Traveling the Scenic Roads and Byways of America

U.S. Route 66

Route 66 was one of the United State's first continuous stretches of paved highway, and served as a major path for those who migrated west.

"The Mother Road" was established on November 11, 1926, and ultimately stretched 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles.

From its beginning in Chicago, Route 66 headed south through Illinois and Missouri, and a small section of Kansas.

From there it turned in a more westward direction through Oklahoma and Texas, with the final stretches in New Mexico and Arizona before its termination point in Los Angeles.

Route 66 became one of the most famous roads in the United States, outdistancing others such as the Lincoln Highway.

It is popular lore in movies, songs, books, and TV shows. And the road was known far and wide for its variety of "mom and pop" motels, neon lights, drive-ins, flat tires, cars with no air conditioning, dangerous curves, steep hills, narrow lanes. The popularity stuck, and grew!

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Route 66: The Mother Road - Introduction

Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina

The Blue Ridge Parkway offers a slow-paced and relaxing drive revealing stunning long-range vistas and close-up views of the rugged mountains and pastoral landscapes of the Appalachian Highlands.

The Parkway meanders for 469 miles through Virginia and North Carolina, protecting a diversity of plants, ecosystems and wildlife, and offering endless outdoor recreational opportunities.

The north end of the Parkway begins near Waynesboro, at the southern end of the Skyline Drive.

Millions of visitors annually enjoy the natural beauty and diversity of the Parkway. Spanning the southern and central Appalachians, the Blue Ridge Parkway offers an exceptional glimpse of the regional flora and fauna.

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Going to the Sun Road

This winding road traverses Glacier National Park in Montana from east to west, from St. Mary to Agpar, a distance of about 50 miles.

Portions of Going to the Sun Road remain open all year and provide access to many locations and activities.

The opening of the alpine portion varies, based on snowfall and plowing progress. There is no set date for the road to open; many years it is only open from late June to late September.

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Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

Trail Ridge Road is a paved, 48 mile long scenic highway which connects the park entrances in Grand Lake and Estes Park. It features switchbacks and hairpin curves, and rises to a height of 12,183 feet above sea level. The road is open seasonally in non-winter months.

Leaving from either side of the park, the road climbs 4,000 feet in a matter of minutes. Numerous pull-outs and vistas are provided for visitors. The road is the highest continuously paved highway in the United States.

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Loneliest Road in America: U.S. 50 Across Nevada

U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a historic transcontinental highway which stretches from Sacramento, California in the west, to Ocean City, Maryland on the east coast.

The highway crosses the central portion of Nevada, from the west side of the state near Lake Tahoe to the east side near Great Basin National Park.

The route was constructed over a historic corridor, first used for the Pony Express and Central Overland Route, and later for the Lincoln Highway.

The Nevada portion of U.S. 50 was named "The Loneliest Road in America" by Life magazine in July 1986.

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Beartooth Highway in Montana and Wyoming

The Beartooth Highway, U.S. Highway 212 is considered one of the most scenic drives in the United States. It includes views of the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains, and open high alpine plateaus.

The road features glacial lakes, forests, valleys, waterfalls and a variety of wildlife. The highway is the highest elevation highway in Wyoming and Montana, and is the highest elevation highway in the Northern Rockies. It traverses a series of steep zigzags and switchbacks along the Montana-Wyoming border to the 10,947 ft high Beartooth Pass.

The Beartooth closes each winter because of heavy snow and adverse winter conditions; it usually reopens in May of each year.

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Pikes Peak Highway

The 19-mile Pikes Peak Highway is a 2-lane road ascending more than 6,000 feet in elevation to 14,115 feet. The highway has a series of switchbacks, treacherous at high speed, called "The W's" for their shape on the northwest side of the mountain. The road is maintained by the city of Colorado Springs as a toll road, completely paved since 2011.

The Pikes Peak Highway entrance is conveniently located just 15 minutes west of Colorado Springs on Highway 24. Plan for your roundtrip journey to the summit to take 2-3 hours and have at least a half of tank of gas as there are no service stations on the highway.

Tolls for the highway range from depending on the season and number of passengers in the vehicle. Round trip is a roughly three-hour excursion.

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Million Dollar Highway

The 25-mile section of U.S. 550 from Silverton to Ouray in Colorado is frequently called the Million Dollar Highway.

Though the entire 25-mile stretch is known as the Million Dollar Highway, it is really the 12 miles (19 km) south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass which gains the highway its name.

This stretch through the gorge is challenging and potentially hazardous to drive; it is characterized by steep cliffs, narrow lanes, and a lack of guardrails.

Along the way, drivers enjoy sites of the Uncompahgre Gorge, Idarado Mine, Animas River, San Juan National Forest, Haviland Lake, Elektra Lake, Twilight Peak, Red Mountain Pass, and more "million-dollar" views of the American West.

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Utah Scenic Byway 12

Scenic Byway 12 spans a route of 123 miles in southern Utah, and travels through some of the most diverse, remote and ruggedly beautiful landscapes in the country. It has been designed an "All-American Road".

Highway 12 passes through Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and over Boulder Mountain in the Dixie National Forest to its termination in Torrey near the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park.

It is a popular connecting road for tourists visiting both Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef national parks.

From the west, it begins between Hatch and Panguitch, on U.S. Highway 89, and travels mostly northeast through Bryce Canyon City, Tropic, Cannonville, Henrieville, Escalante and Boulder, ending in Torrey with the byway's intersection with Utah 24.

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Tioga Road

Located in central California, Yosemite National Park was established in 1890 and attracts five million annual visitors.

Perhaps the most famous sight in the valley is the granite monolith of Half Dome, a mountain whose sheer face and rounded top looks like a giant stone dome that has been split in half.

The Valley is a 7 mile wide canyon with incredible rock formations, including El Capitan, the world's tallest granite monolith and one of the world's top rock climbing destinations.

State Route 120, the Tioga Road, crosses Yosemite National Park east to west, a distance of about 66 miles. This road is open when weather allows, as the Tioga Pass at 9,943 feet makes it the highest elevation served by CalTrans. The road usually opens by Memorial Day and often stays open as late as Thanksgiving.

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The James Dalton Highway in Alaska

The James W. Dalton Highway is a rough, industrial road that begins 84 miles (134 km) north of Fairbanks and ends 414 miles (662 km) later in Deadhorse, the industrial camp at Prudhoe Bay.

The highway, which directly parallels the pipeline, is one of the most isolated roads in the United States. There are only three towns along the route: Coldfoot (pop 10) at Mile 175, Wiseman (pop 22) at Mile 188, and Deadhorse (25 permanent residents, 3,500-5,000 or more seasonal residents depending on oil production) at the end of the highway at Mile 414.

In 1981, the State of Alaska named the highway after James W. Dalton, a lifelong Alaskan and expert in arctic engineering who was involved in early oil exploration efforts on the North Slope.

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Burr Trail from Boulder to Bullfrog, Utah

The Burr Trail, which ends (or begins) at Boulder, Utah, is one of our favorite back roads in the country. We have driven it several times, sometimes in a 4x4 Jeep, other times in a 2WD Toyota 4Runner.

It is typically quiet, with little or no traffic. In earlier years the entire length of the road was dirt; today parts are paved. The drive and views are stunning! The switchbacks are breathtaking!

The road which connects Boulder with Bullfrog, and passes through the painted rock country of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Capitol Reef National Park, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument land is known as the Burr Trail.

The Burr Trail takes the adventurous traveler into some of Utah's most beautiful and extraordinary country, with views of the Henry Mountains, the colorfully contorted Waterpocket Fold, red Circle Cliffs, and Long Canyon.

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Turquoise Trail in New Mexico

The Turquoise Trail is officially New Mexico Highway 14, and is designated a Scenic Byway. It stretches about 63 miles from Santa Fe down to Tijeras near Interstate 40. Driving time is about 1:35 nonstop ... but who would want to drive this interesting route from end to end with so much to see and do in between?

Tourists encounter several interesting small towns and communities along the way, filled with shops and dining opportunities. Begining our trip in Santa Fe on Cerillos Road, and heading south, the trail travels through Los Cerrillos, Madrid, Golden, and San Antonito and ends near Tijeras.

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The Moki Dugway in Utah

The Moki Dugway is a steep, gravel three mile road located in southeastern Utah, traversing 1,200 feet from the top of Cedar Mesa to the broad valley below. The road is actually part of Utah Highway 261, most of which is paved.

Utah 261 is part of the Trail of Ancients, a National Scenic Byway that stretches across 480 miles through Colorado and Utah. The highway connects Utah Highway 95 with US Highway 163 by crossing Cedar Mesa and plunging down the dugway at an 10% grade, revealing sweeping views of Valley of the Gods, stripes of color in the rocks of the San Juan River Canyon known as the Navajo Tapestry, and distant Monument Valley. Allow 1 hour travel time for the entire length of Utah Highway 261.

The gravel section of 261, the Moki Dugway, is well maintained and open all year, but road closures can occur, so be sure to check conditions before traveling to this area. During and after a rain or snow storm, the road may be impassable, even with a four-wheel-drive vehicle and can easily get muddy if it rains making it challenging to get through.

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Monument Valley Scenic Road

This is a 17-mile dirt road, at Monument Valley, in the Four Corners area on the Utah-Arizona border. Visitors may explore the scenic drive through the park in private vehicles or book a half-day or full-day jeep tour to explore the area's backroads and sacred lands with the help of a local guide.

The road passes many notable features, including the Mitten Buttes, Three Sisters, Yei-bi-chai, North Window, and the famous Totem Pole. Passenger cars can drive the road, although care must be taken in loose sand and rocky areas.

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