America’s Most Scenic Road Trips | E-Neighborhood Advisor

 

From the dramatic California coast to history-lined thoroughfares of New England, there are countless scenic drives across the country — and some stellar standouts — Travel & Leisure has picked the best road trips in the U.S.A. with heart-stopping views. Here are 5 of our favorites from the list, and a way you can find more! Hana Highway, Maui The T-shirts all say: I survived the road to Hana. It can take more than two and a half hours to travel the 52 miles from Kahului to Hana, as you snake past steep sea-cliffs lush with blooming mango trees, buy banana bread from roadside stalls, and pull over for Jurassic vistas. In tiny Hana, a town on eastern Maui, a cinder cone shields the red sand beach where beach goers and endangered monk seals bake idly in the sun. Stop: Drive past Hana to where the road ends (or becomes unpassable, according to most rental car contracts) to visit the Pools of Oheo, a gently cascading, seven-tiered gulch at Haleakala National Park. Blue Ridge Parkway, The Carolinas and Virginia The nearly 500 miles of blacktop twisting through the Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah national parks was built for travelers seeking Appalachian overlooks. It's a panoramic drive for all seasons, with undulating slopes of color in autumn, a bounty of forest canopy in summer, and ski resorts in winter. The parkway has become a paradise for birders: with over 50 resident species, it boasts more diversity than the entire continent of Europe. Stop: In the mines of the mineral-rich Appalachian Mountains, visitors can pan for emeralds, amethyst, rubies, topaz, and even gold. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago The rock stars of American architecture line up like soldiers facing Lake Michigan, starting north at Hollywood and reaching south through Jackson Park, spanning 26 miles. The downtown buildings are showstoppers, from the blocky staircase of the Willis Tower — formerly the Sears Tower and tallest building in the world — to the Belle Époque elegance of Burnham and Root's Rookery, to the stark post-Bauhaus boxes of Mies van der Rohe. It is the greatest architecture road on earth. Stop: In Millennium Park, visit the iconic Cloud Gate sculpture. 17-Mile Drive, California The so-called 17-Mile Drive spanning California's Monterey Peninsula clocks in at less than 10 miles long. On a privately-owned strip off Highway 1, stretching from the towns of Pacific Grove to Carmel, the road runs through the Del Monte forests belonging to the exclusive Pebble Beach golf community. With surf-beaten cliffs and colonies of harbor seals, it also boasts spectacular sunsets over the Pacific that residents say are worth the $10.25 entry fee to use the private road. Stop: The Monterey Bay Aquarium has sunlit kelp-forest tanks, a petting pool, and a million-gallon tank with giant sharks and sea turtles. U.S. 1, Florida Keys Leaving the mainland for the 120-mile-long island chain of Florida's Keys, travelers enter a paradise of beach bars, water sports, and Parrotheads (Jimmy Buffett fans). From Key Largo to Key West, the overseas highway strings the islands together like beads, running past lighthouses, underwater coral reef parks, and across 7 Mile Bridge — one of the longest bridges in the world. Stop: On the docks at Islamorada, travelers can hand-feed bait fish to tarpon more than six feet long. For more scenic road trips from Travel & Leisure, Click Here.  Your Flooring Consultant, Matt Capell Email: sales@capellinteriors.com Phone (208) 288-0151 P.S. Here's a joke for you! Why are mountains the funniest place to travel? They’re Hill Areas