Popular culture, movies, countless songs, and classic novels have immortalized and romanticized road trips forever. It is like one of the ultimate bucket-list adventures that are also distinctly American. It has become almost a rite of passage now! And if you have never gone on a road trip before, it is high time you should because once you start exploring those open roads with spectacular views, you wouldn’t want to stop.
Here is a brief rundown on the country’s seven most incredible road rides to help you start your journey on the American roads.
Highway 1 to Big Sur
The opening credits of ‘Big Little Lies’ might have made this route shoot to fame, but riders around the country have known and loved it for years. It is a spectacular coastline for road rides. Install ute tub rack on your car put your bags on top of it, and head out to explore this coastal classic of California.
You must have seen the Bixby Bridge in about a million commercials, and now it’s your time to get a picture in front of it. This impressive bridge soars at least 260 feet over the cliffs and a canyon and offers stunning vistas that will take your breath away.
Route 66: Los Angeles to Chicago
The famous Route 66 is one of the classic road trips featured in multiple rock songs, poems, and stories. Cruise down those long straight roads and go past the breadbasket of the country, along with the truck shops and old-fashioned motels that make this stretch so famous.
You will see that the major sights along the way document the long history of the road. You will find towns, restaurants, and museums that prospered back in the thirties and have become a crucial part of American history. Venturing off this road will get you close to Las Vegas, Santa Fe, and Grand Canyon.
Monument Valley from Phoenix to Kingman
This picturesque highway gets its name after the Colorado plateau, and it is famous for the unique limestone structures known as buttes. When you take route seventeen out of Phoenix, you will get to see the Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, which certainly makes the trip worthwhile.
You can then ride along Route 160 for driving through the red desert dominated by towering buttes. It will almost give you the sinking feeling of the Wild West. If you have a map with you, good suspension in your car, and an explorer’s spirit, go along this road and be ready for the adventure.
Turquoise Trail National Byway
Turquoise Trail National Byway is a three-hour drive from Albuquerque to Taos. Ride along State Road 14, which is lined with dusty trails and even ghost towns such as Los Cerrillos. The 56-mile road goes through the lush orchards and hillsides and tiny towns and summit villages.
This area also gets some of the darkest skies in the USA so that you can spend your night stargazing. Make sure you go through these roads in winter because Taos is nothing short of a ski mecca with over a hundred tracks. The road is also suitable for a year-round visit because of the thriving Native American culture.
Going-to-the-Sun Road
The Government has created this road to promote tourism in the country and encourage more people to visit the national parks. It has been successful in achieving that purpose since its construction in 1932. The fifty-mile road goes through the Glacier National Park of Montana while passing through the Rockies and over the Continental Divide right at Logan Pass.
Make sure to pay attention to the significant drop-offs and blind curves, and it is better not to go through this road in the winters. The snow banks can easily reach eighty feet in depth. However, in the summers, you should stop at the Logan Pass. It soars to an elevation of 6,646 feet and overlooks beautiful and expansive meadows.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Are you planning to go on a long and leisurely drive? Head to the Blue Ridge Parkway because this is the place where the speed limit is set at forty-five miles per hour, and commercial vehicles do not ply. The roads go winding through the expansive Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia.
The route is 469 miles long and connects the famous Great Smoky Mountains and the Shenandoah national parks. The best time to go through this route is in autumn, when the foliage turns a beautiful golden and crimson shade.
Anchorage to Valdez
The drive from Anchorage to Valdez might be short, but it is full of stunning views all along. The route extends for three hundred miles and connects the Richardson and Glenn highways.
You will be cruising past towering mountain ranges with sky-high peaks and gleaming glaciers. Did you know that many of these peaks don’t even have names yet? If you are into trekking, you can take the time to do a seven-hour trek to appreciate the wonders of the scenic mountains and glaciers.
Cruising Off
You must be feeling pretty excited to go on a road trip by now. Start with these seven ideas, and you can explore more options down the line. Hit the open roads on your ride and have some good music for the journey: you will fall in love with the adventure.
