What is the flattest route across America?
I-10 is going to be your best bet. It doesn't completely avoid mountains (its impossible to do so on a cross country trip) but it does stay at the lowest elevations and would also be the shortest route for this trip. The hardest part of your whole trip will be I-8 between San Diego and El Centro.
Loveland Pass in Colorado is one of the most photographed Continental Divide crossings as well as easiest. It climbs a massive 11,990 feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountains. It's located about 60 miles west of Denver on U.S. Highway 6.
Route 66 may be the most iconic path for an east-to-west road trip. But the I-80 takes the crown as the best interstate travel route through the middle of the USA, passing 11 states and 2,902 miles.
- 01 of 05. Icefields Parkway, Jasper and Banff National Parks. ...
- 02 of 05. Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Loop. ...
- 03 of 05. Beartooth Highway to Yellowstone National Park. ...
- 04 of 05. Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. ...
- 05 of 05. Royal Gorge in Cañon City, Colorado.
Looking for a way to avoid mountains on a long road trip? Find alternate routes that are smoother and explore ways to bypass the Rocky Mountains or cut through on major highways. An easier drive will have less elevation change and avoid small roads that may climb to high altitude.
The curviest road in America
Deals Gap is a mountain pass between Tennessee and North Carolina where over 11 miles, you'll twist through 318 turns. Because of the curvy path, this stretch is known as the Tail of the Dragon. To keep everyone safe on the road, the speed limit is just 30 MPH.
Use Google Maps, select the "not scary" option. OK just kidding. But there is a "terrain" option (upper right hand corner, under "menu"). If you tell us where you're headed, locals and regulars on the forum can probably tell you what the roads are like in those areas.
- Santa Barbara Mission. ...
- Pismo Beach. ...
- Wildlife Watching In San Luis Obispo County. ...
- Hearst Castle. ...
- Cambria. ...
- Limekiln State Park. ...
- Nepenthe. ...
- Bixby Bridge.
Pennsylvania Route 487
At one point, the highway gains altitude at a 12.5-percent grade, and at its steepest, road-trippers will find themselves struggling up a 14.5-percent grade.
What are the 4 states not served by an interstate?
Those not directly served are Juneau, AK; Dover, DE; Jefferson City, MO; and Pierre, SD.
If you're on a highway that is above two lanes, it's most likely safest to be in an outermost lane. When you're on the outer lane, you don't have to worry about cars on both sides of you. Should an emergency occur, you have the option of pulling off the road and onto the shoulder.

Our daylight rail tours through the Canadian Rockies and American Southwest are scheduled to show guests all of the scenery. After a day onboard the train, guests overnight in comfortable hotel accommodation.
First Passage to the West: Banff to Vancouver... This is the most historic and arguably most scenic route operated by the Rocky Mountaineer, previously known as the Kicking Horse route.
- Estes Park, CO. 7.9 mi / 21 mins.
- Lyons, CO. 28.7 mi / 51 mins.
- Boulder, CO. 44.7 mi / 1 hour 15 mins.
- Denver, CO. 78.5 mi / 1 hour 46 mins.
- Winter Park, CO. 111 mi / 2 hours 44 mins.
- Granby, CO. 131 mi / 3 hours 8 mins.
- Grand Lake, CO. 147 mi / 3 hours 28 mins.
Mountain driving and towing both increase the load on the drivetrain through both weight and heat. The constant downshifting in the mountains done to save your brakes is going to heat things up in the transmission in a hurry.
Slow acceleration and easing off the gas can help keep you in control. Shift down instead of constantly braking. If you drive an automatic, use your vehicle's lower gear settings. Keeping your vehicle in a single gear can help improve traction.
Crashes on mountain roads tend to be even more dangerous than most auto accidents due to the limited visibility ahead, and one crash can lead to another if someone is driving too fast to see the stopped cars from the original accident.
- Iowa (8.3/10)
- Minnesota (8.16/10)
- Virginia (7.96/10)
- North Dakota (7.55/10)
- Vermont (7.28/10)
Located on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the USA, Deals Gap, also known as Tail of the Dragon is said to be one of the most scenic drives in the USA. Featuring 318 curves, this winding mountain road is unlike anywhere else in the world.
How do I turn on ghost mode in Google Maps?
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Maps app .
- In the top right, tap your profile picture.
- Tap Turn on Incognito mode.
Unfortunately, Google Maps and Apple Maps don't show whether roads are paved or unpaved. Apps like Ride With GPS show road surfaces on routes you create, but don't show whether the surrounding roads are asphalt or gravel.
If the device's route preference or calculation mode is set to Shorter Distance, this may cause the device to guide you off of a highway in order to navigate a more direct route. Setting the route preference to Faster Time may make a difference in how the device calculates a route.
In Colorado, I-70 crosses the Great Plains, runs through Denver, and crosses the Rocky Mountains, providing a direct route to many popular ski resorts and hiking trails. Because of its mountainous route, building I-70 through Colorado posed unique, often expensive, challenges to engineers and builders.
The tunnel carries Interstate 70 (I-70) under the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. With a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet (3,401 m) above sea level, it is one of the highest vehicular tunnels in the world.
The Oregon Trail, the 2,000-mile (3,200 kilometer) route across the Great Plains and the through the Rocky Mountains that was the path for thousands of emigrants to the Columbia River Basin in the 1840s, had its origin, literally and figuratively, in the 1812 journey of Robert Stuart who pioneered the route essentially ...
RV up US Highway 1. Regarded as one of the best "All American Roads", Highway 1 (also known as State Route 1) offers some of the country's best coastal scenery and is perfect for an RV road trip.
- TRANSFAGARASAN ROAD, ROMANIA.
- GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD, MONTANA, USA.
- AMALFI COAST DRIVE, ITALY.
- LYSEBOTN ROAD, NORWAY.
- ICEFIELDS PARKWAY, ALBERTA, CANADA.
- SEWARD HIGHWAY, ALASKA, USA.
- CHAPMAN'S PEAK DRIVE, SOUTH AFRICA.
- MILFORD ROAD, NEW ZEALAND.
It's best to travel from north to south as you'll be on the right side of the road for uninterrupted views and to pull over to take photographs. Parking in cities can be expensive. It's better to leave your rental vehicle and use public transport. Plan in plenty of stops along the way.
Because the Interstate numbering plan is a mirror image of the U.S. numbered highway plan, I-50 would be located in some of the same States as U.S. 50 (Ocean City, Maryland, to Sacramento, California). Therefore, "50" has not been used for an Interstate route.
Where is America's loneliest highway?
U.S. Route 50 is a transcontinental highway in the United States, stretching from the Sacramento region of California in the west to Ocean City of Maryland in the east. The Nevada portion, which goes through the center of the state, was named The Loneliest Road in America by Life magazine in July 1986.
Surely the slowest speed would be zero, with an object being at rest. Any object can be made to have zero velocity by taking a reference frame about that object.
There are no I-50 and I-60, as routes with those numbers would likely pass through states that currently have U.S. Highways with the same numbers, which is generally disallowed under highway administration guidelines.
What is the shortest Interstate? The shortest interstate is I-878 in New York City, which is all of seven-tenths of a mile long. That's just 3,696 feet.
All 50 states in the United States are “served by” the Interstate Highway System. Of course, there are no Interstate highways connecting Alaska or Hawaii to any other state, but both states have highways that are part of the Interstate system.
While merging might seem like a straightforward maneuver, it's one of the leading causes of accidents. That is why the merging lane on the highway is the most dangerous to drive in. According to the United States Department of Transportation, there are approximately 300,000 merging accidents every year.
Safest States for Drivers | Fatality rate per 1,000 drivers |
---|---|
1. Massachusetts | .048 |
2. Rhode Island | .049 |
3. New York | .052 |
4. New Jersey | .062 |
According to one source, while crashes in the left lane are often the most intense, the left lane actually has the fewest crashes. The right lane, with its continuous merging, is where the highest rate of accidents occurs. While most people may think that living safely carries the least risk, it is not always so.
Silver Leaf vs Gold Leaf Service
I rode the Rocky Mountaineer at the Gold Leaf service level and can say it's definitely worth the additional costs. The upper level dome windows and outdoor viewing areas make for such an immersive experience – you don't want to pay all that money to not have the best view possible!
Because you stay overnight in Kamloops. There is no evening meal to dress for as on other luxury train trips. So its day wear that is comfortable, but not sloppy. No shorts/vests/rags etc.
Do you get breakfast on the Rocky Mountaineer?
You will be served meals, alcoholic, and non-alcoholic beverages on the train. For all morning departures, breakfast will start shortly after departure; however, this may be several hours after leaving your hotel room, so you may want to have a light snack prior to departing from your hotel.
Sunset Limited. If you're into grand vistas of red rocks and cacti, this desert-heavy itinerary might be the most scenic train route in America. It starts off in Louisiana bayou country then chugs through the expansive Southwestern deserts of West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona over the course of 48 hours.
Unlike the Rocky Mountaineer which offers daylight only services, the VIA Rail trains operate throughout the day and night getting you to your destination sooner. From Jasper to Vancouver or in reverse, the VIA Rail service takes about 17 hours and is available through the winter months.
If measured by the state with the number of named mountain ranges, then the distinction goes to Nevada, according to a member of Blurtit.com, an online question and answer community. Nevada has more than 300 named mountain ranges, all running north-south as part of the Great Basin complex.
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South Pass (Wyoming)
South Pass | |
---|---|
Elevation | 7,412 ft (2,259 m) |
Traversed by | Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Mormon Trail, Wyoming Highway 28 |
Rank | State | Highest elevation |
---|---|---|
1 | Colorado | 14,440 ft 4401 m |
2 | Wyoming | 13,809 ft 4209 m |
3 | Utah | 13,518 ft 4120 m |
4 | New Mexico | 13,167 ft 4013 m |
Flattest States in the United States
Illinois. North Dakota. Louisiana.
And — guess what? Kansas didn't even crack the top five U.S. states for flatness. By any measure, Florida takes the prize for the flattest state in the nation because the highest point in the state is only 345 feet above sea level. Then Illinois, North Dakota, Louisiana, Minnesota and Delaware follow.
In order of flatness: Florida, Illinois, North Dakota, Louisiana, Minnesota, Delaware, Kansas.
The flattest is Florida, and Kansas isn't even among the five flattest. In order of flatness: Florida, Illinois, North Dakota, Louisiana, Minnesota, Delaware, Kansas. So, Kansas is seventh-flattest, and Illinois — yes, Illinois — ranks second-flattest. Ranking states according to mountainous terrain is more difficult.
What is the most hilly state in America?
Rank | State | Mean elevation |
---|---|---|
1 | Colorado | 6,800 ft 2073 m |
2 | Wyoming | 6,693 ft 2040 m |
3 | Utah | 6,100 ft 1859 m |
4 | New Mexico | 5,700 ft 1737 m |
According to the Great Falls Tribune, Nevada is the most mountainous state in the country. There are over three hundred named ranges, along with over one hundred anonymous mountain ranges that are scattered throughout the desert. The tallest mountain is Boundary Peak, with it being 13,147 feet tall.
The least flat state, West Virginia, also surprised the researchers. Although the state's nickname is the Mountain State and its flagship public university's athletic teams are called the Mountaineers, Dobson says the researchers didn't expect the data would confirm the nicknames to that degree.
Simply put, our results show that Kansas is considerably flatter than a pancake.
The glaciers melting dropped sediment and helped fill in the valleys. Flatter land is also ideal for farmland, which is abundant in the state. North Dakota's Red River Valley is the largest flat plain, especially near the glacier-made Lake Agassiz.
Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is that place; it is the flattest place on Earth.
Minnesota is what you might call vertically condensed. Its lowest point (Lake Superior, at 600 feet above sea level) is less than 15 miles from the 2,301-foot summit of Eagle Mountain, its highest point. “The state is relatively flat.
According to the analysis, and agreeing with reality, Florida is both the flattest and flattest-looking state. Next up are Illinois, North Dakota, Louisiana, Minnesota, Delaware, Kansas and Texas. The least-flat-seeming states: West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.