The thread on multiple next locations got me thinking about this.
As you head toward the north end of I-75, there is a rest area south of Sault Ste. Marie. With a "Next Rest Area 6 Miles" sign.
That's because the Michigan Welcome Center (coming from Canada) uses the Easterday Ave exit for access. So northbound can also access the center.
Similarly on NB I-75 near the Mackinac Bridge, there is a Welcome Center in Mackinaw City. There's also another one in St. Ignace on the other side of the bridge. They are also about 6 miles apart, although in this case there's no "Next" sign.
The Mass Pike westbound approaching the Framingham Plaza lists 11 miles (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3161591,-71.407876,3a,75y,276.03h,80.58t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1se1QIDYup432vJ58zakwJCw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en) to the next plaza at Westboro (and unlike the I-75 examples, both plazas are directly off the westbound Pike).
This probably isn't exactly what you have in mind, but on southbound I-95 in Virginia there's a sign for a rest area that also advertises the next one 3.5 miles down the road. Only thing is, the first one is restricted to no trucks and the second one is a truck rest area connected to a weigh station and passenger vehicles aren't allowed to use that one.
https://goo.gl/maps/wzsWZ9arzjTYnU4r7
Quote from: 1995hoo on July 14, 2020, 11:01:59 AM
This probably isn't exactly what you have in mind, but on southbound I-95 in Virginia there's a sign for a rest area that also advertises the next one 3.5 miles down the road. Only thing is, the first one is restricted to no trucks and the second one is a truck rest area connected to a weigh station and passenger vehicles aren't allowed to use that one.
https://goo.gl/maps/wzsWZ9arzjTYnU4r7
Iowa does that kind of thing too. In advance of a rest area that's nothing more than a parking lot, they post the distance to the next full rest area.
Example (https://goo.gl/maps/qR4YveMNEaSJYbhW7)
Example (https://goo.gl/maps/1UoEMWpCNaUGBYSb6) – This one is posted immediately before a "Prairie Area", which is really just a parking area. The "REST AREA 2 MILES" here actually refers to a modern rest area down the highway a bit, you may or may not consider to be the second rest area you come to after the sign.
On I-84 westbound in Sturbridge between Exit 1 and the pullout area signed as a weigh station (Mass State Police use portable scales), there's a "NEXT REST AREA 15 MILES" sign for the ConnDOT Willington Rest Area.
On I-81 in Virginia, VDOT reliably posts a "Next Rest Area" sign if you are passing one on the opposite side. This leads to a couple short-distance ones:
-NB across from the Smyth rest area (https://www.google.com/maps/@36.8818642,-81.3878991,3a,75y,92.4h,90.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sklSzCpYHsCwHF8EZcRSrpg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en), and the corresponding SB across from the Rural Retreat rest area (https://www.google.com/maps/@36.9169821,-81.2637259,3a,75y,290.45h,81.68t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suIqF9oXN3w7e2qznwimYaw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en)
-NB across from the Winchester rest area/welcome center (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2406839,-78.1171233,3a,75y,68.88h,86.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0zo9LLv96DmgUX-4NhIsJw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en), and the corresponding SB across from the West Virginia Welcome Center (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3243798,-78.0704365,3a,75y,217.78h,87.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAzpFMXM21zVyZc5eLJmvzw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en)
I-81 in Virginia might also contain a contender for the longest "Next Rest Area" sign, 135 miles (https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2221991,-80.2559843,3a,41.8y,30.85h,83.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEmXfj0i_ru7Y3Gv2w66b6g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en), when approaching the Ironto rest area. (Although the distance is incorrect - the Mt. Sidney rest area is 105 miles from this point, and then the New Market rest area after that is the referenced 135 miles.)
Quote from: jmacswimmer on July 14, 2020, 03:43:44 PM
On I-81 in Virginia, VDOT reliably posts a "Next Rest Area" sign if you are passing one on the opposite side. This leads to a couple short-distance ones:
-NB across from the Smyth rest area (https://www.google.com/maps/@36.8818642,-81.3878991,3a,75y,92.4h,90.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sklSzCpYHsCwHF8EZcRSrpg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en), and the corresponding SB across from the Rural Retreat rest area (https://www.google.com/maps/@36.9169821,-81.2637259,3a,75y,290.45h,81.68t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suIqF9oXN3w7e2qznwimYaw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en)
-NB across from the Winchester rest area/welcome center (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2406839,-78.1171233,3a,75y,68.88h,86.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0zo9LLv96DmgUX-4NhIsJw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en), and the corresponding SB across from the West Virginia Welcome Center (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3243798,-78.0704365,3a,75y,217.78h,87.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAzpFMXM21zVyZc5eLJmvzw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en)
I-81 in Virginia might also contain a contender for the longest "Next Rest Area" sign, 135 miles (https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2221991,-80.2559843,3a,41.8y,30.85h,83.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEmXfj0i_ru7Y3Gv2w66b6g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en), when approaching the Ironto rest area. (Although the distance is incorrect - the Mt. Sidney rest area is 105 miles from this point, and then the New Market rest area after that is the referenced 135 miles.)
Had forgotten about those Virginia ones. Then again, the last time I was on I-81 was in 2013.
I forgot about the I-81 ones as well. I wonder whether part of the idea is to discourage people from taking the next exit to loop back (or, worse, to try to stop and then run across the highway).
Quote from: jmacswimmer on July 14, 2020, 03:43:44 PM
I-81 in Virginia might also contain a contender for the longest "Next Rest Area" sign, 135 miles (https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2221991,-80.2559843,3a,41.8y,30.85h,83.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEmXfj0i_ru7Y3Gv2w66b6g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en), when approaching the Ironto rest area. (Although the distance is incorrect - the Mt. Sidney rest area is 105 miles from this point, and then the New Market rest area after that is the referenced 135 miles.)
For another contender taking the Mt. Sidney one into account, here's 118 miles on I-94 westbound from the Hansel Lake area in MN to the Oriska area in ND. (https://www.google.com/maps/@46.1199962,-95.9085553,3a,30y,355.6h,89.21t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skvflmNJtunWByd7-xxGz3A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) Hansel Lake is WB only, so EB is much further but I don't think ND puts those distances on signs.
Quote from: kphoger on July 14, 2020, 02:17:27 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on July 14, 2020, 11:01:59 AM
This probably isn't exactly what you have in mind, but on southbound I-95 in Virginia there's a sign for a rest area that also advertises the next one 3.5 miles down the road. Only thing is, the first one is restricted to no trucks and the second one is a truck rest area connected to a weigh station and passenger vehicles aren't allowed to use that one.
https://goo.gl/maps/wzsWZ9arzjTYnU4r7
Iowa does that kind of thing too. In advance of a rest area that's nothing more than a parking lot, they post the distance to the next full rest area.
Example (https://goo.gl/maps/qR4YveMNEaSJYbhW7)
Example (https://goo.gl/maps/1UoEMWpCNaUGBYSb6) – This one is posted immediately before a "Prairie Area", which is really just a parking area. The "REST AREA 2 MILES" here actually refers to a modern rest area down the highway a bit, you may or may not consider to be the second rest area you come to after the sign.
On the Thruway in New York state, there are some "parking areas" that do not have restrooms; whenever you go by one, there are signs that state the distance to the next service area. On trips across the state, I remember there being one just four miles west of the Angola Service Area, near the Hamburg exit as you drive towards Buffalo heading east.
There's a wide shoulder eastbound along I-90 along a lake just east of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. That wide shoulder is popular with truckers, and so every light pole had a sign pointing out restrooms ahead. It was a primitive rest area, on the site of a former full-service area. That was closed when the state put a wildlife crossing through the site. (This was so long ago that any Street View images of the signs have aged-out, but the rest area (https://goo.gl/maps/SL6VWV8xPi5FRbzk7) itself is still in the archive.)
Not the shortest distance, but the shortest I have personally seen.
https://www.google.com/maps/@30.4668613,-88.418697,3a,47.9y,286.45h,90.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNbpJrTgyuJDsW1gl-l5FnA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 (https://www.google.com/maps/@30.4668613,-88.418697,3a,47.9y,286.45h,90.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNbpJrTgyuJDsW1gl-l5FnA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)