Post Your Favorite 'Off The Beaten Path' Routes

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by tcar

One of my favorites, PLUS!

You drive right by the Very Large Array... west of Socorro.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Large_Array

You MUST stop and check it out.

I've been meaning to do this with my buddy and his off road Land Rover - maybe go camping around there in the Fall or whenever the heat dissipates.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

My wife's Uncles Son runs the VLA - let me know if you go by again. They really enjoy showing off their stuff!

Wow, thank you... last time I was there you could pretty much wander around at will, even in the 'control' building....
That may have changed since 9-11, though.
I don't go by as often, am in Colorado more than Albuquerque / Arizona now.

I watched the movie 'Contact' recently partly just to see it all again.

[Rtrorkt]

CA 58 from McKittrick to Atascadero.

Will be trying CA 95 through Fraizer Park from the Grapevine to CA 166 on my way from Scottsdale to Carmel this year.

When I lived in NoVA drove VA 231 from Sperryville to Madison.

[GH85Carrera]

There are a ton of fantastic roads in rural Arkansas. The Pig trail, Hwy 23 is fun on non football game days. There are more fun roads in Arkansas than I can list. Most of them end up in nowhere Arkansas, so you need another long road out of there.

From chatting with some motorcycle guys, there are analog books with maps on fun roads in Arkansas. I refuse to mention my favorites on line. I don't want them turned into the dragons tail type of cluster fudge of traffic. We drove for over an hour one time and did not see another car at all on roads way more fun the dragons tail.

[Seahawk]

I hope I am not giving away anything, but I rode this route with my old XO from VX-1, a former HAL pilot in Vietnam and one of the best guys we'll ever meet. Great pilot who taught me a lot about flying and life.

He threw me a helmet and pointed me to an old Honda motorcycle while he got on his new BMW.

"You'll be fine, let's go."

Route 88 to Route 1 to 249 South, then 63/8 back to his farm.

[fanaudical]

Still one of my favorite drives:

SR4 from Longview, WA heading west. Lots of twisty roads along the river; go visit Astoria or Long Beach or ....

[Tobra]

Oakville Grade in the Wine Country, go in the middle of the day on a week day, take a picnic lunch

[Mike Andrew]

Road America route:
Around Milwaukee on 894 to 45N
45N to 28 at Kewaskum
28 to "S"
North on S and follow Kettle Moraine Scenic drive to 23, then to RA

Great fall drive. And, lots more nice 2 lane twistys off this path if you know the area

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Oakville Grade in the Wine Country, go in the middle of the day on a week day, take a picnic lunch

I did that once. Beautiful. Looks like Mt. Veeder Rd would be an all dayer.

[Gianni at Pelican Parts]

Hey guys! Looking to revive this thread while everyone is looking for ways to stay busy in this global lockdown. Who has been driving as their therapeutic release during these times and what were some of your best adventures?

Let us know where you have been exploring and share pictures from your travels!

[mattdavis11]

I'm on the road all day long, so a nice relaxing route to wind the day down is US 90 from Luling to Seguin, TX. 20 miles that is totally uneventful because it runs parallel to IH-10, and hardly anyone is on it. It's exactly what I need some days.

[gogriz91]

Oh man, too many to choose from.

26 from Dubois WY into the Tetons, south at Moran to Jackson or north into Yellowstone, all of the two lanes are beautiful around there.

89 from White Sulphur Springs up to Riceville MT is beautiful and way off the beaten track.

Going to the Sun Hwy in Glacier Nat'l Park then hopping over to 17 into Waterton in southern Alberta is amazing.

Biggest challenge I've driven between beauty and skill, US 12 from Lolo MT to Kooskia ID. Take the route used by Lewis and Clark on their westward journey to the coast. 134 two lane miles full of turns, beautiful scenery, mountain streams and just fun managing the twisties.

CO12 from just west of Walsenberg around to Trinidad is a beautiful valley run.

I did CO17 from Antonito CO to Chama NM with my Dad a couple of weeks ago. Two beautiful passes, a vintage steam train and a C-130 doing a low low level, what an experience.

160 out of Pagosa Springs over Wolf Creek Pass is a great jaunt. You could have one helluva 3 day weekend driving around southwestern Colorado, there are no bad two lane roads there.

550 from Durango to Silverton then over to Ouray CO is really gorgeous. Finish it off by taking CO62 then CO145 into Telluride, a little touristy but in a beautiful valley.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by gogriz91

Biggest challenge I've driven between beauty and skill, US 12 from Lolo MT to Kooskia ID. Take the route used by Lewis and Clark on their westward journey to the coast. 134 two lane miles full of turns, beautiful scenery, mountain streams and just fun managing the twisties.

That is a great route!

My son and I did it a few times. Lots of turn-off and chances to hike the river.

Beautiful.

[blucille]

some great roads already mentioned. @gogriz91, I'm sure you are talking about southwestern CO, met up with 30 of my closest friends for a 4 day excursion on many of the roads you mention, Pagosa Springs, Our, Durango, Silverton, great great stuff.

@flatbutt mentioned the WV routes I've done a bunch of times, September is a great time to be there, leaves changing, great weather, cool but no snow yet at elevation.....most of the region has no cell service or any other radio activity to speak of...due to the National radio quiet zone and the green bank observatory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone --this makes it a challenging place to get help in case of a breakdown or worse.

the northeast has some great roads, too, if you escape the metropolitan areas. I frequent Mount Washington, and love the Kancamagus Pass, but you really can't go wrong up there as long as you avoid the frost heaves in the early spring and the tourist season in the summer