Best “roller coaster” roads

[Skye]

I-40 between I-81 in Tennessee and I-26 in North Carolina through the Great Smoky Mountains. Lots of curves, not a lot of ups and downs, but there are some steep ones at the start and end of the sections. Tunnels in both directions.

If you're just looking for frequent ups and downs (not many curves) I would suggest I-75 between Lexington and Knoxville.

[kphoger]

not a lot of ups and downs

Sounds like a boring roller coaster.

[capt.ron]

AR 16 just northwest of Searcy had a hill that me and a few family members and relatives called "thrill hill". Before ARDOT (then known as AHTD) realigned 16 and widened it, the hill in question was right after "4 mile hill" and featured a rather abrupt drop. If you timed it just right by laying on the gas and then letting off just before the drop, you would get nice negative G's. Some time in the late 1990's, the hill in question was flattened out and the road straightened.
"4 mile" hill got the same treatment due to it being rather unsafe.  You descended down and a sharp 90 degree curve (30 mph!!) to the left greeted you mid way in the hill. When they took out "thrill hill", the 4 mile hill was also realigned. Now, it's a gentle 45-50 mph curve to the left.

[capt.ron]

US-95 in California, from between the Nevada Border and I-40 ..... this should NOT be a roller-coaster.  It is fairly flat terrain in the desert.

But for whatever reason, California can't even grade the road straight, there are a number of swells and valleys.  And it's annoying, especially given the lack relative lack of shoulders and good degree of traffic on a 2-lane road.

I've driven that road before and it was highly unpleasant. To a person that is prone to car sickness, take that Dramamine! It's constant up-down up-down until you get to Nevada where the road is vastly superior!

[Max Rockatansky]

US-95 in California, from between the Nevada Border and I-40 ..... this should NOT be a roller-coaster.  It is fairly flat terrain in the desert.

But for whatever reason, California can't even grade the road straight, there are a number of swells and valleys.  And it's annoying, especially given the lack relative lack of shoulders and good degree of traffic on a 2-lane road.

I've driven that road before and it was highly unpleasant. To a person that is prone to car sickness, take that Dramamine! It's constant up-down up-down until you get to Nevada where the road is vastly superior!

Those dips can be a lot of fun rolling along at 65 MPH.  I used to regularly take that route on the way from Parker to Laughlin. 

[MCRoads]

I think Roller Coaster Road in Colorado Springs wins. It might not have the most airtime, but it is the best "Roller Coaster Rd" ! /s

For real though, I think the best I've been on is UT-128, from I-70 to the Dewy Bridge. Lots of quick hills that make your stomach float. Great if you aren't carsick, but my sister is, so we had to stop for a bit to let the Dramamine kick in. South of the bridge, it goes into a canyon, which is fairly level, so the hills aren't as sudden.

[fillup420]

US 221 in western NC. It follows the blue ridge parkway lower down on the slope. Big fun to drive

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1072882,-81.7817859,3a,75y,69.75h,85.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sflZKT1cASTqjZSQ8BoW9YA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[jp the roadgeek]

Deercliff Rd in Avon, CT.  Heads south from US 44 at the top of Avon Mountain (US 44 itself is quite the roller coaster west of there) through the woods and although many have been flattened from when I was a kid, there are still a couple of bumps on there that will let you hit the ceiling should you be riding without a seat belt at high speeds.

[mgk920]

Hi everyone,

My kids love what we call "roller coaster"  roads... ones with sharp inclines/declines and plenty of curves. We are planning a road trip, and it got me to thinking about planning a slightly longer trip to get off the beaten path and have some fun on a hilly road or two. I didn't see any past topics on this, so I thought it would be fun to start one. What are your favorite roller coaster roads?

I'll start: my kids and I enjoy driving on Wisconsin Highway 65 between St Croix Falls and New Richmond, WI.

For that kind of a drive, WI 55 through the Menomonee Indian Reservation north of Shawano, WI, especially the part north of WI 47, can't be beat.

Mike

[ErmineNotyours]

Here's a road built over a landfill that has settled and is called a roller coaster:

Fix finally coming to Everett "˜roller-coaster' road

[Bickendan]

SE Jennings Ave, between OR 99E/SE McGloughlin Blvd and SE Webster Rd, Jennings Lodge and Gladstone
SE Thiessen Rd, between SE Oatfield Rd and SE Webster Rd, Oak Grove and Milwaukie
SE Hill Rd, between SE Oatfield Rd and SE Thiessen Rd, Oak Grove
NW Germantown Rd, between NW Skyline Rd and Byp US 30/NW Bridge Ave

[doorknob60]

I'm a fan of Cedar Point Dr in Sandusky, OH, but I don't think that's what you were looking for

GSV

1200E in Lehi, UT is very steep (the sign said 16%) and kinda reminded me of a drop and camelback on a B&M Hyper or something. Street View doesn't really do it justice, looks a lot steeper in person. Also, I was kinda curious, so I coasted down the hill without brakes, and I hit like 55 MPH doing that, which is quite a lot considering I was going about 30 (the speed limit) at the top.


GSV

[D-Dey65]

Okay, I can't believe nobody else thought of this. Pasco County Road 41 and Hernando County Road 541 in West Central Florida.

[ElishaGOtis]

BUMP

I've been doing a lot of traveling on local roads recently. I was thinking about this very thread for some of it. I found a bunch in Florida, probably one of the places you'd least expect to see... here's a list:

Alabama:
- US-31 near Travis Bridge (5/10) lots of positive-g forces on combined vertical/horizontal curves
- US-84 on much of the 4-lane section, with most being Eastbound between Opp and Elba (4/10)
- US-31 / SR-59 Northbound between Stapleton and Bay Minnette (4/10)
^^ these previous two are 65mph divided highways, but the roller-coaster section in question is clearly a simple resurface of the original 55mph-designed two-lane road

Florida:
- SR-26 between Melrose and it's east terminus, 55mph speed limit with a bunch of sharp hills (3/10)
- SR-21 south of Melrose is similar in this case (3/10)
- US-90 just east of Tallahassee (bonus thrill if you accidentally went on it at full speed after the blizzard...) (3/10)
- Lake County CR-455 near Green Mountain (4/10, but do watch out for the bicycles)
- SR-540 just east of SR-570, 60mph on a suburban typical section with curves usually only seen on lower speed roadways (5/10)
- I-275 in downtown St Pete (off-peak), very generous putting 65 through downtown, definitely evidence of older design standards (3/10)

Tennessee:
-I-24 just west of I-59, recently increased back to 70 and honestly feels like a runaway mine train flying down the mountain, just play some music along with it   (7/10)
-I-40 along the Caney Fork River, better WB than EB due to speed limits (6/10)

I'll probably list some more as I find the time

[pderocco]

While roller coasters do have horizontal curves, there are an infinite number of roads that have tons of tight horizontal curves, so I think what's interesting is when they have lots of short vertical curves.

US-95 in CA approaching NV has already been mentioned, but further south, after US-95 is diverted into AZ, CA-78 goes across some very rolling country from Blythe down through the Algodones Dunes. The remaining two-lane part of CA-14 in Inyo County is irritatingly hilly, because it makes it hard to pass. And CA-247 north of Yucca Valley has some really beautiful ups and downs. One of the main thing that happens when they upgrade a two-lane road to a freeway is to push massive amounts of dirt around to cut through the crests and fill up the troughs.

There are also places where roads have settled, and cause very rapid ups and downs. As I write, they're fixing a stretch of the CA-52 freeway that is notorious for that in San Diego. And while someone mentioned Box Canyon Rd near Mecca CA upthread, Imperial County route S-22 in Salton City is pretty brutal too.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm not sure why I didn't think of CA 198 west of Coalinga in my original post.  That has a bunch of dipping grades through Warthan Canyon. 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/151828809@N08/0FxJ653KU2

[Road Hog]

Most new builds in Texas anymore. They found in the 2010s it was cheaper to just follow terrain rather than cut and fill to level sightlines. So the smooth ride of the 1960s along US 75 North has largely gone the way of the dodo.

[webny99]

Most new builds in Texas anymore. They found in the 2010s it was cheaper to just follow terrain rather than cut and fill to level sightlines. So the smooth ride of the 1960s along US 75 North has largely gone the way of the dodo.

Speaking of Texas, I once went down a fun one on the outskirts of San Antonio north of Camp Bullis called Ammann Rd. Unlike some of the others mentioned here, it's fairly straight, but has a lot of small elevation changes that are good for getting air. The lack of curves made it conducive to higher speeds, so it had the same kind of roller coaster effect.

[hobsini2]

Most new builds in Texas anymore. They found in the 2010s it was cheaper to just follow terrain rather than cut and fill to level sightlines. So the smooth ride of the 1960s along US 75 North has largely gone the way of the dodo.

Speaking of Texas, my uncle once took us down a fun one on the outskirts of San Antonio north of Camp Bullis called Ammann Rd. Unlike some of the others mentioned here, it's fairly straight, but has a lot of small elevation changes that are good for getting air. The lack of curves made it conducive to higher speeds, so it had the same kind of roller coaster effect.

And also speaking of Texas, I submit 2 in the Panhandle that involve Palo Duro Canyon and the Prairie Dog Fork of the Red River. Texas 207 from Claude to Silverton and Texas 70 from Clarendon to Turkey. Those are the only 2 routes between Amarillo and Childress that actually go through the Canyon Valley.
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7687175,-101.1999503,10.32z/data=!5m1!1e4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDIxMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[gonealookin]

While roller coasters do have horizontal curves, there are an infinite number of roads that have tons of tight horizontal curves, so I think what's interesting is when they have lots of short vertical curves.

US-95 in CA approaching NV has already been mentioned, but further south, after US-95 is diverted into AZ, CA-78 goes across some very rolling country from Blythe down through the Algodones Dunes.

...

I just drove CA 78 all the way from Blythe to Oceanside last week.  That part you're referring to...at one point after going through one of those dipsy doodles (wheee...!!!) at high speed I got an alarm sounding.  Looking around to figure out what it was, I realized the G-force on the small drinks cooler I had on the passenger seat had made the seat belt sensor think that thing was actually a passenger, and it wanted the seat belt buckled.

The eastern segment of CA 120 between US 395 and US 6 is a great fit for this.  Sharp curves, the wild ups and downs over the natural terrain, and (going eastbound) a steep plunge down to Benton Hot Springs.

California's penchant for building its desert roads over the natural terrain without leveling the grades is mostly frustrating though, as it creates long stretches with a double-yellow center line despite the fact you're on a straight road.  Being stuck for five minutes behind a sluggish truck or RV out there in wide-open country, that feels like an eternity.

[kphoger]

And also speaking of Texas, I submit 2 in the Panhandle that involve Palo Duro Canyon and the Prairie Dog Fork of the Red River. Texas 207 from Claude to Silverton and Texas 70 from Clarendon to Turkey. Those are the only 2 routes between Amarillo and Childress that actually go through the Canyon Valley.
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7687175,-101.1999503,10.32z/data=!5m1!1e4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDIxMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

I drove both of those stretches a few years ago with my boys, on a Caprock Canyons camping trip.  I remember both highways having plenty of hills and curves, especially TX-70, but not really roller-coaster-y.  Maybe I just wasn't driving fast enough...

[XamotCGC]

Are roller coaster roads similar to Thrill Hills that causes a ticklish sensation in the tummy?

[mgk920]

Are roller coaster roads similar to Thrill Hills that causes a ticklish sensation in the tummy?

As kids we called those types of rural road unevenness - 'tickle hills'.

 

Mike

[cockroachking]

One side of every divided highway in Virginia (see VA-236 as an example).

GSV makes it seem flatter than it is, but MD-56 is a fun drive.

Mt Aetna Rd on the other side of Hagerstown is bumpier, but you can't get it going quite as fast.

Dutchess CR-92 (Chelsea Rd) in New York is another fun one.

VA-457 has a lot of super-superelevated curves that make it seem like a racetrack.

NY-17 between Deposit and Hancock is about the best mix of hills, curves, and high speeds that I have personally experienced though.

[epzik8]

US 30's approach to McConnellsburg, PA has to constitute one, at least if hairpin turns count.