Regions of the United States with the most and least interesting roads

[Rothman]

...and here we go with regional definitions.  Wonder when the thread will be locked.

[thspfc]

...and here we go with regional definitions.  Wonder when the thread will be locked.

Why is this so hard to understand? It's not about regional definitions. I don't care what your definitions are. It's about breaking our existing definitions, no matter what they may be, down into smaller sub-regions specifically for this purpose. Never anywhere did I mention anything about regional definitions themselves that is not simply common sense.

[Rothman]

...and here we go with regional definitions.  Wonder when the thread will be locked.

Why is this so hard to understand? It's not about regional definitions. I don't care what your definitions are. It's about breaking our existing definitions, no matter what they may be, down into smaller sub-regions specifically for this purpose. Never anywhere did I mention anything about regional definitions themselves that is not simply common sense.

Regions, subregions...doesn't matter.  Once you get into geographic definitions, everyone's got an opinion and it turns into a crap show.

[Roadgeekteen]

Define regions however you want I don't care

[zzyzx]

As someone who grew up in New a England and now lives out west, I found Utah to be the most interesting simply because everything was the opposite. Seeing wide surface streets, retroreflective borders on almost all the traffic signals and the grid system (100 N. 400, for example) were major changes. Utah's modern, concrete freeways with plenty of merge space and the overall topography of Salt Lake City also made for an unique trip. Contrast that to New England with narrow 2 lane roads, antiqued interstates from the 1950s, old traffic signals and signage, etc. It's interesting because it was new to me, but I'm sure those who lived mostly out west would find driving the roads on the east coast strange and be shocked at the short merge lanes (don't get me started with PA's STOP signs at on-ramps). Now when I'm back in my hometown I find it weird how the intersections aren't perfect 90 degree angles and I feel like I'm going to hit a tree every time I drive on a narrow 25mph back road with no shoulders.


iPhone

[Dirt Roads]

Sorry about a different type of regional definition, but the Alleghenies tend to have spectacular northeast-southwest diagonals running through the valleys, whereas the Blue Ridge tends to have spectacular crossings.  I'm particularly fond of US-219 and US-220 in the former; US-211 and VA-56 in the latter.  Some routes that buck those trends:  WV/VA-39 across the Alleghenies and I-81 along the upper Shenandoah Valley. 

[HighwayStar]

In all honesty I think this is similar to a thread a while back about the regions with the most beautiful highways. To make a distinction though, if we mean "interesting" as in the road itself, more so than its surroundings, than I think the Northeast/Mid Atlantic is probabally the winner. Being the most settled part of the country, and having so many roads that had to be built as an afterthought or with odd constraints results in a fascinating array of designs, signage, intersections, etc. that the rest of the country does not really have to the same extent.

[hbelkins]

What are we defining as "interesting?" Scenery, or highway features?

[JayhawkCO]

What are we defining as "interesting?" Scenery, or highway features?

For me at least, I'm going scenery with "fun to drive" a.k.a. curves, elevation changes, etc.  I'm also not in the camp of roadgeeks that thinks a whole lot about interchange types and such.

Chris

[Ned Weasel]

For me at least, I'm going scenery with "fun to drive" a.k.a. curves, elevation changes, etc.  I'm also not in the camp of roadgeeks that thinks a whole lot about interchange types and such.

"Fun to drive" varies a lot from person to person, and it definitely varies from vehicle to vehicle.

[Roadgeekteen]

What are we defining as "interesting?" Scenery, or highway features?

Mostly scenery

[HighwayStar]

For me at least, I'm going scenery with "fun to drive" a.k.a. curves, elevation changes, etc.  I'm also not in the camp of roadgeeks that thinks a whole lot about interchange types and such.

"Fun to drive" varies a lot from person to person, and it definitely varies from vehicle to vehicle.

Ditto. It is one thing to say what is more scenic, that is at least somewhat objective, or interesting from a road oddities standpoint, that is even more objective. "Fun to drive" is vague and very subjective. The above sounds like something to drive in a sports car, which incidentally is not a good vehicle for a long cruise, so we are looking at very different criteria here.

[kphoger]

The eastern half.

[Scott5114]

Politicial discussion (and subsequent posts) removed.