Jamie Jensen - Road Trip USA--Appalachian Trail

Shenandoah National Park

South from Pennsylvania, nearly to the end of the route in Georgia, the Appalachian Trail runs through continuous nature, with barely a city to be seen. Starting with Virginias Shenandoah National Park, then following the Blue Ridge Parkway across the breathtaking mountains of western North Carolina, its all-American scenic highway all the way, with recommended detours east and west to visit such fascinating historic sights as Thomas Jeffersons home, Monticello, outside Charlottesville, Virginia; the most opulent mansion in America, Ashevilles Biltmore; the real-life town that inspired TVs Mayberry RFDMount Airy, North Carolina; or the white water featured in the film Deliverance, north Georgias Chattooga River.

All in all, the Appalachian Trail is an amazing drive, whether or not you come for fall color.

Live Free or Die is the feisty motto of tiny New Hampshire, the state that hits the national limelight every four years when its political primaries launch the horse race for the White House. During the presidential campaigns opening stretch, locals have to turn into hermits to avoid having their votes solicited by every candidate running and their opinions polled by every reporter. Some of New Hampshires million residents take the states motto to heart, however, and when you see the ruggedness of the landscape youll appreciate how easy it is to find isolation from the madding crowd.

Despite its apparent brevity, the route across New Hampshire provides a hearty sampling of the topographic spectrum from its start at New Englands highest peak, Mt. Washington, to neighboring Vermont amid the rolling farmland of the Connecticut River Valley.

Although clear-day views from the summit of Mt. Washington are amazing, 9 days out of 10 the summit is socked in and cold. Snow can fall any month of the year.

The star attraction of the White Mountains Presidential Range, 6,288-foot Mt. Washington stands head and shoulders above every other peak in New England. East of the Mississippi, only Mt. Mitchell and Mt. Craig in North Carolinas Blue Ridge and Clingmans Dome in Tennessees Great Smokies are taller. Despite its natural defensessuch as notoriously fierce storms that arise without warningMt. Washington is accessible to an almost unfortunate degree. The Mount Washington Auto Road (603/466-3988, May-mid-Oct. daily, weather permitting, $28 car and driver, $8 each additional adult) was first opened for carriages in 1861, earning it the nickname Americas Oldest Man-Made Tourist Attraction. It still switchbacks up the eastern side, climbing some 4,700 feet in barely eight miles. A marvel of engineering, construction, and maintenance, the Mount Washington Auto Road offers a great variety of impressions of the mountain and wonderful views from almost every turn.

historic Tip Top House at the summit of Mt. Washington

The first automobile ascent of Mt. Washington was made in 1899 by Freelan O. Stanley, piloting one of his namesake Stanley Steamers.

If the weather is clear, you can see the Atlantic Ocean from the top of the mountain; in summer, mornings tend to be clearer, and sunny afternoons turn cloudy and stormy on the summit, complete with lightning and thunder. At the top, be prepared for winter weather any time of year (it can and does snow here every month of the year), and be sure to have a look inside the Summit House, which has displays on the historic hotels and taverns that have graced the top over the years. Visited by hundreds of people every day throughout the summer, since the 1850s the summit of Mt. Washington has sprouted a series of restaurants and hotelseven a daily newspaper. The most evocative remnant of these is the tiny