The Best Road Trip in Each State (Discoverer Travel Blog)

[huskymedic]

The Best Road Trip in Each State

From cityscapes to untouched wilderness, you can see it all in the country with boundless diverse landscapes. Here's the best road trip in each state.

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[Letsgohuskies11]

Driving route 1 from Greenwich to New Haven would be infuriating, not sure if I'd want to do a road trip in bumper to bumper traffic or constantly being bombarded with traffic lights. I would have said somewhere in the northwest around kent or something

 

[huskymedic]

Driving route 1 from Greenwich to New Haven would be infuriating, not sure if I'd want to do a road trip in bumper to bumper traffic or constantly being bombarded with traffic lights. I would have said somewhere in the northwest around kent or something

Yeah... there were a few others that seemed to ignore traffic/daylight hour challenges.

 

[storrsroars]

Nobody enjoys driving from Philly to Pittsburgh. Especially not on the PA Turnpike, which now runs >$56 from the Delaware Bridge to the Pittsburgh exit. There is nothing worth seeing on the entire 5+ hour trip.

 

[husky8273]

Fortunate to have done a number of these trips in their entirety or substantial portions: AZ, CA, CO, CT, MA, MT, NJ, NM, OR, PA, RI, SC, UT, VT, WA, WY - AZ and WA were the favorites.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I've done a few of these: MA, CT, SC, KS, CA, VT, RI. I'm sure I'm the only one who has done KS (it actually goes through the area my mom's family is from). I'm sure I've done most of the Missouri one, which was pretty dumb.

 

[Excalibur]

Driving route 1 from Greenwich to New Haven would be infuriating, not sure if I'd want to do a road trip in bumper to bumper traffic or constantly being bombarded with traffic lights. I would have said somewhere in the northwest around kent or something

146 from Guilford through Branford, 154 from Middletown to Saybrook, or 272 from Torrington to the Mass. border.

 

[August_West]

Nobody enjoys driving from Philly to Pittsburgh. Especially not on the PA Turnpike, which now runs >$56 from the Delaware Bridge to the Pittsburgh exit. There is nothing worth seeing on the entire 5+ hour trip.

having just done route 80 across the state twice 2 weeks ago, I say I concur, but at least 80 is free. But what a nightmare.

 

[8893]

having just done route 80 across the state twice 2 weeks ago, I say I concur, but at least 80 is free. But what a nightmare.

80 across PA is my least-favorite road trip in America. I am always prepared for it to be sucky and long, and it is always longer and more sucky than I am expecting.

When I'm driving out west, I never really feel like I've left the east coast until I am past PA. It feels like it takes forever to get out of the damned state and next thing you know you're looking for a Knight's Inn or some other rattrap just to rest for a few hours so you can get back on the road.

When I'm returning home from the west, I get that false sense of "almost there!" once I enter PA, and invariably I'm looking for another cheap hotel before I am through the state again.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Ah, hell no for Washington. I-5 sucks. Lots of traffic, little in the way of views, boring, frustrating. What are they talking about? Hwy 2, Hwy 20, Hwy 542 (Mt. Baker Hwy), one of the numerous routes to Mt. Rainier, Hwy 101 on the Olympic Peninsula, ANYTHING else. This is a monumentally stupid opinion for best "road trip" in Washington.

For other states that I've done some traveling in, good choices for Wyoming and Oregon (I grew up on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, I know that area very well). Idaho and Montana are fairly uninspired. What's with choosing the major freeway thru the state? I-90 thru Montana from the Idaho border, thru Missoula and Bozeman and further east to Columbus really isn't very interesting. The good stuff is a decent hop, skip and a jump off of the 90 corridor. Same for Idaho. I-84 from the Oregon border thru Boise and further east is just dull. The mountains are north. I can't believe they don't have you visiting the Sawtooths. Hwy 12 along the Clearwater River is gorgeous. Following the California Coast is great, I've driven Hwy 1 and 101 from San Luis Obispo up to Oregon. But it's a tough call leaving out the Sierras and the various National Parks there.

They don't really grasp the concept of a road trip. It's to get off the beaten track, take some scenic byways. I know it's just click bait, but why are most of the people who write these kind of things...dumb?

 

[Chin Diesel]

Truly an awful list.

As several others have noted many of those listed have horrible traffic.

I've been on several of those on the list. PCH in California is a gimme but I prefer driving between Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite. Also, doing the drive to the bottom of Death Valley has spectacular views.

The picture of NY and Letchworth could be the start of my fear of vertical drops. We were in college and took a day trip there and walked across the bridge shown in the picture and those waterfalls look like they are almost a straight drop below the bridge. I thought my heart would explode before I made it back to land.

The loop around Tahoe taking in both Nevada and California is magnificent.

Those roads in Wyoming, Montana and Alaska are difficult to explain if you haven't driven them. Size and scale are surreal. Just seeing a horizon 40-50 miles and having it feel like you can reach out and touch it is odd.

 

[nwhoopfan]

While I gave the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon my endorsement, I would probably give the edge to Hwy 101 on the Coast. Something in Central Oregon around Bend would be nice, too.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I've done a few of these: MA, CT, SC, KS, CA, VT, RI. I'm sure I'm the only one who has done KS (it actually goes through the area my mom's family is from). I'm sure I've done most of the Missouri one, which was pretty dumb.

@HuskyHawk where in Kansas? The dad's sister relocated to Lenexa for her husband's GE job back in the early 90s. My cousins from that side are both in Shawnee.

+1 to Wyoming/Montana's Beartooth Highway.

When I first visited Mrs. Hey Adrien!'s homestate of Montana six years ago, after visiting Yellowstone we drove from Cody, WY to Red Lodge, MT. Starting on the Chief Joseph Highway, a beautiful scenic highway in its own right and an excellent sensory warmup to prepare for the insane switchbacks and heights of the Beartooth.

With a top elevation just under 11,000 feet, even in July, there was still enough snow on the summit for skiers to work their way down parts of the mountain.

One can drive from Cody to Red Lodge in just over an hour, but extending the trip through these two breathtaking highways created a four hour drive I'll never forget. Plus, it's only open a few months out of the year! Here's what it looks like in the spring when it first clears for driving.

 

[Chin Diesel]

@HuskyHawk where in Kansas? The dad's sister relocated to Lenexa for her husband's GE job back in the early 90s. My cousins from that side are both in Shawnee.

+1 to Wyoming/Montana's Beartooth Highway.

When I first visited Mrs. Hey Adrien!'s homestate of Montana six years ago, we drove from Cody, WY to Red Lodge, MT. Starting on the Chief Joseph Highway, a beautiful scenic highway in its own right and an excellent sensory warmup to prepare for the insane switchbacks and heights of the Beartooth.

With a top elevation just under 11,000 feet, even in July, there was still enough snow on the summit for skiers to work their way down parts of the mountain.

One can drive from Cody to Red Lodge in just over an hour, but extending the trip through these two breathtaking highways created a four hour drive I'll never forget. Plus, it's only open a few months out of the year! Here's what it looks like in the spring when it first clears for driving.

View attachment 58461

Switchbacks induce a level of fear in me I cannot explain. By far my greatest fear/phobia.
The mere possibility of a mechanical failure on a car and not being able to stop or turn and plummet to death is a constant thought when I drive them.

 

[huskymedic]

Get a Taste of Old-School Maine With a Road Trip on Route 1

 

[nwhoopfan]

Switchbacks induce a level of fear in me I cannot explain. By far my greatest fear/phobia.
The mere possibility of a mechanical failure on a car and not being able to stop or turn and plummet to death is a constant thought when I drive them.

I would advise you not drive Going to the Sun Road thru Glacier NP. Breathtaking views, but there are definitely some switchbacks. The road is narrow in places, w/ a big drop off on one side, and not much of a barrier.

 

[Bliss]

My favorites include route 66 across MO, the PCH, and old route 66 between Kingman and Oatman, AZ.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

the conditions don't happen every year, but when they do - big fun. sometimes in march (mostly) you can jump on the board at mohawk in the morning, make a run or two, then hop in the car, and head for the se coast. once there, hop on the other board and catch a wave or two in the afternoon. literally, and all in one not-too-long day, you can drive from winter to summer. of course, at tahoe you can make the journey almost in one schuss run, but it's not the same. tahoe doesn't have sharks. minneapolis to new orleans, or lincoln highway from times square to fisherman's wharf are quite nice too, but the availability of micky d's on those trips can get sketchy.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I would advise you not drive Going to the Sun Road thru Glacier NP. Breathtaking views, but there are definitely some switchbacks. The road is narrow in places, w/ a big drop off on one side, and not much of a barrier.

That's the first time I've driven an all-wheel drive car at a National Park and I totally get why it was necessary in Glacier.