Nearest non-bordering state?

[empirestate]

What's the shortest road distance from your state to another, non-adjoining state? And is there another non-bordering state that's closer by straight-line distance but not by road?

(The Four Corners states are all considered adjacent for the purpose of this question.)

[jp the roadgeek]

From CT, it's about 15-20 miles as the crow flies from the edge of the panhandle to the closest point in NJ in the Hudson River (about 23.5 miles if you stay on I-95).  It's about 55 miles from the CT border to the southern borders of VT and NH, which I-91 is a pretty straight shot.  and it's about 71 miles from Danbury to Matamoras, PA driving, but probably closer to 65-70 if you account for the north-south part of I-84 between the Dutchess line and NY 312.  MA and ME are separated by 15 miles of New Hampshire.  PA and VA are only about 35 miles apart along I-81, and are separated by 2 states (MD and WV)

[cl94]

Here in NY, both New Hampshire and Ohio are about 40 miles east or west, respectively.

[admtrap]

For California, it would have to be Utah, cutting across Nevada (and a bit of Arizona) on I-15.   

[Mapmikey]

Virginia and Delaware are 36 mi apart by road and 31 miles by crow.

Maryland and NJ are 19 miles apart by road...

Mapmikey

[Alps]

NY and RI are up there for farthest-apart bordering states. MI/MN is another such pair.

[dfwmapper]

The answer for Texas, Colorado, and Kansas is about 35 miles across the Oklahoma panhandle. 68 miles from New Mexico to Kansas. 70 miles between Oklahoma and Louisiana. Alabama is about 77 miles from Louisiana. Mississippi is 63 miles from Florida. Missouri is about 112 miles from Indiana. 48 miles from Iowa to Kansas. 80 miles from North Dakota to Wyoming. 162 miles from South Dakota to Colorado. 161 miles from Arizona to Texas. Those last 2 are probably the largest distance of the competition, and would need further investigation to find possible shorter routes than just a quick eyeball. Depending on whether or not you count water-only borders, Michigan is the other choice. Michigan and Illinois share a water border in the middle of Lake Michigan. 42 miles between them by land. 186 miles from MI to either NY or PA if Illinois doesn't count.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

For Minnesota it's Nebraska, about an hour and 20 minute drive from the MN border to NE via MN/IA 60 and US 75.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Even though I can't reach it by road, the closest state to me is Maine

[Ga293]

Do scheduled vehicle ferries count as "roads"?

It's ~85 mi. from north of the Wallops facility on the eastern shore of Virginia to Cape May, New Jersey if you take the Cape May-Lewes ferry. If not, it's a ~120 mile drive between the two states, this time from just outside Washington to across the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

[tdindy88]

If we are talking from any part of the state border, the closest to Indiana would be Wisconsin. Missouri and Ontario would be next and may be closer depending on where in the state you are.

[1995hoo]

Virginia and Pennsylvania are a little over 21 miles apart via US-522 through West Virginia and Maryland. As the crow flies the distance is a bit less a little to the west where Virginia extends a bit further north.

[GaryV]

Michigan technically touches both MN and IL (at the bottom of Lakes Superior and Michigan, respectively).  So the shortest road distance to a non-bordering state is a bit over 200 miles, from SW MI near New Buffalo to somewhere near Clinton IA.  You might be able to get it to just under 200 by taking the most direct back roads.

Edit:  Correction, you can get from far SE MI to western PA in about 190 miles.

[Zeffy]

From the Delaware Memorial Bridge, it only takes about 20 miles to get from New Jersey into Maryland following I-95/295 the entire way.

[jp the roadgeek]

NY and RI do share a border in between Fishers Island and Watch Hill.  VT and ME are only about 35 miles apart.  WA and MT are about 75 miles apart through ID.  NY and MI are about 190 miles apart (Niagara Falls to Port Huron) across Ontario.  CA and UT are about 150 miles apart along I-15 (pretty straight),. 

[JCinSummerfield]

Michigan technically touches both MN and IL (at the bottom of Lakes Superior and Michigan, respectively).  So the shortest road distance to a non-bordering state is a bit over 200 miles, from SW MI near New Buffalo to somewhere near Clinton IA.  You might be able to get it to just under 200 by taking the most direct back roads.

Edit:  Correction, you can get from far SE MI to western PA in about 190 miles.

Covington, KY would be a close 3rd, I would think.

[mgk920]

For Minnesota it's Nebraska, about an hour and 20 minute drive from the MN border to NE via MN/IA 60 and US 75.

Unless one counts the border in Lake Superior as being 'bordering', it would be Michigan (about an hour via US 2).

As for Wisconsin, it would be Indiana.

Mike.

[The Nature Boy]

For North Carolina, it would be West Virginia. There's only about 45 or so miles of Virginia between them.

[gonealookin]

For Nevada, Wyoming is the nearest non-bordering state.  The straight-line distance is about 150 miles, and it looks like you can make it by road in about 187 miles by exiting I-80 east of Salt Lake City and taking a local road to the southwest corner of Wyoming.

[thenetwork]

Montana to Washington is a 75-mile panhandle hop via I-90.

[adventurernumber1]

As for Georgia, Kentucky wins but Virginia is a very close second.

From Georgia to Kentucky it is 162 miles by going on I-75 through Tennessee.

From Georgia to Virginia it is 166 miles by taking US 23 from the GA/NC line to I-40 (going to Asheville) then I-26 all the way to the Virginia border.

[pianocello]

Iowa to Kansas is 40 miles by crow, and 46.5 miles by car (including a few back roads on the Missouri side of the US 159 bridge)

[Brandon]

For Illinois, the closest would be Minnesota and Tennessee.  Michigan does not count as there is a border in the middle of Lake Michigan (different thread).

Minnesota: 105.8 miles by road (Bing Maps).  77 miles by air.
Tennessee: 41.8 miles by road (Bing Maps).  34.5 miles by air.

Therefore, Tennessee is the closest to Illinois without bordering Illinois.  Minnesota is number two.

[Eth]

As for Georgia, Kentucky wins but Virginia is a very close second.

From Georgia to Kentucky it is 162 miles by going on I-75 through Tennessee.

From Georgia to Virginia it is 166 miles by taking US 23 from the GA/NC line to I-40 (going to Asheville) then I-26 all the way to the Virginia border.

US 27 to TN 68 to US 127 will shave about 20 miles off that distance to Kentucky. Can't find anything shorter to Virginia.

[empirestate]

A couple people mentioned AL-LA; how far is AL-NC?

Do we have a clear winner between NY-OH and NY-NH?

Also, inland water borders count as adjoining, and ferry routes don't count as road distance. (Count them as airline distance.)


iPhone