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from Away.com
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 | U.S. Scenic Drives |
| By Sheila Resari |
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| Traffic Jams in the Last Frontier |
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 | Seward Highway, Alaska |
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Northern exposure
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Driving south from Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, to the fishing community of Seward, it's hard not to slow down traffic: Down the cliffs to your right, the chilly waters of Turnagain Arm stretch out before you, harboring white beluga whales and hardy wind surfers. The Chugach Mountains rise up from the road on your left, dotted with trickling waterfalls, clusters of Dall sheep, and enterprising rock climbers. After curving back and forth between this rock and a hard place, the road cuts through the heart of Chugach National Forest until it reaches Seward and Resurrection Bay. To get the most out of your trip, pull over frequently: Take a better look, snap some pictures, and let all the cars behind you get by.
Just the Facts
Route: Anchorage to Seward — down Turnagain Arm and into the Kenai Peninsula
Length: 127 miles (half a day)
Season: June to mid-September
Features and activities: Birding at Potter Marsh, picnicking at McHugh Creek, riding the ski tram up Mount Alyeska, sightseeing at Portage Glacier, hiking and camping in Chugach National Forest, and silver-salmon fishing in Seward. |
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Wild Wild West |
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| California 1, California |
Highway 1's rocky coast
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Begin in Monterey, the capital of Alta California under Spanish and Mexican rule and the home of some of the oldest buildings in the state. Drive south on Highway 1 toward Morro Bay through the California wilds, flanked by parks, reserves, and a sea otter refuge that extends from Carmel to Cambria. Skip the overpriced artists' colony, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and watch for gray whales migrating past Point Lobos State Reserve (December through April). For man-made beauty, photograph the Bixby Creek Bridge — a marvel of engineering that spans a huge gorge with a single concrete arch — and tour Hearst Castle, the 115-room mansion of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.
In addition to seeing California's wild beauty, Highway 1 drivers experience the wild adventure of two-lane, cliffside driving through Big Sur country, where jagged mountains plunge down into pounding surf. If you're afraid of heights, concentrate on the road, drive south to north on the inside lane, or leave the driving to someone who isn't.
Just the Facts
Route: Central California coast — Monterey to Morro Bay
Length: 123 miles (six hours)
Season: All year
Features and activities: Historical sightseeing in Monterey, beachcombing at Carmel River State Beach, wildlife viewing and birding in Point Lobos State Reserve, and hiking in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. |
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View from the Top |
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| Beartooth Highway, Montana and Wyoming |
Hellroaring Plateau
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From the old mining town of Red Lodge in southern Montana, the Beartooth Highway quickly enters hill country, then begins to climb higher. Millions of years ago, great masses of metamorphic rock were thrust up from the earth and became the vast plateaus that rise above the road; canyons were carved out by the flow of glacial ice. After a few tortuous switchbacks, a pull-out on Vista Point offers a 9,200-foot view across Rock Creek Canyon to the Beartooth Plateau.
In Wyoming the road keeps climbing and turns back along the edge of the canyon, overlooking glacial lakes. Driving past wildflower-laden meadows, you'll reach the western summit of Beartooth Pass, which tops out the drive at 10,947 feet. On the way down, look first for Beartooth Falls, then for another thunderous waterfall near Lake Creek. For one last spectacular view before you head to road's end near Yellowstone, climb the old fire tower, Clay Butte Lookout, for a sweeping vista of Montana mountains.
Just the Facts
Route: From Red Lodge (MT) into Wyoming, across Beartooth Pass, and west to the northeastern entrance of Yellowstone
Length: 68 miles (three hours)
Season: Late spring to fall
Features and activities:
Camping, hiking the Beartooth Loop, and picnicking and fishing at Beartooth Lake
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Montana
Wyoming
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Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness
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Geological Wonderland |
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| Zion National Park Scenic Byway, Utah |
Canyon view
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From St. George head east to Zion National Park and Zion Canyon, the Utah rock carved into fantastic shapes by erosion and richly colored by iron and manganese. Inside the canyon a free bus — mandatory to combat overuse and overcrowding of the park's most popular destination — shuttles down Zion Canyon Scenic Drive; the North Fork of the Virgin River cut Zion's soft sandstone into the canyon it is today, with 2,000- and 3,000-foot-high cliffs. At the drive's end, visitors can hike the Narrows — a twenty-foot-wide passage between the cliffs — by wading through the river.
Heading east from the canyon, the byway switchbacks up steep plateaus and passes by the Great Arch, cut from the sandstone by erosion. The road continues through the mountainside via the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel; at points along the tunnel, natural windows in the rock allow drivers to peer out across the canyon. After the tunnel the highway runs past the Canyon Overlook trailhead and the Pine Creek narrows — long ropes and climbing experience are required to explore this deep slot canyon. From here to Mount Carmel Junction, the highway curves past sand dunes, slickrock, and the crisscrossed sandstone of Checkerboard Mesa.
Just the Facts
Route: East from St. George to Zion National Park. Guided bus ride (closed to all private vehicles in summer) through Zion Canyon. Drive continues to Mount Carmel Junction.
Length: 54 miles (half a day)
Season: April through October
Features and activities: Hiking past waterfalls and hanging gardens on the Emerald Pools trail. Climbing up to Angels Landing (5,990 feet; not for acrophobes). Horse and mule rides through the canyon. Plant and wildlife viewing (800 native species). |
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We've given you ten. Do you have a favorite scenic drive that we did not include? Tell us about it in
GORP's Scenic Drive Forum. |
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