What's the shortest road distance from your state to another, non-adjoining state? And is there another non-bordering state that's closer by straight-line distance but not by road?
(The Four Corners states are all considered adjacent for the purpose of this question.)
From CT, it's about 15-20 miles as the crow flies from the edge of the panhandle to the closest point in NJ in the Hudson River (about 23.5 miles if you stay on I-95). It's about 55 miles from the CT border to the southern borders of VT and NH, which I-91 is a pretty straight shot. and it's about 71 miles from Danbury to Matamoras, PA driving, but probably closer to 65-70 if you account for the north-south part of I-84 between the Dutchess line and NY 312. MA and ME are separated by 15 miles of New Hampshire. PA and VA are only about 35 miles apart along I-81, and are separated by 2 states (MD and WV)
Here in NY, both New Hampshire and Ohio are about 40 miles east or west, respectively.
For California, it would have to be Utah, cutting across Nevada (and a bit of Arizona) on I-15.
Virginia and Delaware are 36 mi apart by road and 31 miles by crow.
Maryland and NJ are 19 miles apart by road...
Mapmikey
NY and RI are up there for farthest-apart bordering states. MI/MN is another such pair.
The answer for Texas, Colorado, and Kansas is about 35 miles across the Oklahoma panhandle. 68 miles from New Mexico to Kansas. 70 miles between Oklahoma and Louisiana. Alabama is about 77 miles from Louisiana. Mississippi is 63 miles from Florida. Missouri is about 112 miles from Indiana. 48 miles from Iowa to Kansas. 80 miles from North Dakota to Wyoming. 162 miles from South Dakota to Colorado. 161 miles from Arizona to Texas. Those last 2 are probably the largest distance of the competition, and would need further investigation to find possible shorter routes than just a quick eyeball. Depending on whether or not you count water-only borders, Michigan is the other choice. Michigan and Illinois share a water border in the middle of Lake Michigan. 42 miles between them by land. 186 miles from MI to either NY or PA if Illinois doesn't count.
For Minnesota it's Nebraska, about an hour and 20 minute drive from the MN border to NE via MN/IA 60 and US 75.
Even though I can't reach it by road, the closest state to me is Maine :sombrero:
Do scheduled vehicle ferries count as "roads"?
It's ~85 mi. from north of the Wallops facility on the eastern shore of Virginia to Cape May, New Jersey if you take the Cape May-Lewes ferry. If not, it's a ~120 mile drive between the two states, this time from just outside Washington to across the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
If we are talking from any part of the state border, the closest to Indiana would be Wisconsin. Missouri and Ontario would be next and may be closer depending on where in the state you are.
Virginia and Pennsylvania are a little over 21 miles apart via US-522 through West Virginia and Maryland. As the crow flies the distance is a bit less a little to the west where Virginia extends a bit further north.
Michigan technically touches both MN and IL (at the bottom of Lakes Superior and Michigan, respectively). So the shortest road distance to a non-bordering state is a bit over 200 miles, from SW MI near New Buffalo to somewhere near Clinton IA. You might be able to get it to just under 200 by taking the most direct back roads.
Edit: Correction, you can get from far SE MI to western PA in about 190 miles.
From the Delaware Memorial Bridge, it only takes about 20 miles to get from New Jersey into Maryland following I-95/295 the entire way.
NY and RI do share a border in between Fishers Island and Watch Hill. VT and ME are only about 35 miles apart. WA and MT are about 75 miles apart through ID. NY and MI are about 190 miles apart (Niagara Falls to Port Huron) across Ontario. CA and UT are about 150 miles apart along I-15 (pretty straight),.
Quote from: GaryV on December 27, 2014, 09:03:51 AM
Michigan technically touches both MN and IL (at the bottom of Lakes Superior and Michigan, respectively). So the shortest road distance to a non-bordering state is a bit over 200 miles, from SW MI near New Buffalo to somewhere near Clinton IA. You might be able to get it to just under 200 by taking the most direct back roads.
Edit: Correction, you can get from far SE MI to western PA in about 190 miles.
Covington, KY would be a close 3rd, I would think.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on December 27, 2014, 05:38:46 AM
For Minnesota it's Nebraska, about an hour and 20 minute drive from the MN border to NE via MN/IA 60 and US 75.
Unless one counts the border in Lake Superior as being 'bordering', it would be Michigan (about an hour via US 2).
As for Wisconsin, it would be Indiana.
Mike.
For North Carolina, it would be West Virginia. There's only about 45 or so miles of Virginia between them.
For Nevada, Wyoming is the nearest non-bordering state. The straight-line distance is about 150 miles, and it looks like you can make it by road in about 187 miles by exiting I-80 east of Salt Lake City and taking a local road to the southwest corner of Wyoming.
Montana to Washington is a 75-mile panhandle hop via I-90.
As for Georgia, Kentucky wins but Virginia is a very close second.
From Georgia to Kentucky it is 162 miles by going on I-75 through Tennessee.
From Georgia to Virginia it is 166 miles by taking US 23 from the GA/NC line to I-40 (going to Asheville) then I-26 all the way to the Virginia border.
Iowa to Kansas is 40 miles by crow, and 46.5 miles by car (including a few back roads on the Missouri side of the US 159 bridge)
For Illinois, the closest would be Minnesota and Tennessee. Michigan does not count as there is a border in the middle of Lake Michigan (different thread).
Minnesota: 105.8 miles by road (Bing Maps). 77 miles by air.
Tennessee: 41.8 miles by road (Bing Maps). 34.5 miles by air.
Therefore, Tennessee is the closest to Illinois without bordering Illinois. Minnesota is number two.
Quote from: adventurernumber1 on December 27, 2014, 01:42:55 PM
As for Georgia, Kentucky wins but Virginia is a very close second.
From Georgia to Kentucky it is 162 miles by going on I-75 through Tennessee.
From Georgia to Virginia it is 166 miles by taking US 23 from the GA/NC line to I-40 (going to Asheville) then I-26 all the way to the Virginia border.
US 27 to TN 68 to US 127 will shave about 20 miles off that distance to Kentucky. Can't find anything shorter to Virginia.
A couple people mentioned AL-LA; how far is AL-NC?
Do we have a clear winner between NY-OH and NY-NH?
Also, inland water borders count as adjoining, and ferry routes don't count as road distance. (Count them as airline distance.)
iPhone
Using Google Maps, I was able to measure the distance from NH to the NY state line at 37.44 miles. NY to OH is about 43 miles. NH is SLIGHTLY closer.
NC to Alabama is about 72 miles.
(These are all straight line measurements, driving distance may vary)
Driving, NY/NH is shorter at 45-46 miles along VT 9 vs NY/OH at 46-47 miles along PA 5.
MA-ME, ~20 miles
Quote from: 1 on December 27, 2014, 04:58:40 PM
MA-ME, ~20 miles
I was just looking at that, according to google it's about 16.2 miles via I-95 and about 14 miles crow.
Are there any shorter ones than that?
QuoteNC to Alabama is about 72 miles.
(These are all straight line measurements, driving distance may vary)
Near 100 miles driving.
QuoteDriving, NY/NH is shorter at 45-46 miles along VT 9 vs NY/OH at 46-47 miles along PA 5.
Though NY/OH would certainly be faster via I-90.
Kentucky's closest would be North Carolina, although I haven't attempted to do a straight-line measurement nor a measurement by highway. US 23 and US 421 through Virginia and Tennessee are direct routes, but I've taken the US 23-Alt. US 58-US 58-VA 91-TN 91-US 421 route several times and I think it may be the closest highway routing.
How about the farthest bordering state? Not counting the Dorena-Hickman Ferry, there is no direct connection between Kentucky and Missouri. You have to use the short portion of US 60 and US 62 in Illinois to get from Bluegrass to Show-Me.
Quote from: Thing 342 on December 27, 2014, 06:13:03 PM
Depending on how how one considers the Four Corners, the pairs of Arizona and Colorado and Utah and New Mexico may count as being zero miles.
Read the first post.
Quote from: JCinSummerfield on December 27, 2014, 10:10:16 AM
Quote from: GaryV on December 27, 2014, 09:03:51 AM
Michigan technically touches both MN and IL (at the bottom of Lakes Superior and Michigan, respectively). So the shortest road distance to a non-bordering state is a bit over 200 miles, from SW MI near New Buffalo to somewhere near Clinton IA. You might be able to get it to just under 200 by taking the most direct back roads.
Edit: Correction, you can get from far SE MI to western PA in about 190 miles.
Covington, KY would be a close 3rd, I would think.
I-75 is 210 miles long in OH, so yes, a close 3rd.
From Oregon, the best I could find by road is Montana, 217 miles via WA-129 and US-12 https://www.google.com/maps/dir/45.9984768,-117.2787928/46.6341981,-114.5816493/@45.7127369,-117.1256708,8z Utah would be the only other possibility, but I couldn't find anything shorter.
Can someone calculate the distance by road from Hawaii?
For Arkansas, Kansas is roughly 40 miles as the crow flies, and Kentucky is roughly 70 miles as the crow flies.
CT and NJ has to be the winner. Using Google Maps's measuring tool, it is 11.69 mi. as the crow flies from the NW corner of the panhandle of CT (along NY 120) to the NE corner of NY/NJ just east of the Palisades Parkway along the west shore of the Hudson (11.26 mi if you use the point in the Hudson.) And now come to find out PA and MA are only 79 miles apart as the crow flies from the I-84 tri-point to Sheffield, NJ and MA about 74 miles from the 87/287 junction to Sheffield, and PA and VT are about 118 mi. from between Deposit and Hancock to the SW corner of Pownal.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on December 27, 2014, 10:38:18 PM
CT and NJ has to be the winner. Using Google Maps's measuring tool, it is 11.69 mi. as the crow flies from the NW corner of the panhandle of CT (along NY 120) to the NE corner of NY/NJ just east of the Palisades Parkway along the west shore of the Hudson. And now come to find out PA and MA are only 79 miles apart as the crow flies from Matamoras to Sheffield.
20.1 miles from NY 303 at NJ line to NY-CT line on Anderson Hill Rd just west of NY 120A. Lowest I can get.
For South Carolina, I was originally inclined to say Virginia, but I suspect that Tennessee is actually closer (both via a straight line and via I-26).
Quote from: 1 on December 27, 2014, 08:23:59 PM
Can someone calculate the distance by road from Hawaii?
Only if you count barges carrying unaccompanied vehicles as "roads". Or maybe a big yacht where some rich snot can take a car with him between the mainland and Hawaii.
Alaska at least has a public auto ferry system allowing travelers and their cars to pass non-stop through British Columbia, so you can use the distance the ferry travels between Ketchikan AK and Bellingham WA. That is almost certainly shorter than the overland road distance, since the shortest road connection between Alaska and Washington state (probably 875 miles between Hyder AK and Sumas WA) requires a long inland detour through Prince George BC.
Quote from: oscar on December 27, 2014, 11:50:10 PM
Quote from: 1 on December 27, 2014, 08:23:59 PM
Can someone calculate the distance by road from Hawaii?
Only if you count barges carrying unaccompanied vehicles as "roads". Or maybe a big yacht where some rich snot can take a car with him between the mainland and Hawaii.
Alaska at least has a public auto ferry system allowing travelers and their cars to pass non-stop through British Columbia, so you can use the distance the ferry travels between Ketchikan AK and Bellingham WA. That is almost certainly shorter than the overland road distance, since the shortest road connection between Alaska and Washington state (probably 875 miles between Hyder AK and Sumas WA) requires a long inland detour through Prince George BC.
If you extended I-8 about 2505 miles WSW, it would come out on the Big Island
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on December 27, 2014, 10:38:18 PM
CT and NJ has to be the winner. Using Google Maps's measuring tool, it is 11.69 mi. as the crow flies from the NW corner of the panhandle of CT (along NY 120) to the NE corner of NY/NJ just east of the Palisades Parkway along the west shore of the Hudson (11.26 mi if you use the point in the Hudson.) And now come to find out PA and MA are only 79 miles apart as the crow flies from the I-84 tri-point to Sheffield, NJ and MA about 74 miles from the 87/287 junction to Sheffield, and PA and VT are about 118 mi. from between Deposit and Hancock to the SW corner of Pownal.
Are the distances for MA shorter to Sheffield than to Mt. Washington, or are you just being approximate?
Quote from: 1 on December 27, 2014, 08:23:59 PM
Can someone calculate the distance by road from Hawaii?
Or confirm that CA is the closest non-bordering state, which would seem obvious, but it would also seem obvious that day breaks earlier in Maine than Florida and that's apparently not true.
Quote from: empirestate on December 28, 2014, 12:09:50 AM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on December 27, 2014, 10:38:18 PM
CT and NJ has to be the winner. Using Google Maps's measuring tool, it is 11.69 mi. as the crow flies from the NW corner of the panhandle of CT (along NY 120) to the NE corner of NY/NJ just east of the Palisades Parkway along the west shore of the Hudson (11.26 mi if you use the point in the Hudson.) And now come to find out PA and MA are only 79 miles apart as the crow flies from the I-84 tri-point to Sheffield, NJ and MA about 74 miles from the 87/287 junction to Sheffield, and PA and VT are about 118 mi. from between Deposit and Hancock to the SW corner of Pownal.
Are the distances for MA shorter to Sheffield than to Mt. Washington, or are you just being approximate?
Using the corner at Mt. Washington area which is in the town of Sheffield
Quote from: 1 on December 27, 2014, 08:23:59 PM
Can someone calculate the distance by road from Hawaii?
Or confirm that CA is the closest non-bordering state, which would seem obvious, but it would also seem obvious that day breaks earlier in Maine than Florida and that's apparently not true.
That has to do with the seasons. Definitely true in the summer, but not this time of year, because length of day variation is greater as you get closer to the poles. Maine will get about 8 1/2 hours of daylight and FL about 10. In June, Maine gets almost 16 and FL about 14. Actually, northern Alaska wins every day from early May to early August because the sun never sets. And you're right. Only 2255 miles to the Aleutian Islands from Kauai.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on December 27, 2014, 05:38:46 AM
For Minnesota it's Nebraska, about an hour and 20 minute drive from the MN border to NE via MN/IA 60 and US 75.
It would probably be shorter just to take US 75 its entire distance in Iowa, although as for driving time, it may be faster on IA 60 and US 75.
Quote from: oscar on December 27, 2014, 11:50:10 PM
Alaska at least has a public auto ferry system allowing travelers and their cars to pass non-stop through British Columbia, so you can use the distance the ferry travels between Ketchikan AK and Bellingham WA. That is almost certainly shorter than the overland road distance, since the shortest road connection between Alaska and Washington state (probably 875 miles between Hyder AK and Sumas WA) requires a long inland detour through Prince George BC.
Which brings up an interesting question - why is there no analog to the Alaska Marine Highway System running between the California coast and one or several of the islands that make up the State of Hawaii?
Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 28, 2014, 05:35:43 PM
Quote from: oscar on December 27, 2014, 11:50:10 PM
Alaska at least has a public auto ferry system allowing travelers and their cars to pass non-stop through British Columbia, so you can use the distance the ferry travels between Ketchikan AK and Bellingham WA. That is almost certainly shorter than the overland road distance, since the shortest road connection between Alaska and Washington state (probably 875 miles between Hyder AK and Sumas WA) requires a long inland detour through Prince George BC.
Which brings up an interesting question - why is there no analog to the Alaska Marine Highway System running between the California coast and one or several of the islands that make up the State of Hawaii?
Isn't it something like 2500 miles from San Francisco to Honolulu via the great circle route? That'd be one very good reason not to have a ferry of that sort. It's much farther than the Alaskan distance Oscar cites.
(I recall a nonstop flight I took from Newark to Honolulu was a tick under 5000 miles.)
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 28, 2014, 05:48:50 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 28, 2014, 05:35:43 PM
Quote from: oscar on December 27, 2014, 11:50:10 PM
Alaska at least has a public auto ferry system allowing travelers and their cars to pass non-stop through British Columbia, so you can use the distance the ferry travels between Ketchikan AK and Bellingham WA. That is almost certainly shorter than the overland road distance, since the shortest road connection between Alaska and Washington state (probably 875 miles between Hyder AK and Sumas WA) requires a long inland detour through Prince George BC.
Which brings up an interesting question - why is there no analog to the Alaska Marine Highway System running between the California coast and one or several of the islands that make up the State of Hawaii?
Isn't it something like 2500 miles from San Francisco to Honolulu via the great circle route? That'd be one very good reason not to have a ferry of that sort. It's much farther than the Alaskan distance Oscar cites.
(I recall a nonstop flight I took from Newark to Honolulu was a tick under 5000 miles.)
I do not disagree with any of that. But as
a matter of policy it seems that there should be public, regular and well-advertised ocean linkages between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii (and, for that matter, perhaps Guam and the Northern Marianna Islands, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico).
The curious thing is that Alaska, unlike the rest of those parts of the U.S., has a decent land connection through Canada, except for railroad traffic (the Alaska Railroad can and does transport railroad traffic from Seattle on barges through Whittier).
Quote from: Zzonkmiles on December 27, 2014, 11:07:00 PM
For South Carolina, I was originally inclined to say Virginia, but I suspect that Tennessee is actually closer (both via a straight line and via I-26).
You are correct. Tennessee is actually closer to S.C. It is 65 miles from Travelers Rest to Flag Pond, Tenn. It is at least 106 miles from S.C. to Va. I also used US Route 25 for the calculation.