Chisos Basin Drive panorama in summer.(Photo: jamespharaon, Getty Images/iStockphoto)
As gas prices fall, the road trip becomes a more affordable option for summer fun. Spend the dollars you save at the pump on an extra night at a special hotel, the perfect souvenir — or, maybe, just keep drivin’. Here are some windshield vistas that provide camera-ready scenery, as well as a glimpse into the nature, culture and history of our great land.
Called “America’s favorite drive,” this famed road traverses the backbone of the Appalachians between the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains national parks. (Photo: Dave Allen Photography, Getty Images/iStockphoto)
1. Appalachian Summer
The Road: Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina
Distance: 469 miles
Called “America’s favorite drive,” this famed road traverses the backbone of the Appalachians between the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains national parks. Plan a minimum of three days to cover the full route, which wends around S-curves and switchbacks through verdant greenery.
The Virginia section tends to have fewer crowds, rounder hills, hidden coves and quirky stops. Don’t miss the Poor Farmer’s Market (mile 177), an old-timey store with apple butter, quilts and fried pies aplenty. And drop by the Blue Ridge Music Center (mile 213) for some good ole midday bluegrass jams. On the North Carolina side, the Orchard at Altapass (mile 328) has ripening heirloom apples and mountain crafts worth the stop.
Cross Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge into Charleston’s historic peninsula for shops and Lowcountry delicacies. (Photo: Anne McQuary)
2. Lowcountry Meanderings
The Road: U.S. Route 17 between Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga.
Distance: 125 miles
Live oak; Spanish moss; sharp-fingered palmettos; lazy wide rivers; estuaries that burnish bronze and orange at sunrise and sunset. Sound appealing? Sure, you could traverse U.S. 17 in an afternoon, but even a week is not enough time to see it fully.
Start just north of Charleston in Mount Pleasant, S.C., where Gullah families, descendants of African slaves, sell traditional sweetgrass baskets from wooden highway stands. Then, cross Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, left, into Charleston’s historic peninsula for shops and Lowcountry delicacies. When you break away, meander along the highway that leads to the Eden-like isles of Wadmalaw, Kiawah and Edisto, S.C.
About halfway, Pat Conroy fans (and Forrest Gump fans, too) should veer off to explore Beaufort, S.C., the prettiest small town in America. From there, U.S. 17 crosses the ACE Basin, where three rivers create marshlands that melt into the horizon. The stately brick-lined streets of Savannah hold 22 historic squares filled with enough dining and shopping for a lifetime.
Desert Sunset (Photo: Yenwen Lu, Getty Images/iStockphoto)
3. In Search of Wile E. Coyote
The Road: Marfa loop route (U.S. Route 67 to Farm Road 170 to Texas State Highway 118) to Big Bend National Park
Distance: 236 miles
This desert drive crosses some of the most remote stretches in America. It travels from Marfa in West Texas — one very hip small art town — to the place where the Rio Grande meets the Chihuahuan Desert, over to the ghost town of Terlingua, Texas, and the Big Bend National Park. It’s the ideal setting to spy Wile E. Coyote chasing the celluloid inspiration for The Road Runner. Indeed, it’s here that real versions of the lightning-quick, small-chicken-sized bird eat local rattlesnakes and scorpions.
Gorgeous red rocks, dagger points of agave lechuguilla, plump barrels of rainbow cacti and scrubby clumps of creosote dot the rugged roadside. In the cool mornings and evenings, you might glimpse jackrabbits. In the middle of a summer day, the desert floor can reach temperatures of 120 degrees, the oily black asphalt shimmering in the heat. Big Bend is a large national park but has very few visitors. Bring plenty of water, food and gear.
This is South Florida at its wildest. (Photo: © Alan S. Maltz)
4. Gator Bait
The Road: Loop Road (County Road 94) in Big Cypress National Preserve, Fla.
Distance: 24 miles
Alligators laze on this unpaved roadway when the sun’s out, but don’t worry; they’ll politely move aside so your car can trundle past.
The scenery, full of coco plums and sabal palms, bromeliads and orchids, feels like the pages of a nature magazine. Cypress swamps — full of frilly feathered wading birds — hug roadsides, and wriggly, crawly creatures lurk just beneath the water’s surface.
This is South Florida at its wildest, and because it’s actually just 13 miles north of the more popular Everglades National Park, the drive is off most tourists’ radar. If you’re feeling brave, get out and get your feet wet. You’ll experience the real Florida.
Check out this one-lane tunnel that was built to frame Mount Rushmore. (Photo: South Dakota Department of Tourism)
5. Of Presidents and Indian Chiefs
The Road: Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road in South Dakota
Distance: 51 miles
Yes, Mount Rushmore is clearly impressive, but nearby Crazy Horse Memorial is also something to see. The figure of the Lakota tribesman on horseback emerging from the mountainside was first envisaged in the 1940s by Rushmore sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and Chief Henry Standing Bear. Ever since his death in 1982, the sculptor’s descendants have continued to painstakingly chip away at the mammoth rock.
Continue deep into the Black Hills along Needles Highway (South Dakota Highway 87), past pine forests, and see the largest herd of bison outside Yellowstone National Park roaming in Custer State Park. Here, finger-like points of granite rise from the forest floor. The most popular spot, Cathedral Spires, sits in the shadow of Harney Peak (7,242 feet), the highest summit between the Rockies and the Swiss Alps.
Next, turn onto Iron Mountain Road (U.S. Route 16A) for 17 miles of jaw-dropping panoramas. It’s known for its wooden spiral-shaped bridges called pigtails and one-lane tunnels that were built to frame Mount Rushmore.
Mount Evans Scenic Byway Wilderness in Colorado (Photo: Cathy Edwards)
6. Rocky Mountain Highs
The Road: Mount Evans Scenic Byway Wilderness in Colorado
Distance: 28 miles from Idaho Springs to Mount Evans, Colo.
On this 32-mile drive out of Denver, you can bag a Fourteener without breaking a sweat. But be sure to bring a jacket — it can be 40 degrees colder at the summit.
As the highest paved road in the USA, Mount Evans starts at 8,700 feet at I-70 and snakes up to 14,130 feet, where a quarter-mile trail leads to the 14,264-foot summit. Winding like a hiking trail around the mountain for 14 miles, the narrow asphalt emerges above the timberline — and the clouds.
Take exit I-35 at Cassoday, Kan., and explore small towns set amid the sea of golden grass that once ranged from Texas to Canada. (Photo: Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks Tourism)
7. The Tallgrass Prairie
The Road: Kansas Highway K-177
Distance: 86 miles from Cassoday, Kan., to Manhattan, Kan.
Take exit I-35 at Cassoday, Kan., and explore small towns set amid the sea of golden grass that once ranged from Texas to Canada.
Wander the streets of Cottonwood Falls, Kan., before setting out for the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve just north of town, either by coach or car.
By September, these knee-high grasses will tower above your chest, tall enough that only a buck’s antlers move above them. Ride on through Council Grove, Kan., where you can still see the ruts dug by Conestoga wagons 100 years ago.
Find more great articles about North American destinations in USA TODAY Travel’s Go Escape magazine, on newsstands through July 25. (Photo: Studio Gannett)
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