Upstate New York offers some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the northeastern United States, with winding roads that showcase everything from mountain vistas to vineyard valleys. The region’s diverse geography creates perfect conditions for memorable road trips throughout the year, with each season bringing its distinct charm to the journey.
Here are 20 scenic drives in Upstate New York that showcase this remarkable region’s natural beauty and cultural heritage.
Letchworth State Park Gorge Road
Known as the ‘Grand Canyon of the East,’ this 17-mile route takes you alongside dramatic cliffs that tower up to 600 feet above the rushing Genesee River. The road offers access to over 25 waterfalls, including the magnificent Middle and Upper Falls that drop nearly 100 feet each.
Autumn transforms this drive into a kaleidoscope of red and gold foliage that contrasts beautifully with the dark gorge walls.
Adirondack High Peaks Byway
This stunning 30-mile stretch of Route 73 winds through the heart of New York’s highest mountains, offering jaw-dropping views of craggy peaks and crystal-clear alpine lakes. The road passes through the charming village of Lake Placid, home of two Winter Olympics, before climbing to Cascade Pass, where travelers are rewarded with panoramic vistas that extend for miles on clear days.
The experience is like driving through a living painting that changes with every curve in the road.
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Finger Lakes Wine Trail
Meandering along the shores of Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, this picturesque route takes you past dozens of award-winning wineries nestled on gentle slopes above deep blue waters. The 80-mile drive provides sweeping views across vine-covered hillsides that have been compared to the landscapes of Tuscany or Bordeaux.
Small family-owned vineyards welcome visitors for tastings of the region’s renowned Rieslings and other cool-climate varieties.
Great Lakes Seaway Trail
This expansive route follows the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, offering 180 miles of spectacular waterfront scenery within New York State. Historic lighthouses dot the coastline, standing sentinel over waters that shimmer like polished silver on sunny days.
The road passes through charming fishing villages where time seems to move at a gentler pace, allowing travelers to experience the unique maritime culture of the region.
Route 30 Through the Catskills
This classic mountain drive curves through forests and valleys that have inspired artists and writers for centuries. The 50-mile section between Margaretville and Grand Gorge presents a perfect sampling of Catskill charm, with vistas opening unexpectedly around corners to reveal distant blue mountains and pastoral valleys.
The route feels like a journey through an American landscape painting, with scenes that change dramatically with the seasons.
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Lake George Loop
Circling ‘The Queen of American Lakes,’ this 40-mile drive combines water views with mountain backdrops that seem almost impossibly beautiful. The eastern shore provides intimate glimpses of the lake’s 170+ islands, while the western side climbs to offer expansive panoramas across the 32-mile-long body of water.
The route passes through historic towns that have welcomed travelers since the Gilded Age, when America’s elite built grand summer homes along these shores.
Hudson River Valley Drive
Following Route 9D between Beacon and Cold Spring, this 15-mile stretch showcases the majestic river shaping the region’s history and culture. Dramatic cliffs rise above the wide expanse of water, creating scenes reminiscent of 19th-century Hudson River School paintings.
Historic mansions appear occasionally through the trees, offering glimpses into the area’s storied past as a retreat for industrial barons and cultural luminaries.
Mohawk Towpath Byway
This historic 26-mile corridor follows the path of the Erie Canal, blending natural beauty with fascinating industrial heritage. The route passes through small canal towns where 19th-century buildings hint at the busy commercial days when this waterway served as America’s first superhighway.
Remarkable engineering features like locks and aqueducts appear alongside marshlands teeming with wildlife, creating an unexpected harmony between human achievement and natural splendor.
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Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway
This engineering marvel climbs nearly 4,000 feet in just five miles, offering increasingly spectacular views with each switchback turn. The drive ends at a castle-like summit building, where a short walk leads to views extending 100 miles on clear days, encompassing the Green Mountains of Vermont and even glimpses of Montreal to the north.
The experience feels like ascending into another world, where the air grows noticeably crisper and the landscape spreads like a relief map below.
Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway
This 87-mile loop encircles the longest of the Finger Lakes, passing through varied landscapes ranging from dramatic gorges to rolling farmland. Roadside parks and pullouts provide opportunities to appreciate views across water so deep that the U.S. Navy once tested submarines here.
The surrounding hillsides are dotted with small family farms whose red barns and silos create classic rural tableaux against the backdrop of the blue lake.
Route 17 Western Southern Tier
This recently improved highway follows the upper Delaware River valley through some of New York’s most unspoiled countryside. The 75-mile section between Binghamton and Roscoe passes through small towns that seem frozen in time, surrounded by rolling hills that remain largely undeveloped.
This drive offers a glimpse into rural America that’s becoming increasingly rare, with family farms and woodland patches creating a patchwork landscape that changes subtly with the seasons.
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Taconic State Parkway
This historic roadway was designed as a scenic experience rather than merely a transit route, carefully examining how the landscape unfolds before drivers. The 40-mile northern section winds through the eastern edge of the Hudson Valley, with the road curving gracefully to follow the land’s natural contours.
Minimalist bridges and native stone walls blend harmoniously with the environment, creating a driving experience that feels like moving through a carefully composed landscape.
Olympic Trail Scenic Byway
Following Route 3 from Alexandria Bay to Saranac Lake, this 170-mile journey connects the St. Lawrence River with the heart of the Adirondacks. The drive passes through dramatically different landscapes, from island-dotted waterways to dense forests surrounding mirror-like lakes.
Small museums along the way highlight the region’s diverse heritage, including indigenous history, frontier settlements, and the 1980 Winter Olympics that put Lake Placid on the world stage.
Route 28 Central Adirondack Trail
This 100-mile route serves as the main artery through the southwestern Adirondacks, passing through wilderness areas that remain remarkably pristine. The road skirts the edges of countless lakes and ponds where moose and beaver can often be spotted near dawn or dusk.
Mountain streams cascade alongside the highway in several places, creating natural soundtracks for brief stops to stretch legs and breathe in the scent of pine and spruce forests.
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Black River Trail
Following the powerful waterway that gives it its name, this 111-mile route showcases the rugged beauty of the Tug Hill region and western Adirondack foothills. The Black River ranges from placid sections reflecting the surrounding forest to dramatic rapids attracting whitewater enthusiasts nationwide.
Historic paper mills and hydroelectric facilities along the way tell the story of how this river helped power the development of northern New York.
Route 30 Adirondack Section
The northern stretch of Route 30 between Speculator and Long Lake traverses 40 miles of classic Adirondack scenery, with countless lakes visible from the roadway. The drive passes through vast tracts of forever-wild forest preserve, where strict conservation laws have maintained the landscape in a state that would be recognizable to travelers from a century ago.
In places, the road disappears into the forest canopy, creating the feeling of driving through a green tunnel.
Thousand Islands Parkway
This 37-mile route follows the St. Lawrence River through a region where the boundary between land and water becomes wonderfully blurred. The road offers views of countless islands, ranging from tiny outcrops topped with a single pine tree to larger masses hosting elaborate summer compounds.
Boat traffic on the river adds movement to the scenic tableaux, with everything from kayaks to massive freighters navigating this vital waterway.
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Route 22 Through Washington County
This 45-mile section between Whitehall and Cambridge passes through some of New York’s most productive agricultural land, with sweeping views across valley farms to the Green Mountains beyond. The landscape here is distinctly New England, with white church steeples rising above small villages in valley bottoms.
Working farms dominate the countryside, their patchwork fields creating geometric patterns across the rolling terrain.
Upper Delaware Scenic Byway
Route 97 follows the Delaware River for 70 miles, showcasing the waterway that forms the border between New York and Pennsylvania. The road clings to steep hillsides in places, offering dramatic views down to the river where eagles soar above rafters enjoying the gentle rapids.
This drive feels like a journey, passing through well-preserved towns that once were important nodes in early transportation networks.
Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway
This 88-mile route encircles one of the most unique geological features in the Northeast, a quartz ridge that creates dramatic white cliffs visible for miles. The local nickname ‘the Gunks’ belies the international significance of this area, which attracts rock climbers from around the world to test their skills on the distinctive vertical faces. The surrounding landscape includes everything from apple orchards to nature preserves protecting rare plant communities.
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Final Destinations
These twenty scenic drives represent just a sampling of the remarkable journeys possible across Upstate New York’s diverse landscapes. The region offers visual delights from ancient mountain ranges to glacial lakes, from historic canals to rushing rivers that reward those willing to venture beyond the main highways.
These routes connect travelers with beautiful scenery and the rich cultural heritage that makes Upstate New York a destination worth exploring again and again, one winding road at a time.
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