5 Road Trips Rival Route 66

The Blue Ridge Parkway, stretching 469 miles, was a product of the Great Depression, designed as a scenic motor road to connect Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. Construction began in 1935, with landscape architect Stanley Abbott aiming to fit the parkway into the mountains "as if nature has put it there." The final seven-mile stretch, including the iconic Linn Cove Viaduct, wasn't completed until 1987. Montana's Going-to-the-Sun Road is a 50-mile engineering marvel that cuts through Glacier National Park, crossing the Continental Divide at 6,646 feet. One of the first National Park Service projects for auto tourists, its construction from 1921 to 1932 was a challenge against sheer cliffs and massive snowdrifts. The road's name is inspired by a Blackfeet legend about the deity Sour Spirit. The 113-mile Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys connects 42 islands with an impressive 37 bridges. This roadway was built on the foundation of the Florida East Coast Railway's "Over-Sea Railroad," which was heavily damaged by a 1935 hurricane. The state of Florida purchased the remaining roadbed and bridges for $640,000 to create the highway. Following the Mississippi River for over 3,000 miles from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, the Great River Road is a network of federal, state, and local roads. Established in 1938, it winds through 10 states, showcasing everything from pine forests and wildlife refuges to major cities and cypress swamps. The route offers a diverse look at the American heartland. California's Pacific Coast Highway, or Highway 1, offers dramatic coastal cliffs and ocean vistas. Construction of this scenic route began in the 1920s. Notable stops include the opulent Hearst Castle in San Simeon and the iconic Bixby Bridge in Big Sur.