Rest areas on non-freeway roads

[Voyager75]

I know of three former ones in Alabama which have all been shut down and demolished. One on US-280 south of Birmingham at the top of Oak Mountain which is now the entrance to the Highland Lakes subdivision. Another one on US-280 northwest of Auburn at AL-147 and one on US-31 just south of Bay Minette. The last two can still be made out on Google Maps.

[KCRoadFan]

On my ongoing cross-country Street View journey following US 20 from Newport, Oregon to Boston, I came upon a most interesting sight while traversing the empty, wide-open scrublands of Wyoming west of Casper

You passed over multiple rest areas just on US-20.

US-20 in Brothers, OR (east of Bend). I've used this one many many times, very useful driving from Bend to Idaho.

US-20 West of Burns, OR

US-20 East of Burns, OR. This one may be closed now, not sure. At one point it was marked closed but port-a-pottys were still available.

US-20 at ID-75

Oregon has a lot of them, here are more I often have stopped at.

US-26 between Seaside, OR and Manning, OR

US-26 in Government Camp, OR

US-26 East of Prineville, OR. This one is probably one of the most desolate in Oregon, though it's just outhouses and it's co-signed with a sno-park/trailhead.

OR-22 near Gates, OR

US-97 North of Madras, OR

US-97 North of Terrebonne, OR. There is upstream signage marking this one as a Rest Area.

US-97 near Chemult, OR. This one's interesting because there are separate northbound and southbound rest areas, which is usually only the case on freeways.

US-97 South of Klamath Falls, OR

US-97 in Oregon provides very solid rest area coverage, better than some Interstates. And for good measure, there's one in California too. Was closed in 2018 for this GSV but I believe it's open again. US-97 North of Weed, CA

Here's a map of Oregon's. Some of these are not signed as Rest Areas (usually they are State Parks in that case) but many of them are. A majority of these have full plumbed bathrooms and are comparable to what you'd find on an interstate. A few of them are more primitive.

Link with more details

I noticed the Oregon ones as well when I was at that point in my virtual travels. It's just that my Street View journey had encountered a similar one in Wyoming - namely, the Waltman rest area between Shoshoni and Casper - which prompted me to create this thread.

[3467]

Illinois used to have them but all that remain area few picnic tables.

[ran4sh]

Others in the south/mid-atlantic not yet mentioned...

US 301 has welcome centers on both sides of the GA/SC border
US 301 has welcome centers on both sides of the VA/MD border
US 17 has welcome centers on both sides of the SC/NC border
It appears this one at US 220/NC 73 jct is closed now - https://goo.gl/maps/UgRd2BkgvT6s9o6m9
US 17 had one south of Vanceboro that was torn down not too long after this GMSV - https://goo.gl/maps/eHbKUrFta4xbZsix8
I'm sure NC had more of these older types but I don't really remember them anywhere else.
US 64 has non-freeway rest areas in Plymouth NC and Manteo NC
Virginia had some waysides that were developed enough to have bathrooms...Carters Wayside on Old US 11 near Ft Chiswell is still around as is Hanover Wayside on US 301 but both of these are parks now.
VA 598 at the VA/WV line appears to still have a rest area

There is also one buried within the skewed interchange of US 7 and VA 279 in Bennington VT
US 2 has several across the expanse of Montana

Also in North Carolina is the welcome center on US 23/441 for traffic entering from Georgia

[epzik8]

US 301 has welcome centers on both sides of the VA/MD border

Only the Maryland side has a welcome center, there's none on the Virginia side.

On the Virginia side is the Dahlgren Wayside Park, which felt like a rest area (if not welcome center) when I stopped there on 301 heading home from Myrtle Beach in 2004. As of last August the park is closed for the replacement of the Nice Bridge.

In addition to the one off the Nice Bridge in Maryland, US 301 has the Bay Country Welcome Center in the median in Queen Anne's County. US 13 has a welcome center northbound just over the Virginia line in Worcester County and one in Princess Anne. US 15 has the Mason-Dixon Welcome Center southbound near Emmitsburg. US 219 had Cove Overlook in Accident between I-68 and the Deep Creek Lake drag, however the State Highway Administration axed its restrooms and now it's just a parking lot.

[tchafe1978]

Wisconsin only has "Rest Areas" on four lane highways, but has numerous seasonal "Waysides" on two lane roads.  They generally have more "rustic" bathrooms and a few picnic tables.  I have seen some of these closed permanently in recent years.

How many of the old Waysides that are still open still have the hand-pumped water wells? I haven't stopped at one of them in years. One of my favorite things to do when on the road with my parents was to stop at a Wayside and pump the water to get a drink of the best tasting well water. On the other hand, I hated using the pit toilets. They stunk, for one, and for another, I was always afraid to use the toilet because I though I was going to fall in the pit, along with looking down at the pit grossed me out.

[roadman65]

I know of three former ones in Alabama which have all been shut down and demolished. One on US-280 south of Birmingham at the top of Oak Mountain which is now the entrance to the Highland Lakes subdivision. Another one on US-280 northwest of Auburn at AL-147 and one on US-31 just south of Bay Minette. The last two can still be made out on Google Maps.

US 231 had one between Troy and Montgomery in 2003.  Was gone in 2019.

[NJRoadfan]

US 22 in Whitehouse, NJ. (Or had one).

Its gone along with the eastbound one in Mountainside ("Echobrook Rest Area")

[Bruce]

Over half of the rest areas maintained by WSDOT are on non-Interstates, and probably most are on non-freeways. There's 47 total counted on this list.

[thspfc]

WI welcome center on US-51 in Hurley.

[kphoger]

US 95 in Nevada has a bunch as does US 395 in California.

US-95 in western Nevada is two-lane conventional highway for most of the route and has at least one, if not two rest areas.

Here's NDOT's map.  A few of these are nothing but a couple picnic tables and a trash can, as noted in the attached chart, like "Mountain House" near me, but most do have restroom facilities.

Real rest rooms, clean water, and a couple of picnic tables and a trash can, some maybe some "stretch my legs and walk my dog" room. What more do you need? Slot Machines? A couple of gaming tables?

Seriously.  It's a place to stop and use the restroom, maybe eat lunch.  What else is a rest area supposed to be?

[roadman65]

US 95 in Nevada has a bunch as does US 395 in California.

US-95 in western Nevada is two-lane conventional highway for most of the route and has at least one, if not two rest areas.

Here's NDOT's map.  A few of these are nothing but a couple picnic tables and a trash can, as noted in the attached chart, like "Mountain House" near me, but most do have restroom facilities.

Real rest rooms, clean water, and a couple of picnic tables and a trash can, some maybe some "stretch my legs and walk my dog" room. What more do you need? Slot Machines? A couple of gaming tables?

Seriously.  It's a place to stop and use the restroom, maybe eat lunch.  What else is a rest area supposed to be?

New York calls em Text Stops for safety.
Texas refers to Safety Break Areas.

Whatever, it's an area for stopping mainly to get up and stretch legs and taking care of Mother Nature ( if it's a full service area) and to walk dogs 🐕.

[kphoger]

New York calls em Text Stops for safety.

Where's the barfing face smiley?

[vdeane]

New York calls em Text Stops for safety.
Texas refers to Safety Break Areas.

New York still calls them rest areas and parking areas - the text stop thing is only additional to that.  Don't know about Texas though.

[roadman65]

New York calls em Text Stops for safety.
Texas refers to Safety Break Areas.

New York still calls them rest areas and parking areas - the text stop thing is only additional to that.  Don't know about Texas though.

At one time NYSDOT called the ones on NY 17 a Phone Comfort Station.

[Voyager75]

I know of three former ones in Alabama which have all been shut down and demolished. One on US-280 south of Birmingham at the top of Oak Mountain which is now the entrance to the Highland Lakes subdivision. Another one on US-280 northwest of Auburn at AL-147 and one on US-31 just south of Bay Minette. The last two can still be made out on Google Maps.

US 231 had one between Troy and Montgomery in 2003.  Was gone in 2019.

I thought there was another one but I couldn't rack my brain to remember.

Believe this was it:
https://goo.gl/maps/6y8LFVwWzBLSyhmcA

[kphoger]

I know of three former ones in Alabama which have all been shut down and demolished. One on US-280 south of Birmingham at the top of Oak Mountain which is now the entrance to the Highland Lakes subdivision. Another one on US-280 northwest of Auburn at AL-147 and one on US-31 just south of Bay Minette. The last two can still be made out on Google Maps.

US 231 had one between Troy and Montgomery in 2003.  Was gone in 2019.

I thought there was another one but I couldn't rack my brain to remember.

Believe this was it:
https://goo.gl/maps/6y8LFVwWzBLSyhmcA

That's just a non-satellite view of an area.  Is this the GSV?

[roadman65]

New York calls em Text Stops for safety.

Where's the barfing face smiley?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/8503945739/
This is Texas official name for some ( or at least this one) areas.

[sprjus4]

^

Virginia calls its rest areas "Safety Rest Areas" as well.

https://www.virginiadot.org/travel/map-rest-area.asp

[kphoger]

New York calls em Text Stops for safety.

Where's the barfing face smiley?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/8503945739/
This is Texas official name for some ( or at least this one) areas.

It wasn't the 'safety' part I was barfing at.  It was the 'text stops' part.

[froggie]

Vermont has a welcome center along US 2 in Allburg. New Hampshire has one along US 3 in Colebrook. Maine has one along US 302 in Fryeburg.

Surprised you didn't include US 4 in Fair Haven, VT, just after crossing from NY.

Pretty sure we've had this thread before.

We almost certainly have.

Indeed...

[sprjus4]

Indeed...

That thread seems to focus on interstate / freeway rest areas that require an exit to access, this one is centered around rest areas along arterial routes not near any interstates or freeways.

[froggie]

That was its initial focus, but there are a number of examples listed of rest areas on non-Interstates as well as non-freeways.