Editors of Readers Digest - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips

A Reader's Digest Book

Copyright 2012 The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.

All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.

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U.S. Editor: Barbara Booth
Manager, English Book Editorial, Reader's Digest Canada: Pamela Johnson
Contributing Writers: Rebecca Behan, Marty Munson, Stephanie Schwartz
Copy Editor: Pat Halbert
Designer: Adam Zmudzinski
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READER'S DIGEST TRADE PUBLISHING
Senior Art Director: George McKeon
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The most scenic drives in America : 120 spectacular road trips / editors at Reader's Digest. -- [Rev. ed.].
p. cm.
Newly revised and updated.
ISBN 978-1-60652-358-2 -- ISBN 978-1-60652-390-2 (epub) -- ISBN 978-1-60652-389-6 (adobe)
1. United States--Guidebooks. 2. Automobile travel--United States--Guidebooks. 3. Scenic byways--United States--Guidebooks.
I. Reader's Digest Association.
E158.M85 2012
917.304'932--dc23
2011038281

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Printed in the United States of America

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FOR E. TUNNICLIFFE & ASSOCIATES
Art Director and Project Manager: Elizabeth Tunnicliffe
Researcher and Designer: Rachel Tunnicliffe

PRIOR EDITION CONTRIBUTORS
Writers: Jerry Bates, Chris Bohjalian, John L. Cobbs,Justin Cronin, Robert J. Dolezal, Martha Fay, Catherine Fredman, Carole Jacobs, Barbara A. Noe, Donald S. Olson, William G. Scheller, Mel White
Researchers: David J. Fleischmann, Margie Rynn, John Sellers, Joel Stein

Maps: Ortelius Design, Hillsboro, Wisconsin

One of America's most popular pastimes is, quite simply, going for long, leisurely drives in the countryand that's what this book is all about. Making its way through each of our 50 statesfrom Alaska to Florida and Maine to California, as well as many of Canada's most stunning destinationsthis completely revised edition of The Most Scenic Drives in America serves as your personal guide to the most breathtaking, intriguing, dramatic, and eye-pleasing stretches of road in the U.S. and beyond.

Divided into four regionsthe Western, Rocky Mountain, Central, and Eastern states, including Canada's provincesthe 120 tours in The Most Scenic Drives in America will take you on an unforgettable visit to all of the most spectacular scenic splendors, celebrating natural wonders, man-made marvels, and gloriously varied landscapes.

Selected with assistance from state tourism offices, the National Park Service, chambers of commerce, and countless travel experts in every part of the country, each drive route (shown in red on a specially designed map) follows a numbered sequence of points of interesttowns and cities, canyons and caverns, mountains and meadows, parks and historic siteswith each of these places described in the text and pinpointed on the map.

To help you plan and better enjoy the tours, each drive provides information upfront on mileage, the best travel seasons, nearby attractions, special events, and whom to contact for more details. Dozens of Star Routes offer thumbnail sketches of shorter but especially scenic roads that are located in the same vicinity as the main tours, Did You Know boxes offer fascinating facts about the area, and sidebars throughout feature distinctive highlights of the drive, from local plants, animals, and customs to special foods, festivals, and events.

Both out on the road and in the comfort of your home, The Most Scenic Drives in America is a welcome companion. It not only helps motorists plan trips filled with beauty and diversity but also fascinates the armchair traveler with hundreds of colorful photographs that bring the scenery to life. Whether you plan to take a drive in some far corner of the country or one that's virtually in your own backyard, this book will guide you to a host of beautiful bywaysthe roads that driving was made for.

THE EDITORS

Threading through the land of the midnight sun, this wilderness ramble reveals the many facets of Mt. McKinley, the icy jewel in Alaskas craggy crownand the 230-mile byway presents it all within easy reach.

Length: About 360 miles, plus side trips

When to go: Best June to August

Supplies: Visitors to the parks should bring rain gear, warm clothing, sturdy footwear, binoculars, and insect repellent.

Words to the wise: During summer, reservations for campsites and shuttle buses in Denali National Park must be made in person several days in advance.

Not to be missed: The official start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome, held in early March; summer Solstice celebrations in late June

Nearby attractions: Pioneer Park, a 44-acre historical theme park, Fairbanks; Creamers Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, Fairbanks; University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks; Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, Fairbanks

Further information: Alaska Travel Industry Association
www.travelalaska.com

Alaska Public Lands Information Center www.alaskacenters.gov/anchorage.cfm

Ice sculpted the face of Alaska, and the chisel marks are visible in the very first leg of this dramatic drive. Heading northeast from Anchorage, the Glenn Highway (Rte. 1) crosses two ice-fed riversthe Knik and the Matanuskaen route to Palmer, gateway to the glacier-gouged Matanuska and Susitna valleys.