Since the days of Henry Ford, the road trip has been one of the great American pastimes, and one of the easiest ways to travel and see the country up close and personal. Whether you start from your own garage or fly and rent a car, here are seven favorite destinations for a driving vacation this spring.
Florida Keys Overseas Highway
How about a road trip over the ocean? The 100-mile-plus drive on U.S. 1 from mainland Florida to Key West is just that. The Overseas Highway, which opened in 1938, is an engineering wonder that connects the string of islands that form the Keys. But it’s also a spectacular viewing platform between the ocean scapes of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, and a gateway to the sun and fun that brings in more than 3 million visitors each year.
Mile marker signs along the highway are your guideposts to driving in the Keys. Begin just south of Florida City with number 127, and look for major attractions, from marker 108 in Key Largo to marker 0 in Key West. Of course, spring break in Key West is bound to be a bacchanal, as even the official tourism website advises, "Let your conscience be your guide."
Recent stories of better-behaved students and more family-friendly Keys destinations aside, there are plenty of hideaways and quiet retreats, both above and under the ocean.
State parks include the sandy beaches of Bahia Honda Key, the bird-watcher's paradise of Curry Hammock, and the lush tropical beauty of Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects the third-largest living coral barrier reef system in the world, with diving, swimming, snorkeling, fishing and shipwrecks the major attractions.
Monroe County Tourist Development Council. 1-800-352-5397, www.fla-keys.com.
Florida Park Service. 850-245-2157, floridastateparks.org.
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, floridakeys.noaa.gov/welcome.html.
Blue Ridge Parkway
As a route for exploring the heart of the South, the Blue Ridge Parkway is a majestic experience that meanders over 469 miles of two-lane blacktop, connecting Shenandoah National Park near Waynesboro, Va., (milepost 0) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, N.C., (milepost 469).
Along the way, you can camp, climb, commune with nature, stop in small towns and explore cities like Asheville and Boone, N.C., and Roanoke, Va. Breathtaking 360-degree vistas are everywhere on the trip, as the parkway winds from the pastoral valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the rugged, dramatic scenery of the Black and Pisgah mountains.
History and culture are part of traveling the parkway, too. Among favorite stops: Mabry Mill, serving up buckwheat pancakes at milepost 176.1; the Blue Ridge Music Center, an old-time and bluegrass performance venue at milepost 213; the Folk Art Center, home to the Southern Highland Craft Guild at milepost 382; the house and the gardens of Biltmore estate in Asheville at milepost 388.8; the famous Pisgah Inn for an overnight stay at milepost 408.6.
National Park Service, www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm.
Route 66
“Route 66” by Nat King Cole, released in 1946, was one of the first and coolest songs to express the kick of American car culture. Strictly speaking, the historic highway stretching some 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles no longer exists in the form Cole sang about when he instructed “get hip to this kindly tip, and go take that California trip.” In fact, Route 66 doesn’t even appear on modern maps as such.
Thankfully, there are several good online resources with tips for driving “The Mother Road” now, including the nonprofit National Historic Route 66 Federation, which offers map and guidebook kits. One of the best and least commercial is the Route 66 Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary by the National Park Service, which includes maps and a list of sites.
Arizona takes in one of the longest and most scenic runs of Route 66, starting in Petrified Forest National Park, where the Painted Desert Inn stands restored, and including sites such as Grand Canyon Caverns, plus nearby side trips to the west rim of the Grand Canyon and Lake Mead. A must stop is the Seligman Commercial Historic District, which conjures the look of Route 66 in its kitschy heyday.
National Historic Route 66 Federation. 909-336-6131, www.national66.org.
National Park Service, www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/index.html.
Pacific Coast Highway
The trip on California's Pacific Coast Highway via Calif. 1 and U.S. 101 from San Francisco to Los Angeles takes travelers between two of America's most vital cities and journeys past some of the most breathtaking seaside vistas anywhere in the world. Crashing waves, birds and otters join writers, artists and free spirits of all kinds in a world that often feels rugged, but can be elegant, too.
South of San Francisco, Half Moon Bay is a favorite honeymoon destination. The Monterey Bay Aquarium on historic Cannery Row, Pebble Beach with its legendary golf course and 17-mile drive, and picturesque Carmel-by-the-Sea are only a few examples of the diversity of the drive. Big Sur, once a haven for Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac, is now a luxury resort and spa destination.
Further along, you can visit the legendary Hearst Castle in San Simeon, detour via U.S. 101 through Central Coast wine country and vineyards featured in the movie "Sideways" and stay in the quirky Danish town of Solvang, before heading to star-studded Santa Barbara and winding up on the pier in Santa Monica, where Route 66 once merged into Calif. 1.
Visit California, www.visitcalifornia.com.
Kentucky Bourbon Country
Though it’s known as the Bluegrass State, Kentucky could just as easily be called the Bourbon State, because it’s where some 95 percent of the celebrated corn-based brown spirit is distilled, aged and bottled. There are currently 14 distilleries that invite visitors for tours and tastings, and traveling around bourbon country has become something like a wine country trip, with hotels, restaurants and bars now catering to bourbon enthusiasts.
With six distilleries within 30 miles and the Urban Bourbon Trail centered there, Louisville is a good place to start. The Bourbon Country website features several itineraries, including the Bourbon Trail, which covers 255 miles on two different routes from the city. From I-65, visit Jim Beam, Heaven Hill and Maker's Mark; from I-64, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey and Four Roses.
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail guides visitors around eight stops at member distilleries of the Kentucky Distillers' Association, with a commemorative gift for completing the journey. Its Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour is a survey of eight newer handcrafted brands, including Barrel House in Lexington, Corsair Artisan in Bowling Green, Limestone Branch in Lebanon, Old Pogue in Maysville, Wilderness Trace in Danville, and Willett in Bardstown.
Bourbon Country. 1-888-568-4784, www.bourboncountry.com.
Kentucky Bourbon Trail. 502-875-9351, kybourbontrail.com.
NASCAR shop tours
Even if there are now races at tracks all over the USA, NASCAR fans know that the heart and soul of the motor sport resides in western North Carolina, where it was born of a Southern outlaw spirit in the wild days of moonshine whiskey running. So somehow it seems fitting that road tripping would be the best way to tour the race shops of the major teams, most of which are within an easy drive of downtown Charlotte, also home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame museum.
Race shop tours allow fans to catch a glimpse of the process of building and repairing stock cars in multimillion-dollar facilities that nowadays look more like high-tech manufacturing facilities. The late great racing legend Dale Earnhardt's DEI, aka the "Garage-Mahal," is both a state-of-the-art shop and a memorial to Earnhardt filled with photos and memorabilia. You can find directions and more information on other race shops and racing attractions at the official Charlotte travel website.
If you don't want to drive yourself, Race Shop Tours in Mooresville, N.C., has been offering guided tours since 2001, transporting fans to garages and other racing related facilities within a 50-mile radius of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Among the shop stops: Jr. Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Fenway, Stewart-Haas, Penske Racing South, and Richard Childress.
NASCAR Hall of Fame museum, 400 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Charlotte, N.C. 1-888-902-6463 , www.nascarhall.com.
Dale Earnhardt’s DEI, 1675 Dale Earnhardt Highway 3, Mooresville, N.C. 704-662-8000 , www.daleearnhardtinc.com.
Charlotte travel website, www.charlottesgotalot.com/auto-racing-attractions-listings.
Race Shop Tours, raceshoptours.net.
Lancaster County Amish Country
The roads of the Amish Country around Lancaster County, Pa., where rolling hills, fields, farms and windmills are part of the bucolic landscape, might seem better suited to the horse-and-buggy than the automobile. But travelers attracted by the slower pace and a peek at a simpler way of life find driving is a perfect way to take it all in.
The official website for Lancaster County tourism offers a wealth of information on places to stay, places to eat, and itineraries, including Amish farmland tours, horse-and-buggy rides, Pennsylvania Dutch family-style meals, and Amish quilt and craft shops.
The area also boasts a number of covered bridges, quaint towns and villages, and Lancaster City, where you'll find shops, restaurants and the boutique Lancaster Arts Hotel. Maybe most surprising is the number of breweries and brewpubs in Amish Country.
The Ale Trail features seven different stops, including Stoudt's Brewing Co., famous as Pennsylvania's first microbrewery, and home to the Black Angus Restaurant and Pub, an antiques mall and a cheese and bread shop.
Lancaster County, Pa., tourism, www.padutchcountry.com.
Stoudt’s Brewing Co., 717-484-4386, www.stoudtsbeer.com.
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