sag), and I remember it very fondly from the times my mom had to drive me from our home in Tinley Park to the Quinlan and Fabish store up in Burr Ridge.

That's a good one to keep in mind. I'm actually going to be in the area later this week for work, but I won't have the time then to drive it though.

:) Needs more... :sombrero: Not quite... :bigass: Perfect.
JDOT: We make the world a better place to drive.
Travel Mapping | 60+ Clinches | 260+ Traveled | 8000+ Miles Logged

7/8

A couple for Ontario:
- Highway 7A has decent hills (for southern Ontario) through farm country and some views of Lake Scugog
- Highway 26 has good views of Georgian Bay and the Niagara Escarpment (including a few ski hills)
- Highway 89, similar to Highway 7A minus the lake

Chris19001

I'd nominate PA-32 along the Delaware River from Morrisville to the north.  You go through Washington's Crossing, New Hope, and a ton of cute small river towns while following the old canal. The road isn't the quickest way, and it pales in comparison to some of the Colorado routes mentioned, but its probably the prettiest way to get form Trenton, NJ to Easton, PA.
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4064143,-75.0370583,3a,75y,309.77h,92.03t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGfyi2pvZ3Jl6BPB1MT8VkQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Quillz on October 07, 2022, 04:59:25 PM
California:

46 between Cambria and Paso Robles. I had to take this route due to the closure of CA-1 through Big Sur, and I'm glad I did. Gains elevation and offers some very scenic views.

33 from Meiner Oaks to the 41 junction. The Maricopa Highway is very pretty, and the alignment through the Central Valley offers kind of an "old world" tour of the area. This is how you would have traveled through the west side of the valley in the days before Interstate 5. Then you can connect to 41 and travel towards Fresno and the Sierra.

169 (eastern segment). Kind of an obscure route to reach, as its only connection to the rest of the state network is 96, although you can also take Bald Hills Road from the Redwood Curtain to reach it. This follows the course of the Klamath River, was originally intended to be part of 96, and in general is another very beautiful drive.

The segment of 46 west of US 101 has some killer views of Morro Rock and the ocean on clear days.  Trouble is getting a clear enough day to see the coastline.  I tend to prefer the original alignments of 41 and 46 on Santa Rosa Creek Road to Cambria.



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