Highways, Backroads, And Everything Between
There’s something enthralling about the open road. We’re not talking about the smooth predictability of the highway commute, but the winding asphalt that takes you on a journey through rising mountains, along sheer coastline vistas, and disappears into the vast horizon. Road trips are stitched into our memories differently than other travels, probably due to the epic distances crossed. This list isn’t about efficiency or speed, it’s about the places that demand to be driven through, not just flown over. Here are twenty trips worth rolling down the windows for.
1. Pacific Coast Highway, California
This route is cinematic, with Big Sur cliffs crumbling into the ocean, and sea spray hitting the windshield. Stop at roadside shacks for clam chowder in sourdough bowls. Traffic might crawl at times, but the view is so beautiful that you won’t care. It’ll just give you more opportunities to snap some more photos of the sunset.
2. The Ring Road, Iceland
This loop gives you dramatic waterfalls, black sand beaches, and glaciers within a single day’s drive. In this desolate landscape, sheep wander across the road as if it’s theirs. At night, you might even get to see the cloudless sky streaked green with northern lights.
3. Route 66, United States
It’s cliché, yes, but sometimes clichés earn their spot. With its neon motel signs, kitschy roadside diners, and faded murals, this route is like stepping foot into another era. Although the route has changed a great deal, you can still experience the ghost of 1950s Americana as you meander your way across the country.
4. Great Ocean Road, Australia
Along this famed route, you’ll spot koalas sleeping the day away in eucalyptus trees, and towering limestone stacks called the Twelve Apostles rising from the surf. Every bend feels like a postcard. Stop for meat pies in small towns or enjoy some fish and chips on the beach.
5. Garden Route, South Africa
With its lush forests, lagoons, and cliffs dropping into the Indian Ocean, this route is both wild and comfortable—a rare mix. One moment you’re in a seaside town offering fresh calamari, the next you’re driving past ostrich farms.
6. North Coast 500, Scotland
Along this lonely route, you’ll spot castles perched on isolated headlands and villages where the local pub is at the heart of the town’s community. Don’t be surprised if along these single-track roads, you have to routinely pull over to let sheep pass. If the weather turns, as it often does, the gray mist only adds to the magic.
7. Blue Ridge Parkway, United States
This highway hugs the endless ridgelines of the Appalachians as the hills roll like waves across the landscape. In autumn, it’s a fire of red and orange, and you’ll be tempted to stop at the overlooks every five minutes to take yet another photo.
8. Amalfi Coast, Italy
This route is narrow, winding, and nerve-wracking, but unforgettable. Pastel-painted houses cling to cliffs, with lemon groves hugging the edge of the sea. Park and enjoy some of the freshly caught seafood, then continue along your way, white-knuckling the wheel of your manual car.
9. The Silk Road, Central Asia
This one sprawls through the Kyrgyz mountains, meandering through Uzbek bazaars, deserts, and caravanserais crumbling into dust. It’s not a quick trip by any means, but rather a pilgrimage of sorts. You feel the aura of history pressing against the windshield, reminding you the road is far older than the map you’re using to navigate it.
10. Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia
This road winds through Cape Breton’s Highlands, overlooking sheer cliffs that fall to the Atlantic in dramatic sweeps. Moose might wander across the asphalt during the day. While at night, ceilidh music spills out of tiny halls in fishing villages on the edge of the ocean.
11. Transfăgărășan Highway, Romania
Jeremy Clarkson once called it the best road in the world, with its hairpin turns up the Carpathians. Maybe he was right. While the road was built by Ceaușescu for reasons that were more military than scenic, it’s now entirely about the thrill and mountain views.
12. The Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland
The road is long and the weather is entirely unpredictable, but when the clouds break and sunlight hits the ocean, it feels like Ireland is showing off just for you. As the mist spreads out of the green hills, rainbows burst into view, and below at the coastline, waves smash against the cliffs with thunderous claps.
13. Icefields Parkway, Canada
Between Banff and Jasper, glaciers slide down mountainsides and turquoise lakes shine like blown glass. In the early morning, the mist lifts with the sun and reveals Rocky Mountain peaks that look impossibly jagged and insurmountable.
14. Route 1, Alaska
As you make your way from Anchorage toward Homer or Fairbanks, you realize how enormous the state is. All around are mountains that never seem to end, rivers wider than freeways, and bald eagles perched on driftwood, surveying you with their majestic gaze. You stop for reindeer sausage and realize you never want the journey to end.
15. Ruta 40, Argentina
This route runs like a spine down the Andes, with vast deserts stretching on into the horizon, edged with peaks dusted with snow. Stop in Mendoza for Malbec, then continue south until the road feels like it’s carrying you off the map into Patagonia.
16. Highway 61, United States
Called the “Blues Highway,” this route stretches from Memphis down through Mississippi to New Orleans. With its roadside juke joints, barbecue shacks, and cotton fields stretching forever, it’s not just a road, it’s the highlight reel of the South.
17. The Atlantic Road, Norway
Along this route, bridges leap from islet to islet, with ocean waves almost reaching your tires. On stormy days it feels like driving along the edge of the world. It’s not a particularly long trip, but it leaves a stamp on your memory.
18. Karakoram Highway, Pakistan to China
At times this highway feels less like a road and more like a dare. With its jagged peaks, towering glaciers, and roaring rivers far below, it seems to embody the most extreme aspects of the natural world. But then you meet people offering tea in mountain villages, and you realize this road has a very human element to it.
19. The Pan-American Highway
The idea of a road that stretches from Alaska to Argentina is too big to ignore. No one does it all, but even a section can be life-changing. Somewhere along it you’ll eat tamales from a roadside stall, or see condors circling above, and wonder why you didn’t undertake this odyssey sooner.
20. Hana Highway, Hawaii
Hawaii just feels like the ideal paradise with its rainforests, black sand beaches, waterfalls within throwing distance of the road, and hairpin turns that make passengers grip the door handle. It’s lush and claustrophobic, but unforgettable.
