Scenic Drives
May 1st, 2000, 05:27 AM
#2
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Scenic drives in the US of A. What a topic! There are so many. In my experience here are a few I would recommend:
1. The Blue Ridge Parkway from the Smokies to Mabry Mill in Virginia.
That is a long stretch. My favorite stretch is from Waterrock Knob near Maggie Valley to Blowing Rock NC.
2. Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.
3. The Beartooth Higway from the Northeast Gate of Yellowstone over to Red Lodge, Montana.
4. The Million Dollar Higway from Ouray Colorado over to Durango.
I think lesser drives, but still spectacular include:
1. Tioga Pass into/out of Yosemite.
2. Monument Valley in Arizona.
3. A drive along the Mogollon Rim in Arizona.
4. The Avenue of the Giants along US 101 in northern California where the huge redwoods grow.The area is south of
Crescent City.
On a 3rd tier, I would rate the
drive though the North Cascades in Washington State and the Kancamagus Highway in Vermont. (I am guessing at the spelling of the last one.)
1. The Blue Ridge Parkway from the Smokies to Mabry Mill in Virginia.
That is a long stretch. My favorite stretch is from Waterrock Knob near Maggie Valley to Blowing Rock NC.
2. Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.
3. The Beartooth Higway from the Northeast Gate of Yellowstone over to Red Lodge, Montana.
4. The Million Dollar Higway from Ouray Colorado over to Durango.
I think lesser drives, but still spectacular include:
1. Tioga Pass into/out of Yosemite.
2. Monument Valley in Arizona.
3. A drive along the Mogollon Rim in Arizona.
4. The Avenue of the Giants along US 101 in northern California where the huge redwoods grow.The area is south of
Crescent City.
On a 3rd tier, I would rate the
drive though the North Cascades in Washington State and the Kancamagus Highway in Vermont. (I am guessing at the spelling of the last one.)
May 1st, 2000, 08:15 AM
#5
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Us 395 from Pendleton, Or, south through the Blue Mountains to John Day, OR.
Hwy 49 from Auburn, CA, to Nevada City/Grass Valley and up the north fork of the Yuba River to Downieville, then on to Sierraville, past the Sierra Buttes, and across Yuba Summit to Sierra Valley and Lake Tahoe.
Hwy 49 from Auburn, CA, to Nevada City/Grass Valley and up the north fork of the Yuba River to Downieville, then on to Sierraville, past the Sierra Buttes, and across Yuba Summit to Sierra Valley and Lake Tahoe.
May 1st, 2000, 08:38 AM
#7
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I hate to correct Bob Brown, as he's such a wealth of terrific information, but the Kancamagus highway (also ? the spelling, I don't know it either) is in New Hampshire, not Vermont.
The drive through Oak Creek Canyon into Sedona, and then on to Jerome and over to Prescott, AZ is one of my favorites.
The drive through Oak Creek Canyon into Sedona, and then on to Jerome and over to Prescott, AZ is one of my favorites.
May 1st, 2000, 08:50 AM
#9
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OOPPS. New Hampshire it is. We crossed from New Hampshire to Vermont close to St. Johnsbury. Should have looked at a map.
I forgot to include the Oregon Coast.
The drive south from Yachats to Newport is my favorite stretch, but different people have different sections that they like.
The Monument Valley I had reference to is in northeastern Arizona. So, yes, by all means, northern Arizona.
I should have incuded in the top tier the Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier National Park. For some reason it slipped my mind. It is stunning; right up there with Trail Ridge Road and some others. It will open when the snow has been plowed off or blasted off.
Usually mid June is when the road opens but it depends heavily on how much snow there was over the winter and how warm the temperatures get in the spring.
Light snow and warm temperatures can lead to an early opening date.
I did not mention the Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper because I assumed that the US was the focus.
But if I can fudge just a little and included Alberta, I rate the Icefields Parkway right up there in the top 5; maybe even the best one of them all.
I depends on which day you asked me.
At least it is the longest best one!!
Again, sorry for misplacing the New Hampshire route. At least I had the name right.
I forgot to include the Oregon Coast.
The drive south from Yachats to Newport is my favorite stretch, but different people have different sections that they like.
The Monument Valley I had reference to is in northeastern Arizona. So, yes, by all means, northern Arizona.
I should have incuded in the top tier the Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier National Park. For some reason it slipped my mind. It is stunning; right up there with Trail Ridge Road and some others. It will open when the snow has been plowed off or blasted off.
Usually mid June is when the road opens but it depends heavily on how much snow there was over the winter and how warm the temperatures get in the spring.
Light snow and warm temperatures can lead to an early opening date.
I did not mention the Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper because I assumed that the US was the focus.
But if I can fudge just a little and included Alberta, I rate the Icefields Parkway right up there in the top 5; maybe even the best one of them all.
I depends on which day you asked me.
At least it is the longest best one!!
Again, sorry for misplacing the New Hampshire route. At least I had the name right.
May 1st, 2000, 05:14 PM
#11
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I just thought of a scenic drive on a lesser scale than some of those mentioned earlier. The drive from Colorado Springs toward Buena Vista approaches the Saguache Range, which has the highest peaks in Colorado. (Not necessarily the steepest.)
But the drive toward the peaks and then north toward Leadville enables the viewer to see peaks like Mt. Princeton, Mt. Massive, and Mount Elbert. There is a whole row of fourteeners along that route.
But the drive toward the peaks and then north toward Leadville enables the viewer to see peaks like Mt. Princeton, Mt. Massive, and Mount Elbert. There is a whole row of fourteeners along that route.
May 1st, 2000, 06:53 PM
#12
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I'd add votes for Calif. SR1 southbound from Ft. Bragg to San Francisco, and 2 in Alaska, the Seward Highway from Anchorage to Seward, and the Haines cutoff in Alaska/BC. Haven't driven the haul road to Prudhoe Bay (friends have) but am told it's awesome.
Maybe not first tier, but the old Columbia Gorge road on the Oregon side is pretty good, as is a drive through the Washington Palouse region - Walla Walla to Pullman and all around - in spring (right now) greengreen, landscape almost architectural with furrows and rolling hills.
North shore of Cape Cod is pretty good, too.
Maybe not first tier, but the old Columbia Gorge road on the Oregon side is pretty good, as is a drive through the Washington Palouse region - Walla Walla to Pullman and all around - in spring (right now) greengreen, landscape almost architectural with furrows and rolling hills.
North shore of Cape Cod is pretty good, too.
May 2nd, 2000, 06:48 AM
#14
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Did I read that the Glacier Park highway will be closed for redoing?
We had an excellent two-week trip following the Colorado scenic highways. This included driving to the top of 14,000-foot Mt. Evans.
You can get our itinerary by clicking Colorado on . . .
http://www.geocities.com/judcomp
We like the Pacific Coast highway from Astoria to San Francisco and some of the highways in Wyoming.
We had an excellent two-week trip following the Colorado scenic highways. This included driving to the top of 14,000-foot Mt. Evans.
You can get our itinerary by clicking Colorado on . . .
http://www.geocities.com/judcomp
We like the Pacific Coast highway from Astoria to San Francisco and some of the highways in Wyoming.
May 2nd, 2000, 02:03 PM
#15
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Hands down, my favorite is Highway 1 from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. Here are a few more that have not been mentioned yet:
1. Hwy 70 from Denver, CO to Glenwood Springs
2. Hwy 1 from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Key West
3. If you like skylines: the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Golden Gate Bridges.
4. Hwy 7 from Russelville, AR to Jasper.
1. Hwy 70 from Denver, CO to Glenwood Springs
2. Hwy 1 from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Key West
3. If you like skylines: the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Golden Gate Bridges.
4. Hwy 7 from Russelville, AR to Jasper.
May 2nd, 2000, 03:54 PM
#16
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Another one of my favorites is Hiway 61 from Duluth to Grand Portage, on the north shore of Lake Superior. There's one beautiful state park after another, and innumerable fantastic overlooks. At the end is Grand Portage Falls (highest in Minnesota) and, if you want true wilderness, you can take a boat to Isle Royale Nat Park.
May 2nd, 2000, 08:24 PM
#17
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Don't miss: Trailridge Road, Rocky Mt Nat Park; Going to the Sun Hwy, Glacier, N.P.; North Shore of Lake Superior, Minnesota; Alaska-Canada Highway between British Columbia and Fairbanks, AK; Hurricane Ridge, Olympic N.P.; Sea to Sky Hwy, Vancouver B.C. to Whistler B.C., Hwy through Banff and Jasper NPs in Alberta; Pacific Coast Hwy, Northern CA to Northern OR.; Anything in Grand Teton NP or Yellowstone.
OK, Anything in the Rockies; California Between Kings Canyon and Lake Tahoe; Beartooth Pass near Red Lodge, MT
Don't bother: Anything in: Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota (except for the Black hills), Iowa, Eastern Montana, Indiana, Illinois, much of Western Utah and Eastern Nevada. Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, these places are just a good place for a snooze during a drive (if you're the passenger).
OK, Anything in the Rockies; California Between Kings Canyon and Lake Tahoe; Beartooth Pass near Red Lodge, MT
Don't bother: Anything in: Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota (except for the Black hills), Iowa, Eastern Montana, Indiana, Illinois, much of Western Utah and Eastern Nevada. Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, these places are just a good place for a snooze during a drive (if you're the passenger).
May 3rd, 2000, 07:59 AM
#20
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I'd try Chuckanut Drive south of Bellingham, WA: not only is the road very scenic as it winds along the sandstone cliffs of Chuckanut Mountain, with its gnarled madrona trees and tall firs, but it also has great views of the San Juan Islands anda couple of good restaurants from which you can watch sunsets in style. Best of all, you can find very pretty fern and tropical plant fossils in the rocks peeling off the cliffs.
If you get tired of driving, you can hike trails up the mountain to even better views, and to very secluded mountain lakes.
If you get tired of driving, you can hike trails up the mountain to even better views, and to very secluded mountain lakes.
