NEW YORK-
It's an old-fashioned idea for a vacation, but it's still one of the best ways to see the country–getting in your car, and heading down the road.
But not just any road. To see more than tollbooths, fast-food chains and other cars whizzing by, you've got to get off the interstate highways and take the local two-lane roads. Here's where you'll find the scenery, small towns, unusual sights and regional food that make a road trip memorable.
"Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways" by Jamie Jensen ($29.95) can help you plan such a trip. The book's fourth edition, from Avalon Travel Publishing, includes 11 sample routes across the country with listings for parks, attractions, places to stay and eat, and local history.
Jensen's itineraries begin with north-to-south roads, starting with the Pacific Coast route, from Washington to Oregon to California, taking in beautiful coastal views and stunning parks, along with big cities from Seattle to San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The next route, called "Border to Border," starts in the untouched wilderness of the Canadian Rockies and follows US-93 through Montana and Idaho, to the heart of Las Vegas, Nev., ending in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.
"The Road to Nowhere" slices the map through the Midwest "without once grazing a conventional tourist attraction," Jensen writes, starting in the Dakotas, heading through Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, to Texas, mostly along US-83.
Then comes the Great River Road–following the Mississippi through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Along the way, visit Mark Twain's hometown, Graceland and Cajun country.
The Appalachian Trail route starts in New England, with New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, then onto the Mid-Atlantic states, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and into West Virginia and the South–Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. Stop off at Gettysburg and drive the Blue Ridge Parkway en route.
The Atlantic Coast route begins with a look at the Statue of Liberty (from the New Jersey side), heads through Delaware, Maryland and Virginia to North Carolina (check out Kitty Hawk), South Carolina (visit Savannah), and Georgia. Last stop: Key West, Fla.
The second half of the book covers west-to-east itineraries, starting with the "Great Northern" route along US-2, beginning with Washington, Idaho, and Montana, continuing to the Midwest through North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and ending in the East, on a tour of Canada, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Seattle, Glacier National Park, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Acadia National Park are all worthy stops.
The Oregon Trail tour follows US-20 in the footsteps of pilgrims and pioneers, with stops at many of the country's most famous tourist attractions, from Yellowstone to Mount Rushmore to the "Field of Dreams" of movie fame, to Niagara Falls and Cape Cod. It starts in Oregon and Idaho, then heads to Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts.
A route Jensen calls the "Loneliest Road" also offers some of the country's most magnificent scenery and some of its most storied byways, from the Pony Express Trail to the Santa Fe Trail. It traverses California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.
Next up is the "Southern Pacific" route, much of it along US-80, from the deserts of the Southwest to the swamps of the Mississippi Delta to the foot of the Appalachians, from California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, to Louisiana, Mississsippi, Alabama and Georgia.
Finally, there's the famed Route 66, the "Mother Road," which meanders through small towns in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri and ends up in Illinois. Here you'll find neon signs that date back decades and attractions like the World's Largest Catsup Bottle in Colinsville, Ill. You can even have your picture taken standing on a corner in Winslow, Ariz.–just like the old Eagles' song says.
