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 | U.S. Scenic Drives |
| By Sheila Resari |
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| Above and Below the Paha Sapa |
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 | Custer Scenic Byway, South Dakota |
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Wind Cave rock formations
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Although dominated by ponderosa pine, the Black Hills — known to the Lakota Sioux as Paha Sapa — are home to a combination of plant life from the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, and the northern boreal and eastern deciduous forests. Custer Scenic Byway cuts through the southwestern corner of South Dakota, a state characterized by the grassy, rolling hills of the Great Plains.
Before heading north travelers can go underground, through seventy miles of winding passageways amidst the incredible limestone formations of Wind Cave National Park. Further along the byway, the Rankin Ridge National Recreation Trail — a one-mile, self-guided nature trail — explores the virtues of the park aboveground. The Black Hills are a climber's mecca; formerly occupied by 14,000-foot peaks, the land still reflects that rugged height in amazing spires and outcroppings found along the Needles Highway. From the drive's end at Sylvan Lake, hiking trails ascend Harney Peak — the highest American mountain east of the Rockies — for a grand view of the Black Hills and nearby Mount Rushmore.
Just the Facts
Route: From Wind Cave National Park through Custer State Park to Sylvan Lake in Black Hills National Forest
Length: 33 miles (one and a half hours)
Season: Spring through fall
Features and activities: Wildlife viewing at the Prairie Dog Pullout, a 360-degree vista from the Mount Coolidge fire tower, and wildlife (bison, elk, pronghorn, burros) and wildflower viewing in Custer State Park.
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More Black Hills Scenic Drives
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Into the Woods |
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| North Shore Drive, Minnesota |
Shoreline along Superior
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The North Shore Drive runs along the wild Northwoods, flanked by Lake Superior and the aptly named, glacier-carved Sawtooth Mountains. The rocky North Shore, the product of volcanic flow and glacial ice, is the Minnesota side of the world's largest freshwater lake.
The 100-foot cascade of Gooseberry River into Lake Superior is the highlight of Gooseberry Falls State Park, one of eight along the drive. The route also runs through Superior National Forest — the only place in the continental United States where the boreal landscape still flourishes. From the resort town/artist colony of Grand Marais, hikers, dogsledders, and cross-country skiers can hit the Gunflint Trail, a gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Grand Portage, the last town before the Canadian border and the hub of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century fur trade, was so named for the 8.5 mile trek voyageurs and Indians had to make between Lake Superior and Fort Charlotte. A few miles further, Mount Josephine offers a 1,348-foot view of Lake Superior, the peninsula and nearby islands, as well as beautiful Teal Lake.
Just the Facts
Route: Duluth to Grand Portage along Lake Superior
Length: 150 miles (three hours)
Season: Spring through fall
Features and activities: Birding and blueberry picking at Palisade Head, hiking along Temperance River and the Superior Hiking Trail, climbing Carlton Peak, and wildlife viewing in Superior National Forest (and by the"Moose Area" sign at the second Route 14 junction).
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More Minnesota scenic drives
Find Minnesota destinations
More on Hiking Grand Portage National Monument
More on Autumn on the North Shore
GORPtravel Boundary Waters Trips
Into the Bayou |
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| Old Spanish Trail, Louisiana |
This Cajun-style road trip begins in Houma on the Bayou Black Drive, retracing a section of a nineteenth-century Spanish frontier trail. Flanked by sugarcane fields and live oaks dripping with moss, the byway runs past swamp tours offering glimpses of Louisiana wildlife — everything from otters, deer, and bobcats to peacocks, wild pigs, and (of course) alligators.
Louisiana's coastal bayou and forested wetlands are rich with lush plant and animal life. Also of note along the drive are the many old-South mansions: Both Turn of the Century House and Shadows on the Teche offer a link to the past, presenting displays of antique furnishings, Mardi Gras costumes, and other local artifacts. Alongside these antebellum estates are communities shaped by the arrival of French-speaking Acadians — expelled from colonial Nova Scotia by the British in 1755 — and the immigration of French expatriates, who fled during the Revolution of 1789. St. Martinville, also known as"Petit Paris," is just a few miles before the trip's end in Breaux Bridge.
Just the Facts
Route: West along the gulf coast from Houma to Breaux Bridge
Length: 108 miles (three hours)
Season: Spring and fall
Features and activities:
Cajun cuisine at Houma, swamp tours in the Atchafalaya Basin, and alligator viewing at Wildlife Gardens. |
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More Louisiana scenic drives
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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