What is the most scenic highway or interstate in the US?

36 comments

1. It depends on what specifically you’re looking for. The 88 between Carson city and Sacramento is very pretty this time of year if you like snow.

   163 through monument valley is really nice if you like big rocky canyons and features.

   The Ocoee byway in Tennessee is very pretty too.

2. Million Dollar Highway in CO, Death Valley Highway in CA, Kancamagus in NH, Rt 1 in CA and OR, the Blue Ridge Parkway, 441 through the Smokys, the Delaware Water Gap, 70 blazing across Indiana to Colorado (anyone that thinks it is “boring” is a turd)

3. 64 through the mountains of West Virginia is beautiful, if you like that craggy, rugged type of landscape, which I do. Have to concentrate around those curves, though.

4. I actually wept driving to Buena Vista, Colorado. The vastness of the western landscapes can overwhelm you.

5. CA Hwy 1 from San Simeon north to 17 Mile Drive gets my vote.

6. Pacific Coast Hwy

7. Road to Hana on Maui, Hawaii

8. To me, it is Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Cruz via Big Sur down to Santa Barbara.
   Also route 1 through Florida Keys are amazing.

9. On the inverse, the most boring highway drive is I-70 from KC to Denver.

10. Interstate 40. You can see the Pacific, desert, So Cal, plains, the Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Atlantic.

11. 101 down the West Coast has some very beautiful spots.

12. I’ve driven in all 50 states, and the most beautiful stretch of road is Highway 101 between Arcata, CA and Bandon, OR. Absolutely stunning views of the Pacific coastline, coupled with the redwood forest and wild rivers. Beautiful.

13. Some of my favorites:

    Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway in New Mexico. Goes through the mountains through Taos, Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, Red River, and Questa.

    Durango -> Silverton -> Ouray in Colorado. Great mountain passes and views.

    Mt. Carmel Highway scenic drive in Utah. Going from east to west into Zion National Park. The views are great and when you pass through the tunnel and into the canyon, you feel tiny and dwarfed. The colors are great and the views are great and it’s a canyon so not the typical mountain views.

14. PCH or 395 in CA to northern NV.

15. Spearfish Canyon Highway in the Black Hills of South Dakota deserves to be more well known

16. The Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles long and starts in the Smokey Mountains Park in Tennessee and ends in Virginia. It is the longest National Park in America. The speed limit on the parkway is 45 mph.

17. The Kankamangus

    [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_Route_112](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_Route_112)

18. Vermont route 100 is quite scenic with hardly any development on it.

19. Hwy 101 down the Oregon coast.

    I-70 through Utah.

    US-163 through Monument Valley

20. In the Houston area, TX-225 between I-610 and TX-146 gives you an exquisite and breathtaking view of a bunch of oil refineries.

21. I’ll add Rt 50 to the list, just because it goes coast to coast.

22. I-40 from Memphis to Little Rock.

    Kidding. Probably pacific coast highway, and there are some highways in West Virginia that are gorgeous too. Especially in the fall!

23. I’ve had a life project about trying to drive every single one I’ve read about in the US and Canada, and done most of them.

    I’d say Utah 12, going east from US 89 to Torrey is the best. It’s 125 miles which is the perfect “not-to-long and not-too-short” length. Terrain goes from red rock canyons through farms, grassland type places, valleys and canyons that could have inspired those Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons, climbing through forests, past scenic vistas and then up almost above treeline over a mountain at the end. Remote. No traffic. No cops. And the rest of America hasn’t really discovered it yet. The State of Utah put up scenic byway signs a few years ago though, so it me be overrun with tourists soon. You can tack-on the stretch from Springdale, UT through Zion National Park to the beginning and make this drive extra good.

    PCH, US 101 through the Redwoods at the CA/OR border, I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado, The Needles Highway in South Dakota, US 163 through Monument Valley, The Hana Highway on Maui, Beartooth Highway (US-212) to the northeast out of Yellowstone in Wyoming/Montana, and Alsaka 1 south from Anchorage are also good.

24. Can I cheat and say [Mt Carmel Tunnel](https://youtu.be/h1PHZ2e8CdU) entrance of Zion national park?

25. I don’t know that it’s the “most scenic” but driving through Wolf Creek Pass in Southern Colorado on your way to Durango is beautiful. It’s also somewhat treacherous if you don’t know how to drive through mountain passes.

26. Big fan of US 395 through the Sierra

27. Of the ones I’ve driven on interstate 87 in New York.

28. A few people will probably say highway 1 on the coast in California. I actually live off it, but I’m partial to I-5 from weed, Ca to Seattle. I absolutely love volcanoes and you can spot quite a few on driving from NorCal to Washington state. Plus I think Oregon is gorgeous.

29. US Highway 50 thru Nevada has the title “The Loneliest Road in America.”

30. I-90 from Seattle to Missoula

31. Highway 101 through Northern California/Southern Oregon

32. Seward Highway AK

33. I’d vote for either CA highway 1 or interstate 101. Both hug the north California coast for long stretches, which is in my personal opinion one of the most beautiful places in the country.

34. I’d normally say PCH would be first choice, but since it’s already been mentioned I’ll throw out a different one:

    Highway 1 in Alaska from Tok to Palmer during the summer.

35. Ohio Route 4 doesn’t go through any national parks or slither along the cost, but you get to see some unassumingly nice country.

36. Highway 9 that drives through Zion National Park stands out to me. My mind was blown the entire time