10 Most Scenic Summer Drives in America

Green Mountain Byway/VT 100, Vermont

Location: Waterbury to Stowe
Distance: 11 miles; 20 minutes

Vermont's Green Mountain Byway cuts through the farmsteads and wide meadows that lie between the spine of the Green Mountains and the peaks of the Worcester Range. In summer, it's made-in-Vermont heaven. Art galleries line the route, as do farm stands selling local cheese, fruits, and vegetables. At some point, you'll likely encounter cyclists pedaling on these farm-to-market back roads. For a great place to go mountain biking or hiking, the route accesses three state parks and two state forests, one of which is home to Mt. Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak.


Favorite Stops: Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory runs tours, offers flavor samples, and keeps a flavor graveyard behind the plant. Check out some of the state's 30+ cheesemakers on the Cheese Trail. Several nearby wineries offer tastings and tours.

Outer Banks National Scenic Byway/NC Highway 12, North Carolina

Location: Corolla to Ocracoke
Distance: 114 miles; 3 hours, 15 minutes

The thin Highway 12, blown over with sand in spots, links a stretch of barrier islands and unspoiled beaches that jut into the Atlantic Ocean. It's a place almost entirely free of chain franchises and fast food, where mom-and-pop shops thrive in villages bent on preserving their interesting histories. See the windy spot where the Wright brothers' plane first took flight or learn to harness the wind on a kiteboard. At the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, you'll hear stories of shipwrecks and daring ocean rescues. Catch the ferry to Ocracoke Island for an exhibit and shop dedicated to Blackbeard the pirate, who had a camp here.

Favorite Stops: Climb 248 steps to the top of the iconic black-and-white-striped Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Fly a kite on the East Coast's largest sand dune at Jockey's Ridge State Park. Find seclusion on a Pea Island beach.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway and U.S. Route 89, Wyoming and Montana

Location: Jackson, Wyoming to St. Mary, Montana
Distance: 480 miles; 8 hours, 45 minutes

A nature lover's trifecta, this high-altitude road trip visits three national parks: Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier. Winter comes early and is slow to melt on some mountain passes, making summer the best time for the drive. Along the memorial parkway, forests cover the mountainsides and wildflowers color alpine meadows. The Snake River cuts through the Teton Range valley and, in summer, is considered a prime spot for fly-fishing. At Yellowstone, the route leads to Old Faithful and Mammoth Hot Springs before continuing north to Montana's snowcapped glaciers and the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Favorite Stops: Arrange a fly-fishing charter in Grand Teton National Park. Detour to Hayden Valley or Lamar Valley in Yellowstone for a better chance of seeing grizzlies, bison, or elk. From the park's affordable Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins, you can walk to the hot springs.

Florida Keys Overseas Highway/U.S. Route 1, Florida

Location: Key Largo to Key West
Distance: 113 miles; 2 hours, 30 minutes

Drop the convertible top, crank up the Jimmy Buffett tunes, and leave your worries behind. The Overseas Highway, with its 42 bridges, suspends drivers somewhere between sea and sky, reality and paradise, for much of the route. Summers are hot, but there are plenty of places to pull off and swim, snorkel, or fish in the mangroves. Here, summer is low season, which means less traffic and affordable hotel rates. Before snapping your photo at mile marker zero in Key West, splurge on a dolphin encounter in Grassy Key or snorkel with the playful creatures at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.

Favorite Stops: At Robbie's Marina in Islamorada, hand-feed tarpon from the dock or take a reef-fishing charter. Join the nightly sunset celebration at Mallory Square in Key West.

West Michigan Pike/U.S. Route 31, Michigan

Location: St. Joseph to Ludington
Distance: 147 miles; 2 hours, 30 minutes

For Midwesterners, Lake Michigan's sandy shoreline is a classic summer beach escape. Hop from one small beach town to another along U.S. 31's West Michigan Pike, which hugs the coast in Michigan's southwest corner. This drive packs in the small-town charm, from cute waterfront shops and galleries in Saugatuck to South Haven's homemade ice cream and U-Pick blueberry farms. There are also maritime museums, lighthouses, and boat cruises to help break up beach time. In Grand Haven, a musical fountain synchronizes water, lights, and music Bellagio-style, with nightly performances throughout summer.

Favorite Stops: See Dutch culture in the town of Holland, where you can watch artists carve wooden shoes or paint blue-and-white delftware by hand at DeKlomp Wooden Shoe & Delftware Factory. Race around mountainous sandy slopes in a dune buggy at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes.

Texas Hill Country Trail, Texas

Location: Austin through Bandera and other towns
Distance: 280 miles; 5 hours, 30 minutes

In Texas, perfect summer days are measured in mouthwatering barbecue joints, cold beer, and lazy floats down the river. The Hill Country Trail, a loop of rural routes west of Austin, takes you along meandering rivers and over rolling hills to the best spots of the season. For barbecue, The Salt Lick in Driftwood is a Texas institution. Its spicy brisket sandwich was featured this year on Adam Richman's Travel Channel show Best Sandwich in America. Head to New Braunfels near San Antonio, where you can rent an inner tube and join the parties on the Guadalupe or Comal river. End the day in the cowboy capital of Bandera with a beer at Arkey Blue's Silver Dollar honky-tonk.

Favorite Stops: Climbing the rock at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in Fredericksburg is a popular summer pastime.

Coastal U.S. Route 1, Maine

Location: Kittery to Acadia National Park
Distance: 210 miles; 4 hours, 30 minutes

Along Maine's coast, no other season can match the vacationland glory of summer. Long lines snake from walk-up windows of roadside shacks serving lobster rolls, and quaint fishing towns come alive with fresh seafood for sale on the docks. Tour one of the coast's more than 60 lighthouses, or relax on a sandy beach. Bar Harbor whale-watching cruises run through October and offer chances to see puffins through August. Farther north in Acadia National Park, you can drive to the top of the highest point on the East Coast: Cadillac Mountain.

Favorite Stops: Don't miss the fried clams at Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery, the lobster pot pie at Acadame restaurant in Kennebunk, and the lobster rolls at Red's Eats lobster shack in Wiscasset. For souvenirs, head to downtown Portland's Old Port district or the 100-year-old L.L.Bean flagship store in Freeport.

Finger Lakes U.S. Routes 5 And 20, New York

Location: Batavia to Elbridge or Darien to Skaneateles
Distance: 100 miles; 2 hours, 30 minutes

These two intermingling east-west routes were part of the first transcontinental federal highway built between Boston and Newport, Oregon, in the 1940s. Today, most travelers take the newer four-lane New York State Thruway. But the old Routes 5 and 20 are hard to beat for a nostalgic summer drive. They wind through charming towns with antique shops and diners where you can still stop for an ice-cold root beer float. Save time for a night under the stars at an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater in East Avon or Auburn. The Jell-O Museum is also along this stretch.

Favorite Stops: Take a sightseeing cruise on Skaneateles Lake or hit the water parks in Darien and Canandaigua. Don't miss the tasting room and bistro at the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua.

Riverside Drive and U.S. Route 52, Ohio and Kentucky

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, to Covington, Kentucky, to Ripley, Ohio
Distance: 55 miles; 1 hour

There's no place like this scenic Ohio River drive for soaking in the sights and sounds of summer. Start in downtown Cincinnati with a Coney dog at the ballpark and watch baseball's first professional team, the Cincinnati Reds. Then cross the river to Covington and cruise treelined Riverside Drive with its Greek Revival and Italianate mansions built in the 1800s. Back on the Ohio side of the river, follow U.S. 52/Riverside Drive east out of town to Ripley. As the route bends with the river, you can hear the hum of cicadas, smell the countryside's fresh-cut hay, and watch the riverboats rolling by.

Favorite Stops: In Ripley, tour two Underground Railroad stops, the Rankin House and the Parker House, whose residents helped thousands of slaves escape from the Kentucky side of the river.

Pacific Coast Highway/CA State Route 1, California

Location: San Francisco to Los Angeles
Distance: 470 miles; 9 hours

This classic West Coast route is the drive of a lifetime, meant for taking your time to enjoy the exhilarating curves, views, and infinite roadside diversions. So give it at least three or four days. Start with snacks: Just south of San Francisco, blackberry and olallieberry farms, some with picnic areas, edge the coast along Pescadero. On the central coast are Monterey's touristy Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row, the art galleries of Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Big Sur's pounding surf and ragged cliffs. You can sip wine in Paso Robles and hit the Thursday night farmers' market in downtown San Luis Obispo. Watch for stand-up paddleboarders in Santa Barbara and surfers at Malibu Pier.

Favorite Stops: Stroll the Santa Cruz boardwalk or shop L.A.'s hip Abbot Kinney Boulevard. In Morro Bay, kayak to popular haul-out areas for sea lions and seals.

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