One of the greatest thrills in driving a car or riding a bike is finding that perfect road. You know the one; you and your vehicle are perfectly in sync and everything feels magical. You could swear that you and your vehicle are one. Or, perhaps the best driving road isn’t one full of thrill, but one with views so breathtaking that you have to stop just to believe what your eyes are seeing. No matter what your favorite driving road is, I want to know where it is.
Illinois and Wisconsin aren’t known for their roads. There are a couple of scenic routes here and there, but that’s it. If you come to these states, you’ll find endless rows of farms and roads that are afraid to curve. Should you come out here, you’ll find some great fun in and nearby Galena Territory in Illinois and Wisconsin as well as the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive, which is nearer to Milwaukee, Sheboygan, and Road America.
Things are different in the rare chances I get to go to California. The state’s geography is so varied that there aren’t just a couple of great routes out there. California’s road network is so awesome that there are people who drive and ride down great driving roads for work every single day.
Many people who don’t live in California know about the Pacific Coast Highway. That’s a good one. In my experience, the PCH is even cooler in real life than what you’ve likely seen on the web. The sights from the highway are almost impossible to describe once you see them in person. The highway’s curves are great, too! If you ever come to California long enough, I highly recommend running the length of the PCH.
The highway I want to highlight today is Ortega Highway, which runs along State Route 74.
The highway is named after Spanish explorer Sgt. José Francisco Ortega, who was among some of the first non-Native Americans to see the area in 1769. It’s said that Ortega Highway follows the path of an old Native American trail through what is known as the Cleveland National Forest today. It’s full of sharp twists, corners, and hairpins as you climb into the mountains from San Juan Capistrano and meander your way down to Lake Elsinore. It’s a short route that can be completed between breakfast and lunch, but it’s totally worth it.
If you’re not from California, you’ve probably heard so much talk about all of the corner-carving action Californians get to experience. The Ortega Highway is one of those roads that live up to that promise.
If you’re on a cruiser motorcycle, you will drag your floorboards if you’re moving with any alacrity. If you’re in a car, prepare to feel like you’re on a thrill ride. The Ortega Highway delivers fun and breathtaking views no matter your preferred mode of travel. I got to experience it from the seat of an Indian Super Chief and I felt like I was on a time machine that had transported me back to the 1950s.
Now, please do be careful because the Ortega Highway has a reputation for death. Car drivers wipe out on the highway, as do bikers, and they don’t always come out of the other end unscathed. A Toyota nearly took me out by driving in the oncoming lane through a blind curve. Yikes!
Now I’m turning this to you. Where is the best driving road? Why is it so great?
There are few in New Mexico, but those that do exist are a welcome respite from wastelands and wasted lives. I spent almost eight years there in what should’ve been the prime of my life, but my work took too much of my time. When I did manage to have the time to escape, a Miata in the Sacramentos or the north-central mountain roads helped restore some manner of hope. 2 AM by the VLA gives a man space to view the universe and contemplate his life. A cheap, slightly-janky dual-sport and West Side Road helps teach some skills and has some pretty views and quietude.
You cannot say that Wisconsin doesn’t have any good driving roads. The northern part of the state has a lot of them. The southwest corner does too. That said, my favorite driving roads are the Sustern Pass and Furka pass in Switzerland. Actually, any pass in Switzerland!
Thanks to a dear departed friend I recently retired to Ft Bragg, Ca. Part of the appeal is a gorgeous road the takes you from 101 to Ft Bragg. Highway 128. 77 miles of beautiful scenery that includes the Anderson Valley which is mostly wineries. Wine tasting is enough reason to take this picturesque road. Next you will enter a Redwood Forest full of pull offs for picture taking. It’s almost like driving through a tunnel of Redwoods. After you exit the forest, you drive along the Navarro River. As you go up the hill, and around a couple of turns, you will get views of the ocean. More trees and views that will remind you of the Monterey area. Lots of inns and places to stay along the way. You’ll go through small towns like Yorkville (almost deserted), Booneville, and Philo. Little River is …really little. Fill up with gas first as gas along the way is expensive. Finally after a little over an hour your on Highway 1 and in short order will be in Ft. Bragg. It’s kind of like Santa Cruz was 40 years ago…or more. Good motel can still be had for around $100. A good meal at Dave’s Deli…$15-$20. Generous Servings and speedy friendly service.
The road itself is in good condition and except for a few tight turns very enjoyable if you’re in the right vehicle. Or motorcycle!
Lots of affordable eateries at Noyo Harbor. Mendocino Botanical Gardens are worth a visit. Can you say picnic. Pomo Point has a nice view.
Sorry but Glass Beach is in name only. Somebody took all the glass a long time ago.
Of course you will go by Mendocino…which is not what you might expect. But if you do need breakfast, try the Crabcake Eggs Benedict at Patterson, a fine Irish Pub.
To Ft Bragg, Ca from either the Sacramento or Bay Area is about 4 hrs.
Vaya Con Dios mi amigos!
One of my favorite stretches of the north coast is the very end of Highway 1 from where it turns in from the coast to where it ends in Leggett. Spectacular driving.
Regretfully I haven’t not experienced the likes of some of these rather exotic (to me) roads. I rarely get to leave the Northeast.
But if you are in the Northeast, I would recommend peak leaf season, and either NYS Route 73 through Keene to Lake Placid, or more underrated, NYS Route 313 from Cambridge to Arlington VT.
Edit: Oh crap, somehow I forgot Saddle Road on Hawaii (the big Island). Freaking surreal drive, though basically everything out there is.
The saddle road is really nice now. It used to not be so nice. The only problem is getting a sweet ride to hit it.
You know a road is awesome when you enjoy it in a rental Dodge Journey, lol.
Rented a Harley one year and rode to Spenser Beach and other places, but loved the ride on Saddle Rd. Only issue I had was having a half helmet without a face shield, going on 19 south when a bee of some type flew into my cheek and stung me. Almost lost it, felt like a rock had hit me hard.
This has happened to be a couple of times driving sedans. Apparently I have to stop driving around like I’m Ace Ventura.
There’s a somewhat secret road in Northern California called the G-O road. This road is in the middle of nowhere. It doesn’t get much use because it was never completed (There’s about 6 miles missing in the middle), but the pavement is in great shape because it was meant to accommodate heavily laden logging trucks. The nearest decent size town, Crescent City, is about an hour away.
I attempted to drive the western side once but rock slides made it not-so-fun. I gave up and was headed back to civilization when a pointy rock took out one of my tires. Miraculously, I had cell service out there and was able to get a hold of my emergency towing service. The thing is, the G-O road is secret. It doesn’t show up on a lot of maps. It took the tow truck 12 hours to find me. Thank god I had Bejeweled on my phone at the time.
I heard later that sometimes the county will go through with a frontloader and clear out the rocks, but they hadn’t the one time I went. Without the rocks, I could see that being a mighty fine drive.
The one thing I think is missing from the internet is a website/show that matches the right road to the right car. Like Colorado’s Independence Pass in something small like a Beck (Porsche) 550 Spyder would be just amazing to see and experience. The narrowness of the lanes plays to the tiny car’s strengths and the fact that heavy traffic limits how fast you can go doesn’t really matter since a car like that would be fun at even 20 mph. In much the same way, running around the US Virgin Islands in a Jeep Wrangler with no doors or roof and the windshield down is just magical. It doesn’t matter that on the highway it is slow, noisy and rough riding. On those roads, going 25-30 mph in the Wrangler is just great.
I love some of the small roads in the French Alps…the ones that dead end at the end of a valley and that are only open from may to october…
they are a PITA to navigate with anything bigger than a regular European car as they are one lane and a half most of the time, and you can end up in front of cows, chamois, marmottes, sheep, bouquettins, rocks and/or lost bipeds hiding behind the next corner, but at the speed you navigate them it’s usually easy to avoid hitting anything.
The view is nice and you need to be precise in handling whatever motor vehicle you are driving as you have a cliff/wall/slope on one side going up and the same cliff/wall/slope going down on the other side… and no railing or protection between you and the big jump.
That’s right where I moved! Best decision ever.
Ortega is fun, my parents live fairly close to the lame side, but I try to leave it to the bikes. PCH just gets better and better as you move up the coast as people have said. There really are so many roads out here its hard to pick one.
Topanga Canyon has some gorgeous views day or night, but it’s honestly most fun if you’ve got nav and pick a look out spot for it to guide you too. 20 years ago we had a circuit a lot of us drove, and I’m sure it’s still being driven today.
I had an awesome drive to Stinson beach once in Northern California, but I don’t remember the route.
I have some experience in this area. I’ve done a lot of the famous ones.
My favorite in the states is PCH near Carmel Highlands heading south. It is just stunning, majestic and fun. The big issue is that it gets busy so you have to thoughtful about when to do it and it does close frequently due to rock slides, etc. My first time doing it was during covid lockdown before people started leaving their homes which is why I still think it is the best.
PCH from Dana Point to a little past Newport Beach in Southern California, also very nice just for the general feeling of it. Also fun for family members who are not necessarily car people in that it is beautiful and has amazing restaurants and entertainment areas along the way.
I discovered some amazing roads on Indian reservation land in Southern California and just loved it. Very few cars. Great roads. Tons of fun and beautiful too! So much fun, in fact, that I don’t want to share the exact locations yet!
Colorado has some great roads as well. I-70 near Glenwood Springs is great when you’re driving with family in that the scenery is amazing but doesn’t have them scared for life. Independence Pass is great fun and beautiful too! Only issue with Independence Pass is that my family gets very nervous with the narrow lanes.
I recently did Glacier National Park with the Going-To-The-Sun-Road. Some of it was unpaved and would be be great fun in something like a fast Subaru or maybe an off-road modified 1st gen Porsche Cayenne.
Internationally, I tried the driving routes in Mallorca Spain to the lighthouse and the beach that is near it. Evo magazine has a video on Youtube on it under their Great Driving Roads series. I thought it was just spectacular and like it even slightly more than PCH near Carmel Highlands. I did it on Christmas Day in attempt to avoid traffic and my plan worked well. There was some but not a lot which made the experience just magical. My understanding, however, is that the route is a big let down when there is a lot of traffic. Harry Metcalfe took his Countach along with some of his buddies on this route and didn’t enjoy it primarily due the high traffic.
In about a month, I am trying out another road from the Evo Great Driving Roads series and doing the roads they recommended in Scotland. Will report back when done on that.
Good friend of mine is in Aberdeen. North coast 500 is brilliant he claims. https://www.northcoast500.com/ I’ve only done some internal highlands roads. They’re all great. B roads can get seriously hairy.
Thanks for the tip! Current UK road trip itinerary is:
London->Lake Windermere->Edinburgh->Balmoral->Old Military Roads Evo Route->Glencoe/Skyfall->Glasgow->Manchester->London
Very excited about it. Doing it in a rented Mercedes AMG convertible. Would have loved to have done it in something British like an Aston Martin but not in the cards for this trip.
Have a brilliant trip. Lots of castles up the coast north of Edinburgh, and don’t forget to go see the Kelpies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kelpies
I looked up the old military road. Turns out, I’ve done it, just going down from Speyside and Abelour. Absolutely spectacular. If you turn north at Speybridge, you hit Glenlivet, Macallan, Cardhu, etc. etc. etc. if scotch is your jam. The B9102 from Grantown on Spey to Abelor is fun, and then you can just do a loop and come back down the A95. Also Abelour is the home of Walkers Shortbread, so between the baking of cookies, and the yeastieness of the distilleries, it’s a pretty good smelling town.
Awesome! Will check out B9102!
I spent half a year in Glasgow many years ago on an ex-pat assignment with a couple of other Americans. One long weekend we drove from Glasgow to the Isle of Skye. Our route took us through the highlands including Glen Coe, by Ben Nevis, and by Castle Eilean Donan. An amazing drive. Never pulled over so many times on a road trip just to take photos.
On another trip, we drove to Oban and found Castle Stalker on the way. For you Monty Python and the Holy Grail fans, that’s the tower that Arthur and his men storm in the final scene before [spoiler alert] being arrested.
Have to add Tail of the Dragon (US 129) TN/NC. Although too many jackholes make it tough. Going to the Sun, east to west, in Glacier NP is great.
For an overall nice forest ride, up Vancouver Island, north of Campbell River is relaxing.
I prefer some the other roads in that area. 129 is the icon, but it gets too much traffic, and too many idiots crossing the double yellow. Those things aren’t the roads fault, but traffic counts.
Lucky ducks: Here’s what we get in the central flyover states.
Wikipedia I-80…
“The longest straight stretch of interstate highway anywhere in the interstate highway system is approximately 72 miles (116 km) of I-80 occurring between exit 318 in Grand Island area to mile marker 390 in Lincoln (Nebraska). Along this length, the road does not vary from an ideally straight line by more than a few yards.”
drove that last month all the way from Chicago; the only upside to I-80 out of Chicago to Salt Lake City is that the speeds are high and the cops don’t care if you’re 10mph over.
Highway 6, south island, New Zealand.
And this is not even close folks.
Get off the car ferry from Wellington at Picton, drive Highway 1 to Blenheim to buy some f’ing delicious savory pies at Burleigh Gourmet Pies then get on to Highway 6 and head to Havelock and head down the Te Hoiere River valley and then up to the Rai River valley. Keep going through the twists and turns and cross many, many, many one-lane bridges through Whangamoa until you exit on the beautiful Tasman Bay and into the lovely little city of Nelson.
Keep driving down through low hills of Wai-Iti with the dozens of turns with epic scenery. Cross over the Motueka River and drive through pasture lands and over the Hope Saddle. Finally emerging on the gorgeous Tasman Sea coast where Highway 6 goes through Punakaiki and into the Grey River and the (depressing but cute) city of Greymouth – where you shall get a beer at Monteith’s Brewing.
Keep going south along the Tasman Sea, stopping every so often to take in the views, jump in the ocean. Follow Highway 6 back inland and into the mountains with beautiful views of Mount Adams and into the rainforest of Fran Josef – where you will also eat at Blue Ice and visit the West Coast Wildlife Centre see the super cute (and endangered) rarest Kiwi – the Okarito.
But don’t fret, the two lane Highway 6 still remains challenging with more turns and twists heading through the Southern Alps and past Fox Glacier then back out to the Tasman Sea coast before jutting inland to the Landsborough Valley. So many wonderful curves to Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka.
But then EXIT Highway 6 and take the Cardrona Valley Road which turns into the AMAZIN Crown Range Road up to the summit. And then you’ll descend to Queenstown where you can join all the tourists and reconnect with Highway 6. But that portion of Highway 6 I’ve not really driven so not sure how it is to drive and it finally ends at the southern tip of the island at Invercargill where it meets up, again, with Highway 1.
That’s my pick for ‘best driving road’
Been to Queenstown a couple of times, and can confirm it is a beautiful drive.
I love this. I did a lap of the South Island a few years ago in a rental Yaris, and these roads were amazing. Can’t imagine how great they would be in something that actually handled, went and stopped!
I drove NZ in a rental Mitsubishi SUV so, yes, I wished daily for a better handling car for these roads.
Northwest Connecticut/Southwest MA has some amazing mountain roads with not horrible amounts of traffic
2nded. I’ll be up there at Lime Rock this weekend. Love the drive.
I saw that. Is the Lime Rock event a free cars and coffee event? If I don’t want to race
This is Trans Am weekend. There is a beer tasting event. Sunday is the car show, which is always great (I may bring the Pickup and put it in line). Monday looks like a wash out, and I wonder how they will plan around it.
You are correct, I’m stuck in Wisconsin but live in the Southern Kettle Moraine. Lots of Twisties to be had. My vehicle has adaptive headlights that turn with the car. All cars should have them, it really helps with animal avoidance.
The Nurburgring is the best unrestricted toll road in existence.
Sure, it’s just a loop, but a good driving road isn’t about ‘getting somewhere’.
Angeles Crest outside of L.A. Not the most obscure pick, but that road is just perfect. Go early and you’ll experience gorgeous views and a road that’s just the right amount of twisty.
Angeles Crest is beautiful; you definitely want to do it at an off traffic time.
All the tourons are down there on the southern part of 1, plodding up 1 in their rental Mustangs.
I live in wine country and the gear heads know that you want to ride/drive the section of 1 that’s north of San Francisco. Sure, we’ve got tourists, but the road is way more technical. The sights, which include redwoods, sea stacks and even more drama than the southern section, are absolutely spectacular. As you get north of Pt. Reyes Station or Jenner, the tourists will be largely gone.
Most of my NorCal rider and driving friends deem Rt. 1 between Westport and Legget as some of the finest riding in the entire state.
If you’re fine with really long goat paths, Route 36 has one of those curvy road signs with “NEXT 140 MILES” under it.
Leave SF to LA on 1 to the tourists. The best roads in California are elsewhere and folks here are doing a good job of sharing them. Just like we like to keep our tourists down on Fisherman’s Wharf so we can live our lives, we like to keep the tourists in their little zones elsewhere in the Golden State.
Also: if you’re a driving enthusiast, you need to arrive in this state with both Northern and Southern California Butler Maps. It’ll point you to the great roads up here.
I stumbled onto 1 north of San Fran several years ago. Admittedly in a rental Miata. Great road.
Had business up in Point Arena and Manchester a few times, so decided to take 1 after Golden Gate. Took forever and was rough in some spots, but absolutely beautiful.
Everywhere in BC. Literally everywhere. You’re welcome
Kelowna is a great and under appreciated base for exploring BC.
Seriously. Pick a direction and go. You can’t lose
If you want to do it by motorcycle, just go to Nelson, pick a direction. Simply fantastic. Added trivia, it was the filming location for Steve Martin’s Roxanne.
True. Drove Banff (yes that’s Alberta, I know) to Prince George on the 93 (Icefields Parkway) and the 16 (Yellowhead Highway) this week. Followed that up with the 37 (Cassiar Highway) with a detour to Stewart/Hyder and up to the Alaska Highway in the Yukon Territory. If you don’t mind the lack of any roadmarkings on the Cassiar Hwy it’s a great road. The Icefields Parkway, though, damn that’s a beautiful highway.
Icefields should be on everyone’s bucket list.
While California is well-known for its driving roads, Arizona has quite a few awesome driving roads as well. Good pavement, stable weather conditions, and overall less traffic than the canyon roads of California means you can actually do some pretty hard driving.
US-191 from Morenci Mine to Springerville. Fill up first, mind the lack of guardrails, hold on to your butt(s). The first time I drove it was at night and it was snowing. I knew not my peril. Came back later in the day and dry and it was absolutely a Miata Road.
Absolutely. That road is worth the pilgrimage, everybody that’s done it can attest to what an excellent drive it is. I’m gearing up to do it after summer, when the weather cools down a little.
Lol, I’m not tellin.
Love me a Prism GSi.
Every spring, I start a drive or ride from San Miguel onto Indian Valley Rd, which turns into Peach Tree Rd, which then ends at hwy 198. Cross 198 and go north on hwy 25 which will take you to Pinnacles Nat’l Park.
Indian Valley and Peach Tree is very isolated and often I can go on that stretch and not see another car or person for the full 56 miles. The roads aren’t in that great of shape, but it’s beautiful valleys and hills with wild flowers galore. Incredibly peaceful, but one where you’ll go slow, generally due to the overall condition of the roads.
25 is another fine drive. The highway is well kept, and is another beautiful stretch where the valleys are larger and more open. You can get going pretty good on the winding road.
Haven’t been this year but I hope it’s just as nice as in the past.
CA 25 is my favorite drive. Last time I tried it, about 15-20 years ago, it was washed out at Paicines. As soon as I put a new clutch in my car, I’m going to make a pilgrimage to Pinnacles.
The old coastal road in Croatia from Rijeka to Split is a great drive. Most of the traffic takes the new highway inland because it is faster. The old road has beautiful views of the Adriatic and treacherous cliffs to fall to your doom.
Ortega Highway is a great ride, some other great mountain drives in the area are Mount Baldy Road, South Grade Road (Palomar Mountain), and Palms to Pines. That last one goes from Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley up to Idyllwild in the San Jacinto mountains. It is pretty common to see Bighorn sheep at the start by the Living Desert Zoo.
Cherohala Skyway. Robbinsville, NC to Tellico Plains, TN. Nothing up there but great scenery and fast flowing tarmac.
https://cherohala.com/
The Million Dollar Highway between Durango and Ouray in Southwest Colorado is a great drive/ride. It’s also known as the triple threat as you travel over three high mountain passes through the San Juan Mountains. The biggest problem is the scenery is so awesome it’s hard to keep your eyes on the road.
I’ll second this for a paved, year round road, we drive it regularly to my parent’s house, at least when it is open. The wife isn’t a fan of the stretch into Ouray though, after a car in front of us almost got hit by an avalanche about a year ago, and it doesn’t help when I ask if she can spot any of the old rusted out vehicles down in the gorge.
The 4wd roads in the same area can be good if not crowded, especially this time of year when they have just been plowed (lazy backcountry skiing access).
Cottonwood pass west of Buena Vista is not nearly as scenic, but quite fun if you ignore the speed limit, now that it’s paved.
That road really requires a lot of breaks to take in the sights. I’ve ridden it a whole bunch of times and it never, ever gets old.