Top 10 American Road Trips That Should Be on Every Bucket List

The Mother Road. 2,448 miles from the Chicago Loop to the Santa Monica Pier, passing through eight states and about fifty years of Americana. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985, but the surviving stretches are a time capsule of neon signs, roadside diners, and motels that charge by the night and the decade. Drive through the Painted Desert, stop at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, eat a patty melt at a counter where the waitress calls you "hon." This is the road trip that invented road trips.

Four hundred and sixty-nine miles connecting Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the spine of the Appalachians. The speed limit is 45 mph, and you'll be grateful for it — every mile is a postcard. In October, the fall foliage turns the entire corridor into a cathedral of orange and crimson. Milepost 431 at the Waterrock Knob gives you a 360-degree panorama that makes you understand why the Cherokee considered these mountains sacred.

Fifty miles through Glacier National Park that took eleven years to build and feels like engineering's love letter to nature. The road crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass (6,646 feet), carves through solid mountain walls, and delivers views of glacial lakes so turquoise they look Photoshopped. It's only open mid-June to mid-October, which makes every drive feel earned. Mountain goats will stare at your car like you're the attraction.

One hundred and thirteen miles from Miami to Key West, hopping across 42 bridges over open ocean. The Seven Mile Bridge is the showstopper — nothing but turquoise water on both sides and the feeling that your car is driving on the surface of the sea. Henry Flagler built the original railroad version in 1912; the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed it. The highway replacement opened in 1938. End the drive at Mile 0 in Key West, grab a key lime pie, and toast the sunset at Mallory Square.

If the PCH is the full album, Big Sur is the hit single. The 90-mile stretch between Carmel and San Simeon is the most photographed road in America for a reason — sheer granite cliffs, ancient redwoods, and the kind of fog that makes everything look like a Terrence Malick film. Bixby Creek Bridge (completed 1932, 714 feet long, 260 feet high) is the money shot. Nepenthe restaurant serves burgers with a view that would cost $500 at a Michelin-star place.

Charles Kuralt called it "the most beautiful drive in America" and he wasn't being hyperbolic. Sixty-eight miles of switchbacks climbing to 10,947 feet at Beartooth Pass — the highest drivable point in Montana. You'll pass through alpine tundra, snowfields in July, and scenery that makes the Swiss Alps look like a warm-up act. The road connects Red Lodge, Montana, to Yellowstone's northeast entrance. Bring a jacket. At nearly 11,000 feet, summer is a suggestion.

Twenty-five miles of US 550 between Silverton and Ouray with no guardrails, 10,000-foot passes, and drops that make your palms sweat through your steering wheel. The name might come from the million dollars per mile it cost to build in the 1880s, or from the gold ore in the fill dirt — nobody's sure, and the drive is too terrifying to think about etymology. The route passes through the San Juan Mountains, some of the most dramatic geology in North America. Don't look down. Seriously.

Sixty-four miles, 620 curves, and 59 bridges — 46 of which are one lane. The Road to Hana isn't fast (plan three hours minimum each way), but it packs more waterfalls, black sand beaches, bamboo forests, and dramatic ocean views per mile than any drive on Earth. Stop at Twin Falls for a swim, the Wai'anapanapa black sand beach for photos, and the Haleakala National Park Kipahulu entrance for the Seven Sacred Pools. Motion sickness is part of the experience.

Three hundred and eighteen curves in eleven miles. US 129 through Deals Gap on the Tennessee-North Carolina border is the road that car enthusiasts and motorcyclists travel thousands of miles to drive. No intersections, no driveways, no distractions — just pure, relentless curves through the Great Smoky Mountains. The Tree of Shame at Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort displays parts from vehicles that didn't make it. It's not scenic in the traditional sense — it's a driver's road, built for the steering wheel, not the camera.

The Mother Road. 2,448 miles from the Chicago Loop to the Santa Monica Pier, passing through eight states and about fifty years of Americana. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985, but the surviving stretches are a time capsule of neon signs, roadside diners, and motels that charge by the night and the decade. Drive through the Painted Desert, stop at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, eat a patty melt at a counter where the waitress calls you "hon." This is the road trip that invented road trips.

Four hundred and sixty-nine miles connecting Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the spine of the Appalachians. The speed limit is 45 mph, and you'll be grateful for it — every mile is a postcard. In October, the fall foliage turns the entire corridor into a cathedral of orange and crimson. Milepost 431 at the Waterrock Knob gives you a 360-degree panorama that makes you understand why the Cherokee considered these mountains sacred.

Fifty miles through Glacier National Park that took eleven years to build and feels like engineering's love letter to nature. The road crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass (6,646 feet), carves through solid mountain walls, and delivers views of glacial lakes so turquoise they look Photoshopped. It's only open mid-June to mid-October, which makes every drive feel earned. Mountain goats will stare at your car like you're the attraction.

One hundred and thirteen miles from Miami to Key West, hopping across 42 bridges over open ocean. The Seven Mile Bridge is the showstopper — nothing but turquoise water on both sides and the feeling that your car is driving on the surface of the sea. Henry Flagler built the original railroad version in 1912; the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed it. The highway replacement opened in 1938. End the drive at Mile 0 in Key West, grab a key lime pie, and toast the sunset at Mallory Square.

If the PCH is the full album, Big Sur is the hit single. The 90-mile stretch between Carmel and San Simeon is the most photographed road in America for a reason — sheer granite cliffs, ancient redwoods, and the kind of fog that makes everything look like a Terrence Malick film. Bixby Creek Bridge (completed 1932, 714 feet long, 260 feet high) is the money shot. Nepenthe restaurant serves burgers with a view that would cost $500 at a Michelin-star place.

Charles Kuralt called it "the most beautiful drive in America" and he wasn't being hyperbolic. Sixty-eight miles of switchbacks climbing to 10,947 feet at Beartooth Pass — the highest drivable point in Montana. You'll pass through alpine tundra, snowfields in July, and scenery that makes the Swiss Alps look like a warm-up act. The road connects Red Lodge, Montana, to Yellowstone's northeast entrance. Bring a jacket. At nearly 11,000 feet, summer is a suggestion.

Twenty-five miles of US 550 between Silverton and Ouray with no guardrails, 10,000-foot passes, and drops that make your palms sweat through your steering wheel. The name might come from the million dollars per mile it cost to build in the 1880s, or from the gold ore in the fill dirt — nobody's sure, and the drive is too terrifying to think about etymology. The route passes through the San Juan Mountains, some of the most dramatic geology in North America. Don't look down. Seriously.

Sixty-four miles, 620 curves, and 59 bridges — 46 of which are one lane. The Road to Hana isn't fast (plan three hours minimum each way), but it packs more waterfalls, black sand beaches, bamboo forests, and dramatic ocean views per mile than any drive on Earth. Stop at Twin Falls for a swim, the Wai'anapanapa black sand beach for photos, and the Haleakala National Park Kipahulu entrance for the Seven Sacred Pools. Motion sickness is part of the experience.

Three hundred and eighteen curves in eleven miles. US 129 through Deals Gap on the Tennessee-North Carolina border is the road that car enthusiasts and motorcyclists travel thousands of miles to drive. No intersections, no driveways, no distractions — just pure, relentless curves through the Great Smoky Mountains. The Tree of Shame at Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort displays parts from vehicles that didn't make it. It's not scenic in the traditional sense — it's a driver's road, built for the steering wheel, not the camera.