mmarshall

Most of us here at CL talk all day and all night about our cars and cars in general (nothing wrong with that of course). We live, breathe, eat, and sleep cars.....but how about the ROADS we drive on? We're in the middle of winter now and out of the vacation and driving seasons but they're just around the corner starting in March and April.....maybe June for you CL members with kids in school.
Many of us, of course, spend a lot of time (too much) in bumper-to-bumper traffic....especially in SoCal and the D.C-Baltimore area...the two worst places in the country. But there are some beautiful and spectacular places to drive out there. We all need some relaxation once in a while. What better way to get it than to get into......yes.......our CARS........and see some of the most beautiful highways and scenery in the country.
And just what and where are these roads? That, of course will differ according to each person's tastes, but let me share with you CL members the three roads that I think are the most spectacular long rides in the country. Unlike short spectacular roads like the Pikes Peak, CO and Mt. Washington, NH hill climbs, these are roads of comparably long length for some real distance enjoyment. Feel free to add a suggestion of your own if desired.

1. Skyline Drive-Blue Ridge Parkway, VA-NC
http://www.shannontech.com/ParkVisio...henandoah.html

Long my personal favorite road, Skyline Drive abrupty rises from the valley floor at Front Royal, VA...the North entrance to Shenandoah National park and rides the very crest of some of the most gorgeous blue-and-green colored forested mountain scenery imaginable, with a tunnel and high overlooks on either side of the road...the Virginia Piedmont and foothills to the east and the long Shenandoah Valley and the parallel Allegheny Ridges to the west, The colors in the late spring and in the fall, with the fall tree colors, are just beautiful, and parking lots and trails allow hiking up to the top of the very highest peaks for views thousands of feet down. You see deer fairly often and once in a while a black bear. These beautiful mountains, colors, and scenery don't just stop at the end of Shenandoah National Park, either....they continue down the Blue Ridge Parkway for hundreds of miles to the Great Smoky Mountains of NC with even HIGHER peaks.

2. Big Bend National Park / El Camino Del Rio (Spanish for The River Road), TX Route 170
http://www.harkphoto.com/05262003.html

Quite different from Shenandoah back east....but just as spectacular......is the Big Bend country of West Texas...a region of desert beauty, razor-sharp, jagged rocks and mountain peaks, and deep gorges and canyons. The famous River Road (Texas Route 170) runs from the edge of the Park at Terlingua along the side of the gorge that the Rio Grande cuts through the mountains all the way to Presidio...over a hundred miles away.....along flood plains, up over sharp canyon walls (without guard rails) , up and down grades as steep as 15%. While the mountains here are not as high as farther north in Colorado and New Mexico, don't let that fool you. To say this road is spectacular is an understatement.
A word of caution....this road requires very careful driving up and down steep grades and around sharp curves and a car in tip-top shape....but the scenery is worth it. Also make sure you have plenty of water in the summer.....temperatures can be very hot.

3. California Coastal Highway
http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2301/

Well......what can I add to or say about THIS road that most of you don't already know? This is the classic glamour road that much auto advertising is done on and many media pictures are taken. It is the classic background for sports cars, convertibles, and....yes.....romance. Winding and riding the edge of the high coastal drop-offs right down to the ocean, it is without question one of the most picturesque roads in the country....especially in the areas around Monterrey and Big Sur. Mudslides can be a problem, however, in the winter when Pacific storms move in with heavy rain.



There you have it....my nominations for the three best vacation driving roads in the country. Feel free to share your own if desired.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i have done the i1 coast line drive from LA to SF couple years ago, took 13 hours in total for the whole trip. some very spectacular views that's for sure, but i don't thihnk it's that impreesive for the driver -- damn was i tired

mmarshall

The high-arched bridge on the Coastal Highway over the gorge at Big Sur is probably the most-photographed spot in the United States for car advertising.
http://www.pelicannetwork.net/bigsur.bixby.bridge.htm

Although it is not on my list of most spectacular roads, Monument Valley, UT-AZ is probably the second-most-photographed spot for car advertising.
http://www.americansouthwest.net/uta...y/mvbutte.html

WhiteTiger

Although they aren't that long of drives but the following are very nice.

1) A1A in Fort Lauderdale
2) Lake Shore Drive in Chgo
3) Going over the Sunshine Skyway south of Tampa

Some longer ones related to mountain driving

1) Hampden Rd (can't remember the number) but it will take you from Denver all the way thru Alamosa and the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. It also goes thru Crows Pass which is one of the steepest roads with an awesome curve at the bottom of it.
2) There is a road in Utah that comes from the Glen Canyon Dam and goes thru St. George National Park (drove it at night in the snow and it was a little scary with only cliffs a few feet from the passenger side of the car).
3) I've never driven it, but I hear going up Pikes Peak can be quite a fun drive.

And mmarshall, you mention winter, please explain what this is...LOL!

mmarshall

Yeah...for you South Florida guys, winter is one of those rare occasions when they bring out the helicopters to keep the air over the orange trees stirred up.

mmarshall

[QUOTE=WhiteTiger]Although they aren't that long of drives but the following are very nice.

1) A1A in Fort Lauderdale
2) Lake Shore Drive in Chgo
3) Going over the Sunshine Skyway south of Tampa

Some longer ones related to mountain driving

1) Hampden Rd (can't remember the number) but it will take you from Denver all the way thru Alamosa and the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. It also goes thru Crows Pass which is one of the steepest roads with an awesome curve at the bottom of it.
2) There is a road in Utah that comes from the Glen Canyon Dam and goes thru St. George National Park (drove it at night in the snow and it was a little scary with only cliffs a few feet from the passenger side of the car).
3) I've never driven it, but I hear going up Pikes Peak can be quite a fun drive.

Yeah...those are nice drives but I didn't include them because they are too short for a vacation or for really leisurely driving.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge at Annapolis, MD is another example of a very impressive bridge....4.2 miles long and high enough to clear large ocean-going ships.

0l33l

iTrader: (3)

Rodeo Dr. is great... its in Los Angeles

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Some of the back roads in central CA are very nice drives. My favs are the roads in wine country like Napa, Sonoma, Santa Ynez...in particular I loved the road on the east side of Napa Valley from Calastoga down to Napa. Oak tress, some twisties and near endless vineyards all taken in while the sun was setting.

Incendiary

Skyline Drive is great. It'd be even better if the speed limit weren't 40, there were fewer trucks, and they weren't all driving UNDER the limit.

mmarshall

You HAVE to drive slowly on this road....for many reasons. One, it is a Federal National Park. Two, you have a lot of deer running around (once in a while a black bear)....and they can pop out of the bushes onto the road at any moment. Three, there are some steep grades that are hard on brakes and transmissions...especially near the Front Royal, Thornton Gap, and Swift Run Gap entrances. Four, there are a lot of families with children and pets parked on overlooks right next to the road. Fifth, the scenery is SO beautiful in spots that it's hard to keep ones' eyes on the road.....and you don't want to run right into the stone fence because you were going too fast and didn't see that curve coming up. Sixth, there are many blind curves...and ocasionally you will find some ice on the roads at the higher elevations long after it has thawed further own.

LexFather

Great thread. I think we did some great roads in the Smokey Mountains and of course the Dragon's Tail run every year.
https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...ry.php/cat/554

https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...ry.php/cat/571

ArmyofOne

the rumor behind that highway is that the highway # is the speed limit. LOL. there it plies, straight and flat for 20 miles, then a slight bend, then another straight and flat for 10 miles. then another bend. its really a fun road. i used to drive it in the contour at speeds in excess of the speed of sound (or at least it seemed to be in that car, but in all acuality it was somewhere around 130 mph). havent taken the lex out there yet, as soon as the steering is fixed i will. its too unpredictiable above 90 mph.

the tx 170 i drive is just north of the metroplex, that may acutally be US170, but im pretty sure its TX 170. not sure where it goes outside of the metrolex (after Alliance airport)

just re read the description, DEFNIATELY not the same stretch of road, this one is fields as far as the eye can see LOL.

flipspeed

I vote for the FDR. Not only is the scenery great but driving on it is particularly interesting. It's one of those roads where you could be doing 60mph but feel like you're doing double that. It must be due to how tight it can get sometimes.

mmarshall

When I was down there (some time ago) it was officially Texas Farm Road 170....better known as "The River Road." It was, far and away, I thought, the most scenic road in the state...starting at the western end of Big Bend National Park (Terlingua) and running some 100 miles up to Presidio. There were some picturesque roads in the Texas Hill Country between the Austin / San Antonio and the Uvalde / Leakey areas but nothing like the Big Bend area.
Yes, parts of it are flat along the Rio Grande floodplain, but there are some very steep grades.
And the parts I saw when I was down there had no room for error. You had steep grades and drop-offs without guard rails and jagged rocks right next to the road.

Of course......I'm from Northern Virginia and have not seen Texas for a while. Perhaps they have improved some parts of that road.

ArmyofOne

no this is a differrent road, this has to me US170...its just north of the DFW area.