What's the best stretch of road you've ever driven?

[pangloss]

On Thursday I left for a few days of hiking near Robbinsville, NC. Thursday night was brutally cold (I'm originally from Mississippi). Friday it warmed up enough that the snow turned to cold rain, which was not an improvement. My hiking buddy and I cut our trip short, and today on my way back to middle Tennessee I took US129 north back to TN. This route includes a stretch of road known as The Tail of the Dragon. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deals_Gap,_North_Carolina), there are 318 curves in 11 miles. I will say that the time it took me to drive those 11 miles was the most enjoyable time I've ever spent in a car. Does anyone else have an all time favorite stretch of road?

[strengverboten]

Schwarzwaldhochstraße,

With a few track days at the Nurburgring as a close second...

[Pokeguyjai]

Circuit Mont Tremblant which Schumacher nick named the little Nurburgring. Spent two days there in 458s so I'm a little biased.

Also LA to Las Vegas blasting Johnny Cash!

[Goodspeed(TPF)]

Eric Buell closed a stretch of road not far from our Ranch once every year to test his latest Cycle design. We used to go out when we were younger and watch him and his team drive up and down, up and down. I drive it every season at least once a month. What a great stretch.

[LawDog]

The best stretch of road I've driven in the U.S. was somewhere in Montana. It's the only place I've encountered truly banked curves on country roads. I was taking curves at 90 with a Uhaul trailer behind me.

Better than that, though, would be every road in Germany. Damn, those Nazis built good roads.

[Juju]

US 191 from Round Rock, AZ to Price, UT. Taking the US 163 from Kayenta, AZ to hook up with the 191 is the best, though. The NV 375 is the Road to Nowhere for a little desolation if that's your mood. You could have a picnic in the middle of this two lane paved highway without a worry before you got bored.

I prefer Singing with Dino on my trips from LA to Vegas--Ain't that a Kick in the Head.

[Dorkface]

I'd have to say my favorite road is the Kingston Peak trail up near Alice and St. Mary's Glacier. On a scale of 1 to 10 it only had a technical rating of about a 5, with other harder off shoots that are fun, but the views are just plain amazing. It weaves under and over the tree line so there's all sorts of majestic views of the surrounding mountain peaks and huge plunges into deep valleys. One of my favorite parts of the trail is when the road skirts its way down the side of a mountain where the trail is very narrow and off camber with a down hill slope. In another part there are huge mud pits where one camping trip I turned my black truck totally brown and had huge globes of mud all over it lol. The looks on the drive home I got on I-70 in Idaho Springs were classic lol. One of the more fun sites on the trail is towards the very beginning of the trail after you climb up from the trail head to the top of the first peak and just get out of the tree line. There's a cabin being built right there that is made of totally of rocks that people have brought and stacked from all over the world for good luck. There use to be a website that chronicled stats of the guest book like who came from the farthest place away, last I knew it was someone from a former soviet bloc country. I can't find the site at the moment. I did find a vid on youtube that someone took of it. Jump to about 60 seconds in to pass all the intro stuff. I've got a good number of rocks in there lol. http://youtu.be/Ls6dA6jmAUA

The only one to rival it would be Mosquito Pass between leadville and Alma (between fair play and Breckenridge). It use to be the fastest way to get from Denver to Leadville (via 285) before I-70 was built and it use to be a stage coach road. It was much nicer then lol. Its got everything from fantastic views of just about everything to old diamond mine ruins and saw mill houses. Its also the highest continuous road that goes over a pass in Colorado.

If you go to google imagines and search for either kingston peak trail or mosquito pass there's tons of good pictures of them.

Pavements boring.

Edited to add: bums me out that the commies have taken over this place...

[SUA SPONTE]

"Route Irish"...... Baghdad

[ballistic_ken]

US 191 from Round Rock, AZ to Price, UT. Taking the US 163 from Kayenta, AZ to hook up with the 191 is the best, though. The NV 375 is the Road to Nowhere for a little desolation if that's your mood. You could have a picnic in the middle of this two lane paved highway without a worry before you got bored.

I prefer Singing with Dino on my trips from LA to Vegas--Ain't that a Kick in the Head.

Taking the 191 Route next month, camping with motorcycles for a week. UT Hwy 12 deserves a nod as well.

[SUA SPONTE]

The last mile to my house, after I have been away too long.

Oh dang...... That's a good one

[TrojanSkyCop1]

I've particularly enjoyed:

(1) Highway 98 from Panama City (FL) to P-Cola, Ft. Walton Beach, and Destin
(2) Stretches of I-10 through TX, the Louisiana bayou, and the FL Panhandle

[Chris Upchurch]

Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier National Park is probably the most impressive. Last Spring I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway on my way up to Winchester, VA to take the the Terrorist/Active Shooter Interdiction class, some segments of that are pretty great. US-89 going north from Kanab, UT, then UT-9 going west through Zion National Park. Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Edited to add: Another one that just came to mind is the Million Dollar Highway between Durango and Ouray in Colorado.

[Juju]

Taking the 191 Route next month, camping with motorcycles for a week. UT Hwy 12 deserves a nod as well.

Bro, I've got to tell you along with the others... there's no place like southern Utah (sorry, but N. AZ while apart of it in some ways just doesn't compare). While some of the roads are not the best from a technical POV for the streeters, they are a combo with scenery. I might've been a road guy in my early days, but now I prefer to go where no one can find me or my corpse. I'm a Jeep guy now and while I'm not on the crawl side, I do prefer a challenge for offroading for my limited, Unlimited rig. Anybody that loves adventure could get lost in southern Utah and couldn't care less about returning..... Paved or not, a lifetime could be spent there without regret.

One word for lack of hotel accommodations: Stars

[manonfire1007]

Bro, I've got to tell you along with the others... there's no place like southern Utah (sorry, but N. AZ while apart of it in some ways just doesn't compare). While some of the roads are not the best from a technical POV for the streeters, they are a combo with scenery. I might've been a road guy in my early days, but now I prefer to go where no one can find me or my corpse. I'm a Jeep guy now and while I'm not on the crawl side, I do prefer a challenge for offroading for my limited, Unlimited rig. Anybody that loves adventure could get lost in southern Utah and couldn't care less about returning..... Paved or not, a lifetime could be spent there without regret.

One word for lack of hotel accommodations: Stars

Every word of that is true. I've been in many a place, but nothing else holds a candle to it. I was privileged to have spent a good chunk of my youth there. Twenty years later, with the ability to go anywhere in the world, camping off road in southern Utah is top on my to do list. Fj and jumping jack are in the garage and the weather is warming....

[Brent Yamamoto]

The last mile to my house, after I have been away too long.

That's poetry.

[Anthony]

"Route Irish"...... BaghdadI remember it well.

A couple of memorable highways are:

The highway that goes from Arizona up in to Utah, through the Monument Valley. - I drove it in 2007, with Dan-O. - Fantastic.

The Trans Amazonica highway. - Now this is surely an adventure.

[H60DoorGunner]

The section of RT 58 that winds from Abington VA, to Galax VA. And the 11 mile stretch of RT 129 from Calderwood TN, to Deals Gap.....318 very serious curves in 11 miles otherwise known as The Dragons Tail, or heaven for any who ride a motorcycle.


The drive through Yellowstone and that area of Wyoming is also a very pleasant ride.

[OdieWon]

The Needles Highway in the Black Hills of SD. I Haven't a clue what the technical rating is. But it takes half a day to complete and the scenery is amazing. On a motorcycle or in a topless jeep it's mind boggling.


Odie

[rstegjr]

+1 for Needles Highway. My wife and I drove it for Bike week in '09, nest on the list is the Dragons Tail in TN.

[Craig R]

The Kangamagus Highway in NH on the way to Mount Washington. Two wheels though, no cages.
Stunningly beautiful all year round, doubly so in the fall.

[John McCreery]

Route 550 between Marietta, OH and Athens, Oh. Lots of turns, good scenery and just a great way to get away from everything for about and hour.

[Wilburt]

Seen a lot of people mention the Dragon's Tail. I used to live about an hour away from it and drove it quite a few times on my motorcycle. Not sure if it's the best, but I did enjoy it!

[austin]

Highway 1 in California.

Just about any road in the Nebraska Sand Hills.

[Blaze N Colt]

No discussion of great drives is complete without mentioning the Hana Highway on Maui. The 50 some miles between the Kahului Airport and Hana is beyond description but should be on every sports car enthusiasts bucket list.

[ss58]

+1 on Highway 1 in Ca.

[randyho]

I remember it well.
The highway that goes from Arizona up in to Utah, through the Monument Valley. - I drove it in 2007, with Dan-O. - Fantastic.

In the same neighborhood, Rt 28 between Cisco and Moab, Utah is pretty spectacular. And there's a section of 114 between Gunnison and Great Sand Dunes National Park that's a really nice and twisty stretch.

[Blaze N Colt]

Highway No. 1 along the coast of California has to be included. I drove it in August of 1963 in a 1959 MGA (when I was fresh out of High School) and again in August of last year in a 1998 BMW "M" Roadster on my way to Automotive Week in Monterey. Some days are stones and some days are diamonds, those days were diamonds!

[TrojanSkyCop1]

+1 on Highway 1 in Ca.

Yeah, PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) is pretty sweet. So is the stretch of I-70 going through Utah.

[BigSky2111]

Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier National Park is probably the most impressive. Last Spring I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway on my way up to Winchester, VA to take the the Terrorist/Active Shooter Interdiction class, some segments of that are pretty great. US-89 going north from Kanab, UT, then UT-9 going west through Zion National Park. Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Edited to add: Another one that just came to mind is the Million Dollar Highway between Durango and Ouray in Colorado.

You beat me to it the Going to the Sun Highway is my favorite and as a plus my great grandfather was one of the engineers on it.

[Badger]

"Route Irish"...... Baghdad

A big +1 to that! Also, I will never forget changing a flat tire in the road between Ramadi and Fallujah one day.

[michael]

The Dragon....U.S. 129 from TN into NC. 318 curves in 11 miles. I used to ride it weekly when I had a crotch rocket. People from all over the U.S. and Europe bring their bikes to ride it every year. Several always die in the process.


Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[CaptBeach]

Tail of the Dragon on a Harley or a sportster

[baznmel]

Dragon's tail in the Smokies and the Bear Tooth Mt Road from Red Modge down into Yellowstone, both on a cycle.

[MacDuff]

Bear Tooth Pass. Northeast of Yellowstone.

MacDuff

[JoeB40]

Haven't driven it since yesterday: Little Cottonwood Cyn here in Salt Lake County Utah. Takes you from the valley to the mountains in under 10 miles. Snowbird and Alta Ski resorts are located there. From my house to 8,000' in less than 30 minutes; catch a 11 minute tram ride to Hidden Peak and you're at the top of the world...

[M1A's r Best]

Rt. 60 between Rainelle, WV and Gauley Bridge, WV. Not far out of Rainelle you start the "kiss your ass" curves where you could spit on cars coming up/going down below you. There are curves called Reservoir Curve (don't know why, but it's sharp) and Dead Man's curve (lots of wrecks, lots of deaths, and you can see the gouges in the asphalt after a few months where the trucks sliding sideways into the banks gouge up the surface of the road). I remember messing with a guy in a Mustang one day on my way back to Ft. Knox. I'd pass him, run off, pull over, let him go by, pull out, chase him down and pass him again. Did that 3 times. He was so pissed his Mustang (and him) couldn't keep up with my Pontiac. I couldn't understand the words but I could understand the fist and the finger. I also like the stretch of Rt. 60 between Lexington, VA and Clifton Forge, VA. I passed 18 trucks in that 31 miles one night. Lots of fun. Lots of fun on the old roads in WV and western VA.

[BillyOblivion]

On Thursday I left for a few days of hiking near Robbinsville, NC. Thursday night was brutally cold (I'm originally from Mississippi). Friday it warmed up enough that the snow turned to cold rain, which was not an improvement. My hiking buddy and I cut our trip short, and today on my way back to middle Tennessee I took US129 north back to TN. This route includes a stretch of road known as The Tail of the Dragon. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deals_Gap,_North_Carolina), there are 318 curves in 11 miles. I will say that the time it took me to drive those 11 miles was the most enjoyable time I've ever spent in a car. Does anyone else have an all time favorite stretch of road?

299 from Redding, CA to the coast.

[eldon54]

Durango to Silverton. Road to Hana.

[Monte]

Highway 1 in California.



The best part is the run from Carmel to Big Sur on Friday after work.

[PCGlock]

Hill country run above San Antonio with a stop off in Luckenbach.
With good friends and bikes.