I'm looking to do a trip from west to east straight across the Appalachians. I'm looking for route suggestions.
Ideally, this route would be as straight as possible with a very minimal amount of deviation north or south. And staying on one route/corridor would be preferred, but not mandatory.
Preliminary ideas:
- I-76/I-80 from I-71 to Fort Lee, NJ
- US 50 from Cincinnati to Washington DC
- I-70/I-76 from Columbus to Philadelphia
I've driven all of those routes before, but not in one fell swoop. I'm curious if anyone else can suggest an alternative route. It doesn't have to be an interstate/freeway/expressway.
OH 161 out of Columbus to eventually reach OH 16, then US 36, US 250, US 22 as far east as you want to go.
Or
US 30
Or
US 40
US 40/I-70/PA31/US 30 is straighter than either 30 or 40 alone
I-64 to I-79 to WV 15 to US 219 to US 250. ;D
US 20 and US 80 are good ways to cross the Appalachians (https://www.arc.gov/about-the-appalachian-region/).
Quote from: NE2 on April 13, 2026, 04:43:04 PMUS 20 and US 80 are good ways to cross the Appalachians (https://www.arc.gov/about-the-appalachian-region/).
I had actually thought about I-90, but it drops too far south once you get to Utica.
But, the ARC definition of "Appalachia" is messed up. Anyone who considers Edmonson and Green counties in Kentucky to be "Appalachian" isn't playing with a full deck.
Quote from: hbelkins on April 14, 2026, 12:05:44 PMQuote from: NE2 on April 13, 2026, 04:43:04 PMUS 20 and US 80 are good ways to cross the Appalachians (https://www.arc.gov/about-the-appalachian-region/).
I had actually thought about I-90, but it drops too far south once you get to Utica.
But, the ARC definition of "Appalachia" is messed up. Anyone who considers Edmonson and Green counties in Kentucky to be "Appalachian" isn't playing with a full deck.
For another take on "Appalachian", how about the Appalachian Trail as one measure? That trail goes all the way up to Maine, as well as down to Georgia (but not as far south as US 80).
The trail crosses over I-90 in Massachusetts. Indeed, I hiked that part of the trail, before some governor gave a bad name to "hiking the Appalachian Trail" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Sanford).
There is cultural Appalachia, and there is legal Appalachia. The ARC definition is legal Appalachia, made, 60 years ago, by politicians trying to hook up with an extra teat of federal taxpayers' money. It is, therefore and obviously, vastly over-inclusive.
Anyway, there are lots of way to cross Appalachia E-W, but, IMHO, the various sub-cultures of Appalachia vary N-S, so any E-W route is going to miss that.
Quote from: SP Cook on April 14, 2026, 01:58:40 PMThere is cultural Appalachia, and there is legal Appalachia.
There is also the illegal Appalachia that resulted from the 18th Amendment, which I personally think is the most interesting Appalachia.
Quote from: oscar on April 14, 2026, 12:40:32 PMQuote from: hbelkins on April 14, 2026, 12:05:44 PMQuote from: NE2 on April 13, 2026, 04:43:04 PMUS 20 and US 80 are good ways to cross the Appalachians (https://www.arc.gov/about-the-appalachian-region/).
I had actually thought about I-90, but it drops too far south once you get to Utica.
But, the ARC definition of "Appalachia" is messed up. Anyone who considers Edmonson and Green counties in Kentucky to be "Appalachian" isn't playing with a full deck.
For another take on "Appalachian", how about the Appalachian Trail as one measure? That trail goes all the way up to Maine, as well as down to Georgia (but not as far south as US 80).
The trail crosses over I-90 in Massachusetts. Indeed, I hiked that part of the trail, before some governor gave a bad name to "hiking the Appalachian Trail" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Sanford).
Said former governor is running for office again, I saw yesterday.
Quote from: SP Cook on April 14, 2026, 01:58:40 PMThere is cultural Appalachia, and there is legal Appalachia. The ARC definition is legal Appalachia, made, 60 years ago, by politicians trying to hook up with an extra teat of federal taxpayers' money. It is, therefore and obviously, vastly over-inclusive.
Anyway, there are lots of way to cross Appalachia E-W, but, IMHO, the various sub-cultures of Appalachia vary N-S, so any E-W route is going to miss that.
I'm more interested in geography than culture. I've been everywhere from northern Vermont and New Hampshire to Birmingham, Ala., so I've experienced practically every subculture of the eastern mountains.
I'd just like to experience the geography, from the foothills to the mountains to the piedmont to the coastal plain.
US 58 is a nice route, but there's no good way to approach it from the west without a substantial deviation to the north or south.
Interesting quest. As I'm sure you've done, I stared at a map for a bit. However, I also looked at some NW-SE routes that are perpendicular to the spine of the Appalachians. Would I-24 work (Nashville-Atlanta), or is this too far south?
I crossed West Virginia east to west on US 48 and US 50 (connecting via I-79 iirc) a couple years ago. In hindsight, it would have been much more enjoyable in the daytime and I probably should have planned a different route home from Staunton.
Quote from: hbelkins on April 13, 2026, 02:32:00 PMI'm looking to do a trip from west to east straight across the Appalachians. I'm looking for route suggestions.
Ideally, this route would be as straight as possible with a very minimal amount of deviation north or south. And staying on one route/corridor would be preferred, but not mandatory.
The quintessential cross-country West Virginia trek from the 1960s was basically to follow WV-39/VA-39 from Gauley Bridge -to- Goshen, with a twist as follows:
- US-60 -to- Gauley Bridge
- WV-39 -to- Summersville
- (now) WV-55 (then) WV-43 around Cruppers Neck -to- Calvin
- (now) WV-55 (then) WV-41 -to- Craigsville
- (now) WV-20/WV-55 (then WV-20 only) -to- Fenwick; and back on WV-39
- WV-39/VA-39 -to- Goshen
The Cranberry Glades portion of this route was so popular that the Mountain State first extended State Scenic Route WV-150 across it, then later routed WV-55 over from the Potomac Highlands along that same portion. If you are so inclined, there are hundreds of places along the way to get out and take in the scenery.
Quote from: vtk on April 17, 2026, 04:39:11 PMI crossed West Virginia east to west on US 48 and US 50 (connecting via I-79 iirc) a couple years ago. In hindsight, it would have been much more enjoyable in the daytime and I probably should have planned a different route home from Staunton.
US 48 is a great scenic route, but US 50 is relatively boring, in my experience.
Quote from: hbelkins on April 13, 2026, 02:32:00 PMI'm looking to do a trip from west to east straight across the Appalachians. I'm looking for route suggestions.
Ideally, this route would be as straight as possible with a very minimal amount of deviation north or south. And staying on one route/corridor would be preferred, but not mandatory.
Quote from: Dirt Roads on April 17, 2026, 05:24:28 PMThe quintessential cross-country West Virginia trek from the 1960s was basically to follow WV-39/VA-39 from Gauley Bridge -to- Goshen, with a twist as follows:
- US-60 -to- Gauley Bridge
- WV-39 -to- Summersville
- (now) WV-55 (then) WV-43 around Cruppers Neck -to- Calvin
- (now) WV-55 (then) WV-41 -to- Craigsville
- (now) WV-20/WV-55 (then WV-20 only) -to- Fenwick; and back on WV-39
- WV-39/VA-39 -to- Goshen
Just for comparison, this route is about 25 miles and one hour longer than taking US-60 from Charleston -to- Sam Black Church.
Quote from: vtk on April 17, 2026, 04:39:11 PMI crossed West Virginia east to west on US 48 and US 50 (connecting via I-79 iirc) a couple years ago. In hindsight, it would have been much more enjoyable in the daytime and I probably should have planned a different route home from Staunton.
We've done that, although at the suggestion of some forum members, we've also taken more of a straight shot by exiting I-79 at WV-20, taking that to WV-57, and then making a left on US-119 to go through Philippi to see the covered bridge. From there I believe we took US-250, WV-38, and WV-72 to Parsons, mainly to avoid going as far south as Elkins when we didn't need to do so.
I guess in the spirit of keeping the route as straight as possible, one could exit US-50 onto WV-20 in Clarksburg and skip I-79.
Quote from: vtk on April 17, 2026, 04:39:11 PMI crossed West Virginia east to west on US 48 and US 50 (connecting via I-79 iirc) a couple years ago. In hindsight, it would have been much more enjoyable in the daytime and I probably should have planned a different route home from Staunton.
Forget US 50 and take US 33 from Ravenswood (or Ohio if you want to start more west) to Weston to US 48. More curves but a more pleasant drive, I'm told.