The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips [Hardcover]

Reader's Digest (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 1997

A one-of-a-kind trip planner, a superb on-the-road reference, and an album of 400 photographs. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, here are 120 outstanding drives that show the magnificence of America-each with detailed, easy-to-follow maps.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Taking a drive in the country has been popular since horse-and-buggy days. But while the road trip itch is as strong as ever, scenic drives get scarcer year by year. The answer is a collection of the 120 loveliest drives in the U.S., providing maps and tours (with sites along the way itemized and lovingly described), trip length, when to go, nearby attractions, and local information sources. Free time is at a premium these days; rather than waste your leisure time in highway gluts, it's worth taking directions to some of the most beautiful drives the country still has to offer.

From Publishers Weekly

The beauty of the open road is captured in this exquisitely illustrated guide to America's best driving routes. Newly revised and updated since its first publication in 1997, this volume is complete with tourist information, maps and breathtaking photographs to help readers plan their next cross-country vacation. Organized by region, the 120 suggested road trips span all 50 states and offer a wide variety of scenic adventures, from exploring the remote canyons of New Mexico to visiting the most beautiful beaches on Cape Cod. Each route offers a number of must-see points of interest, such as the carefully preserved mid-19th-century home of Washington Irving in New York or the best places to spot wildflowers in the Texas Hill Country. Also included for each drive is a helpful "Trip Tips" table, providing not only the basic information about length and the best time of the year to visit, but invaluable pieces of advice (i.e., "No fuel is available on the 70-mile stretch of highway between Marblemount and Mazama"). Although it's often hard to get a sense of the particular personality of a drive from the rather dry descriptions, the large color photographs provide readers with a snapshot view of the unique beauty of each area. Perfect for anyone planning a road trip, this comprehensive volume will inspire readers to explore the natural scenery of the United States, whether travelling across the country or re-discovering the beauty of their home state. 400+ color photographs and 120 maps.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Readers Digest (May 5, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895778629
• ISBN-13: 978-0895778628
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Scenic Drives in America, December 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips (Hardcover)

This book has numerous beautiful color photographs as well as colored area maps where the scenic drives are located. Each stopping point has a number and a description of what you will find. I like the fact that you get the length of the trip, best time to go, and nearby attractions. If one wants to go to a specific state, you now know where the best views are.

I like to do photography and this book will be helpful when planning my trips. The book also is a reminder of the beautiful drives within a day's drive of my home.

The only thing I don't like about the book is the size. It is a coffee table book and won't fit on my bookshelf without sticking way out. Well worth the money.

91 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring for Family Trips, December 30, 2003

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips (Hardcover)

This is a fun book for vacationing families, college student roadtrippers, RV campers, and motorcycle travelers.

As an Illinois resident, I was pleased to see 18 stops the authors considered scenic. Having traveled through many of them, I can attest their taste is good. Seeing the majestic Shawnee National Forest is like seeing what Adam and Eve might have enjoyed had Eden been located in southern Illinois.

With all of the 120 drives, there are roughly 10-20 stops, each with a descriptive paragraph. Decorating each drive are photos of special sites or animals. Maps with insets demonstrate the context of the drive inside each state.

Not every great site has a stop. Illinois' gorgeous Starved Rock Park is missing, but only because so much of America is beautiful. To include every place of beauty would cause this 400 page book to be 40,000 pages.

While it makes a nice coffee table book, there is plenty to read. It can help inspire deeper research for your next family adventure.

I fully recommend "The Most Scenic Drives in America (Most Scenic Drives in America): 120 Spectacular Road Trips" by Readers Digest. It is as enjoyable to read as it is to look at.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

66 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The siren song of the open road, April 10, 2006

By 

Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips (Hardcover)

It's that time of the year when I begin planning the annual vacation. Though my preference would be to hop a plane to the UK, of which I never become tired, my wife thinks I'm in a rut in that regard, so we're likely as not to spend 7-10 days traveling U.S. roads by flivver. THE MOST SCENIC DRIVES IN AMERICA is a reminder that there's a lot to see without the need for a passport and, for one as afflicted with insatiable wanderlust as myself, the book represents temptations akin to those in a Godiva shop for a chocoholic.

Unlike your standard coffee table book, THE MOST SCENIC DRIVES IN AMERICA is enormously useful. Its 120 scenic drives are divided among four regions: The Western States (24 drives), The Rocky Mountain States (29 drives), The Central States (26 drives), and The Eastern States (41 drives). The volume begins with one-page maps of each region with each drive numbered and drawn-in with a red squiggle in case you want to see their relative positions and combine more than one in a single road adventure.

Each numbered drive is sequentially described, 2-6 pages each, and supplemented with gorgeous color photographs - 400 total. Each description includes a route map on which the cities and towns and road numbers are shown and the main attractions along the way pinpointed. Each attraction is summarized. Finally, each drive has its own "Trip Tips": length in miles, when to go, "words to the wise", nearby attractions, and where to go for further information. As an example:

The Eastern States, Drive #96, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, 2 pages, 2 photos. Listed attractions: Intercourse (a town, tiger, with a quilt museum), Ephrata Cloister (another town, built by the Seventh-Day Baptists), Landis Valley Museum (focusing on the PA Dutch with 80,000 items), Lancaster (a city with an historic Central Market), Marietta (another town, with a preserved silk mill), Hans Herr House (a home dating from 1719), and Strasberg (another town, with the Railroad Museum of PA). Length - 80 miles. Popular year-round. Bring a cooler to store food purchased at roadside stands, which are mostly closed on Sunday. Chocolate World at Hershey is nearby. Address and phone number for the PA Dutch Visitors Bureau.

So, I might ask the little woman: "Honey, how about a spin along Cape Cod's Sandy Shores (#91), or through the Wisconsin North Woods (#58), or along Devil's Tower Loop (#35), or on the Loneliest Road in America (#16)?"

But, just between you and me, several days in London and a leisurely exploration of the Devon and Cornwall coasts is my E-ride.