What city/state do you think has the best freeway landscaping?

[UptownRoadGeek]

My vote would have to go to Florida and Texas.

[agentsteel53]

I-70 through Glenwood Canyon comes to mind as an excellent integration of natural terrain and freeway elements.

[deathtopumpkins]

I really like the landscaping along freeways in Phoenix, AZ. Pretty much anywhere that incorporates designs into it is nice to me.

[Alps]

I really like the landscaping along freeways in Phoenix, AZ. Pretty much anywhere that incorporates designs into it is nice to me.

Second that - those freeways are intentionally landscaped for beauty, and what's interesting is that the landscaping doesn't fit with the natural environment, but creates its own.  I'll throw in the New York parkways (with few exceptions), where the freeway is landscaped as much as possible to blend it in with nature.

[BigMattFromTexas]

Honestly I was gonna say "Not Texas" when I saw this. Haha, but now that I think of it, we do got some pretty nice landscapes here in Texas
BigMatt

[realjd]

Honestly I was gonna say "Not Texas" when I saw this. Haha, but now that I think of it, we do got some pretty nice landscapes here in Texas
BigMatt

It's not really "landscaping" per se, but I've always thought the architecture on the North Central Expressway in Dallas is pretty cool.

[ctsignguy]

Based upon what i see in Ohio, i would say no one state has it consistently all over.....but PA and Connecticut seem to go out of the way to have most of the highways landscaped to some degree

Actually the best landscaping i have seen on a highway is an oldie...the Merritt Parkway (CONN 15)....

[yakra]

Seconding the NY Pkwys. I've driven criminally few, but love the Saw Mill and Bronx River.

[sandiaman]

  I nominate the Rock Creek  Parkway  in DC, a beautiful  older    parkway  with European style  high arch bridges  over the roadway  and  follows the course of the creek.   Phoenix  is   a shining  example  of how freeways  can be  beautiful by landscaping.   For a state, California  does a  great job of landscaping  medians  with  oleanders.

[Troubleshooter]

Virginia. I thought the entire state was rich evergreen forest, until I took an exit ramp to get fuel. Almost the entire length of I-64 (except the cities and in the mountains) has woodlands of evergreens planted in buffer zones along both sides of the highway.

[SSOWorld]

Honestly I was gonna say "Not Texas" when I saw this. Haha, but now that I think of it, we do got some pretty nice landscapes here in Texas
BigMatt

I was going to ask if Frontage roads count as landscaping

I thought the New England states had nice landscaping - and natural at that - nothing but forest in Mass on I-90 until you cross rt 128.  many freeways have trees saturating the median - Just wish the trailblazer signs weren't so ugly. (I-95)

[xcellntbuy]

Virginia. I thought the entire state was rich evergreen forest, until I took an exit ramp to get fuel. Almost the entire length of I-64 (except the cities and in the mountains) has woodlands of evergreens planted in buffer zones along both sides of the highway.

There is particularly dark, thickly forested section of Interstate 85 in Virginia between Petersburg and the North Carolina state line.

[Ian]

Actually the best landscaping i have seen on a highway is an oldie...the Merritt Parkway (CONN 15)....

Agreed. I also like the Taconic State Parkway's landscaping.

[deathtopumpkins]

Virginia. I thought the entire state was rich evergreen forest, until I took an exit ramp to get fuel. Almost the entire length of I-64 (except the cities and in the mountains) has woodlands of evergreens planted in buffer zones along both sides of the highway.

Really?  I mean, yeah, a lot of our interstates are built through forests (just like in almost every other state), but there are also a considerable number that are NOT surrounded by trees. The state I'm in right now, Connecticut, on the other hand, has a LOT more miles of tree-lined interstate that is so dense you often don't even notice you're in a city, at least on I-84, I-91, and their children.

I personally HATE Virginia's "landscaping" along freeways. With maybe a few small exceptions, the most VDOT ever does is plant a few trees/bushes/wildflowers, that are all dead within a month.

[Bickendan]

I-84 between Troutdale and Hood River is very enjoyable, just by the natural landscaping.

[KEK Inc.]

Washington by far.











Here's a more conventional freeway.