Longest One Can Drive & Still Not Leave The State

[ThatRandomOshawott]

The third shortest route from Anna Lynne, KY (Fulton County) to Woodman, KY (Pike County) takes 8 hours and 34 minutes, and is 511 miles.

[JCinSummerfield]

Michigan:
US-2 at the Wisconsin line (Ironwood) to I-75 at the Ohio line is 647 miles (10 hr 4 min) using US-2, M-69, US-2, I-75, US-23, I-96, I-275, and I-75. It is less than a half hour quicker to go over the Mackinac Bridge than going via the Chicago area.
US-41 at its beginning near Copper Harbor to I-75 at the Ohio line is 643 miles (10 hr 18 min) using US-41, M-28, M-77, US-2, I-75, US-23, I-96, I-275, and I-75.

Just a hunch, but I'd think that having the end in SW Michigan rather than SE Michigan would garner longer "quickest times", because it's not all interstate driving.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

In your state, without leaving interstates, U.S. highways, or state highways, what is the longest amount of time (not distance) you can drive and not leave your state while going the fastest way?

If literally sticking to this (and assuming "state" = subnational division like I always do) then my answer is null, because I don't have Interstates, U.S. highways or state highways to begin with .

Using national freeways ("Interstates"), national highways ("U.S. highways") and regional roads ("state highways"), for Aragon, Spain I can submit a 479 km (297 miles) route from the A-139 dead end to A-1514 at the Valencian Community line.

Not my home state, but an extreme example would be from Homer AK to Prudhoe Bay AK - a journey of 1073 miles which would take 21 hours and 58 minutes according to Google.

Now if the Fritzway running out to Attu Station becomes a reality, it would be even more impressive.   

Well, one can go from where the Chinese G7 Beijing-Xinjiang expressway (known by me as "Middle of Nowhere expressway) enters Inner Mongolia from Gansu West of Ejina banner all the way to Shiwei town at the Russian border. 3544 km (2202 miles), 40 hours, all in just one Chinese province autonomous region, Inner Mongolia.

[jmacswimmer]

Maryland:

US 219 at the WV/MD line southwest of Oakland, to US 13 at the VA/MD line south of Pocomoke City.

5 hours 40 minutes & 347 miles via US 219, I-68, I-70, US 29, MD 100, I-97, US 50, US 13.

[GaryV]

Michigan:
US-2 at the Wisconsin line (Ironwood) to I-75 at the Ohio line is 647 miles (10 hr 4 min) using US-2, M-69, US-2, I-75, US-23, I-96, I-275, and I-75. It is less than a half hour quicker to go over the Mackinac Bridge than going via the Chicago area.
US-41 at its beginning near Copper Harbor to I-75 at the Ohio line is 643 miles (10 hr 18 min) using US-41, M-28, M-77, US-2, I-75, US-23, I-96, I-275, and I-75.

Just a hunch, but I'd think that having the end in SW Michigan rather than SE Michigan would garner longer "quickest times", because it's not all interstate driving.

But the quickest way to SW Mich goes through Chicago; it doesn't stay in the state.

[GaryA]

Just shy of 17 hours at 1,012 miles for California:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/Smith+River+Agricultural+Inspection+Station,+Smith+River,+CA+95567/@37.4883997,-123.8424432,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m5!1m1!1s0x54d00ac96207ba3d:0x8b0adfc5205bc1c3!2m2!1d-124.2082044!2d41.9938407!3e0?hl=en

You can do a just a little better on both time and distance by having the north endpoint on US199, just before Google switches over to routing you through Oregon.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/41.8728004,-123.8454129/@41.8412882,-123.642747,9z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m0!3e0?hl=en

[thspfc]

Michigan:
US-2 at the Wisconsin line (Ironwood) to I-75 at the Ohio line is 647 miles (10 hr 4 min) using US-2, M-69, US-2, I-75, US-23, I-96, I-275, and I-75. It is less than a half hour quicker to go over the Mackinac Bridge than going via the Chicago area.
US-41 at its beginning near Copper Harbor to I-75 at the Ohio line is 643 miles (10 hr 18 min) using US-41, M-28, M-77, US-2, I-75, US-23, I-96, I-275, and I-75.

Just a hunch, but I'd think that having the end in SW Michigan rather than SE Michigan would garner longer "quickest times", because it's not all interstate driving.

Correct. It's a little bit longer to go to SW Mich. So Michigan's answer is Copper Harbor to New Buffalo at nearly 11 hours. I'd guess that only a handful of states can beat that.

[debragga]

Not that I want to start a thread about it necessarily, but almost all of these obviously are one rural corner to another.  I wonder which state has the longest intrastate "commute" between the largest city and another area in the state.  (Obviously Alaska, Texas, and California jump to mind, but I wonder if Denver to extreme SW Colorado might be right behind them.)

Chris

This is similar to my previous Louisiana answer. New Orleans to Shreveport: 4hr55min

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Shreveport,+LA/New+Orleans,+LA/@31.273137,-92.787303,7.75z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x86312a8d1798e91f:0x2ebd2c1687a49cdd!2m2!1d-93.7501789!2d32.5251516!1m5!1m1!1s0x8620a454b2118265:0xdb065be85e22d3b4!2m2!1d-90.0715323!2d29.9510658!3e0?hl=en

[Eth]

For Georgia, it's roughly 470 miles and 7 hours from a point on State Route 189 north of Cloudland Canyon State Park to downtown St. Mary's. Starting any further northwest and Google routes you through Chattanooga.

Curiously, the best one I could find in Georgia has neither endpoint at a state line.

From the end of GA 40 in St. Marys (which is at the St. Johns River, yes, but the road doesn't cross it into Florida) to a point on GA 189 just northeast of Trenton is 469 miles and 7 hours, 2 minutes as of the time of this post. Any attempts to find anything farther resulted in a route that passed through Tennessee.

See, the beauty of the route is that you can start at point A and go to point B, or you can flip it and go from B to A! It works both ways!

[wriddle082]

From Russell Bridge on SC 28 at pretty much the northwestern border of SC, where it runs into GA, to Lowes Foods in Little River on the NC line, it is 326 miles and 5:38.

https://goo.gl/maps/pQ3jwCp2pyDCS9a39

From the Chattooga River Trail to the same point, it is 5:35 and 333 miles.

https://goo.gl/maps/pQ3jwCp2pyDCS9a39

For some reason I had thought that Hilton Head would have been further away, but the Publix located at US 278 and Business US 278 is 316 miles/5 hrs 17 mins from Russell Bridge.

https://goo.gl/maps/bdzYFonvE9cR233j8

And to Fripp Island (where I will be next week incidentally) it's 314 miles/5 hrs 32 mins.

https://goo.gl/maps/qpdtEXzKYJ6JHFNZ7

[Crown Victoria]

For PA, enter on US 20 from Ohio, and exit on US 1, crossing the Delaware River from Morrisville. 6 hr 41 mins, 434 mi

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/41.9443476,-80.5181294/40.207674,-74.7704746/@41.0894173,-76.5422512,8z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0?hl=en

I also considered a route entering from West Virginia on PA 18 and exiting on US 209 at Matamoras. 6 hr 22 min, 407 mi

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/39.7224665,-80.4308379/41.3707649,-74.698233/@40.2967129,-79.4918779,10.54z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-80.1884426!2d39.8969665!3s0x8835a201e9ea6167:0x1135fcaeee90ef3c!1m0!3e0

[kkt]

California:

From US 199 a couple of miles north of Panther Flat Campground to the Araz Junction on I-8
1013 miles, 16 hours 38 minutes.

[Bitmapped]

For West Virginia, it would be entering from KY on WV 49 at Delorme (Mingo County) to entering Virginia on US 340 in Jefferson County south of Charles Town. 8 hours 4 minutes for 418 miles.

Link: https://goo.gl/maps/Lnsa4JjDjCfhwR529

The routing is somewhat indirect to stay entirely in WV. Google Maps' suggested routing takes I-81 up the Shenandoah Valley and is 2 hours and 68 miles shorter.

[kkt]

Just shy of 17 hours at 1,012 miles for California:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/Smith+River+Agricultural+Inspection+Station,+Smith+River,+CA+95567/@37.4883997,-123.8424432,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m5!1m1!1s0x54d00ac96207ba3d:0x8b0adfc5205bc1c3!2m2!1d-124.2082044!2d41.9938407!3e0?hl=en

You can do a just a little better on both time and distance by having the north endpoint on US199, just before Google switches over to routing you through Oregon.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/41.8728004,-123.8454129/@41.8412882,-123.642747,9z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m0!3e0?hl=en

Ah, I see you both came to much the same basic strategy, first.

[Max Rockatansky]

Just shy of 17 hours at 1,012 miles for California:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/Smith+River+Agricultural+Inspection+Station,+Smith+River,+CA+95567/@37.4883997,-123.8424432,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m5!1m1!1s0x54d00ac96207ba3d:0x8b0adfc5205bc1c3!2m2!1d-124.2082044!2d41.9938407!3e0?hl=en

You can do a just a little better on both time and distance by having the north endpoint on US199, just before Google switches over to routing you through Oregon.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/41.8728004,-123.8454129/@41.8412882,-123.642747,9z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m0!3e0?hl=en

Ah, I see you both came to much the same basic strategy, first.

Given how twisty US 199 gets it would be probably a solid 17.5 hours with the Collier Tunnel as a starting point.

[webny99]

Is there an official ruling on how to handle cases where the fastest route goes out of state? Do they not count at all?
Montauk to Buffalo is the obvious one for New York... and that goes through both PA and NJ. Basically anything involving Long Island is out the window.

But a trip between Clymer (in the southwestern corner) and Rouses Point (in the northeastern corner) as shown here is 7h 45min, 452 miles, and best of all, never even comes within 250 miles of NYC!

There's also Port Chester to Fort Niagara, which is not too shabby at 426 miles and just under 7 hours.
(Google also offers a 410 mile routing (which it says would take a few minutes longer, as of the time of this post), but that route is disqualified anyways because it uses a county route. Yes, you read that right...)

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Is there an official ruling on how to handle cases where the fastest route goes out of state? Do they not count at all?
Montauk to Buffalo is the obvious one for New York... and that goes through both PA and NJ. Basically anything involving Long Island is out the window.

But a trip between Clymer (in the southwestern corner) and Rouses Point (in the northeastern corner) as shown here is 7h 45min, 452 miles, and best of all, never even comes within 250 miles of NYC!

There's also Port Chester to Fort Niagara, which is not too shabby at 426 miles and just under 7 hours.
(Google also offers a 410 mile routing (which it says would take a few minutes longer, as of the time of this post), but that route is disqualified anyways because it uses a county route. Yes, you read that right...)

If it goes out of state for any reason/length, it doesn't count. You can drag the Maps sliders until they're all on routes within NY.

[webny99]

You can drag the Maps sliders until they're all on routes within NY.

If that's the case, that means "while going the fastest way" is out the window.

[JayhawkCO]

Is there an official ruling on how to handle cases where the fastest route goes out of state? Do they not count at all?
Montauk to Buffalo is the obvious one for New York... and that goes through both PA and NJ. Basically anything involving Long Island is out the window.

But a trip between Clymer (in the southwestern corner) and Rouses Point (in the northeastern corner) as shown here is 7h 45min, 452 miles, and best of all, never even comes within 250 miles of NYC!

There's also Port Chester to Fort Niagara, which is not too shabby at 426 miles and just under 7 hours.
(Google also offers a 410 mile routing (which it says would take a few minutes longer, as of the time of this post), but that route is disqualified anyways because it uses a county route. Yes, you read that right...)

If it goes out of state for any reason/length, it doesn't count. You can drag the Maps sliders until they're all on routes within NY.

You can drag the Maps sliders until they're all on routes within NY.

If that's the case, that means "while going the fastest way" is out the window.

Correct.  Yes, my intention was that you didn't leave the state, but also didn't "strain" to stay in it in order to reach your destination.  There are some other places in western Colorado, for instance, where it's quicker to go through Moab, but if you forced yourself to stay in Colorado, would be in turn longer than the example I laid out in the OP.

Chris

[kkt]

Just shy of 17 hours at 1,012 miles for California:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/Smith+River+Agricultural+Inspection+Station,+Smith+River,+CA+95567/@37.4883997,-123.8424432,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m5!1m1!1s0x54d00ac96207ba3d:0x8b0adfc5205bc1c3!2m2!1d-124.2082044!2d41.9938407!3e0?hl=en

You can do a just a little better on both time and distance by having the north endpoint on US199, just before Google switches over to routing you through Oregon.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/41.8728004,-123.8454129/@41.8412882,-123.642747,9z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m0!3e0?hl=en

Ah, I see you both came to much the same basic strategy, first.

Given how twisty US 199 gets it would be probably a solid 17.5 hours with the Collier Tunnel as a starting point.

But if you start at the Collier Tunnel, your fastest route is north to Grant's Pass and then south on I-5, so you leave California.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Just shy of 17 hours at 1,012 miles for California:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/Smith+River+Agricultural+Inspection+Station,+Smith+River,+CA+95567/@37.4883997,-123.8424432,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m5!1m1!1s0x54d00ac96207ba3d:0x8b0adfc5205bc1c3!2m2!1d-124.2082044!2d41.9938407!3e0

I think you need to double check this, since at the end the route enters Aragon to turn around. To the state line it's 1009 miles. Anyway, as pointed out going on US 199 is a bit longer.

There's also Port Chester to Fort Niagara, which is not too shabby at 426 miles and just under 7 hours.
(Google also offers a 410 mile routing (which it says would take a few minutes longer, as of the time of this post), but that route is disqualified anyways because it uses a county route. Yes, you read that right...)

This very same reason made me not to go all the way to the Southernmost tip of Oregon, since the last section involves a forest road.

Bonus if you notice I've switched the names of the state and the Spanish autonomous community xD

[GaryV]

Michigan:
US-2 at the Wisconsin line (Ironwood) to I-75 at the Ohio line is 647 miles (10 hr 4 min) using US-2, M-69, US-2, I-75, US-23, I-96, I-275, and I-75. It is less than a half hour quicker to go over the Mackinac Bridge than going via the Chicago area.
US-41 at its beginning near Copper Harbor to I-75 at the Ohio line is 643 miles (10 hr 18 min) using US-41, M-28, M-77, US-2, I-75, US-23, I-96, I-275, and I-75.

Just a hunch, but I'd think that having the end in SW Michigan rather than SE Michigan would garner longer "quickest times", because it's not all interstate driving.

Correct. It's a little bit longer to go to SW Mich. So Michigan's answer is Copper Harbor to New Buffalo at nearly 11 hours. I'd guess that only a handful of states can beat that.

Following the OP's direction of "while going the fastest way" takes you through Chicago, with 8 3/4 hours drive time. In fact, staying in MI doesn't even come up as an option in Google Maps.  You have to force it by insisting on going through another town - I chose Brevort in the eastern UP.

[Max Rockatansky]

Just shy of 17 hours at 1,012 miles for California:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/Smith+River+Agricultural+Inspection+Station,+Smith+River,+CA+95567/@37.4883997,-123.8424432,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m5!1m1!1s0x54d00ac96207ba3d:0x8b0adfc5205bc1c3!2m2!1d-124.2082044!2d41.9938407!3e0?hl=en

You can do a just a little better on both time and distance by having the north endpoint on US199, just before Google switches over to routing you through Oregon.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Araz+Junction,+CA/41.8728004,-123.8454129/@41.8412882,-123.642747,9z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x80d6f755f28e3037:0x9bd2f64e66429cd6!2m2!1d-114.71361!2d32.74722!1m0!3e0?hl=en

Ah, I see you both came to much the same basic strategy, first.

Given how twisty US 199 gets it would be probably a solid 17.5 hours with the Collier Tunnel as a starting point.

But if you start at the Collier Tunnel, your fastest route is north to Grant's Pass and then south on I-5, so you leave California.

But that part doesn't matter per the original criteria.  It was simply finding the longest path between the furthest geographic points in a state and how long it would take to get there via state maintained roads.  I guess one could infer that as the bird flies that technically makes the Oregon State Line on US 101 still further as the bird flies. 

[kkt]

In your state, without leaving interstates, U.S. highways, or state highways, what is the longest amount of time (not distance) you can drive and not leave your state while going the fastest way?

My understanding of this quote is that we're excluding trips in which the fastest way involves leaving the state.

If not, I could plan a dandy trip for Washington involving Point Roberts...

[JayhawkCO]

In your state, without leaving interstates, U.S. highways, or state highways, what is the longest amount of time (not distance) you can drive and not leave your state while going the fastest way?

My understanding of this quote is that we're excluding trips in which the fastest way involves leaving the state.

If not, I could plan a dandy trip for Washington involving Point Roberts...

Correct.  And the most obvious choice, I was trying to prevent the likes of Prudhoe Bay to Hyder, AK which would run for a long time in another country much less another state. 

To specify my intents with the OP:

• Take only Interstates, U.S. Highways, or State Highways as I could increase the time a lot if I picked some of the hard 4WD roads here in Colorado that might take 45 minutes to drive 5 miles
• Do not leave the state as per above
• Go the quickest way possible.  If you have to have to select more than a starting point and a destination in Google Maps (a.k.a. a simple one way, not a multi-destination), that's not the point.  Sure I could drive from Denver to Cortez via the Nebraska border, but that could go on ad infinitum with other waypoints.  So something like Grand Portage, MN to anything in southeastern Minnesota would not qualify as it goes through Wisconsin the fastest way.  Sure, you could route it through the Twin Cities, but that's "cheating"

Chris