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Forbes' lists America's best driving roads
We have to hand it to Forbes' on this one. This has been a feature that some of us have been mulling over for several months. The only thing that has caused us to hesitate is simply greed. We don't want everyone to know about our favorite roads. We've kept them hidden for so long that divulging their locations would be like revealing a dark secret that a friend had entrusted us with.
Thankfully, Forbes has brought some of the more popular roads to light, so we don't expect a serious influx of Harley riders and wannabe racers on our asphalt shod meccas anytime soon.
So who was chosen to give away their favorite drives? Some pretty big names of the motoring world. People like Danica Patrick, Chrysler's Tom LaSorda, John Walton of Aston Martin, Skip Barber and Bob Lutz, just to name a few.
No surprise to us west-coasters, but many of the roads highlighted are found in the Golden State. Some focus around the Pacific coastline, while others are further inland. Accompanying the article is a photo gallery that provides maps of the selected stretches of tarmac, all of which will bestow the consummate gearhead with the one thing that makes our lives that much more complete; speed, twists and that soothing shot of adrenalin that seems to make everything right in our world.
Damn we love driving.
We know you have your favorites too and that's why there's a 'comments' section.
[Source: Forbes]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Swat Lax 10:08AM (8/31/2006)
I haven't visited most of these locations (only 1 of 10, I think), I can't speak to their greatness.
However, I can't recommend the Hana Highway and Maui enough. Beautiful scenery. Great towns to stop in and savor some exotic flavor. Have I mentioned the crazy, blind, 1 lane turns yet?
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casey 4:00PM (8/31/2006)
A very underrated but nice drive is the Natchez Trace Parkway - low speed limits, but if you're in the mood to drive in no hurry, it's a beautiful route.
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Randall Halcomb 10:11AM (8/31/2006)
Honestly, you really can't appreciate what a car has to offer until your drive it in California on the beautiful roads that wind past the coast or carve through the mountains. Everytime I visit CA, I keep pushing for the sportiest upgrade available.
Appalachia has some awesome roads too, but California is in a whole other league.
There is a pretty sweet stretch of two-lane that winds through the canyons of Kauai (Hawaii), but that is not as accessible to most drivers.
But like I was saying, and Damon you know this, California is a massive automotive proving ground.
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Michael Karesh 10:18AM (8/31/2006)
Some lameness:
LaSorda likes 17 Mile Drive because there are plenty of places to stop. Because that's what you want to do on a great driving road: stop.
Welburn likes the PA Turnpike?! Not quite a two-laner. Maybe it's got some curves. But a turnpike as best road?
Car & Driver used to have a "ten best roads" every few years. I compiled a list from that a while back. Much more informative than this article. I drove a couple that made the list multiple times, WV16 and OH26, in an RX-8 last summer. Total blast. It might not be the most cosmopolitan part of the country, but West Virginia and the neighboring part of Ohio is hard to beat for roads.
My RX-8 review based on that drive:
http://www.epinions.com/content_191917493892
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dave 10:26AM (8/31/2006)
Not the best nationwide, I'm sure, but if you're in the area, River Road from Morrisville, PA, through New Hope, and on until you reach near Easton, PA. Gorgeous views of the Delaware River, good little S-turns, and a serious series of side roads to venture off into. There are a few towns where you'd be a complete a-hole not to slow down to the recommended 20 mph, but more the most part, you can keep it to a nice 50 and still have some fun. At its best by far in late October. Just don't get stuck behind a slowpoke.
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mike 10:30AM (8/31/2006)
I guess to be really great you have to have spectacular scenery, too, but I'll take my fun roads where I find them, so:
There's this really nice stretch east of Bloomington, IN that I know of, where there is just a yellow sign at each end with a squiggly arrow and the words "Next 15 miles"....
And there is this stretch of US27 in Kentucky and Tennessee that is pretty amazing...and there is US50 through the Wayne Natl Forest in IN...and Route 66 between Flagstaff and the Colorado River, where it winds way up to this crazy little mining town where the burros run free and around each blind corner you are liable to meet a 40'RV or a yahoo in a pickup who may or may not be in your "lane"...
Heck, there's pretty great places to drive just about everywhere...except South Texas, which is one of the many reasons I'm leaving and never looking back!
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Michael Karesh 10:33AM (8/31/2006)
Randall,
I've also driven many of these California roads. I don't know if I'd say they were a whole other league.
Must say that the last time I was in CA I ended up in a previous-generation Mustang V6 convertible. Not the best thing for PCH1. Heading up a couple hundred miles from SF. Stayed in a great B&B near Anchor Bay.
Next day cut across to the Anderson Valley so my wife could hit a slew of tasting rooms. Cut back using a different road. Those two roads were much more challenging than PCH1. The one in led to Booneville. The one out terminated at Elk.
On the way to the vallye, someone in a Nissan Armada decided they were going to keep up with me. They definitely had the wheezy Mustang in the powertrain department. But in handling? Hey, it's a huge SUV. I wasn't doing anything insane--my wife was nearly scared out of her wits as it was--but going a bit fast for a large SUV. Mile after mile they hung in there. Then as I watched in my rearview they spun out in one tight turn, luckily with no consequences.
What do you know, a few minutes later they were back on my bumper. If only I'd had the RX-8 for this drive, and no wife in the passenger seat...
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Michael Karesh 10:36AM (8/31/2006)
I'm with you, Mike.
Unlike with women, there are no rules, written or unwritten, against loving them all!
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Lotus Elise 10:43AM (8/31/2006)
I had the opportunity as a kid (13~ years old) to ride down the Pacific coast through Monterey and what not, VERY beautiful. To be honest I have to agree with the article that not much on the East coast could rival that. I did get to check out Deals Gap / Tail of the Dragon earlier this year though when I was making the trek home with my Lotus Elise and it was pretty damn fun. I met up with two friends (other Elise owners) in Atlanta and we headed up to Deals Gap. I had never been before but they were pretty familiar with the area so I was able to follow them and rely on their experience.
It's not the prettiest area (looks a lot like Kentucky, where I'm from) but it is easily one of the BEST roads in the US. The curves are all pretty tight, most are banked to allow for full throttle / gut dropping turns, plenty of visible (non blind) curves and not enough straight areas to put you into a turn too fast. Deals Gap is a road that truly excites when you have a car that can hold its momentum through a curve. We were there on a Friday morning before most of the visitors had showed up, I think that helped in allowing us some runs with little to no interuptions.
You can see some photos from our trip there at my Elise blog...
http://www.fleur-design.net/lotus/2006/02/lotus-elise-deals-gap-adventure.html
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Roy 10:51AM (8/31/2006)
im surprised the dragon (us 129) didnt make the list...it was mentioned as a second in there but wow... 318 curves in 11 miles. you gotta love that!!
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upirons 10:57AM (8/31/2006)
Growing up and still living in Ohio I find that during the fall just about any country road is worth driving on if traffic isn't too bad. Just pop in "Red Barchetta" by Rush and cruise! Haven't been to California except in the airports but I have driven nearly every road on every Hawaiian Island and I enjoy driving on Maui, Kauai and The Big Island the most with off-roading on Lanai being one of my favorite pastimes. Man I love driving (not to work, for pleasure).
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Michael Karesh 11:04AM (8/31/2006)
Deal's Gap in an Elise? How could you ever go home?
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Atul 11:47AM (8/31/2006)
I'm sure many of those California roads are great to drive on in the absence of other cars, but I gotta believe that many of them get backed up with traffic so that you have to drive 15 mph most of the time. That's no fun.
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Tim UF 11:49AM (8/31/2006)
I'm with Roy, how did the blue ridge parkway, and its side roads (such as the dragon) not make this list?
Granted this is one of the ones that will go onto the list of motorcycle clogged roads: http://www.tailofthedragon.com/
there are many roads up in the northern US rockies also that warrant mention: US12 from Missoula, MT to Kooskia, ID; US16 in Wyoming as it crosses the Bighorn Range west of Buffalo, WY (crests at 10k feet... some cars run out of breath up there); US287 from Dubois into Grand Teton Nat'l Park is pretty spectacular as well, with views of 14000 foot peaks (both the Tetons and Wind River Ranges)
there are many others, too many to list out there... (though some were better before Montana reinstated speed limits)
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Tim UF 11:51AM (8/31/2006)
and who can forget pikes peak??
http://www.pikespeakcolorado.com/
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chuck goolsbee 12:01PM (8/31/2006)
GOOD! They left off the pacific northwest! Bwhwahaahaahhaaa. I'm not sharing where these are, but here's a taste:
http://chuck.forest.net/jag/z_car_photos/z_car_photos-Images/258.jpg
http://chuck.forest.net/jag/z_car_photos/z_car_photos-Images/978.jpg
http://chuck.forest.net/jag/z_car_photos/z_car_photos-Images/874.jpg
They're mine, all mine....
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James 12:55PM (8/31/2006)
This is a list of America's best DRIVING roads. A great driving road is one where you're so focused on the DRIVE that you don't have time for the scenery. That's exactly what the Tail of the Dragon is. And there are some beautiful views from some of those turns... The police presence isn't too oppressive either.
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Ryan 12:19PM (8/31/2006)
The Oregon/Northern California, actually from The very top of Washington State on the 101 all the way to 101 in Northern California is the prettiest drive you will EVER take in your life.
From the LAST remaining REAL rainforest in Forks, Washington (state) to the Black Sands beach in Oregon (really a beach with black sand) to the Redwood trees of Eureka California, to the home of the cheapest Hondas you can purchase (Ukiah, CA Honda, home of the 14,995 brand new Accord) it is wonderful!
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Noah Daniels 12:20PM (8/31/2006)
In the East, my favorite is absolutely the Kancamaugus Highway in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Beautiful views, twisty roads... of course it's closed in the winter. You just have to avoid the teetering RVs during leaf-peeper season.
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olderty 12:30PM (8/31/2006)
My favorite drive is out in Colorado, aptly named the Million Dollar Highway.
Check the link and follow the highway south...
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=ouray,+co&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=12&ll=38.048902,-107.6334&spn=0.088408,0.329247&iwloc=A
Twists and turns and beauty all around. I'll be back, oh yes, I will be back.
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