8 Can't-Miss Towns Near Great Driving Roads
From east to west, here are eight destinations we recommend to cap off a day of memorable driving.
Driving a fun car on challenging roads can be a supremely rewarding experience, but we're not all lucky enough to live near good roads. So what's an enthusiast to do? Go to the roads, of course. Better yet, find an interesting road near an interesting town, so you can keep having fun even when you've had enough driving for the day. Here are a few picturesque towns in close proximity to beautiful scenery and renowned driving routes. Go for a drive. Tell them C/D sent you.
Callicoon, New York
Situated about two and a half hours northwest of New York City in the Catskill Mountains, Callicoon is a tiny town perfect for a weekend escape with a good car. You'll have to get off I-84 about 50 miles from town, and the remainder of the trip will be on winding, sometimes hilly state roads. The picturesque downtown is only a few blocks long, but there's a wine merchant, a brew pub, and a handful of locally owned restaurants to keep you occupied.
Best of all, Callicoon is only 23 miles away from Monticello, New York, and the Monticello Motor Club, which features a 4.1-mile paved course with five configurations and an off-road course. Members have access to the track most weekends from April to November, but nonmembers can sign up for a three-day performance driving school or a three-hour off-road excursion.
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a quintessentially New England town with one of the best backyards in the world: it's located on the same island as, and is surrounded on three sides by, Acadia National Park (pictured at top). Traffic can slow on the park loop road, which hugs the coastline on the island’s eastern edge, but the scenery is beautiful, and if you go during slow season you may just be able to enjoy a few of the hairpin turns.
In town, there’s no shortage of bars, restaurants, and local shops, thanks to the tourism brought by the national park. And may we propose a road-trip game for your drive up to the island from Boston or Bangor? See how long you can go without seeing a Maine-themed souvenir shop. Double points if it's moose or blueberry themed.
Asheville, North Carolina
Tail of the Dragon is one of the East Coast's best roads, located between the Nantahala National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. If you're not up for camping, you'll want to commute to the Tail from one of the (relatively) nearby metropolises. It's an 11-mile route on U.S. 129 starting from Deals Gap in Tennessee. If you'd rather avoid the other motor tourists, virtually every road leading to the main event is also a curvy mountain masterpiece.
The town of Asheville is a two-hour drive to the main attraction, but the whole way down, you'll be winding through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Asheville's downtown is full of independent coffee shops, and there's a thriving art and music scene. The city is also known for its architecture.
Dahlonega, Georgia
Just over an hour north of Atlanta, Dahlonega offers an easy access point to the Road Atlanta raceway, where you can watch other people race or learn to do it yourself by buying a driving school package. Mercedes-Benz's AMG Driving Academy offers one- and two-day courses at Road Atlanta. If public roads are more your speed, there are plenty of interesting and beautiful drives through the Chattahoochee National Forest just north of town.
Dahlonega's charming downtown may suffer from stifling heat in the summer, but in the winter the weather turns milder, and the town hosts an Old-Fashioned Christmas Festival. Carolers in Dickensian costumes roam the streets, the stores downtown stay open late, and there are horse-drawn carriage rides, if you're into that kind of thing.
Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado’s ski towns are legendary. Aspen and Vail are classics, especially for out-of-towners, but Crested Butte, a few hours southwest of Denver and surrounded on all sides by Gunnison National Forest, is worth a detour. There’s a ski resort 15 minutes from town, and the Main Street area looks like it’s straight out of a postcard.
Drive along state road 12 through Kebler Pass for a tour of the area’s mountains and forests. The route can take up to four hours for a return trip. If that’s too much of a time commitment, consider a drive down Washington Gulch Road, instead. That drive should take two hours or less.
Sedona, Arizona
Located in the heart of red-rock country two hours north of Phoenix, Sedona is a hiking mecca with a healthy appetite for off-roading. Drive up from Phoenix on Interstate 17 if you’re in a rush to reach your destination (the views will still be gorgeous), or take state routes 87 and 260 for a slightly more interesting drive.
If hiking isn't your speed, avail yourself of one of Sedona's many off-road tour companies, or, if you're confident, rent a car and head out guide-free. From side-by-sides to Jeep Wranglers, there's plenty of fun to be had no matter your budget or level of experience. After a few days in Sedona, head further north on twisting mountain roads and take in the Grand Canyon.
Park City, Utah
The desert Southwest has no shortage of excellent scenery, but the wide-open spaces make for lots of straight roads. Heading into the mountains can usually solve that problem, and in Utah you can head to Park City, home of the 2002 Winter Olympics, and drive the 20-mile Alpine Loop Scenic Byway on state road 92.
Park City's downtown has a free (if limited) public transit system so that you can avoid parking downtown, and there's an open-air market every Sunday during the summer months. This particular byway requires a $6 fee (one fee covers three days of use), and the road is closed November through May.
Pacific City, Oregon
California’s Highway 1 is a legendary road for driving enthusiasts and wanderlusters alike. But the Pacific Coast Highway doesn't stop at California's northern border. Rather, it continues uninterrupted all the way up to Seattle as U.S. Route 101, dotted with cute coastal towns all the way up.
Pacific City, Oregon, is one such town, home to the beachfront, the award-winning Pelican Brewery, one of Oregon’s two Haystack Rocks, and a healthy surfing community. Its de facto Main Street, Cape Kiwanda Drive, is just two miles from Route 101 and its stunning ocean views. State route 6, which makes up the bulk of the drive to Portland, is nearly as nice. It passes right by the Tillamook Creamery, where you can stop to sample cheese and ice cream straight from the source.
Feel annoyed that this list mostly ignores the middle of the country? Don't blame us, blame topography. There are plenty of nice towns in the Midwest, but we're still looking for one with easy access to more than a few miles' worth of good roads. If you have a suggestion, we're all ears.
Annie White has been writing and editing for Car and Driver since 2016. She has owned two Chevrolet HHRs. It was a mistake both times.
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