Trips made much longer by geographical constraints

[Roadgeekteen]

901 feet as the crow flies, 287 miles as the road drives

https://www.google.es/maps/dir/40.0445245,43.845908/40.0429017,43.8455823/@40.8001464,43.1605045,8.75z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0

2 miles as the crow flies, 84 miles as the road drives

https://www.google.es/maps/dir/41.1757828,45.1163304/41.2063757,45.0737854/@41.3622902,44.9526301,9z/data=!4m3!4m2!3e0!4e1

These are due to closed borders between Armenia and both Azerbaijan and Turkey. If they were open, it wouldn't require those detours through Georgia (the country, not the state).

And the ultimate one... 22.74 miles as the crow flies, 3,636 miles as the road drives!

https://www.google.es/maps/dir/12.5886144,43.1960283/12.6909033,43.5164555/@11.9781143,42.4516586,5.75z/data=!4m3!4m2!3e0!4e1

You have to thank God Allah for that Egypt-Saudi Arabia ferry. The all-land route gets blocked by some greedy guy called Israel...

Couldn't you go Egypt-Israel-Jordan-Saudi Arabia?

no, because Saudi Arabia bans entry from anyone with Israel passports/stamps in their passports

If I could recall you can get Israel to stamp another piece of paper instead of your passport.

[KCRoadFan]

That's an easy one:  anywhere in the Bay Area to Las Vegas (and back, of course).  S.O.P. involves CA 58 and I-15.

What about this: I-80 east to Sacramento, then US 50 east to CA 89 south to US 395 south to Big Pine, then CA 168 to NV 266 east to US 95 south to Vegas? Or US 50 east past Lake Tahoe and Carson City to US 95A near Silver Springs, then south on that to US 95 at Schurz? How much longer are those routes from SF to Vegas?

[MinecraftNinja]

Provincetown to Boston: 50 miles by straight line, 115 miles by driving.

[KCRoadFan]

Provincetown to Boston: 50 miles by straight line, 115 miles by driving.

Is there still a ferry between the two cities? I remember one of the Rand McNally road atlases from a while back marking such a ferry.

If that ferry does, in fact, still exist, does it allow cars, or it is passengers only?

[Roadgeekteen]

Provincetown to Boston: 50 miles by straight line, 115 miles by driving.

Is there still a ferry between the two cities? I remember one of the Rand McNally road atlases from a while back marking such a ferry.

If that ferry does, in fact, still exist, does it allow cars, or it is passengers only?

Passengers only.

[ftballfan]

Several years ago, Highway 11/17 just west of the split in Nipigon in northern Ontario was closed as the bridge collapsed. Until the replacement bridge was completed, all car traffic across Canada had to drop down into the US. For example, a trip from Nipigon to the Lake Helen Indian Preserve, which would normally take five minutes or less, would take about 17-18 hours via Thunder Bay, Duluth, Marquette, and the Twin Saults.

Another example involving Canada is between Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It's normally about a five hour trip via I-75. Currently, non-truck traffic that has to head between the two has to head east toward Toronto and then north to Sudbury before turning back west toward Sault Ontario.

[andrepoiy]

Some suburban areas here are not unconnected (and can only be accessed via a lengthy trip to the arterial road) due to:

1) A railway

2) A natural feature (like a creek, river, green area, or whatever)

3) Municipal boundary where the two suburbs were developed at different times and thus do not connect directly

[OCGuy81]

Anchorage to Kenai.

63 miles as the crow flies, 158 (about a 3 hour drive) by land.

[ukfan758]

Going to Apalachicola, FL (town close to St. George Island) when traveling from I-10. By the way the crow flies it's 70 miles from the Marianna, FL exit (SR-71), driving however is 93-96 miles or 1 hour 41-42 minutes. If you choose the western approach you go almost dead south to Port St. Joe then have to drive east on US-98 for 20 miles. The eastern approach takes you SE to east of Eastpoint via SR-65 then you have to drive west on US-98 for 10 miles.

[webny99]

Slight bump for a fun one I found in Rural Estates, FL (east of Naples): 200 feet across the canal, nearly 14 miles by road

[Bruce]

Adding to my earlier post about Puget Sound: any trip involving San Juan County (which has no bridges and is thus heavily dependent on the ailing ferry system).

A few more fun ones: Island County has two islands without direct ferry service between them, so residents of Camano Island needing to conduct some county affairs (such as jury duty) have to drive a minimum of 55 miles to Coupeville on Whidbey Island, crossing two counties in the process. A one-county route requires a ferry hop and takes much longer.

Washington only has a few all-year mountain passes, so Bellingham to Okanogan (134 miles as the crow flies) turns from a 190-mile drive in the summer to 265 miles in the winter months.

[tmthyvs]

Crested Butte, CO to Aspen, CO: 24 miles by air, 100 miles by road in summer when Kebler Pass is open, 199 miles by year-round highway.

[michiganguy123]

Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee, WI.

277 miles by car having to go straight through Chicago (4 hr 30 mins) or 89 miles by an expensive ferry that costs more than the gas going around the lake (3 hr 10 mins)

Would be cool to see a long bridge/tunnel here, maybe in a few lifetimes 

[Flint1979]

Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee, WI.

277 miles by car having to go straight through Chicago (4 hr 30 mins) or 89 miles by an expensive ferry that costs more than the gas going around the lake (3 hr 10 mins)

Would be cool to see a long bridge/tunnel here, maybe in a few lifetimes 

They could never get that done. The length and depth of the water would be a problem as there are no Islands at all in that part of Lake Michigan.

[pderocco]

There are plenty of absurd examples wherever there are impassable mountains. Mammoth Lakes to Edison Lake in the Sierra Nevada is 198 miles by road, or 19 by the way the crow flies.

[GaryV]

Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee, WI.

277 miles by car having to go straight through Chicago (4 hr 30 mins) or 89 miles by an expensive ferry that costs more than the gas going around the lake (3 hr 10 mins)

Would be cool to see a long bridge/tunnel here, maybe in a few lifetimes 

Channeling MMM? (That was one of his proposals)

For the record, Ludington to Manitowoc is longer (and may not be the longest).

[JREwing78]

14.4 miles by crow, 349 miles by vehicle.

Bass Cove, Drummond Island, MI to the Lafarge Dolomite Quarry, Meldrum Bay, Ontario
https://maps.app.goo.gl/T2crzV6V8DNKwE1R7

The Google couldn't get me onto Cockburn Island, which would've been about 360 miles of driving for 2 miles of by-crow travel.

[Flint1979]

Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee, WI.

277 miles by car having to go straight through Chicago (4 hr 30 mins) or 89 miles by an expensive ferry that costs more than the gas going around the lake (3 hr 10 mins)

Would be cool to see a long bridge/tunnel here, maybe in a few lifetimes 

Channeling MMM? (That was one of his proposals)

For the record, Ludington to Manitowoc is longer (and may not be the longest).

I know traveling around the entire lake is like 15 hours of just driving.

[Flint1979]

14.4 miles by crow, 349 miles by vehicle.

Bass Cove, Drummond Island, MI to the Lafarge Dolomite Quarry, Meldrum Bay, Ontario
https://maps.app.goo.gl/T2crzV6V8DNKwE1R7

The Google couldn't get me onto Cockburn Island, which would've been about 360 miles of driving for 2 miles of by-crow travel.

Cockburn used to have a ferry going to it back in the day, not from Michigan though.

[mgk920]

Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee, WI.

277 miles by car having to go straight through Chicago (4 hr 30 mins) or 89 miles by an expensive ferry that costs more than the gas going around the lake (3 hr 10 mins)

Would be cool to see a long bridge/tunnel here, maybe in a few lifetimes 

Well, if that stupid lake wasn't in the way . . .  Ditto the drive westward out of Denver, CO on I-70 if those stupid mountains weren't in the way . . .



Mike

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Back in August returning from Toulouse I lamented this tunnel wasn't built, causing this detour. Otherwise I would have taken it.

Benasque, Spain to Bagneres-de-Luchon, France is another nice detour due to unbuilt border crossings.

Edit to add links to the routes:
Benasque to Bagneres-de-Luchon, 70 road miles for 13 air miles.

[mgk920]

Back in August returning from Toulouse I lamented this tunnel wasn't built, causing this detour. Otherwise I would have taken it.

Benasque, Spain to Bagneres-de-Luchon, France is another nice detour due to unbuilt border crossings.

Edit to add links to the routes:
Benasque to Bagneres-de-Luchon, 70 road miles for 13 air miles.

And there are a bunch of stupid mountains in the way there, too

Mike