Routes
Long-form road trip guides through the American West — every stop, every story, every mile that makes the drive worth taking.
Every byway on the map is a link — tap a line to open its guide.
Alpine Loop Scenic Byway
Twenty hairpin miles over the shoulder of Mount Timpanogos — UT-92 from American Fork Canyon into Provo Canyon, past Timpanogos Cave, Cascade Springs, and Sundance. Paved and narrow, closed in winter, unbeatable in fall.
California 190: Across Death Valley
The road across Death Valley exists because of borax: the twenty-mule-team haul, the company that sold the scenery once the mineral ran out, and the drive from Olancha to the salt.
CO-82: Twin Lakes over Independence Pass to Glenwood Springs
Over the Continental Divide at 12,095 feet on the 1881 toll-road route, down the Roaring Fork through Aspen to the canyon at Glenwood Springs. Closed half the year.
Going-to-the-Sun Road: West Glacier to St. Mary
Fifty miles across Glacier National Park: Lake McDonald, the Loop, the Garden Wall and Logan Pass, then down past Jackson Glacier to St. Mary Lake and the Blackfeet Reservation.
Highway 1: The North Coast
Two hundred and fifteen miles of two-lane coast from the Golden Gate to Leggett — Muir Woods and the San Andreas rift, Point Reyes, the Russian River mouth, Salt Point's quarried cove, the Sea Ranch, Point Arena and the lumber headlands of Mendocino and Fort Bragg.
Highway 12 Scenic Byway
A 124-mile All-American Road through southern Utah's red-rock canyons, alpine forests, and slickrock wilderness — widely regarded as one of the most scenic drives in America.
Highway 20
Twenty unsigned miles between I-15 and US-89 over Bear Valley — the Old Spanish Trail crossing that carried Panguitch's founders and the Quilt Walk of 1864.
Highway 24 Scenic Byway
A 47-mile drive through the Waterpocket Fold — the geological wave that defines Capitol Reef — from Torrey at Highway 12's eastern terminus to the desert crossroads of Hanksville.
Highway 9 Scenic Byway
A 57-mile drive from the I-15 gateway through Springdale and Zion National Park to Mount Carmel Junction — climbing the cliff-face switchbacks and the 1930 Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel along the way.
Historic Route 66
Arizona's stretch of the Mother Road — the longest preserved run of Route 66 in the country, from the ponderosa high country down through Seligman and Kingman to the Oatman switchbacks and the Colorado River.
I-15: The Virgin River Gorge
Three states in twenty-nine Arizona miles — I-15 threads the Virgin River Gorge, the most expensive rural interstate ever built, following the desert water that drew every road here from the Old Spanish Trail to the Las Vegas Springs.
I-84: The Farewell Bend Crossing
From Boise west across the Treasure Valley and the Snake at Ontario, past Farewell Bend and up the Burnt River to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center outside Baker City.
Interstate 80 — The Humboldt Road
The Humboldt corridor — about 175 miles of Interstate 80 from Wells to Winnemucca, the region's all-weather spine, with the Ruby Mountains, the emigrant trail, the invisible gold, and Jarbidge hanging off it.
Interstate 80: The Bonneville Crossing
A hundred and thirty miles across the bed of a vanished sea, from Elko to the Bonneville Salt Flats — the crossing that nearly ended the Donner Party and, a century later, rehearsed the atomic bomb.
Klamath Falls to Crater Lake and the Rim Drive
US-97 along Upper Klamath Lake, through Chiloquin and Fort Klamath on OR-62, up to Rim Village and around the 33-mile Rim Drive above Crater Lake.
Logan Canyon Scenic Byway
US-89 climbs forty-one miles from Logan up its limestone canyon to a pass near 7,800 feet, then drops to the turquoise water of Bear Lake — a National Scenic Byway, glorious in fall and open year-round.
Mesa Falls Scenic Byway: Ashton to Harriman
The old road toward Yellowstone: from Ashton's farm country down to the Warm River and up to the undammed Mesa Falls, ending at the Harrimans' Railroad Ranch.
Mirror Lake Scenic Byway
UT-150 climbs from Kamas into the Uintas over Bald Mountain Pass — at 10,715 feet, Utah's highest paved road — to the glassy alpine water of Mirror Lake. A short, spectacular season, roughly late June through early October.
Nebo Loop Scenic Byway
Thirty-eight winding miles over the back of Mount Nebo, the highest peak in the Wasatch — a CCC-built byway from Payson to Nephi, past alpine lakes, a 9,300-foot overlook, and a pocket of red-rock hoodoos. Closed in winter, unforgettable in fall.
Nine Mile Canyon Backway
The old freight road up the world's longest art gallery — a slow drive past a thousand years of Fremont and Ute rock art, from Wellington toward the Uinta Basin.
NM-152 and NM-15: City of Rocks to the Gila Cliff Dwellings
From the volcanic pinnacles of City of Rocks up the Mimbres valley, past the Santa Rita copper pit and through Silver City, then over NM-15's mountain switchbacks to the Gila Cliff Dwellings.
NV-140: The Denio Crossing
From Winnemucca up the Quinn River Valley on NV-140 to Denio and the Oregon line, then through Fields and the Catlow Valley to Frenchglen and Steens Mountain.
NV-28 — The Tahoe East Shore
The short, blue drive down Lake Tahoe's Nevada side — thirteen miles of granite coves and clear water on the shore the Comstock cut for timber and tapped for water, then sold back as scenery.
Old Highway 40: The Donner Pass Crossing
Forty-six miles over the pass the interstate misses — the Wašišiw summit and its petroglyphs, the tunnels Chinese crews cut by hand, the lake where the Donner Party wintered, and the 1926 arch bridge above it, then down the Truckee to Reno.
Route 66 in California: Needles to the Pacific
The Mother Road's last three hundred fifty miles: the Colorado River at Needles, the emptiest surviving pavement on the whole route, Cajon Pass, and the Pacific at the end of it.
Route 66: Albuquerque to Holbrook
About 234 miles of Route 66 and I-40 from Albuquerque's West Mesa to Holbrook, between two rivers both named Puerco: a 1933 truss bridge at one end, the Laguna mission and Mount Taylor in the middle, and the Church Rock uranium spill that ran down the second Puerco into Arizona.
Route 66: Glenrio to Albuquerque
Across the eastern plains from the ghost town on the Texas line through Tucumcari and Santa Rosa, on the 1937 cut-off that bypassed Santa Fe, to Albuquerque's Central Avenue.
Route 66: The Topock Crossing
Ninety-six miles of the Mother Road's hardest crossing — Kingman over Sitgreaves Pass to Oatman, then down to the Colorado River at Topock, where three bridges, a sacred Mojave geoglyph and a chromium plume all sit on the same half mile of ground.
Scenic Byway 143
Utah's Patchwork Parkway — 51 miles from Parowan to Panguitch, climbing 4,400 feet out of the desert to a 10,000-foot rim past Brian Head, Cedar Breaks, and Panguitch Lake.
SR-14: The Washington Side of the Gorge
From Fort Vancouver up the north bank of the Columbia past Beacon Rock, Stevenson and White Salmon, through the rain shadow to Horsethief Lake and Sam Hill's museum at Maryhill.
Teton Park Road: Jackson to Moran
Up the valley under the Tetons: Bill Menor's ferry and Maud Noble's chapel at Moose, the lake named for a Newe woman, and the dam that made Jackson Lake a reservoir for Idaho.
The Comstock Loop
The compact circuit the silver built — Reno up the Geiger Grade to Virginia City, down to Carson City and the lake the Comstock logged, then home through Nevada's oldest town.
The Emigrant Road: Fort Laramie to South Pass
About three hundred miles of the Oregon, California and Mormon trails across Wyoming, from the fort on the North Platte up the Sweetwater to the crest of the continent.
The High Road to Taos: Santa Fe to Taos Pueblo
From the Santa Fe plaza through the land-grant villages of the Sangre de Cristo foothills, Chimayó, Truchas and Las Trampas, to Ranchos de Taos and Taos Pueblo.
The Historic Columbia River Highway: Troutdale to The Dalles
Samuel Lancaster's 1913–1922 road through the Gorge: Vista House at Crown Point, the waterfall corridor and Multnomah Falls, then the Rowena Loops down into The Dalles.
The North Cascades Highway: Burlington to Twisp
SR-20 up the Skagit past Concrete and Newhalem, by the dams and Diablo Lake, over Rainy and Washington passes, and down the Methow to Winthrop and Twisp. Closed in winter.
The Santa Fe Trail: Bent's Old Fort over Raton Pass
About 110 miles of the Santa Fe Trail's Mountain Branch on US-350 and I-25, from Bent's Old Fort past the Timpas ruts and Iron Spring to Trinidad, Fishers Peak and over Raton Pass into New Mexico.
The Santa Fe Trail: Raton to Santa Fe
Down the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail from Raton through Cimarron, Fort Union, Las Vegas and Pecos to the trail's end on the Santa Fe plaza.
The Sawtooths and the Salmon: Ketchum to Salmon
Over Galena Summit to the Salmon's headwaters, then down the river past Stanley, the Yankee Fork dredge and Challis to the town of Salmon.
Thousand Springs: Shoshone Falls to Hagerman
Where the Snake nearly vanishes into canals and comes back out of the canyon walls: Shoshone Falls, Box Canyon's spring and the Hagerman fossil beds.
U.S. 101: The Astoria Bridge Crossing
From Fort Clatsop and Astoria across the four-mile Astoria–Megler Bridge to Dismal Nitch, Middle Village, Chinook and Cape Disappointment at the Columbia bar.
U.S. 101: The Wild Rivers Crossing
From Crescent City north across the Oregon line, through the Boardman corridor and over the Rogue at Gold Beach, to Port Orford, Cape Blanco and Bandon.
U.S. 12: The Lewis–Clark Valley Crossing
From the Nez Perce park at Spalding down the Clearwater to Lewiston, over the Snake into Clarkston, and south past Asotin to the rock art at Buffalo Eddy.
U.S. 163: The Monument Valley Crossing
Sixty-eight miles up US-163 out of the Navajo Nation — from Kayenta and the Code Talkers past sacred Agathla and the buttes the world mistakes for the West, across the reservation's edge into Utah's free-roaming canyon country.
U.S. 395: The Eastern Sierra
The one road along the east wall of the Sierra: Payahuunadü and Manzanar, the Whitney and bristlecone spurs, Mono Lake, and Bodie at the end of thirteen miles of Bodie Road.
U.S. 50 — The Loneliest Road in America
The 1986 insult that became an invitation — 320 miles of US-50 across central Nevada, from Fallon to the Utah line, linking petroglyphs, ghost towns, a singing dune, and the state's only national park.
U.S. 50: The Great Basin Crossing
The far end of the Loneliest Road: 150 empty miles from Ely across the Great Basin to Delta and the Topaz camp.
U.S. 89 and U.S. 30: The Bear Lake Crossing
From Bear Lake's Utah shore north into Idaho: the refuge, the cave, the emigrants' camp at Montpelier, the Soda Springs geyser and the hot pools at Lava.
U.S. 91 and Idaho 34: The Cache Valley Crossing
North from Logan up Cache Valley into Idaho: Franklin, Preston, the Boa Ogoi massacre site, the Black Canyon at Grace and the geyser at Soda Springs.
U.S. 93: The Jackpot Crossing
From Wells north through Nevada's emptiest basins to Jackpot, then across the Idaho line to Twin Falls and the Perrine Bridge over the Snake.
US-101 on the North Coast: Astoria to Newport
The north half of the Oregon Coast Highway: Fort Clatsop and the Seaside salt works, Cannon Beach, Oswald West, Tillamook, the Three Capes, Depoe Bay and the Yaquina Bay Bridge.
US-101: The Olympic Peninsula Loop
Up Hood Canal to Port Angeles, along Lake Crescent to Forks and La Push, down the open coast at Kalaloch to Lake Quinault and Aberdeen: the road Roosevelt drove in 1937.
US-101: The Redwood Coast
One hundred and ninety-six miles from Leggett to the Oregon line — the Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt Bay's two towns, Sue-meg and the Orick elk country, Tall Trees Grove, Fern Canyon, and Crescent City on the Smith River.
US-12: Lolo Pass to Missoula
Down Lolo Creek from the Idaho line: the hot springs the Corps soaked in, the barricade the Nimiipuu walked around, and the only Lewis and Clark camp with proof in the ground.
US-12: The Clearwater, the Lochsa and Lolo Pass
The last U.S. highway finished: up the Clearwater and the Lochsa from Lewiston to Lolo Pass, on a road federal prisoners and Japanese internees built.
US-212: The Beartooth Highway, Red Lodge to Yellowstone
Sixty-eight miles from Red Lodge over the Beartooth Plateau to Yellowstone's northeast gate, half of them in Wyoming: the road's one store, the first national forest, and the river the Nimiipuu reached in 1877.
US-24 Ute Pass: Colorado Springs to Florissant
From the red fins of the Garden of the Gods up Fountain Creek through Ute Pass to the petrified redwoods of Florissant, an easy hour with a day's worth of stops.
US-34 Trail Ridge Road: Estes Park to Grand Lake
Forty-eight miles across Rocky Mountain National Park on the highest continuous paved road in the country, built from 1929 to replace a road that could not cope.
US-550: Durango to Ouray over the Million Dollar Highway
Up the Animas Valley, over three passes above 10,000 feet to Silverton, and down the Uncompahgre Gorge on a road with almost no guardrails.
US-89 Heritage Highway
Forty-some miles down the floor of Sanpete Valley, US-89 threads the best-preserved string of pioneer Mormon towns in Utah — the "Little Denmark" heart of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, from Fairview's Ice Age mammoth past Manti's 1888 temple to Gunnison's century-old Casino Star Theatre.
US-89: Climbing the Grand Staircase
The climb from Lake Powell to Bryce Canyon — up the Grand Staircase, where each step north is younger rock and higher ground, from the slickrock desert to the Pink Cliffs and their hoodoos.
US-89: Paradise Valley to Yellowstone
Livingston to Gardiner up the Yellowstone River: the 1902 railroad depot, Paradise Valley between two ranges, Yankee Jim Canyon, the Devil's Slide and the park's year-round gate.
US-89: The Rocky Mountain Front
Browning to Augusta along the edge of the Rockies: the Museum of the Plains Indian, grizzly country at Pine Butte, and A. B. Guthrie Jr.'s Choteau under Ear Mountain.
US-93: Salmon to Hamilton over Lost Trail Pass
Over Lost Trail Pass from the Salmon to the Bitterroot: the divide the Corps crossed with a guide unsure of the creek, the Salish camp at Ross' Hole, and the schoolhouse where spotted fever was beaten.
US-93: The Hoover Dam Crossing
The desert run from Kingman to Las Vegas — over the one place where Arizona and Nevada physically meet: Hoover Dam, wedged into Black Canyon, and the reservoir and neon it made possible.
US-95 — The Free-Range Art Highway
Ninety-nine miles of US-95 from Tonopah to the Death Valley line — four mining towns, the International Car Forest and the Goldwell sculptures, and some of the darkest skies in Nevada.
UT-128 Colorado River Road
A 44-mile scenic drive along the Colorado River through towering red-rock canyons — locals' choice for the most beautiful road in Utah.
WY-22 and ID-33: Teton Pass to Teton Valley
The only paved road over the Teton Range: up a ten percent grade from Wilson, past the hairpin that slid off the mountain in 2024, and down into the old Pierre's Hole on the back side of the peaks.
WY-530 and UT-44: Green River to Flaming Gorge Dam
South from the railroad town where Powell launched in 1869, along a reservoir that drowned a state-line town and the floors of the first canyons he named, to the dam that made the lake.