Interesting interstate drives

[sandwalk]

The section of I-80 (Ohio Turnpike) through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park south of Cleveland (east of I-77, west of SR-8) is scenic, including the Cuyahoga River bridge.  Plus, if you're eastbound, you go OVER I-271 but westbound traffic goes UNDER I-271 because of the terrain.

Another favorite of mine (already mentioned) is I-24 from near Nashville to Chattanooga.

[mgk920]

A few of my favs:

-I-35 northbound into Duluth, MN - A great urban drive after an 'airplane' descent into the city.
-I-39 south of Rockford, IL - There is something about the flat prairie scenery that mesmerizes me.
-I-39 north of I-90/94 - one of the most varied I-route drives that I know of.
-I-70 west of Denver, CO - for the reasons everyone else gave.
-I-86 (east) - a fantastic drive.
-I-87 north of Albany, NY - (echoing the others)
-I-88 (east), especially westbound - WOW!  And I like how they threaded it into the north end of the Binghamton, NY area (near I-81).
-I-90 between Tomah, WI and Rochester, MN - great ridgetops, coolies, valleys and the transitions between them.
-I-90 east of I-87 - that is the sweetest setting fr a tollgate that I know of, eastbound at the MA/NY state line.
-I-90/94 approaching downtown Chicago - both directions.  NB is one of the very BEST urban interstate highway views of all, especially at night and SEB, it looks like the highway just disappears into a mountain of tall buildings.
-I-91 in Vermont - amazing drive along those hills.
-I-93 in northern New Hampshire - STUNNING though the 'Notch'!
-I-794 northbound across the Hoan Bridge - a SWEET view of the downtown Milwaukee skyline.

Mike

[Henry]

I've always enjoyed driving on the interstates leading into Chicago (I-55, I-90, I-94) because you can see the city skyline looming into your view, with the Sears Tower dominating it. Same is true for Seattle, where you can see the Space Needle and the rest of that city's skyline coming in on I-5 or I-90.

[cpzilliacus]

Many fine segments of Interstate mentioned up-thread, but not these:

I-66 in Virginia - between I-81 and Exit 40, U.S. 15 (Haymarket).  Nice views of the Virginia Blue Ridge though Manassas Gap and then descending slightly to the Piedmont horse country across Fauquier County, then through Thoroughfare Gap to Haymarket.

I-64, also in Virginia - between I-81 and Exit 118, U.S. 29 (Charlottesville).  Pretty spectacular crossing of Afton Mountain.

I-95 in South Carolina, between I-26 and I-20 (Florence).  Long bridge over Lake Marion is impressive, then the wide, often forested median and lack of development along I-95 is stunning for persons like me that are used to other scenes from the freeway further north.

[roadman65]

The Pennsylvania Turnpike from I-81 (US 11) to New Stanton is a great drive.  Lots of farm land and hillsides.
I-24 from Chatanooga to Nashville.  Also from KY/ TN Line to Paducah.
I-57 from Effingham to Champaign.
I-87 from Lake George to Plattsburg, NY.
I-35 from Emporia, KS to Wichita over the Flint Hills is pretty scenic.

Oh yeah, and cannot forget the drive into Vegas the first time on I-515 where I seen all the Strip Hotels and the Stratosphere stood out.  It was impressive after climbing over Railroad Pass and seeing the whole skyline ahead across the desert in front of you.

[kphoger]

I-57 from Effingham to Champaign.

Seriously?  Wow, I find it to be incredibly boring.  To each his own...

I-35 from Emporia, KS to Wichita over the Flint Hills is pretty scenic.

Yes, but you can definitely hit it at the wrong time of year.  Woe to you if the farmers just got done with range burning!  It's actually pretty cool to drive through there while they're doing range burning, but the landscape becomes rather bleak once they're done.  My favorite time of year to drive in the Flint Hills is late Spring, when the grass is a beautiful green.

[roadman65]

I-57 from Effingham to Champaign.

Seriously?  Wow, I find it to be incredibly boring.  To each his own...

I-35 from Emporia, KS to Wichita over the Flint Hills is pretty scenic.

Yes, but you can definitely hit it at the wrong time of year.  Woe to you if the farmers just got done with range burning!  It's actually pretty cool to drive through there while they're doing range burning, but the landscape becomes rather bleak once they're done.  My favorite time of year to drive in the Flint Hills is late Spring, when the grass is a beautiful green.

To me it was interesting to see the grain silos and vast farm land.
I drove I-35 in late Spring when you said it is good. Thanks for the fire info.  I saw signs along the way stating that they do occur.

[InterstateNG]

Yes, but you can definitely hit it at the wrong time of year.  Woe to you if the farmers just got done with range burning!  It's actually pretty cool to drive through there while they're doing range burning, but the landscape becomes rather bleak once they're done.  My favorite time of year to drive in the Flint Hills is late Spring, when the grass is a beautiful green.

I drove through the Missouri Bootheel and Northeastern Arkansas last year during range burning.  It was pretty awful.

[Scott5114]

I-35 in the Flint Hills is all right, and can be picturesque, but after the first ten minutes or so, gets pretty monotonous. El Dorado Lake is pretty neat, though.

[hobsini2]

The Pennsylvania Turnpike from I-81 (US 11) to New Stanton is a great drive.  Lots of farm land and hillsides.
I-24 from Chatanooga to Nashville.  Also from KY/ TN Line to Paducah.
I-57 from Effingham to Champaign.
I-87 from Lake George to Plattsburg, NY.
I-35 from Emporia, KS to Wichita over the Flint Hills is pretty scenic.

Oh yeah, and cannot forget the drive into Vegas the first time on I-515 where I seen all the Strip Hotels and the Stratosphere stood out.  It was impressive after climbing over Railroad Pass and seeing the whole skyline ahead across the desert in front of you.

I completely forgot about the Flint Hills on I-35 in KS. They are cool. I remember the first time driving that section of 35 with no exits south of Emporia for like 40 miles. That i thought was great.

[roadman65]

Yeah the section of I-35 south of Emporia is neat without exits for almost 40 miles.  Its like driving the FL Turnpike from Yeehaw Junction to Fort Pierce as far as exit distance goes.

[broadhurst04]

I-26 ascending the Blue Ridge between Tryon, NC and Hendersonville is one of my favorites. Also, if you go the other way towards Spartanburg the views of upstate SC are cool.

Another favorite stretch is I-40 westbound from the top of the mountain west of Old Fort down into the valley approaching Asheville.

[Scott5114]

See, I always hate long stretches with no exits. Being a roadgeek, I'm in it for the signs.

[JREwing78]

I drove through the Missouri Bootheel and Northeastern Arkansas last year during range burning.  It was pretty awful.

I can't think of a more awful drive I've taken anywhere than I-55 through Arkansas and the Missouri Bootheel. Flat, boring, pavement that rivals the worst Rust Belt states have to offer (at least before Arkansas repaved their stretch). Utterly stupid freeway interchanges (plus the bridges are built with shocking steep grades, making for a real adventure in icy weather). Also, nothing to look at for hours until you get down to Memphis or up to the I-57 interchange.

[jas]

One of the most impressive stretches of interstate I've come across is I-89 in Vermont from I-91 to Burlington...just gorgeous.  My wife and I took a road trip through the Northeast this past summer, and she got wonderful pictures of the scenery.  Also, I agree about I-68...had an out-of-town job in Cumberland, MD, and drove from my worksite in Delaware City, DE all the way out.  As an NJ residents, I'd say the best interstate drives are the western sections of both I-78 and I-80...gorgeous mountain scenery, as well as some beautiful views of valleys, especially between the 10 and 12 mile marker on I-78.  And, I would agree about both I-81 through western VA, and I-40 in TN.  My wife and I have started taking prolonged road trips to locations we've never been before.  So far we did NJ/PA/MD/WV/VA/TN/KY/IL/MO/IL/IN/KY/OH/PA/NY/ONT/NY/PA/NJ two years ago, and NJ/NY/CT/MA/NH/VT/NY/QUE/NY/PA/NJ last summer, and I have the appetite to see a whole lot more.

[roadman65]

If you are eve

One of the most impressive stretches of interstate I've come across is I-89 in Vermont from I-91 to Burlington...just gorgeous.  My wife and I took a road trip through the Northeast this past summer, and she got wonderful pictures of the scenery.  Also, I agree about I-68...had an out-of-town job in Cumberland, MD, and drove from my worksite in Delaware City, DE all the way out.  As an NJ residents, I'd say the best interstate drives are the western sections of both I-78 and I-80...gorgeous mountain scenery, as well as some beautiful views of valleys, especially between the 10 and 12 mile marker on I-78.  And, I would agree about both I-81 through western VA, and I-40 in TN.  My wife and I have started taking prolonged road trips to locations we've never been before.  So far we did NJ/PA/MD/WV/VA/TN/KY/IL/MO/IL/IN/KY/OH/PA/NY/ONT/NY/PA/NJ two years ago, and NJ/NY/CT/MA/NH/VT/NY/QUE/NY/PA/NJ last summer, and I have the appetite to see a whole lot more.

If you are ever out west try driving I-70 from its western terminus to Denver.  Really nice scenery, and the terrain looks great (no greenery though) during the 108 mile stretch without gas (Green River, UT to Salina, UT).  Got some rest areas and overlooks along this way and in Colorado its just grand from the Utah Border into Denver running along side the Colorado River and through the Rockies.