Road Trips in North America
The best road trips in North America, from Route 66 and the Pacific Coast Highway to the Icefields Parkway.
North America was practically made for the road trip. Vast distances, spectacular and ever-changing scenery, an unrivalled network of highways and a deep cultural romance with the open road combine to make this one of the world’s great driving continents. Here the journey truly is the destination.
The classic routes are the stuff of legend: the cliff-hugging Pacific coast, the mother road of Route 66, the glacier-lined parkways of the Canadian Rockies and the ridge-top drives of Appalachia. Each strings together an incredible sequence of landscapes, from redwood forests and red-rock deserts to alpine passes and windswept coasts.
With reliable roads, endless scenic overlooks, quirky roadside towns and freedom to stop wherever the view demands it, driving here is a joy. Whether you have a long weekend or a month, these routes deliver some of the most memorable travel experiences anywhere on the planet.
North America's Greatest Road Trips#
Big Sur & Pacific Coast Highway, USA The most celebrated drive in America, where California’s Highway 1 clings to sheer cliffs above the crashing Pacific through the spectacular Big Sur coast. Redwood groves, hidden coves, sea otters and jaw-dropping overlooks make every mile unforgettable.
Icefields Parkway, Canada Widely rated one of the most beautiful drives on Earth, this 230-kilometre route through the Canadian Rockies links Banff and Jasper past turquoise lakes, vast glaciers and towering peaks. Wildlife sightings and roadside icefields are almost guaranteed.
Blue Ridge Parkway, USA A gloriously slow, meandering 469-mile drive along the crests of the Appalachian Mountains, linking the Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah. Endless mountain overlooks, especially ablaze with autumn colour, make it ‘America’s Favourite Drive’.
Cabot Trail, Canada A stunning loop around the highlands of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, where the road winds along dramatic coastal cliffs high above the Atlantic. Whales offshore, Celtic culture and fiery autumn forests make it one of Canada’s finest drives.
Baja California, Mexico An epic peninsula road trip down Highway 1, running from the border to Cabo through cactus deserts, whale-watching lagoons and empty Pacific and Sea of Cortez beaches. It is a raw, adventurous drive full of surprises.
Skagway & the far north, USA The gateway to Alaska’s Klondike Highway, a breathtaking climb from a historic gold-rush port over the White Pass into the Yukon. Towering peaks, waterfalls and vast wilderness unfold at every turn.
Monument Valley, USA The drive through the Navajo Nation’s iconic red sandstone buttes is the very image of the American West, immortalised in countless films. The road here is a cinematic journey through one of the planet’s most recognisable landscapes.
Overseas Highway to Key West, USA A magical 113-mile drive that leaps across dozens of islands and open water on the way down the Florida Keys, ending at the end of the road in colourful Key West. Turquoise sea on both sides makes it feel like driving on the ocean.
Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico A rewarding loop linking the Maya ruins of Chichen Itza and Uxmal, colonial cities like Merida, cenote swimming holes and Caribbean beaches. Good roads and short distances make it one of Mexico’s easiest and most rewarding self-drives.
Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier, USA One of the most spectacular mountain roads in the world, an engineering marvel that climbs over the Continental Divide through Montana’s Glacier National Park. Waterfalls, glaciers and mountain-goat sightings crowd the route.
Sea to Sky Highway, Canada The stunning coastal drive from Vancouver to Whistler, winding between the mountains and the fjord-like Howe Sound past waterfalls and viewpoints. It packs an extraordinary amount of scenery into a short, easy journey.
Route 66, USA The legendary ‘Mother Road’, a nostalgic ribbon of vintage diners, neon motels and quirky roadside Americana running from Chicago towards the California coast. Driving even a stretch of it is a journey into the heart of American myth.
Copper Canyon, Mexico The roads and rails around this vast canyon system in Mexico’s Sierra Madre, deeper and larger than the Grand Canyon, wind past dramatic viewpoints and Raramuri villages. It is one of the country’s most spectacular and least-known landscapes.