25 greatest US highways/routes

[Desert Man]

Interstates or freeways are popular and well-used in the USA, but we never forget the US highways or routes before interstates and they serve smaller-populated or more rural parts of the country. Some are famous in pop culture, others have a certain special reputation. Here's the 25 most well-known or famous US highways came to mind.

1. US 66 - the Main Street of America, from Chicago to LA.
2. 6 - single-digit sister road of 66.
3. 33- from Washington DC to Chicago, it's like 66's other identity.
4. 99 -turn 66 upside down, you have this number. 
5. 1 - East coast/Atlantic beach route.
6. 101 - West coast/Pacific beach route.
7. 50 - the Middle road in the middle of America.
8. 40 - the so-called National Road highway.
9. 70 - A road across a desert (esp. AZ).
10. 60 - Another road across the desert.
11. 166 - used in the Dust bowl in the 1930s from Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.
12. 466 - from Barstow to Bakersfield CA - the Grapes of Wrath road.
13. 13 - scary number.
14. 666 - real scary number, now the 491.
15. 69 - funny number. 
16. 87, 17. 89, 18. 91, 19. 93 and 20. 95 - "Lonely roads" in the Western desert.
21. 62, 22. 64 and 23. 195 - decommissioned, more scenic drives in the desert.
24. 400 - one of 2 US highways commissioned after 1990.
and 25.  412 - the other one, crosses Cherokee country in Oklahoma.
Honorable mentions: 395 - the 3 flags highway or part of the Pan-America Highway.
the 41 - part highway, part interstate in Wisconsin.
and 30 - the Lincoln federal highway.
The lost road - the Winnemucca to the Sea highway (former US 299 in CA and former US 140 in NV).
123 and 321 - best numbers, both go across South Carolina.
The newest US route - the 121 in VA and WV.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_121

[hotdogPi]

There seems to be a West Coast bias here. The only ones that seem mostly in the eastern part of the United States are the obvious US 1, US 13 that is somehow important only because it is an unlucky number, and somehow US 33 got rerouted on both ends?

33- from Washington DC to Chicago

[Desert Man]

Oh, my bad...the route starts in Richmond VA (capital of the confederacy) and ends in Elkhart, IN.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_33

California is synonymous with roads...esp freeways in the LA metro area, and lots of driving, since most of CA's US routes were decommissioned, and the 99 for example became a state highway from the Grapevine near Bakersfield to near Redding. The non-state route from Gorman pass down to Calexico lost it's number shield. I believe the 62, 64 (starts in the Navajo Nation in AZ) and 195 crossed the CA desert, but are no longer around.

[US 89]

16. 87, 17. 89, 18. 91, 19. 93 and 20. 95 - "Lonely roads" in the Western desert.

I don't know that US 91 is all that lonely compared to some of the other roads on this list. All but one of the counties that US 91 travels through is part of a metropolitan area, and that one is part of a micropolitan area.

And 89 is great not because it's a lonely road, but because it is one of the most scenic highways in the country.

The truly roads are the ones that cross the Great Basin desert with almost 100 mile spacing between towns and services. 93, 95, and 6 come to mind, as does 50 which is actually called the "Loneliest Road in America".

[Desert Man]

16. 87, 17. 89, 18. 91, 19. 93 and 20. 95 - "Lonely roads" in the Western desert.

I don't know that US 91 is all that lonely compared to some of the other roads on this list. All but one of the counties that US 91 travels through is part of a metropolitan area, and that one is part of a micropolitan area.

And 89 is great not because it's a lonely road, but because it is one of the most scenic highways in the country.

The truly roads are the ones that cross the Great Basin desert with almost 100 mile spacing between towns and services. 93, 95, and 6 come to mind, as does 50 which is actually called the "Loneliest Road in America".

The 91 (now I-15) from Barstow CA to Las Vegas is void of people, except for one town Baker with the world's largest thermometer. The 66 from Barstow to Needles, just one (ghost) town Amboy, is the empty quarter. And proposals to stretch US 62 and US 64 to southern CA...the US 62 cafe in Yucca Valley CA along CA route 62 - it turns north from 29 Palms to Amboy. There was "proposed state route 64" from Prescott or Bagdad AZ (known as the Bagdad Highway) to Mecca or Oasis CA by the Salton sea. It's now sections of CA SR 195, 177 and 62 as well Arizona route 72 (was that US 62?) and Salome Highway from Salome AZ east to Phoenix. US 62 actually ends in El Paso TX, but the I-10 from Phoenix to El Paso was 62? Former US 80 follows the path, so does US 70.   

[ilpt4u]

On #8 -- I thought US 30 is the Lincoln Highway? US 40 is the National Road, is it not? Both should be on the list, IMHO

I'd have to throw US 41 on there in popularity. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, part of the old Dixie Highway, runs thru Atlanta down into Miami. And recently made into an Interstate 41 in Wisconsin. Infamy is fame too. Should certainly be in the top 25, if not the top 10

Overall, many of the Primary North/South routes are missing (US primary North/South end in "1"). Not saying US 51 has to be on it, but 31, 61, 71...of course, already brought up 41 as a major missing route on the list

[Max Rockatansky]

So we're doing personal top 25s?  I'll throw in since I'm waiting for my laundry to finish.

1.  66:  Really I think that US 66 is probably the best known modern highway just in general.
2.  1:  Probably the most well known X1 US Route and the longest.  The Overseas Highway does 1 huge favors in terms of being notable.
3.  40:  Mostly due to the whole association with the Lincoln Highway and historic places like Donner Pass.
4.  101:  I'd rate it higher than 99 due to the odd number and more scenery along the coast.  I know that the Golden Gate Bridge has never been state maintained but it certainly is the implied routing.
5.  50:  Huge great expanses in the Sierras, Great Basin, and the Rockies really help 50.
6.  99:  Huge legacy down the center of California and being the primary north/south route up to British Columbia before I-5.  99 essentially refuses to die even after being dropped to several state designations.
7.  41:  Really this is pretty cool route with Copper Harbor, Lake Michigan, downtown Chicago, and the Tamiami Trail on it.
8.  20:  Hard to really keep a route of this length off the list, I rate it higher due to the implied route through Yellowstone.
9.  30:  Ditto to 20 but it loses points due to it not having the same level of scenery.
10.  6:  Really 6 will take you through some of the most rural parts of the nation with some cool stuff in Nevada and Colorado.  I rate it lower due to the weird alignment that once existed in California that didn't make a ton of sense.
11. 191:  Not the most significant highway in terms of history but might be the most scenic pound for pound with National Parks, Navajo Nation, and stuff like the Coronado Trail.
12. 395:  Really much as the same as 191 except with slightly less scenic value.
13. 2:  The western US 2 really is about remote as you can get on such a long US Route and covers some fantastic terrain in the Upper Peninsula, Rockies, and Cascades.
14. 12:  Really strong end points in Washington and Detroit long with some really good mountainous terrain.
15. 10:  Lower than 12 due to the ferry route over Lake Michigan but really this was the more significant route before the Interstates.
16. 80:  By far the most important southern east/west US Route before the Interstates carved it up.
17. 60:  A really unimportant route in the beginning that gradually became one of the most notable cross county US Routes before it was shit canned out of California.
18. 27:  Had a huge significance in the Mid-West before I-75 came to town.  Really the route is still probably one of the best drives in the state of Florida to this day.
19. 550:  One of the best US Routes that ever existed for scenery along the Million Dollar Highway/San Juan Skyway.
20. 85:  Had some really notable cities along it's route before it became the road everyone wanted to forget multiplexed with I-25.
21. 98:  Didn't start out as a big deal but gradually became one of the cooler coastal routes along the Gulf.
22. 34:  Really nice historic end point in Chicago along with an implied crossing of Trail Ridge in Rocky Mountain National Park.
23. 89:  Tons of National Parks on or near the routing
24. 163: Really this is only here because of the value Monument Valley brings.  The weird number not anywhere near US 63 doesn't really help but it doesn't change the fact that it is by the most scenic short US Route.
25. 90:  Really in my opinion US 70 should have never reached Los Angeles and had a ton of changes that really lessened in it.  US 90 at least largest stayed intact over the years and had importance in the southern states.

[ilpt4u]

I did a little fact checking on the National Road and the Lincoln Highway

The National Road is pretty much the Eastern part of US 40 -- between St Louis and Baltimore

The Lincoln Highway follows US 30 from Pennsylvania to Wyoming. Into Nevada and California, parts of US 40 and US 50 are along the Lincoln Highway

[CNGL-Leudimin]

24. 400 - one of 2 US highways commissioned after 1990.
and 25.  412 - the other one, crosses Cherokee country in Oklahoma.

Erm... there's another one, the only one to be commissioned in this millenium but it still has to be signed: US 121.

[Desert Man]

The coolest number shields go to routes 123 and 321, both crosses South Carolina - spurs of US routes 23 and 21 respectively. I like for non-commissioned 100 and 333 to be used in the future.

[Scott5114]

The coolest number shields go to routes 123 and 321, both crosses South Carolina - spurs of US routes 23 and 21 respectively. I like for non-commissioned 100 and 333 to be used in the future.

100 would be a spur of...what, exactly?

[MNHighwayMan]

The coolest number shields go to routes 123 and 321, both crosses South Carolina - spurs of US routes 23 and 21 respectively. I like for non-commissioned 100 and 333 to be used in the future.

100 would be a spur of...what, exactly?

Presumably it'd be a spur in the same way that US-400 is a spur of... something.

[Desert Man]

The coolest number shields go to routes 123 and 321, both crosses South Carolina - spurs of US routes 23 and 21 respectively. I like for non-commissioned 100 and 333 to be used in the future.

100 would be a spur of...what, exactly?

More like random selection - It would be a freeway and a spur to the freeway. Imagine US 333 is a route from I-40 in CA (goes through Amboy) south to 29 Palms, where it meets the US 100 freeway, starts from I-10 in Palm Springs east to Parker AZ to the I-11 (US 93) near Congress AZ. Part of my fantasy highways: the I-7 (the I-9 project in CA SR-former US99)- the real life freeway from I-10 in Indio/Coachella CA down to Calexico on the Mexican border (currently SR 111, then the 86 and finally, 7) connecting with I-8.

[Desert Man]

The 5 other US routes I wanna mention:
10 - Anyone got a 10?
20 - Nope, got a 20.
80 - Used to connect from San Diego to El Paso, now I-8 in CA and AZ.
90 - Never was coast-to-coast, from Jacksonville FL to Van Horn TX.
88 - Unused, I rather have the Freeway from Indio CA to Calexico be commissioned US 88, because there's a I-7 proposal from Sacramento to Red Bluff CA along the US 99 (crosses Yuba City and Chico).

[PHLBOS]

13. 13 - scary number.

Have you driven US 13 through PA?  That route does go through some not so great towns & neighborhoods.

[Max Rockatansky]

This is starting to morph away from Top 25 US Route lists into something that feels like it is out of the fictional board. 

[Brandon]

California is synonymous with roads...esp freeways in the LA metro area,

Since when!?!  Most of what California claims as its "car culture" was invented slightly earlier in Metro Detroit.

[Max Rockatansky]

California is synonymous with roads...esp freeways in the LA metro area,

Since when!?!  Most of what California claims as its "car culture" was invented slightly earlier in Metro Detroit.

Freeways are pretty low on the totem pole as far "car culture"  roadways go in California.  You don't hear stories about I-10, you hear them about CA 1, US 66, US 466, and US 99 just to Name a few. 

[TheHighwayMan3561]

No love for US 61 from anyone?

[ilpt4u]

No love for US 61 from anyone?

Overall, many of the Primary North/South routes are missing (US primary North/South end in "1"). Not saying US 51 has to be on it, but 31, 61, 71...of course, already brought up 41 as a major missing route on the list

I previously mentioned a shortage of the Primary North/South US Routes, including 61

Really, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71 all could be legit candidates, even if there are Interstates on at least parts of those corridors

[sparker]

No love for US 61 from anyone?

Uhh......Bob Dylan?  (Highway 61 Revisited).  Born in Duluth (ironically no longer on US 61!)

[Henry]

In no particular order, these are my 25 greatest US routes:

1. US 66, the Mother Road and site of my favorite childhood roadtrip memories
2. US 99, the West Coast version of 66 that lives on as state routes in all three states
3. US 101, the Pacific Coast Highway
4. US 6, the quirky transcontinental highway that has always been a major violator of the grid, especially in the western two-thirds of the country
5. US 1, the Atlantic Coast Highway
6. US 41, the main link between the Great Lakes and the South
7. US 61, Bob Dylan's main claim to fame (and the blues in general)
8. US 20, the longest US route ever
9. US 91, the old highway from San Diego to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City (sadly, it was consumed by I-15)
10. US 40, the National Road
11. US 25, the Dixie Highway
12. US 30, the Lincoln Highway
13. US 75, slices through the middle of the country
14. US 2, the two-part road running across the top of the nation
15. US 90, the Gulf Coast Highway
16. US 17, the other Atlantic Coast Highway
17. US 50, the link between the nation's capital and the Golden State
18. US 52, the only route to serve both the Carolinas and the Dakotas
19. US 301, basically I-95 with stoplights, but more scenic too
20. US 191, a fun desert drive within earshot of the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley
21. US 220, the road through the Appalachians
22. US 163, the long-lost spur of US 63
23. US 400, the theoretical I-60 corridor
24. US 412, the theoretical I-50 corridor
25. US 491, the road formerly known as US 666

[OCGuy81]

In no particular order, these are my 25 greatest US routes:

1. US 66, the Mother Road and site of my favorite childhood roadtrip memories
2. US 99, the West Coast version of 66 that lives on as state routes in all three states
3. US 101, the Pacific Coast Highway
4. US 6, the quirky transcontinental highway that has always been a major violator of the grid, especially in the western two-thirds of the country
5. US 1, the Atlantic Coast Highway
6. US 41, the main link between the Great Lakes and the South
7. US 61, Bob Dylan's main claim to fame (and the blues in general)
8. US 20, the longest US route ever
9. US 91, the old highway from San Diego to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City (sadly, it was consumed by I-15)
10. US 40, the National Road
11. US 25, the Dixie Highway
12. US 30, the Lincoln Highway
13. US 75, slices through the middle of the country
14. US 2, the two-part road running across the top of the nation
15. US 90, the Gulf Coast Highway
16. US 17, the other Atlantic Coast Highway
17. US 50, the link between the nation's capital and the Golden State
18. US 52, the only route to serve both the Carolinas and the Dakotas
19. US 301, basically I-95 with stoplights, but more scenic too
20. US 191, a fun desert drive within earshot of the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley
21. US 220, the road through the Appalachians
22. US 163, the long-lost spur of US 63
23. US 400, the theoretical I-60 corridor
24. US 412, the theoretical I-50 corridor
25. US 491, the road formerly known as US 666

Yay! Love for US 2, the Great Northern. Beautiful drive in Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

[Desert Man]

There are 9 US route numbers no longer in use:
28 - in Central Oregon, now part of US 20.
32 and 38 - now part of US 6 (eastern stretches).
37 - in Tennessee, now called US 31E.
55 - in Minnesota and Iowa, now part of US 56.
66 - famous route, also US 666 (controversial)-renamed US 491.
94 - in Florida, now part of US 41 or I-75.
99 - famous route, made into historic route (so is 66), in CA expected to be I-9 and I-7.
Should they renumbered back? 66 and 99 have nostalgic and sentimental value.

[Roadgeekteen]

US 33 in way too high. Why would it be above US 1 and 101?