What Highways Should get the M-22 Treatment?

[silverback1065]

Michigan's M-22 is a great scenic drive with a lot of scenery and cool towns to drive through.  I now see that this highway has gotten its own merchandise, you can now by M-22 clothing, cups, coasters, and many other items.  There are plenty of other highways with the same great scenic feel.  What other state or US highways do you all think deserve their own merchandise and tourist marketing campaign?

[Quillz]

CA-68 has a large following, especially among the skater culture. I've seen various "68" t-shirts and stickers. Same with CA-1, US-101 and US-395.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN 61
US 550 (which does have a bit of a merchandise scene; I bought a US 550 shirt in Silverton, CO)

[Rothman]

Interstate 420 is on lots of merchandise out there.

...

Wait a minute...

[froggie]

It's hard to top (US) Route 11 Potato Chips.

There's also the Tail of the Dragon (US 129 across part of the Smokey's).  I've also seen TotD merchandise that incorporates "Moonshiner 28" (NC 28) and the Cherohala Skyway (NC 143/TN 165).

[dfilpus]

NC 12 along North Carolina's Outer Banks is already so memorialized. http://www.obxstore.com/highway-12-store/
Most of the highway runs through the National Seashore or on ferries.

[Zeffy]

The New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway may be coming to shirts and other merchandise soon if the Turnpike Authority moves forward with their plan to sell such.

[hbelkins]

I have a couple of ideas for merchandise for Kentucky roads. I just wish I could figure out a way to monetize those ideas, as I have only the concept but no real way to produce the design or the products.

[bulldog1979]

Here in Michigan, there's been a lawsuit over the usage of state highway markers on merchandise. See, the people at Broneah Kiteboarding received a federal trademark on the M-22 highway marker, and to prevent trademark dilution, they sued a business putting the M-119 marker on merchandise. (M-119 is the "Tunnel of Trees" in Emmet County.) The marker itself is in the public domain, but that only applies to copyright, not trademark, issues.

I've seen similar stickers on cars for M-1 (Woodward Avenue) as well as the M-22 and M-119 stickers. County Road H-58's marker appears on t-shirts and stickers. H-58 is a very curvy road through the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore between Munising and Grand Marais that is quite popular with motorcyclists in the last 5 years since the middle section was finally paved.

[cjk374]

I wish US 80 could receive the same treatment as US 66. Maybe that could help encourage people to save more historic structures and sights (and sites) instead of destroying them in the name of modernization.

[realjd]

There is a ton of US1 merchandise down in the Keys.

[iBallasticwolf2]

US 99 could have been great for this treatment. Add in US 25 too!

[Quillz]

US 99 could have been great for this treatment. Add in US 25 too!

I don't know about Oregon and Washington, but there's quite a bit of nostalgia for US-99 in California. Historic markers have gone up in recent years, and I've even come across a few t-shirts with the shield. Not nearly as big as US-66 (I don't think anything ever will be), but there's that.

[Henry]

Also, US 40.

[silverback1065]

Does anyone think any interstates deserve the M-22 treatment?

[Thing 342]

There is quite a bit of AZ-88 related merch at the Tortilla Flat tourist trap gift shop along the Apache Trail (also known as AZ-88).

[cjk374]

Does anyone think any interstates deserve the M-22 treatment?

No. Interstates are not as nostalgic as the US highways they replaced. All they are is a means of getting somewhere fast.

Just my opinion. Please don't hate.

[silverback1065]

Does anyone think any interstates deserve the M-22 treatment?

No. Interstates are not as nostalgic as the US highways they replaced. All they are is a means of getting somewhere fast.

Just my opinion. Please don't hate.

I completely agree, it was just a crowd survey question. Honestly when I drive on long distance trips, I try to take the US or state highways at least on the way back when I'm not in a hurry. I think us and state highways are way more interesting, and interstates are useful, but very boring.

[Rothman]

I'd nominate I-80.  NY to San Fran and not much in between.

[silverback1065]

Nevada should market US 50 known as "the loneliest highway in america" although that merchandise would be depressing.

[Rothman]

I'd bet that since US 50 was formally labelled "The Loneliest Road" that it is no longer the Loneliest Road.  I seem to remember threads of way back yore that discussed that.

[andy3175]

CA-68 has a large following, especially among the skater culture. I've seen various "68" t-shirts and stickers. Same with CA-1, US-101 and US-395.

Yes, 395 has its own online store at http://www.395store.com/ and a physical store in the Eastern Sierra in Bishop.

[Henry]

I'd nominate I-80.  NY to San Fran and not much in between.

Three routes come to mind: I-5 (the West Coast's main route), I-95 (the East Coast's main route) and I-90 (the longest Interstate route, connecting Chicago with Boston to the East and Seattle to the West).

[-NCX75-]

Interstate 35 in Southern Oklahoma. 

[english si]

US66 - in that it shouldn't be the case that tons of shops are full of tat (I presume M-22 hasn't reached those levels) - a reduction to M-22 levels would be great