Some travel experiences can only be fully appreciated through the windshield of a car, where every curve in the road reveals new vistas and the journey itself becomes the destination. America’s diverse landscapes offer some of the world’s most spectacular drives, from coastal highways hugging dramatic shorelines to mountain passes that seem to touch the clouds.
Here is a list of 20 remarkable scenic drives across America that showcase the country’s natural beauty and provide unforgettable road trip experiences.
Going-to-the-Sun Road, Montana
This engineering marvel cuts through the heart of Glacier National Park, delivering 50 miles of jaw-dropping mountain scenery. The narrow two-lane highway clings to cliffs, passes cascading waterfalls, and crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass (6,646 feet), where mountain goats often graze beside the visitor center.
Snow keeps portions closed until early summer, when wildflowers transform alpine meadows into natural gardens framed by jagged peaks that still harbor glaciers from the last ice age.
Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia and North Carolina
America’s longest linear park connects Shenandoah National Park with Great Smoky Mountains National Park via 469 miles of protected scenic corridor. The unhurried two-lane road follows Appalachian Mountain crests, offering access to hundreds of hiking trails, picnic areas, and overlooks that frame the namesake blue-hazed ridges stretching to the horizon.
Fall transforms this drive into a kaleidoscope of autumn colors, while spring brings flowering dogwoods and rhododendrons, brightening the roadside with natural bouquets.
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Highway 1, California
The Pacific Coast Highway’s most dramatic section between Carmel and San Simeon hugs California’s rugged central coast for 90 unforgettable miles. Engineering feats like the Bixby Bridge span deep canyons, while pullouts offer vantage points for watching sea lions, migrating whales, and waves crashing against rocky shores hundreds of feet below.
The drive passes through groves of wind-sculpted cypress trees, pristine beaches, and alongside coastal mountains that plunge directly into the Pacific’s deep blue waters.
Overseas Highway, Florida
This 113-mile engineering marvel island-hops across the Florida Keys via 42 bridges, including the famous Seven Mile Bridge that soars above turquoise waters. The narrow limestone islands offer a tropical paradise feel, with palm trees, mangrove forests, and endless water views on both sides of the highway.
The drive provides access to world-class snorkeling spots, waterfront seafood shacks, and the distinctive laid-back culture that makes the Keys feel more Caribbean than American.
Trail Ridge Road, Colorado
The highest continuous paved road in North America traverses Rocky Mountain National Park, spending miles above the tree line where alpine tundra stretches to the horizon. The road crests at 12,183 feet, providing views of mountain peaks, glacial valleys, and wildlife, including elk herds and yellow-bellied marmots that call these heights home.
Dramatic weather changes can occur even in summer, when afternoon thunderstorms create dramatic light shows across vast landscapes, showcase the raw power of mountain environments.
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Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee
This 444-mile historic corridor follows ancient pathways used by Native Americans and early American settlers between Natchez and Nashville. Commercial traffic is banned, creating a peaceful drive through forests, farmland, and historic sites that tell America’s early frontier story.
The parkway’s carefully maintained landscape includes preserved sections of the original foot trail, ceremonial mounds built by indigenous people, and pioneer homesteads that offer glimpses into the past amid the natural beauty.
Hana Highway, Hawaii
This legendary 52-mile drive along Maui’s northeastern coast packs more scenery per mile than almost any road in America. The narrow, winding route crosses 59 bridges and navigates around 620 curves while passing waterfalls, tropical forests, and dramatic ocean vistas.
The journey offers access to black sand beaches, bamboo forests, and natural swimming pools. However, many travelers find the drive itself, with its lush canyon walls and sudden reveals of Pacific panoramas, to be the true attraction.
Million Dollar Highway, Colorado
The 25-mile section of US 550 between Silverton and Ouray cuts an improbable path through the San Juan Mountains, with sections carved directly into cliff faces high above river gorges. The road climbs over three mountain passes exceeding 10,000 feet, offering views of the mining towns and rugged peaks that earned southwest Colorado the nickname ‘Switzerland of America.’
The highway’s name comes either from its million-dollar views or its construction cost—both appropriate for a drive that delivers thrills and beauty in equal measure.
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Beartooth Highway, Montana and Wyoming
Charles Kuralt called this 68-mile route ‘the most beautiful drive in America,’ and few who experience its 20 mountain peaks and countless alpine lakes would disagree. The highway rises from 5,200 feet to the 10,947-foot Beartooth Pass through a series of switchbacks offering increasingly dramatic views of the surrounding wilderness.
The drive serves as a scenic northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park, though many travelers find this high-alpine journey worthy of its dedicated trip.
Kancamagus Highway, New Hampshire
This 34-mile mountain pass through the White Mountain National Forest represents New England scenery at its finest. The road follows the Swift River while climbing to nearly 3,000 feet at Kancamagus Pass, providing access to hiking trails, historic sites, and pristine swimming areas beneath covered bridges.
Fall attracts leaf-peepers from around the world when the corridor’s sugar maples, birches, and beeches create a fiery display, though summer and spring offer their charms with wildflowers and rushing waters from melting snow.
North Shore Scenic Drive, Minnesota
Following Lake Superior’s northern coastline, this 154-mile byway connects Duluth with the Canadian border through a landscape of rocky cliffs, pristine forests, and breathtaking lake views. The drive passes through seven state parks, historic fishing villages, and sites showcasing the region’s shipping heritage, including Split Rock Lighthouse perched dramatically on a 130-foot cliff.
The lake often creates its weather patterns, with fog banks and sudden clearings that transform the massive inland sea from mysterious to majestic within minutes.
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Olympic Peninsula Loop, Washington
This 300-mile circular route around Washington’s Olympic Peninsula showcases incredible diversity, from misty rainforests receiving 12 feet of annual rainfall to sunny lavender farms in the mountain rain shadow. The drive passes massive old-growth forests, rugged Pacific beaches with offshore sea stacks, and the fjord-like waters of Hood Canal, with Olympic National Park’s snow-capped mountains always visible in the distance.
Wildlife sightings often include eagles, Roosevelt elk, and even whales from coastal sections of the route.
Scenic Byway 12, Utah
This 124-mile marvel connects Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks while passing through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and some of America’s most colorful landscapes. The road traverses slickrock canyons, alpine forests, and the narrow Hogsback ridge with steep dropoffs on both sides, revealing multicolored rock formations stretching to the horizon.
Ancient petroglyphs, pioneer settlements, and dinosaur tracks add human and natural history elements to this drive through what locals call ‘color country.’
Skyline Drive, Virginia
This historic parkway runs 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains through Shenandoah National Park. It offers 75 overlooks with panoramic views of the Shenandoah Valley and the Virginia Piedmont.
The road’s 35-mph speed limit encourages leisurely travel through forests that shelter black bears, white-tailed deer, and over 200 bird species. Numerous trail access points, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail, allow visitors to explore waterfalls and summits beyond what can be seen from the road itself.
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Columbia River Highway, Oregon
America’s first scenic highway, built between 1913 and 1922, follows the Columbia River Gorge with architectural features designed to complement the natural landscape. The 70-mile route passes numerous waterfalls, including 620-foot Multnomah Falls, through a landscape where lush forests meet desert conditions within a short distance.
Historic stone guardrails, elegant arched bridges, and carefully designed viewpoints reflect early road builders’ commitment to creating a driving experience that honored rather than dominated the spectacular river canyon.
Turquoise Trail, New Mexico
This 50-mile alternative to the interstate between Albuquerque and Santa Fe winds through the Sandia Mountains and old mining towns that now house arts communities. The byway earned its name from the precious blue-green stones that drew prospectors to the region.
However, today visitors come for the dramatic desert vistas, quirky settlements like Madrid, and high-desert light that has attracted artists for generations. The route’s elevation changes provide remarkable views across New Mexico’s colorful landscape, especially dramatic during sunrise and sunset.
Acadia Loop Road, Maine
This 27-mile route through Acadia National Park delivers classic New England coastal scenery, with rocky shorelines, spruce forests, and carriage roads built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. The loop includes a drive up 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the North Atlantic seaboard and the first place sunrise touches in the United States each morning.
The road hugs the shoreline at Ocean Drive, where waves crash dramatically against Mount Desert Island’s pink granite cliffs, sending salty spray into the air and echoing the power of the Atlantic.
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Apache Trail, Arizona
Originally built to transport construction materials for Roosevelt Dam, this partially unpaved 40-mile route traverses the Superstition Mountains through classic Sonoran Desert landscapes dotted with saguaro cacti. The road follows cliff edges above a series of lakes created by Salt River dams, with hairpin turns and steep grades adding excitement to the stunning desert views.
Historic stops include the former mining town of Goldfield and Tortilla Flat, a stagecoach stop turned tourist destination that maintains its Old West character.
Coastal Connection, Alabama
Often overlooked among America’s coastal drives, this 130-mile route along Alabama’s Gulf Coast combines white sand beaches, historic sites, and maritime forests. The drive connects charming coastal communities while passing through wildlife refuges protecting diverse ecosystems from salt marshes to longleaf pine forests.
Seafood shacks, antebellum homes, and beach access points provide plenty of reasons to stop, while Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan offer history alongside natural beauty at the drive’s southern end.
The Enchanted Circle, New Mexico
This 83-mile loop around Wheeler Peak, New Mexico’s highest mountain at 13,161 feet, connects mountain villages and scenic valleys in the state’s northern highlands. The drive passes through downtown Red River, the historic mining community of Elizabethtown, and Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park, with views ranging from alpine meadows to deep river gorges.
The landscape transforms dramatically with the seasons, from summer wildflower displays to aspen groves that turn brilliant gold in autumn against dark evergreen forests.
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America Through the Windshield
These scenic drives remind us that in an age of increasingly efficient transportation, sometimes the journey itself deserves our full attention. Each route offers a unique window into America’s diverse landscapes, from coastal panoramas to mountain heights, desert expanses to fertile valleys. The roads become pathways not just through geographic space but through our understanding of the natural forces and human histories that shaped this continent.
Whether traveled end-to-end or explored in segments, these drives deliver experiences that photographs alone cannot capture—the changing light, shifting weather, and personal discoveries that make road trips enduring American traditions.
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