One Stunning Drive at a Time
The US might be built for cars more than almost anywhere else in the world, but not all roads are created equal. Some cut through deserts that glow red in the evening, while other routes hug sheer coastlines high above the Pacific. Others twist so tightly across a rugged, mountain-filled landscape that you can barely ease your foot off the brake. A road trip in America is less about efficiency and more about the way the light illuminates a canyon wall, or how the heat-baked asphalt disappears into a horizon of cornfields. These are twenty drives where the scenery matters more than the destination.
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1. Pacific Coast Highway, California
With its high cliffs and hairpin turns, you have to be strategic about when you dare glance out at the ocean. The Pacific Coast Highway—Highway 1, if you want to be technical—threads along California’s edge with views that almost distract you off the road. Big Sur is especially beautiful with its misty mornings and bridges curving out over the frothing sea foam.
2. Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia and North Carolina
The rolling mountains along this route are blanketed in thick forest. Come autumn, the deep green changes into a sea of gold, yellow, and orange that seems to go on endlessly. The road curves gently, like it was designed for aimless driving and sightseeing.
3. Going-to-the-Sun Road, Montana
With its narrow, twisting road that clings to the cliffside, this is Glacier National Park at its best. Snow sometimes blocks this route well into summer, which only makes the first open days feel more precious. Beyond the asphalt, waterfalls tumble from the high peaks.
4. Overseas Highway, Florida Keys
This impressive bridge stretches across the ocean, with mile after mile of turquoise water underneath, dotted with fishing boats and pelicans. It feels impossible, like the road shouldn’t exist or will soon be underwater.
5. Route 66, Illinois to California
With its neon signs, roadside diners, and crumbling motels with peeling paint, this highway is an American classic for road trippers. Some stretches feel forgotten, whereas others are polished up for nostalgia seekers. It’s not the fastest way west, but it’s the most cinematic.
6. Highway 12, Utah
This highway passes from Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef, flanked by high sandstone spires and vast empty plateaus. The road sometimes narrows to a ridge where there’s nothing on either side but drop-offs into desert canyons. It’s thrilling, a little scary, and incredibly beautiful.
7. Million Dollar Highway, Colorado
As part of US 550, this road winds between Ouray and Silverton. On either side lie steep cliffs and sharp turns unprotected by guardrails. The nickname might come from the views or from the mining history—nobody can quite remember why.
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8. Highway 101, Oregon Coast
Although less dramatic than Big Sur, this highway is far more approachable with its sea stacks jutting out of the surf and lighthouses perched atop rocky bluffs. Every town along this route smells of salt and fried fish, and while the sky seems perpetually gray with the promise of rain, it only makes the greens and blues seem richer.
9. Kancamagus Highway, New Hampshire
This one’s a short drive at about 34 miles, but it’s packed with mountain views and fall foliage that make the trees seem practically aflame with color. Rivers tumble alongside the road, and covered bridges appear frequently at bends. Locals call it “the Kanc,” which makes it sound more like a friend than a road.
10. Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi to Tennessee
This historic trail is smooth, green, and almost meditative with its lack of billboards. You drive through forests that seem to whisper with forgotten history, past mounds and markers that predate the highway by centuries.
11. Trail Ridge Road, Colorado
The highest continuous paved road in the US, the Trail Ridge climbs above the tree line into tundra where elk wander and the air feels thin, as if the clouds are nearer to you than the ground. Snow walls sometimes line the road even into June.
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12. Great River Road, along the Mississippi
From Minnesota down to the Gulf, this road is always in sight of the river. Sometimes it’s wide and muddy, sometimes narrow and sparkling. The towns along the way give it flavor, with bluff-top overlooks in Iowa and blues clubs in Mississippi urging you to make a short pit stop along the way.
13. Highway 163 through Monument Valley, Arizona and Utah
Beyond your windshield you’ll see red mesas rising from the flat desert plains, silhouetted by the sun. This stretch has appeared in so many films that it feels familiar even the first time you drive it, and you’ll half expect Forrest Gump to jog across the road in front of you.
14. Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway, Oregon
Curving above the Columbia River and lined with waterfalls, the greenery of this trail drapes over cliffs so lush it feels almost tropical. Every few miles, another cascade drops straight down beside the road.
15. Skyline Drive, Virginia
Running along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, inside Shenandoah National Park, this trail has a lower speed limit to account for the curves. Take your time with this one, and feel free to pull over and watch the deer grazing in the valleys.
16. Highway 61, Minnesota’s North Shore
This highway hugs Lake Superior from Duluth up toward Canada. Featuring rocky shores, lighthouses, and dense pine forests, this road offers a little bit of everything. Lake Superior could honestly double as an ocean—it’s so large, shifting from blue to steel gray depending on the weather.
17. Beartooth Highway, Montana and Wyoming
With switchbacks climbing to nearly 11,000 feet and alpine lakes scattered like mirrors across the tundra, it isn’t unusual for snow to fall along this route in July. The road feels more like a high-mountain expedition than a highway, and that’s the appeal.
18. Highway 90 through Texas Hill Country
Although less famous than the coasts or mountains, the wildflowers that transform the ground into a carpet of color each spring make it an appealing route in its own right. The small towns with their mouthwatering barbecue joints are another reason for taking this particular drive.
19. Anchorage to Seward, Alaska (Seward Highway)
This route features glaciers on one side and ocean inlets on the other. The road curves around Turnagain Arm, where the tide rushes in so fast it forms a wave. Wildlife spotting is common, and you’re likely to see bald eagles overhead and maybe even a moose blocking traffic.
20. Highway 89A, Arizona’s Oak Creek Canyon
This highway twists through red rock canyon walls on its upward climb toward Flagstaff. In autumn, the cottonwoods and sycamores transform into a vivid yellow against the red stone. The curves are tight enough to make passengers grip the door handle, but then you round a bend and the whole canyon opens up in front of you.
