Most Interesting Drive Between Two Major Cities?

[Bruce]

Seattle to Spokane on I-90.

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

About half of it would qualify as interesting/beautiful (Snoqualmie Pass, Vantage, scablands), and the remaining half as dreadfully boring (the straight and flat section from George to Ritzville).

[Henry]

Seattle to Spokane on I-90.

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

About half of it would qualify as interesting/beautiful (Snoqualmie Pass, Vantage, scablands), and the remaining half as dreadfully boring (the straight and flat section from George to Ritzville).

Well, someone put St. Louis to Chicago in the other thread too, so I'll put it in this one to balance it out. There's the mystique of Route 66 that makes a great detour off I-55 (although admittedly, there's not half as much to see that's as noteworthy as anything further west), and of course, the Gateway Arch and Willis Tower will greet you approaching their respective cities.

[Robinsml]

Seattle to Spokane on I-90.

Agreed. Snoqualmie Pass is a nice drive in the summer. Matter of fact, I say Seattle to Billings! I-90 through Idaho and Western Montana is a sight to see.

Another underrated stretch is the Kansas Turnpike from Wichita to Topeka. The section through the Flint Hills is just incredible, especially in late spring when the hills turn green. And I do mean green!

[TheStranger]

I'm surprised I hadn't mentioned I-71 from Cincy to Louisville - fast but very hilly and far from monotonous!  (Really stands out in comparison to the Ohio stretches of that same interstate)

[gonealookin]

Bend, Oregon had population 99K in the 2020 census so it's definitely over 100K by now.  Portland to Bend via US 26 and US 97 is a pleasant ~160 mile drive with a lot of variety, everything from big metro area to forest to Mt. Hood to high desert.  There's also plenty of good beer at each end of it.

[Rushmeister]

I've recently made some driving trips from Indianapolis to Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I really enjoy I-40 between Knoxville, Tennessee, and Asheville, North Carolina.  It can be a bit of a grind when the traffic is heavy, but when there are few cars on the road, it is a wonderful drive over and through that section of the Appalachians.

[mgk920]

I've recently made some driving trips from Indianapolis to Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I really enjoy I-40 between Knoxville, Tennessee, and Asheville, North Carolina.  It can be a bit of a grind when the traffic is heavy, but when there are few cars on the road, it is a wonderful drive over and through that section of the Appalachians.

Knoxville <-> Asheville is certainly a much, much nicer drive than Knoxville <-> Nashville!

Mike

[WillWeaverRVA]

Richmond to Roanoke on US 360, VA 307, and US 460 is a lovely drive through some scenic and historic areas.

[pderocco]

I've recently made some driving trips from Indianapolis to Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I really enjoy I-40 between Knoxville, Tennessee, and Asheville, North Carolina.  It can be a bit of a grind when the traffic is heavy, but when there are few cars on the road, it is a wonderful drive over and through that section of the Appalachians.

Knoxville <-> Asheville is certainly a much, much nicer drive than Knoxville <-> Nashville!

Mike

If you recommend the road between Knoxville and Asheville to someone, be sure to enunciate clearly.

[Bickendan]

Albany to Springfield? 

Candidate for the worst, though I personally enjoy it. If taken as a segment for Redding to Portland, it qualifies as one of the best (but both Springfield-Albany and Salem-Wilsonville aren't high on the scenery).
In terms of distance, it clocks in around 425 miles.

[hotdogPi]

Albany to Springfield? 

Candidate for the worst, though I personally enjoy it. If taken as a segment for Redding to Portland, it qualifies as one of the best (but both Springfield-Albany and Salem-Wilsonville aren't high on the scenery).
In terms of distance, it clocks in around 425 miles.

Wrong side of the country.

[thspfc]

Albany to Springfield? 

Candidate for the worst, though I personally enjoy it. If taken as a segment for Redding to Portland, it qualifies as one of the best (but both Springfield-Albany and Salem-Wilsonville aren't high on the scenery).
In terms of distance, it clocks in around 425 miles.

Wrong side of the country.

I'm amazed that a member of a what is more or less a travel forum would assume "Albany to Springfield?" in a vacuum is referring to Oregon.

[Rothman]

Albany to Springfield? 

Candidate for the worst, though I personally enjoy it. If taken as a segment for Redding to Portland, it qualifies as one of the best (but both Springfield-Albany and Salem-Wilsonville aren't high on the scenery).
In terms of distance, it clocks in around 425 miles.

Wrong side of the country.

I'm amazed that a member of a what is more or less a travel forum would assume "Albany to Springfield?" in a vacuum is referring to Oregon.

I thought it was a joke.

[thspfc]

Albany to Springfield? 

Candidate for the worst, though I personally enjoy it. If taken as a segment for Redding to Portland, it qualifies as one of the best (but both Springfield-Albany and Salem-Wilsonville aren't high on the scenery).
In terms of distance, it clocks in around 425 miles.

Wrong side of the country.

I'm amazed that a member of a what is more or less a travel forum would assume "Albany to Springfield?" in a vacuum is referring to Oregon.

I thought it was a joke.

I would have if not for the last sentence.

[Road Hog]

To me anymore, the most interesting drive between two major cities is the 5 miles on Preston Road between Celina and Prosper. So much new stuff popping up every week. Both cities are now 50K+ and qualify as major cities.

[JayhawkCO]

To me anymore, the most interesting drive between two major cities is the 5 miles on Preston Road between Celina and Prosper. So much new stuff popping up every week. Both cities are now 50K+ and qualify as major cities.

Never heard of them.

[Rothman]

Not sure in what universe 50k = major city.

(FHWA sez, "Medium Urban" for 50-200k )

[Bickendan]

Albany to Springfield? 

Candidate for the worst, though I personally enjoy it. If taken as a segment for Redding to Portland, it qualifies as one of the best (but both Springfield-Albany and Salem-Wilsonville aren't high on the scenery).
In terms of distance, it clocks in around 425 miles.

Wrong side of the country.

I'm amazed that a member of a what is more or less a travel forum would assume "Albany to Springfield?" in a vacuum is referring to Oregon.

I thought it was a joke.

I would have if not for the last sentence.

It was very a much tongue-in-cheek shift from the NY/MA context to the Oregon one.

[Flint1979]

To me anymore, the most interesting drive between two major cities is the 5 miles on Preston Road between Celina and Prosper. So much new stuff popping up every week. Both cities are now 50K+ and qualify as major cities.

I have never considered a city of 50,000 to be a major city.

To me anymore, the most interesting drive between two major cities is the 5 miles on Preston Road between Celina and Prosper. So much new stuff popping up every week. Both cities are now 50K+ and qualify as major cities.

Suburbs are not major cities.

[GaryV]

Suburbs are not major cities

We have suburbs in Michigan that are bigger than the largest cities in about a half-dozen states. I'm sure other states have suburbs that are even larger.

[JayhawkCO]

To me anymore, the most interesting drive between two major cities is the 5 miles on Preston Road between Celina and Prosper. So much new stuff popping up every week. Both cities are now 50K+ and qualify as major cities.

I have never considered a city of 50,000 to be a major city.

To me anymore, the most interesting drive between two major cities is the 5 miles on Preston Road between Celina and Prosper. So much new stuff popping up every week. Both cities are now 50K+ and qualify as major cities.

Suburbs are not major cities.

Agreed. I live in Aurora, the 52nd most populous city in the US, and I wouldn't call it a major city. Population is one of the characteristics, but not the only one.

[webny99]

I think we're unofficially using 100k as the threshold for "major city".

I would say 100k+ within an existing MSA could also qualify. That way we can include artificially small cities that anchor good sized metros like Harrisburg PA, Northwest Arkansas, and technically even Albany NY (as of the 2020 census).

[pderocco]

I'm not sure why "between two major cities" is a meaningful criterion. Why not just "Most interesting drive"? Or aren't we all thinking "Most interesting drive between major cities that doesn't pass through any other major cities"? Otherwise, you know what's a really interesting drive? Lisbon to Singapore. Or so I've heard.

[JayhawkCO]

I'm not sure why "between two major cities" is a meaningful criterion. Why not just "Most interesting drive"? Or aren't we all thinking "Most interesting drive between major cities that doesn't pass through any other major cities"? Otherwise, you know what's a really interesting drive? Lisbon to Singapore. Or so I've heard.

Well, the between two major cities part stemmed from a Twitter post talking about the least interesting drive between two major cities.

Re: passing through another major city, I'm fine including another city on the route if it's equally as interesting in both segments on the opposite side of the intermediate city. I would say that if you're using a longer route, the route between the two endpoints should be pretty obvious. I think you can talk about Seattle to San Diego pretty easily. I don't think you can talk about Seattle to Miami.

FWIW, I'd argue that plenty of the drive between Lisbon and Singapore actually isn't all that interesting -- the Central Asian steppe probably being the most "western Kansas"-like of the drive.

[thspfc]

To me anymore, the most interesting drive between two major cities is the 5 miles on Preston Road between Celina and Prosper. So much new stuff popping up every week. Both cities are now 50K+ and qualify as major cities.

Celina having 50k people already is NUTS. It's closer to Oklahoma than it is to downtown Dallas.