Longest distance between gas stations in Each state

[tman]

I read the posts about the "longest signed distance between gas stations"; these had a consensus of I-70 in Utah's 106 miles (freeway) and US 6 in Nevada's 160 miles (non-freeway). However, I was interested in seeing about your experiences regarding distances in other states, too (obviously smaller distances). Either freeway or non-freeway are cool with me, but I'll focus on freeway distances for now.

Iowa appears to have a gap of about 40 miles between services south of Council Bluffs on I-29. The two gas stations (Love's and BP) on Exit 35 closed permanently (?, I know Love's won't reopen) due to flooding, meaning that travelers have to go from Exit 10 (Percival IA/Nebraska City NE, which has plenty of services - Pilot, Sapp Bros) to Exit 49 in Council Bluffs (a Shell/TA, Casey's and Sam's Club). That's 39-40 miles, and no sign at all.

South Dakota appears to have no stations off I-29 between Brookings and Watertown (I don't remember any and Gasbuddy confirms), a distance of about 45 miles. No sign here either.

Minnesota has a number of ~15 mile gaps along I-90, but the longest (by far) and the only one breaking 20 miles is between Nodine and St. Charles, at 34 miles.

I'm not sure what a fair criteria about how far from the road services are available should be - maybe 3 or so miles?. 5 miles is quite a diversion for gas for me. My dad's rule has always been that he won't stop for gas if he can't see it from the road.

At any rate, interested to see what you all have seen/experienced in your travels!

[Max Rockatansky]

I would imagine I-40 or I-15 have the longest gaps.  I-40 between Ludlow East to Fenner is pretty lengthy.  If I recall correct there isn't any active service stations on I-15 between Barstow and Baker.  I-5 has some long gaps on the West Side Freeway but I don't think many top 20 miles.  I-10 might be up there too between Desert Center and Blythe. 

On conventional roads in California it seems CA 62's advertised 100 miles is the legit article.  I probably could string a couple low clearance roads in National Forests together that would probably beat 100 miles handily though.

Arizona has a couple lengthy freeway gas gaps.  I want to say Vicksburg to Tonopah might be the longest on I-10.   

[thspfc]

Not sure what it is for Wisconsin, but it can't be more than 40 miles or so. Even the sparsely populated northwoods have gas stations in all of the unincorporated towns that pop up along the state highways.

[gonealookin]

US 6 as you mention, but limiting it to freeways, Nevada's longest is the 58 miles from Wells to West Wendover on I-80.

[ftballfan]

The gas stations at I-29 Exit 10 are the only gas stations between Rock Port, MO and Council Bluffs, IA, a distance of about 65 miles!

Here are the longest stretches I could find in Michigan (along freeways; only stretches of 20 or more miles included).
I-75:
Exit 190 to Exit 212
Exit 212 to Exit 244
Exit 344 to Exit 378

US-127:
Exit 194 to I-75 Exit 251

[oscar]

There is no gas on HI 200, the much-improved highway across the Big Island, except perhaps at an Army base closed to the general public. From Hilo to the closest gas station near the west end, in Waimea (Kamuela), is about 60 miles, and about 75 miles from Hilo to Kailua-Kona. There are closer gas stations to Hilo on HI 19 looping around the Big Island's north coast, or HI 11 along the south coast, but both take more time and distance to get to most destinations on the west side of the island.

AK 11 has the famous 240-mile gap between the gas stations in Coldfoot and Deadhorse. That's the longest gap in the U.S., but not in North America (some gaps up to 500 km in Canada).

[Bitmapped]

For West Virginia, I believe the longest distance is 58 miles on WV 92 between Green Bank and White Sulphur Springs.

[Flint1979]

For Michigan I'm sure it's somewhere in the Upper Peninsula. I'll try to figure it out but someone might beat me to it.

[tman]

Okay, some two-lane distances for MN (please correct me if they're not accurate; I used Google Maps and Gasbuddy)
Unsurprisingly, the majority were in the north/northwestern part of the state.


   MN 89 - Grgyla to Redlake (56 miles)
   MN 1 - Ely to Finland (56 miles)
   MN 6 - Big Falls to Talmoon (46 miles)
   MN 72 - Baudette to Waskish (41 miles)
   MN 9 - Herman to Breckenridge (38 miles)
   MN 9 - Ada to Crookston (35 miles)
   US 59 - Morris to Barrett (24 miles)

[thspfc]

46 miles on M-28 from Brimley to Newberry might be the longest in Michigan.

[Konza]

In Arizona, the answer is probably on Interstate 8.  There's a 21 mile stretch without exits, and an even longer stretch through the Sonoran Desert National Monument where no motorist services are offered.

[noelbotevera]

Pennsylvania has an oddly long gap for an east coast state. Both gaps in services are on the PA Turnpike, which makes sense.

PA Turnpike WB: 82 miles between the New Stanton Service Plaza (MP 78) and Mahoning Valley Service Plaza on the Ohio Turnpike (meaning this gap crosses state lines). However, for free you can take exit 28 and get services there (there are no signs telling you this), shortening the gap to 50 miles.

PA Turnpike EB: 53 miles between Mahoning Valley and Oakmont-Plum Service Plazas. Exiting at exit 28 shortens this gap in services to 32 miles. The next largest gap in services is 49 miles, between  the Valley Forge and Woodrow Wilson Service Plazas (the latter on the NJ Turnpike). You can exit and re-enter at US 130 for free before entering the NJ Turnpike, shortening this gap to 38 miles.

[rarnold]

In Idaho:
US 12 - Lowell to Powell, 71 miles
In fact, there is no cell phone service from Kooskia on outside of the emergency phones placed at MM 120, 139, and 169.

[DJ Particle]

When I used to drive back and forth between Minneapolis and Cape Cod, part of my route was I-86 from the Erie area to Binghamton (where I'd usually go I-81 to I-88 after that), and I'd usually pass through that late at night.  I realized on my first trip through that stretch (1996 for a convention in Cleveland) that there were no gas stations open late at night between Horseheads and the TA just south of where I-86 meets I-90.  So I'd always make sure to hit them both on every trip through that area.

Sadly, the Horseheads Sunoco no longer exists...at least not in its original location.

[texaskdog]

72 miles from Bakersfield, TX to Ozona, TX.  Almost ran out of gas once hoping to make it to Fort Stockton.

[wxfree]

The longest distance between gas stations in Texas appears to be 916 miles, from an Allsup's in Texline to a Stripes on South Padre Island.

[shadyjay]

I love the Kancamagus Highway (NH 112) between Lincoln and Conway, NH.  At each end is this sign:

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.0601909,-71.6239638,3a,29.3y,45.98h,91.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9TQo5QFxq2S5wqOSPSNgpA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

NO GAS - NEXT 32 MILES

And outside of some campgrounds and scenic areas/picnic spots/hiking trails, there is nothing in that 32 mile stretch!  Its mostly USFS property.

[GCrites]

I can't picture it being any more than 20 miles in Ohio. The state even puts up signs on Interstates when exits are more than only 10 miles apart. Those signs have to make Westerners laugh.

Hmm, no, there is probably some stretch in Monroe/Noble/Washington Counties that is more than 20 miles. Maybe Athens/Meigs/Gallia/Lawrence as well.

[ftballfan]

Some more long stretches in Michigan (unsure of exact mileage; according to GasBuddy):
US-2 - Wakefield to Watersmeet
US-41 - Michigamme to L'Anse
M-28 - Bruce Crossing to Watton
M-38 - Ontonagon to Baraga
M-48 - Pickford to DeTour
M-64 - Ontonagon to Bergland, then Bergland to the WI state line (there's a station not far across the WI line)
M-94 - Manistique to Shingleton, then Munising to Sawyer Airport
M-123 - Trout Lake to Paradise
M-134 - Cedarville to DeTour

[cpzilliacus]

Maryland, not that far.  Possibilities include:

1. I-68 between Flintstone (Exit 68) and U.S. 220 north (Exit 48), about 9.2 miles.
2. I-95 between MD-279 (Exit 109) and MD-272 (Exit 100), about 8.5 miles (longest distance between freeway interchanges in the state).
3. I-70 between MD-85, Frederick (Exit 54) and MD-17, Myersville (Exit 42), about 12 miles (there are intervening interchanges with limited-access highways and a half interchange at U.S. 40 Alternate that has no services nearby).

[KeithE4Phx]

Arizona has a couple lengthy freeway gas gaps.  I want to say Vicksburg to Tonopah might be the longest on I-10.

My guess as the longest gassless gap in AZ is between Wickenburg and Wikieup on US 93, at about 75 miles.  There's nothing between them, except some nice scenery and a couple of big cellphone towers  Actually, there isn't even Nothing between them anymore (it's one of those towers). 

[texaskdog]

The longest distance between gas stations in Texas appears to be 916 miles, from an Allsup's in Texline to a Stripes on South Padre Island.

ooh, you're smart

[DJ Particle]

The longest I can think of in Massachusetts is an 8-mile gap on US-6 from the Mobil at US-6 and Main in Wellfleet...to the Citgo(?) station at US-6 and Standish in Truro.

Truro used to have a few gas stations along US-6, but that one mentioned above is the last one left.  Even Punchy's and Sonny's don't have gas anymore.  The one at 6 & 6A no longer exists at all (not even a building), the one on 6 just north of Truro Center Rd has been fully removed, the one just south of the dump I think is a flower retailer now (if still used commercially at all)...and I think there used to be one at Truro Center itself near Exit 106 until the 1980s.

[index]

Some gaps I was able to find in NC:

~14.5 miles on US 74 from Wesser to just outside Valleytown, NC.

~25.3 miles on NC 261/TN SR 143 from Bakersville to Roan Mountain, TN.
~25.8 miles on I-40 from JCT w/ US 276 to Hartford, TN.
~28.4 miles on NC 94 from Fairfield to Columbia.
~28.8 miles on US 64 from Hayesville to Franklin.
~32 miles on US 441 from Cherokee to Gatlinburg, TN.
~39.5 miles on US 264 from Engelhard to Manns Harbor.
Not very many significant gaps in SC.
Longest I was able to find with the time I had was ~29 miles from Jackson to Barnwell via SC 64 and 125. Goes through the Savannah River Site area.

[hotdogPi]

The longest I can think of in Massachusetts is an 8-mile gap on US-6 from the Mobil at US-6 and Main in Wellfleet...to the Citgo(?) station at US-6 and Standish in Truro.

Truro used to have a few gas stations along US-6, but that one mentioned above is the last one left.  Even Punchy's and Sonny's don't have gas anymore.  The one at 6 & 6A no longer exists at all (not even a building), the one on 6 just north of Truro Center Rd has been fully removed, the one just south of the dump I think is a flower retailer now (if still used commercially at all)...and I think there used to be one at Truro Center itself near Exit 106 until the 1980s.

There are 30 miles between Exit 2 and Exit 3 on the Mass Pike. Even with a rest area, there must be a gap of more than 8 miles somewhere along that 30 mile stretch.