Most Interesting Drive Between Two Major Cities?

[CoreySamson]

As a counterpart to @webny99's great thread here, I now pose the opposite question. What drives between major cities are actually interesting?

I'll start. I know that Fort Smith, AR is not technically 100k in population, but the drive between there and Little Rock on I-40 was actually pretty interesting (at least compared to other Southern interstates) when I drove it a couple years ago. I-49 between Joplin and NWA is pretty cool too due to all the rock cuts and newer construction.

[JayhawkCO]

Denver to Las Vegas, without a doubt.

[LilianaUwU]

If you like trees and lakes, QC 175 between Québec City and Saguenay is pretty good.

[Max Rockatansky]

Bakersfield to Los Angeles on I-5 via the Grapevine Grade and Ridge Route corridors is a classic.  Sacramento to Reno via I-80 has a ton going for it with Donner Summit, Truckee River Canyon and other items.

Since this thread didn't include the caveat that this has to be just Interstates I'll include CA 1 from Los Angeles (Venice) to San Francisco. 

[1995hoo]

I-87 from Albany to the Canadian border. (I'd say to Montreal except one of the usual suspects would whine.)

[Great Lakes Roads]

Indy and Evansville on I-69

[webny99]

I-87 from Albany to the Canadian border.

Second this, was just about to mention it. Definitely a top candidate for the eastern half of the country, especially considering the lack of large cities on the I-91/I-93 corridors.

Boston to the Canadian border/Montreal, including the entire length of I-89, is a very nice drive as well.

[vdeane]

Albany/Montréal is certainly interesting to analyze.  The portion through the Adirondacks is great, but there are also boring portions, especially north of Plattsburgh.  Now I'm curious what it's like in terms of mileage, so let's take a (very approximate) look.

Albany-Saratoga: Average, 25 miles
Saratoga-Glens Falls: Boring, 25 miles (includes through Saratoga Springs and exits 18-19)
Glens Falls-Plattsburg: Interesting/very interesting (exact limits between the two vary by direction), 105 miles
Plattsburgh-Montréal outer: very boring, 45 miles
Montréal suburbs: interesting, 10 miles

So... we come out to 25 miles average, 70 miles boring, and 115 miles interesting.  There's definitely a lot worse out there.

Really, anything out of Albany is nice, especially compared to the stuff in the "most boring" thread.  I particularly like Albany-New York (especially when traffic isn't an issue).  Albany-Boston is also great.  Albany-Burlington is also decent, at least in terms of scenery, though it varies by how you go (most interesting and also least traffic would be I-87/NY 74/NY 22/NY 185/VT 17/VT 22A/US 7).

Albany-Syracuse is another one I want to analyze.  It's also easier to do so... it's interesting east of Utica (85 miles) and boring west of it (40 miles).  So it averages out about the same as Albany-Montréal.

[Revive 755]

• Depending where the cutoff is for major:  Knoxville, TN to Asheville, NC
• Pittsburgh, PA to Harrisburg, PA

[TheStranger]

Forever biased for US 101 between SF and Los Angeles, with the addendum that the Route 154 alternate for the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara segment is very fun and involves a twisty mountain descent as well.

Max R mentioned Route 1 between the same two cities, and overall that is good, I do highlight one portion though that doesn't quite live up to Monterey or Big Sur or Malibu: Pismo Beach to Las Cruces, which is almost entirely inland.  (Interestingly, the portion bypassed in 1988 along Harris Grade Road from Route 135/old US 101 at C2 Cellars Winery, south to Lompoc, is much more fun and worth a check)

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In the 2021 roadtrip to Florida, my friend and I tried to use US routes whenever possible (unless time became an issue) - US 80 from Shreveport to Dallas was pretty rewarding, if one has the time to keep going through a bunch of different towns (particularly in North Texas).  We also found that US 90 as part of a San Antonio-El Paso (with I-10 covering the final portion from Van Horn west) journey was one of the absolute highlights of the trip.

[Rothman]

I've always liked driving the Megalopolis to some degree.  Maybe not Boston to DC, but NYC to DC.

[jeffandnicole]

I've always liked driving the Megalopolis to some degree.  Maybe not Boston to DC, but NYC to DC.

Samezees.

"Interesting" may vary among those driving it of course.  Some may see it as a white-knuckle expensive drive where traffic often flows at over 80 mph in what many will consider tailgating conditions.  Others see it as a varying landscape that often goes between urban to rural several times (there's actually few rural areas, but it appears that way).  I'm often seeing new things to check out on future visits (although I rarely make it to those things).  The mid-size cities along the corridor that are often afterthoughts would be fairly major cities elsewhere in the country.

[1995hoo]

Albany/Montréal is certainly interesting to analyze.  The portion through the Adirondacks is great, but there are also boring portions, especially north of Plattsburgh. ...

To me, while the scenery north of Plattsburgh is nothing special, I've always found it of interest when I come down out of the mountains and start seeing the bilingual road signs because it means that after driving for eight-plus hours, I'm finally approaching Canada. I suppose this is a significant difference as to where my trips originate versus where yours do, of course!

[epzik8]

• Pittsburgh, PA to Harrisburg, PA

I'd expand this to Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.

[webny99]

Albany-Saratoga: Average, 25 miles
Saratoga-Glens Falls: Boring, 25 miles (includes through Saratoga Springs and exits 18-19)

While this is true for the purposes of this exercise, I find the entire stretch from Albany to Glens Falls quite interesting, particularly because I don't get to drive it much and the six-lane/treed median combination is quite unique for New York. Drivers also seem to be faster than what I'm used to elsewhere in the state. I-495 in MA is the only other interstate I've driven that feels truly comparable.

Plattsburgh-Montréal outer: very boring, 45 miles

I've never been on I-87 north of Plattsburgh or A 15 north of the border, but from what I have seen on Street View, it's strikingly similar to I-81 north of Watertown, and I agree that's very boring (at least south of Exit 50).

Albany-Boston is also great.

I would revise that slightly and say that Albany-Springfield is great. Springfield to Boston is overall closer to average and intermittently quite boring.

[webny99]

Denver to Las Vegas, without a doubt.

This is probably the longest without passing through a major city that's somewhat consistently scenic the entire length (and even the less-scenic stretches are pretty beautiful by eastern standards). I'm not sure 750 miles/11 hours can be topped.

EDIT:

• Salt Lake City to Spokane comes close at 720 miles/10.5 hours. I can't personally compare the scenery to Denver-Vegas, but I bet it's pretty close.
• Vancouver to Calgary, 600 miles/10.5 hours is a longtime bucket list item of mine. Shorter mileage but probably tops the other two from a pure "average scenic value" perspective.

[mgk920]

Although certainly not a 'major' city, I have always liked the drive between my home town (Appleton, WI) and Milwaukee, WI on what is now I-41.

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

Seattle to Spokane on I-90.

[Rothman]

Albany to Springfield?  Going over the Taconics/Bershires has its moments, but if Springfield to Boston is average, then so is Albany to Springfield.

That said, I've always enjoyed the drive into Boston on the Pike.

[webny99]

Seattle to Spokane on I-90.

LOL at this getting mentioned in both the "most interesting" and "most boring" threads.

[SEWIGuy]

Seattle to Spokane on I-90.

This is almost certainly the only one that gets a serious mention in both the "most interesting" and "most boring" threads, LOL.

I think its because I am from the midwest and just find that drive interesting. I have only done it twice and love the topography change.

[JayhawkCO]

Seattle to Spokane on I-90.

(Others beat me to this.) Ha. This got listed on the Least Interesting thread. I obviously disagreed. That said, Central and Eastern Washington aren't that pretty, but Snoqualmie Pass and surrounds is gorgeous which automatically disqualifies it from Least Interesting.

• Salt Lake City to Spokane comes close at 720 miles/10.5 hours. I can't personally compare the scenery to Denver-Vegas, but I bet it's pretty close.

For Salt Lake to Spokane, it's not particularly pretty by western standards from Salt Lake to about Spencer, Idaho, which is about 1/3 of that route. The Montana and Idaho portions are very nice though.

[vdeane]

Albany/Montréal is certainly interesting to analyze.  The portion through the Adirondacks is great, but there are also boring portions, especially north of Plattsburgh. ...

To me, while the scenery north of Plattsburgh is nothing special, I've always found it of interest when I come down out of the mountains and start seeing the bilingual road signs because it means that after driving for eight-plus hours, I'm finally approaching Canada. I suppose this is a significant difference as to where my trips originate versus where yours do, of course!

That does explain why I'm still willing to call I-87 north "interesting" south of Plattsburgh even though the mountains are only visible southbound.  Also why I find A-15 to be fine heading nord but quite a drag heading sud.

[hbelkins]

Cincinnati to Knoxville on I-75.
Louisville to Charlottesville on I-64.
Charlotte to Cleveland on I-77.
The entirety of I-68.
Nashville to Asheville on I-40.

[pderocco]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned US-395. If I tack on a bit of I-15 and I-215 in California, the two "major cities" would be San Bernardino and Spokane. There are a couple of boring parts near the two ends (Victor Valley in CA and central WA), but the rest of it is probably my favorite road. Too bad there's no major city north of Spokane, because that part is beautiful, too.