Favorite beachside/waterside routes

[golden eagle]

For me:

S21 in the Del Mar-Solano Beach area
California 75 (Silver Strand) between Imperial Beach and Coronado
U.S. 90 from Long Beach to Biloxi
U.S. 98 on the eastern of Mobile Bay
U.S. 41 (Lake Shore Drive) in Chicago

I haven't done very much beachfront driving, but I hope to add a lot more to this list someday.

[Alex]

US 2 across the Sand Bar over Lake Champlain
US 98 over Apalachicola Bay
Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay
J. Earle Bowden Way (CR 399?) along Gulf Islands National Seashore between Pensacola and Navarre Beach
Crown Point Drive by Fiesta and Mission Bays
AL 193 over Mississippi Sound to Dauphin Island

[SSOWorld]

NC-12 along the outer banks
SR-1 along the Pacific Coast in California

[FLRoads]

I have a few, some of which have been mentioned:

Sunshine Skyway Bridge (U.S. 19 and I-275). I actually enjoyed the old span also when I was younger, though it scared me **itless!
U.S. 1 going down to Key West.
A1A around Flagler Beach. No condos obstructing your view of the Atlantic.
Also J. Earle Bowden Way along the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
U.S. 101 in northwest California (between McKinleyville and Crescent City)  

[Scott5114]

I-794 in Milwaukee.

[froggie]

Agree with CA 75, but IMO, US 90 between the Chef Menteur and Rigolets bridges is a nicer drive than through the condo-and-casino-infested mess that US 90 is now through Harrison County (and Gulfport/Biloxi in particular).

[mightyace]

US 11-15 from the south end of the Selinsgrove bypass to the US 22-322 junction.

US 431 near Guntersville, AL and AL 79 northeastward toward Scottsboro

[leifvanderwall]

These are my favorite waterside routes:

A1A : a gimme.
old M-107: too bad it did not get extended westward to Black River Park in Gogebic County.
Harbor Drive: In Grand Haven, Mi.
Florida 699 & 789
M-116 in Mason County, Mi.
M-28 from Munising, MI to Marquette, MI.
B-15 in Muskegon & Oceana Cos.
North Shore Dr. in South Haven, Mi. /Allegan Co.
US 41 from L'anse to Houghton, Mi.

[mefailenglish]

US 98 over Apalachicola Bay

And even farther east along US 98/319 on the way to Carabelle.  Much of the way, it's basically the road, then a spit of sand, then the Gulf of Mexico.

[Sykotyk]

US-1 to Key West
US-2 from I-89 to I-87
US-98 in/west of Biloxi
I-84/WA-14 along the Columbia River

Sykotyk

[Alps]

Not necessarily a terrific fan of NH 1A but it is very scenic.  More so than RI 1A or US 1-ME.  I really enjoy the several miles I-275-FL spends skimming above the water.  The Lake Ponchartrain Causeway is my favorite waterside ("inside" is a side ) route not yet driven.

[froggie]

Try doing it during a thunderstorm sometime....it'll change your mind real quick...

[berberry]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned CA-1 through Big Sur - or any coastline stretch of CA-1, for that matter.

AbE:  Oops!  Just realized that Master son did mention it.

[Chris]

How's U.S. Route 101 in Oregon?

[agentsteel53]

How's U.S. Route 101 in Oregon?

excellent.  There is a fairly abandoned section between North Bend and Newport.  Florence isn't nearly as big a city as Rand McNally makes it out to be, and those 20-30 mile stretches that appear to be nothing are, in fact, nothing.

[Truvelo]

The only coastal route I've done in the US is part of the Ocean and Meadowbrook Parkways on Long Island where the woodie lightpoles are. For some reason the tolls booths were closed when I went.

[PAHighways]

US 209 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

[froggie]

US 209 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Concur with that one.  It's now become party of my de-facto route north to Vermont...

Another one that's not too bad is the GW Pkwy, between Mt. Vernon and the DC Beltway.  Several locations where you're close to the Potomac.

[Ian]

-Any New Hampshire route that runs along its many lakes are my favorites. My favorite one is NH 109 (near my lakehouse).

-NY 9N running along Lake George.

-Anytime where I-95 in Connecticut meets water (specifically in New Haven) are neat.

-US 9W running alongside the Hudson.

-Despite it being in an industrial area, I like the way I-495 runs along the Delaware River in Delaware.

-I-95 running along the Delaware through Philadelphia is cool for me.

[Hellfighter]

A-2 from M-63 to Holland
US-23 from Standish to Mackinaw City
M-28 from Munising to US-41
Scenic Drive north of Muskegon
M-134

[Michael]

US 11-15 from the south end of the Selinsgrove bypass to the US 22-322 junction.

I wasn't thinking of rivers when I saw this thread, but I have to agree with this!

Here's some pictures from AlpsRoads:




I like all of US 15, hence my avatar!

Another one that's not too bad is the GW Pkwy, between Mt. Vernon and the DC Beltway.  Several locations where you're close to the Potomac.

Yeah, that's a neat drive!  I was on a bus trip to DC and we used the Parkway to get to Mount Vernon.

[Brandon]

M-26 from Copper Harbor to Eagle River, Michigan.
US-41, Lake Shore Drive, Chicago.

[DanTheMan414]

US 11-15 from the south end of the Selinsgrove bypass to the US 22-322 junction.

I've taken this stretch of US 11/15 numerous times going from the Finger Lakes Region of New York down to Gettysburg.  Definitely, this is one of my most favorite stretches of highway along a waterway.  Earlier on in this drive, too, taking either NY 14 down the west side of Seneca Lake, or the combination of NY 96A and NY 414 along the east side between Geneva and Watkins Glen, will offer some rather breathtaking views of the lake...and numerous wineries, too.

Here in Michigan, one of my favorite waterside drives is M-22, with several points of note, including the overlook of Lake Michigan on the Mainstee-Benzie County Line, and the point where the highway bisects Glen Lake between Empire and Glen Arbor.  Also up there is the stretch of US 31/M-72 along the south side of the east arm of Grand Traverse Bay, east of Traverse City.

[Chris]

How about FDR Drive in New York City? I saw a video from Freewayjim of it, it was pretty cool, skyscrapers on one side, the East river with it's bridges on the other.

[njroadhorse]

- RI 138 after US 1
- MA 3A in Plymouth
- A1A near Ponte Vedra Beach
- US 209 along the Delaware
- PA 611 along the Delaware
- US 501 along the James River in the mountains
- Beach Drive in Cape May, NJ
- NJ 21 along the Passaic River (rofl)
- I-90 along Lake Erie