What is Your Favorite Driving Road?
Roads give us freedom. They take us to our destination, whether that’s an actual place or a metaphorical reference to the thrills and fulfillment of the perfect combination of automobile and path. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a miles-long straight, a gravel farm road, mountain pass, or canyon asphalt, we all have at least a few favorites on our lists.
So we humbly ask members of the Hagerty Community one question to help us celebrate next week’s special award: What is your favorite driving road?
This is normally where your humble author chimes in with a suggestion in hopes of spurring conversation. But good driving roads are over an hour away from me, and I rarely get the chance to drive that far just to drive some more.
Don’t Look At Me
Instead I have this monstrosity, the Katy Freeway, just a couple of miles from me. I admit the flyovers can give you a giddy little thrill sometimes, but otherwise my life as a car enthusiast revolves around visits to other places with better roads, smaller highways, elevation changes, and a lack of streets designed around a grid.
So help me out here, Hagerty Community, and tell me your thoughts on the matter. What are some good driving roads, and what is your favorite driving road?
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Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mtn Natl Park
The Bear Tooth Highway in Wyoming
And Route 14A from Savoy to Spearfish in South Dakota
Two favorite roads…
First Arkansas #7 from Harrison AR to Hot Springs AR.
Second is Arkansas #23(commonly referred to “The Pig’s Trail”) from Eureka Springs AR to Ozark AR.
San Francisco Bay Area west Peninsula drivers have it right. Take Highway 35 (Skyline Drive) south of Highway 92 all the way to Santa Cruz (include pieces of Highway 9) for a winding, scenic tour through Redwoods. If you want an abbreviated tour, go east or west on Highway 84 back to the town of Woodside or west to La Honda and stop in at Apple Jack’s (iconic bar that used to belong to my Brother-in-Law’s Uncle) or stop in at the General Store in San Gregorio for a bite, drink, or both and you can mix with locals, billionaires, and bikers. My good friend and co-worker lived across the street. It’s like the Wild West and I reserve my right to withhold comment.
After JUST ONE DRINK, head north on Highway 1 to Highway 92 east or all the way up to Sharps Park in Pacifica or connect with the 280 Freeway.
A little advice, if you can, go on a weekday or you will be vying with bicyclists riding three wide for most of your journey. Give them wide berth. Also, be on the lookout for animals as they are everywhere. My last trip home on Highway 35, just north of Alice’s Restaurant (iconic and fun) had me notice movement to my left and then I felt and heard the impact on my Ferrari 355 Spider’s driver’s door. As I looked in my outside rearview mirror, I saw a deer scamper away. She (doe?) appeared to be fine. Let me be clear, THE DEER HIT ME, I DIDN’T HIT THE DEER. I love animals and was far more worried about the deer than my car door. When I finally pulled over to examine the impact, I found nothing, not even a scuff as the lower half of Ferrari 355s are clad with more than forgiving fiberglass. After owning a couple of Corvettes, the bad rap fiberglass gets is “not cracked up to what it’s to be.” Pun intended.
Oregon State Highway 34 from Philomath to Waldport! Twisties all 55 miles of the way through the coast range plus beautiful scenery and often no traffic at all.
Drive along US 2 in Michigan’s upper Peninsula. Lake Michigan on one side forests on the other side. Time your ride for the fall color change. Stops for smoked whitefish or a pastie.
One of my all-time favorites is US 129 from NC into TN. It’s called Deals Gap and is one of the twistiest roads in the USA. It’s nickname is The Tail of The Dragon and for good reason! There are 318 turns in just over 11 miles! We would go up there for a week at a time twice a year to escape the rigors of city life in Fort Lauderdale and its was pure paradise! Many car clubs as well as motorcycle groups are there from Memorial Day through Labor Day when the weather is at its best. The Deals Gap Resort is on the NC end and is a Motel as well as a country store and fuel station. There is even a couple of websites dedicated to photographing all the cars and bikes which frequent the place! http://www.dealsgap.com and http://www.tailofthedragon.com
If you ever get the chance to run it, you will not be disappointed.
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana is the longest bridge in the United States, spanning 23.79 miles across Lake Pontchartrain. It’s also the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. The bridge connects New Orleans with smaller communities on the north shore of the lake. It’s made up of two parallel bridges supported by 9,500 concrete pilings.
Pacific Coast Highway – From Santa Monica to Ventura County Line.
Pacific Coast Highway – From Half Moon Bay to San Francisco.
Pacific Coast Highway – From Carmel South to Nepenthe Restaurant
US 101 – Near Cannon Beach, Oregon
The Toast of the Coast Trail on the north shore of Lake Erie from Port Dover to Turkey Point is a great drive in my Datsun 240Z. Winding through framland, cottages and beach communities with wineries and microbreweries as an added bonus.
Hands down; the Overseas Highway (Route 1) from Key Biscayne to Key West in the Florida Keys. No better road with better scenery; Atlantic Ocean on one side, Gulf of Mexico on the other!
Ute Creek Pass, a winding road between Woodland Park and Manitou Springs, CO on my motorcycle. I have ridden that road many times and each time I feel like it is the first time I have ever ridden it. UCP is part is part of Route 24.
RR335,336 and 337 (aka the Twisted Sisters) in the Texas Hill Country. Mosty acclaimed as a motorcycle route, it is very enjoyable in a great handling car as well!
https://ridermagazine.com/2013/07/08/twisted-sisters-the-texas-hill-countrys-most-famous-trio/
CA Highway 32 Red Bluff Sacramento Valley to Susanville CA. or Highway 32 Chico to beyond Chester are both great (now what they used to be, though!), or US Highway 395 Redding to Burney (or further) are fun and still safely engineered. The Feather River Canyon is twisty, beautifully rugged, and historical, but a lot of trucks must use all three roads. As the old (very old) Chryler 300 ad read: “Shun Piking”!
Aaugh! ‘(NOT what they used to be)’ The old routes were dangerous but a ball in a good-handling car, and little travelled because of the crazy off-camber curves and grades. Miss ’em!
Rt 66 from California to Chicago