Beautiful Interstate Drives

[VBdenny]

There are certain Interstates (or whatever they call them in UK, Canada, etc.) that are very beautiful drives. I have a few favorites that I have been on, but would like to hear about others.

I-81 from Binghampton NY to Syracuse NY. - I love this road, it is smooth and wide with excellent views. Rolling hills and farms.

I-80 Delaware Water Gap (NJ/Penna) - Although it often has a lot of traffic, when it is not busy it has deep curves following the river through a deeply cut gorge. Would probably be fantastic on a motorcycle.

I-64 Shenandoah Valley from Charlottsville VA to WV. Awesome mountains, beautiful espesically in the fall. Lot's of gawking tourists though.

I-5 Seattle to Vancouver - What a view, very enjoyable drive for an East Coast boy. Scenic and different from what I usually see.

What are your favorites?

[denslexusgx470]

I-5 Seattle to Vancouver - What a view, very enjoyable drive for an East Coast boy. Scenic and different from what I usually see.

What are your favorites?

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true, except check out the I-5 SOUTH of it, oh boy. It's got to be more booring than the worst movie you've ever seen! :chairshot: <_<

[DobieG]

I love the drive up the 395 from San Bernardino County to Lake Tahoe. The drive is absolutely beautiful and the road passes through many quaint towns.

[Sadistic]

I don't remember exactly what it was, but I think it was I-94 between Chicago and Detroit. There's a nice stretch that is brand new, really wide, flat and the Speed Limit jumps up from 65 to 75 mph. I was pretty impressed with that. Scenery was your usual Mid Western forest, but the road was VERY nice.

[vcv10guy]

I-280 from San Bruno to San Jose (or vice versa) is a nice drive. Very scenic with views of the mountains, small rivers, and landscaping. The roads are quite smooth too since they repaved parts of it. Much much better than US 101 which looks very industrial with all of the buildings, businesses, and such.

[VBdenny]

This summer I drove from Santa Barbara to LA on US 101 and it was interesting. Much different from the PCH we took up to SB. Very unusual scenery (for me). I'm not use to seeing everything brown.

[ArmyofOne]

This summer I drove from Santa Barbara to LA on US 101 and it was interesting.  Much different from the PCH we took up to SB.  Very unusual scenery (for me).  I'm not use to seeing everything brown.

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the alaska highway

from Wasilla, Alaska to Calgary, Canada: 2,600 miles of road, mountians, plains, snow, and everything else you want to see. but dont blink, you will miss the next gas station...400 miles down the road.

[VBdenny]

I hope you get good gas milage then. My truck won't do 400 miles on a tank. And I guess they can charge whatever they want for gas too!

[ArmyofOne]

I hope you get good gas milage then.  My truck won't do 400 miles on a tank.  And I guess they can charge whatever they want for gas too!

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when we were coming down here, it cost me over $100 to fill up my contour once, just on the other side fo the canadian border (and it was in USD too!) my dads truck (the dodge at the time) cost over $350. it was rediculous.

and yes, you had better have extra gas and extra tires as well as a first aid kit, tools and a tire repair kit. we went through 2 tires on each car. the road is horrible!

[VBdenny]

What is it, gravel or rocks or something? Probably a handful to drive on if that is the case. There is a lot of military around here and quite a few Alaska plates. I've talked to a couple and they all said they broke a windshield. The gas prices you described just about gassed me!

[ArmyofOne]

What is it, gravel or rocks or something?  Probably a handful to drive on if that is the case.  There is a lot of military around here and quite a few Alaska plates.  I've talked to a couple and they all said they broke a windshield.  The gas prices you described just about gassed me!

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areas of gravel can stretch for over 50 miles.

50 miles...of gravel roads...and washboards.

for the most part the road is excellent, but between the contsrtuction and just plain gravel road it is about 75 % paved (quite smoothly) and 25% unpaved (kind of rough).

those gas prices will get you every time.

you will break a windsheild too, the only reason i didnt is becuas ei was behid a Big !Removed! ram with an 18' slide-in camper over the !Removed! end of it, but my mom took one in the concorde (she was in front) ...flew from a semi that was going opposite way.

[VBdenny]

So how fast do people (and semi's) go on this thing. In gravel and washboard it must only be about 35mph or so?

[ArmyofOne]

So how fast do people (and semi's) go on this thing.  In gravel and washboard it must only be about 35mph or so?

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well the paved parts are ususally flat and long straightaways, so you can run as fast as you want, i dont recall ever seeing a cop out there, speed limits are posted (only place in the US) at 80 MPH. if you exceed that, you do so at your own risk, knowing it could be days, or even weeks before anyone reaches you. you also have to remember that unless you are a semi, or 4x4 with tire chains, these roads are impassable from Nov-April.

the gravel can still be covered at a seady pace of 65 or so, you just have to make sure everything is still tight when you stop for the night and if its not, tighten er up! we had an exhaust hanger shake loose on our truck. that was about it. semis are everywhere. you dont reeally have as much of an issue though becuase they tend to stay off of the road until night time (which in the summer, the sun doesnt go down until around 1:30am and then rises again at 245am or so) but they are on the road at around 8 PM and off again by 8 AM every morning for the most part. you see the occaisional semi during the day though.

OH, take an extra air filter too. you will go through at least one on the gravel roads. the dust plumes behind cars can sometimes be over 100 feet long.

[rnsmelody]

it would be highway 1 fopr the scenic coast of california

[[EUT]AoD]

I-80  Delaware Water Gap (NJ/Penna) - Although it often has a lot of traffic, when it is not busy it has deep curves following the river through a deeply cut gorge.  Would probably be fantastic on a motorcycle.

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If you ever get a chance to check out I-80 in western PA just past Tioga but before all of the construction the views are spectacular. There's a good 100 mile stretch that is on the rolling hills and there's nobody around.

I took it when I went to cleveland Ohio from Philadelphia back in August

[IFixEm]

US 20 in Washington was rated in C&d's top ten a few years back. Quaint towns like Republic and Twisp, Thick timber vistas, hills to pass on, and curves more dangerous than Raquel Welsh..... Damn, did I just date myself?

Regards, Mike

[denslexusgx470]

anyone know if I-5 down south is fixed (the part that got affected by the mudslide??) because i want to know if i should take I-5 to go to Diamond Bar on April 30 or to go thru Mojave way.