Day 1
Beartooth Highway and Utah Scenic Byway 12
- Beartooth Highway · 67.7 mi · 9.7 / 10. Swaths of switchbacks climb to 3337 metres past alpine lakes and snowfields.
- Utah Scenic Byway 12 · 123 mi · 9.6 / 10. Slickrock, the Hogback ridge with drops both sides, and red canyon after red canyon.
About 186.4 mi and 9 hr 29 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 2
Going to the Sun Road and Highway 1, Big Sur
- Going to the Sun Road · 49.7 mi · 9.5 / 10. A cliff shelf road through Glacier National Park under hanging valleys.
- Highway 1, Big Sur · 90.1 mi · 9.5 / 10. The Pacific coast at its most theatrical, cliff curves above the open ocean.
About 186.4 mi and 8 hr 6 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 3
Million Dollar Highway and Tail of the Dragon, US129
- Million Dollar Highway · 24.9 mi · 9.5 / 10. A mining road cut into the San Juan cliffs with sheer drops and no barrier.
- Tail of the Dragon, US129 · 11.2 mi · 9.3 / 10. 318 curves in 11 miles, the most famous stretch of asphalt in America.
About 186.4 mi and 5 hr 16 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 4
Zion Mount Carmel Highway and Trail Ridge Road
- Zion Mount Carmel Highway · 24.2 mi · 9.3 / 10. Switchbacks out of Zion Canyon into a mile long tunnel with windows cut in the rock.
- Trail Ridge Road · 47.8 mi · 9.3 / 10. The highest continuous paved road in America, tundra above the treeline the whole way.
About 186.4 mi and 5 hr 33 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 5
Independence Pass and San Juan Skyway
- Independence Pass · 31.7 mi · 9.3 / 10. Narrow shelf tarmac to 3687 metres, tight, exposed and completely absorbing.
- San Juan Skyway · 118.1 mi · 9.3 / 10. A full loop of the San Juans taking in Coal Bank, Molas and Lizard Head passes.
About 186.4 mi and 7 hr 12 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 6
Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and North Cascades Highway
- Chief Joseph Scenic Byway · 47.2 mi · 9.3 / 10. Switchbacks over Dead Indian Pass into a canyon nobody else seems to know about.
- North Cascades Highway · 70.8 mi · 9.3 / 10. Glacier peaks, turquoise reservoirs and long clean sweepers with almost no traffic.
About 186.4 mi and 6 hr 48 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 7
Tioga Pass Road and Sonora Pass
- Tioga Pass Road · 62.1 mi · 9.3 / 10. Yosemite high country, granite domes and meadows, then a drop to Mono Lake.
- Sonora Pass · 47.8 mi · 9.3 / 10. The steepest Sierra crossing, narrow and demanding with barely a car on it midweek.
About 186.4 mi and 6 hr 39 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 8
Cherohala Skyway and Seward Highway
- Cherohala Skyway · 42.9 mi · 9.3 / 10. Wide, fast and empty, the grown up alternative to the Tail of the Dragon next door.
- Seward Highway · 126.8 mi · 9.3 / 10. Turnagain Arm tides on one side, glaciers on the other, all the way to the sea.
About 186.4 mi and 7 hr 38 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 9
Haleakala Highway and Oak Creek Canyon, AZ 89A
- Haleakala Highway · 23.6 mi · 9.3 / 10. Sea level to 3055 metres in 38 km, 29 switchbacks and a crater at the end.
- Oak Creek Canyon, AZ 89A · 28 mi · 9.2 / 10. Red rock Sedona at one end, pine forest at the other, with a hairpin climb between.
About 186.4 mi and 5 hr 25 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 10
Pikes Peak Highway and Blue Ridge Parkway
- Pikes Peak Highway · 19.3 mi · 9.2 / 10. 156 corners to 4302 metres on the hill climb road every driver knows by name.
- Blue Ridge Parkway · 435 mi · 9.1 / 10. A ridgeline parkway with no trucks, no billboards and endless mountain overlooks.
About 186.4 mi and 12 hr 8 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 11
Angeles Crest Highway and Road to Hana
- Angeles Crest Highway · 65.9 mi · 9.1 / 10. Los Angeles's mountain playground, hours of clean sweepers above the basin.
- Road to Hana · 52.2 mi · 9.1 / 10. 620 curves and 59 bridges through rainforest and waterfalls on Maui's north shore.
About 186.4 mi and 6 hr 59 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 12
Mount Blue Sky Road and US 101 Oregon Coast
- Mount Blue Sky Road · 28 mi · 9.1 / 10. No guardrails, thin air and switchbacks to the highest paved road in North America.
- US 101 Oregon Coast · 366.6 mi · 9 / 10. Headlands, sea stacks and empty cliff curves for the whole length of the Oregon shore.
About 186.4 mi and 11 hr 6 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 13
Hurricane Ridge Road and Kancamagus Highway
- Hurricane Ridge Road · 18 mi · 9 / 10. A climb from sea level to an Olympic ridge with the Strait of Juan de Fuca behind you.
- Kancamagus Highway · 34.2 mi · 9 / 10. White Mountain sweepers with no services and the best autumn colour in America.
About 186.4 mi and 5 hr 12 min behind the wheel including transit.
Day 14
US 163 Monument Valley and Valley of Fire Road
- US 163 Monument Valley · 44.7 mi · 8.9 / 10. The straight every film crew shoots, buttes rising straight out of the desert floor.
- Valley of Fire Road · 18 mi · 8.9 / 10. Bright red sandstone waves either side of a smooth, almost empty two lane.
About 186.4 mi and 5 hr 23 min behind the wheel including transit.