What is the best state to drive through

Rural New Mexico

Canada's good for that. Or Maine, away from the coast.

State of Shock

Texas at a thousand miles an hour.

Arizona

I believe Wyoming is the least populated state.

Montana

I-70 through Utah. Stunning vistas and empty highway.

Drive through. Flyover.

Po-Tay-To. Po-Tah-To.

this kind of looks like what I want.

I want to see stuff like this

The Northern half of New Mexico is the most beautiful scenery in the continental United States

Definitely Montana which I have driven across. I've never seen such expanses of absolute nothingness before or since. But for the incredible scenery I would have lost my mind. I actually got terrified a few times of the possibility of having a car breakdown thinking what in the hell would I do? This was long before cell phones.

And I should say that it was due to driving across Montana way back when and a few other deserted long haul trips that to this day I still keep a white flag in my trunk with the word "HELP" on it in big black letters. Being alone on deserted highways scares me to death, especially at night.

R2 FAILED Geography.

Jeepers, creepers!

Midwest, I’d say Wisconsin is great in that you can have coastline of Lake Michigan, river bluffs by the Mississippi, farm fields, forests, hills, and most of the larger towns have interesting things to see. And they actually have a system of scenic drives called “Rustic Roads” which have directional signs and take you off the highway to see other sights.

Texas. They have the most Burger King drive thrus.

Wyoming is glorious

I well remember back in the 70s there was a stretch of I16 south of Macon, Ga., on the way to Savannah where you were met with a sign that said 'NO SERVICES NEXT 65 MILES'. And believe me, there were no services of any kind. Luckily it was a rather well traveled stretch of freeway so you'd likely have someone stop to offer help. But you had better make sure you had plenty of gas before you hit that stretch. Now, there are plenty of services along that strech.

OP, are you a serial killer?

I second New Mexico. Northern Arizona is amazing too.

Oregon

[quote] Texas. They have the most Burger King drive thrus.

And the most state troopers. Driving through certain parts of Texas can feel downright eerie.

I agree with r8. Very gorgeous.

Of course, I'd NEVER consider living there.

R24 - most of Texas is boring as shit, outside of hill country which they never fucking stop talking about.

I hate that state with a passion. Fucking loud, gaudy, egomaniacs - Everything's Bigger in Texas! bullshit. Some of the most obnoxious people in America.

Vermont.

I've driven across the country 3 (!) times and have driven through most states. TX is THE worst to drive through and each time, couldn't wait to get out of it!

The first time, spent the night in Amarillo and next morning as we're leaving, I look out the window across flat, barren land as far as the eye could see and was shocked that I could actually see the FUCKING CURVE OF THE EARTH. Not kidding.

Shithole.

I've driven over much of the eastern half of the US and Kentucky and North Carolina would be my picks for most scenic.

R28 - I know that drive. But driving North to South is not much better.

Plus fucking assholes in Cowboy Boots and Hats cosplaying some tough guys. Churches everywhere.

Fucking redneck cops all over the rural areas with their big fucking bellies and Texas belt-buckles trying to give tickets to any out of staters - particularly any blue states.

It's a state full of assholes who think everyone believes like them that Texas is the best. Nobody outside of Texas thinks that.

If you want miles of wide-open spaces, I recommend North Dakota. I actually enjoyed it, although it's the flattest place I've ever ridden through. Miles and miles of wheat fields and little sunflowers. Beautiful.

Last summer, riding through Wyoming was beautiful (especially Green River), but there were unbelievable amounts of road work. Really takes the fun out of the scenery.

There's a road that goes down the eastern side of Washington and Oregon called the Palouse Scenic Byway. I highly recommend it.

Kansas.

Make sure you drive through the vast corn fields.

Sorry -- link not working.

I have to second r29, some of the most rural and poor areas of our country are the prettiest and most scenic. Northern Alabama, around the Tennessee River area, is also pretty.

I'm in CT so last week I did like a four hour drive through Vermont. Not nearly as empty as I'd like but rural and beautiful it was. So much so I now want to live there. I got on RT 30 up to Poultney then went a little east to Castleton. It was BEAUTIFUL. My main purpose of going was to see a closed small liberal arts school called Green Mountain College. It did not disappoint but was a little weird without anyone there. Students or faculty and knowing that there never would be again. I imagined myself going there in the 50s when it was full to capacity but it was a gorgeous school. The only thing bad about doing a country ride in VT, in a sports car, is if you get behind a put put on those mountain rds. the road trip is ruined. But yeah, I want to live in VT now.

If you want true desolation, including not seeing other cars on the road for hours on end, the majority of Nevada outside of Vegas & Reno will do it.

The best state to drive through that has desolation *and* natural beauty is Montana. The only thing I don't like about it is that it's become a hotspot for rich Repugs buying absurdly huge ranches. (Unfortunately it's not just Ted Turner nowadays.)

The DMZ

r37 you might want to explain....

[quote]Plus fucking assholes in Cowboy Boots and Hats cosplaying some tough guys.

Damn R30, I guess I need to get outside of the state's largest metro area more often to see what the fuck is going on elsewhere in Texas.

[quote]Canada's good for that

r2 *British Columbia

The only place I ever saw lots of cowboy hats and boots in Dallas was at the airport. And I assume most of those men were from other places. On the street you'll rarely see men dressed in cowboy drag.

The most ridiculous cowboy hat I ever saw at the Dallas airport was this guy who had a snow white Dove (or the front half of a dove) mounted to the front of his hat with the wings swept back over each side of the crown.

Interestingly enough R31, your link actually is working for me.

[quote]If you want true desolation, including not seeing other cars on the road for hours on end, the majority of Nevada outside of Vegas & Reno will do it.

US 50, "The Loneliest Road in America."

R30, your attempted hit job on Texas is pretty much total horseshit:

[quote]Plus fucking assholes in Cowboy Boots and Hats cosplaying some tough guys. Churches everywhere.

If you think Texas somehow has a monopoly on cowboys boots & Stetsons, I can only assume you've never visited the *actual* American West, and Texas isn't part of it. (Or the South: shitkickers are also common there, especially in rural areas.) Also, if you actually knew anything about Texas, you'd be aware that your notions about "cowboys" tending to vast herds of cattle are absurd. Like the rest of the country, Texas has industrial-scale meat processing, and most of it is done by undocumented immigrants earning minimum wage.

Aside from Houston & Dallas lawyers & the like, few Texans wear cowboy boots on a regular basis, and more people on whole wear Red Wing boots than anything else (meaning the pull-up, laceless variety that looks somewhat like a cowboy boot. Likely the biggest percentage of Texas's working class works in the oil fields, and while roughnecks definitely always wear boots, they wear extremely heavy-duty ones that they can hose off each night. (Working in oil nowadays nearly always means working in fracking, and the thick, tar-like oil it produces is an epic bitch to get out of literally any fabric that isn't 100% sealed to moisture.

Finally, it's 2024, and Texas is becoming just as secular as the rest of the country. It actually has the fewest churches per capita, not the most. But it's obvious you don't like inconvenient facts.

[quote]Fucking redneck cops all over the rural areas with their big fucking bellies and Texas belt-buckles trying to give tickets to any out of staters - particularly any blue states.

This is fiction, and unlike you I've driven through Texas more times than I can even remember. Perhaps ironically, Texas has always had the *least* number of traffic cops, based on both my own experience and that of plenty of friends over the past 15-20 years – with the exception of Montana, which infamously didn't even have a maximum speed limit until the feds forced one on them.

And, again, I can only assume you haven't traveled much if you think only Texas cops wear cowboy hats & boots. (Also, the *actual* mega-obnoxious Texas belt buckles are far too large for a Texas DPS uniform, so I have no idea what you mean there.) Finally, Texas does NOT typically set up radar traps along the various roads leading into the state, and I'm emphasizing it because most of the states surrounding Texas do exactly that.

But sure, stereotypes are so helpful. 🙄

I've been pulled over by Texas state troopers on a pretext to look in my trunk. (I do understand the War on Drugs was in high gear at the time.) If my experience is anything to go by, Illinois is the speed trap-iest state. Though Virginia is the one that pissed me off the most, as I was clearly pulled out of a line of cars all doing the same speed because of my out-of-state plates.

Hope that ticket money went to something real important, as it's the last of mine anyone in Virginia will ever see.

R44 ROFLMAO