What is the most popular byways in your state?
For Maryland, it would most likely be the Atlantic to Appalachians, also known as the Ocean City to Oakland route. It goes from Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore all the way out west to Garrett County, the home of the state's highest mountain peaks.
Some from California would include:
- Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway
- Death Valley Scenic Byway
- Historic Route 66
- Route One, Big Sur Coast Highway
- Route One, San Luis Obispo North Coast Byway
- Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road
- Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway
For reference I'm assuming the OP is referring to designated National Scenic Byways.
New York's tricky in terms of actual, designated byways. I'd suggest the following, though:
The Olympic Trail
High Peaks
Lakes to Locks Passage
Parts of the Seaway Trail (especially around Niagara and Thousand Islands)
Still, there are other scenic drives not covered by the official byways, though, like NY 22 through the Little Hoosick Valley or NY 2 through the Taconics or NY 23A through the Catskills...
Of course, the Taconic State Parkway is also a great scenic drive.
In Minnesota the best known probably are:
-Great River Road
-Grand Rounds Scenic Byway in Minneapolis, which is a 31-mile loop of parkways largely around the city's lakes which unsurprisingly also features the city's most awe-inspiring real estate
-North Shore Scenic Drive (MN 61 and a few offshoots along Lake Superior)
Ohio's would probably the Ohio River Scenic Byway and the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail (which mainly follows the Lake Erie and Great Lakes circle tours)
Arkansas has the Great River Road and Crowley's Ridge Byways.
Also the Boston Mountain Scenic Loop
South Dakota has the Spearfish Canyon (Northern Hills) and Peter Norbeck (Southern Hills; Mt. Rushmore) scenic byways. There's not much other scenery...
One of my favorites in Illinois is the US Grant scenic highway (US-20) from Freeport to Dubuque. Another would be the Stagecoach Trail, which parallels US-20 from Stockton to Galena
In NC you have the Cherohala Skyway, Nantahala Byway, Waterfall Byway, the I-26 Scenic Highway (and many others that I was not familar with) out west in the mountains. Down here on the coast we have the Outer Banks Scenic Byway (NC-12), Pamlico Scenic Byway (US-264) and many more I just found out about (I looked them up in order to make sure I was naming the ones I was familiar with correctly and stumbled across a ton more I didn't know about on NCDOT's website). https://www.ncdot.gov/travel/scenic/ (https://www.ncdot.gov/travel/scenic/)
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 02, 2017, 11:56:56 AM
Some from California would include:
- Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway
- Death Valley Scenic Byway
- Historic Route 66
- Route One, Big Sur Coast Highway
- Route One, San Luis Obispo North Coast Byway
- Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road
- Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway
For reference I'm assuming the OP is referring to designated National Scenic Byways.
Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway
US 101 along the Oregon Coast has signs labeling it as the Pacific Coast Byway. And it's quite popular, especially in the summer!
Quote from: Rothman on March 02, 2017, 12:07:58 PM
New York's tricky in terms of actual, designated byways. I'd suggest the following, though:
The Olympic Trail
High Peaks
Lakes to Locks Passage
Parts of the Seaway Trail (especially around Niagara and Thousand Islands)
Still, there are other scenic drives not covered by the official byways, though, like NY 22 through the Little Hoosick Valley or NY 2 through the Taconics or NY 23A through the Catskills...
Of course, the Taconic State Parkway is also a great scenic drive.
Honestly, pick any Parkway (except the Cross County because its more expressway than parkway) and its scenic. That's half of what they were designed for to begin with.
Maryland, aside from the one mentioned above, I suggest these:
- MD-213 on the Eastern Shore from U.S. 301 or U.S. 50 in the south to Elkton in the north, part of the Chesapeake Country (http://www.visitmaryland.org/scenic-byways/chesapeake-country) tour
- Roots and Tides on the Western Shore (http://www.visitmaryland.org/scenic-byways/roots-tides)
- Mountain Maryland (http://www.visitmaryland.org/scenic-byways/mountain-maryland)
Virginia and North Carolina together have the incomparable Blue Ridge Parkway (https://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm).
For Alaska, the Seward Highway segment of AK 1, an easy trip along the north shore of Turnagain Arm and wrapping around its east end. The Parks Highway (AK 3) passing by Denali as well, once you get clear of Anchorage's outer suburb Wasilla.
For Hawaii, topping the list has to be the most curvaceous part of the Hana Highway in east Maui, including the HI 360 segment and county 31 between Hana and Kipahulu. The HI 560 part of the Kuhio Highway along Kauai's north shore would be a good second choice. I'm unsure about scenic designations, but both highways have historic designations, in large part to protect their numerous one-lane bridges. The most populous island Oahu has to settle for the HI 83 segment of the Kamehameha Highway, looping around the island's north shore and passing by (and sometimes getting stuck in traffic created by) major surf spots.
For West Virginia, the Highland Scenic Highway in Monongahela National Forest.