Does spring make you yearn for the open road? These four rural road trips feature iconic America: along a craggy coast, deep into a preserved Jurassic-era past, through a remnant of tall grass prairie, and up and over an Appalachian bald.
A Whale of a Trip: Strait of Juan de Fuca Scenic Byway, Washington
Washington’s Highway 112 is the Strait of Juan de Fuca National Scenic Byway. The 61-mile span hugs the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula along a glacial fjord, where visitors experience wildlife migrations, views of ocean waves crashing against sea stacks, and the ancestral lands of two Indigenous tribes.
One of the first stops west of Port Angeles is the Elwha Lower Dam Interpretive Site. Signs tell the story of one of the largest ecosystem restoration projects in National Park Service history. A dam removal project completed a decade ago welcomed salmon back to its waters and returned access to ancestral land for the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe.
Next along the byway are five Clallam County waterfront parks. They provide picnic spots and an opportunity to walk along the rugged, rocky coast, dotted with sea caves. Eagles search for food among intertidal rocks, and an array of marine life bobs by in the Strait: river otters, sea lions, harbor seals.
One of these is Freshwater Bay County Park, one of the best stops along a “Whale Trail” that coincides with the byway. Here, orcas can be spied from the shore, along with migrating grey whales in April and May and humpbacks later in the summer. Salt Creek Recreation Area is known world-wide for its tidal pools. The parks offer opportunities for camping, kayaking, scuba diving, and hiking.
A couple of small towns offer respite from the car, too. Joyce has a small museum highlighting early settlers to the area. Stop into its general store, in operation since 1911, and the renowned Blackberry Diner. Sekiu is a prime destination for recreational fishing and bird watching. Clallam Bay is known for its rugged, pristine coastline and bald eagles.
At the end of the route, you’ll find the town of Neah Bay on the Makah Reservation. The Makah Cultural and Research Center displays 500-year-old pre-contact artifacts, excavated during a 1970’s era archeological dig.
“A real gem is the Cape Flattery trail, an easy 1.2-mile round trip hike to the northwestern most point of the contiguous U.S.,” said Christina Pivarnik, who works in the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau. “The trail crosses the ancestral lands of the Makah and visitors will appreciate the ancient beauty of the forest.”
Thanks to DY reader Rae Leiper who recommended the Strait of Juan de Fuca Byway! Leiper wrote, “I drive it almost every day and I never tire of the views.”
A Journey to the Past: Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway, Utah
This epic 512-mile byway traverses America’s Jurassic Park, a diamond in eastern Utah and western Colorado considered the best place in the world to experience dinosaurs.
One must-see is Dinosaur National Monument. It holds a treasure trove of 150-million-year-old bones. The 0.5-mile fossil discovery trail, with stops to see fossils in the wild, ends at the Dinosaur Quarry exhibit hall. Here, a massive wall reveals 1,500 dinosaur fossils left just where they were found, including complete skulls. Best of all, visitors can touch these ancient remnants of life.
The nearby town of Vernal, is the top of the byway’s diamond shape. Here, the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum has 14 life-size reproductions in its Dinosaur Gardens. Peek in the windows to watch paleontologists at work in the only working paleo lab along the byway. At the end of August, Vernal hosts Dinah “Soar” Days, a hot air balloon festival, featuring the city’s own dinosaur-shaped balloon.
Price, Utah, and the new Jurassic National Monument sit at the western point of the diamond. This working dig site is less developed and accessing it requires traversing a 45-mile dirt road. But the site of one of the largest known dinosaur graveyards in the world is worth the trip. Visitors can view and learn about the active dig site, a pit containing 12,000 bones from at least 74 individual dinosaurs. The small museum features a full Allosaurus skeleton and a fossilized dinosaur egg.
Near Moab, the southern point of the diamond, three short hiking trails on Bureau of Land Management property along U.S. highway 191 end at preserved dinosaur tracks. Over 200 distinct tracks have been discovered at Mill Canyon, and a 0.75-mile trail circles the track site. The footprints at the Copper Ridge site were likely left by the Apatosaurus and the Diplodocus.
At the true southern point of the diamond, Moab Giants Dinosaur Park is a state-of-the-art experiential center. Encounter a Megalodon in the virtual 3D prehistoric aquarium. Visualize the creatures that left behind their footprints at the Tracks Museum. Imagine life here millions of years ago on the 0.5-mile Dinosaur Trail with 100 life-sized replicas. Hands-on activities include a mock dig site and a dino-themed playground.
Thanks to DY reader Maria Sykes for recommending the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway! Sykes wrote, “It has so many amazing fossil sites to see.”
Plain Traveling: Flint Hills Scenic Byway, Kansas
The Flint Hills Scenic Byway immerses travelers in a landscape of yore: the tallgrass prairie that originally covered most of the current Midwest. Only 4% of this native grassland ecosystem remains, and a remnant is preserved at the 10,000-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.
The park offers summer guided bus tours into the prairie, six miles of nature trails, and 40 miles of backcountry hiking. More than 500 plants have been identified in the prairie, and wildflowers usually bloom between the end of April and mid-May. Along with viewing bison and other wildlife, guests can tour historic farm and ranch buildings, including a restored stone house and large barn.
“It’s never been plowed, like old-growth prairie,” said Lisa Hecker with Kansas Tourism. “People think of Kansas as flat, but the byway travels across beautiful rolling hills.”
While the national park is a primary destination, the communities along the byway have their own cultural offerings. The 47-mile route starts in Council Grove where the historic Last Chance Store was the last place to purchase supplies before heading out on the Santa Fe Trail. Hays House 1857 Restaurant & Tavern, known for its fried chicken and peach pie, is the oldest continuously operating restaurant west of the Mississippi.
Tiny Matfield Green, pop. 49, is an historic ranching community and artist enclave. Pioneer Bluffs Heritage Center shares the stories of residents like Bobbie Hammond, a large-scale rancher, professional rodeo barrel racer, and grandmother. The local creative community offers artist residencies and music performances.
Strong City hosts the 86th Annual Flint Hills Rodeo on the last weekend in May. Cottonwood Falls is known for its 1873 French Renaissance-style county courthouse. Cassoday’s motorcycle community hosts a breakfast Bike Run the first Sunday of the month from March to October, which draws thousands of riders.
While not directly on the byway, the annual Symphony in the Hills in early June celebrates the subtle beauty of the prairie. After a day of guided walks, covered wagon rides, and poetry readings, people settle in for a magical sunset concert by the Kansas City Symphony.
A Wild Visit: Roan Highlands, Tennessee and North Carolina
The 25-mile drive from Roan Mountain, Tennessee, to Bakersville, North Carolina, passes through a remote, rugged, and beautiful stretch of the southern Appalachian Mountains known as the balds, treeless hills that offer expansive mountain vistas of the surrounding Cherokee and Pisgah National Forests. The drive is flanked with numerous overlooks and pull-outs, so take your time and enjoy a picnic among the hills.
At 6,600 feet, Roan Mountain is one of the highest summits in the southern range. Its steep hollows create diverse habitats where plants and animals not found anywhere else in the world thrive. The ecosystem and climate, with spruce-fir forests, are more reminiscent of Canada than the southeast.
The drive cuts through Tennessee’s Roan Mountain State Park, where outdoor adventurers can hike, mountain bike, and fish. Cool summer temperatures make this a popular spot in the summer and the park has cabins and camping for both RVs and tents.
Tennessee meets North Carolina at the highest point on the drive. At the Carter Gap trailhead, choose to hike right or left; both are pieces of the Appalachian Trail. Another parking area accesses a short trail to the site of the former 1900-era Cloudland Hotel and a boardwalk through a landscape of rhododendron. In June, the area is ablaze with the pink blooms of the world’s largest natural rhododendron gardens. Hikers will discover pockets of orange flame azaleas as well.Both states celebrate this natural phenomenon with festivals. The state park hosts the Roan Mountain Rhododendron Festival from June 22-23, 2024, featuring handmade crafts, food, traditional music and old-time folkway demonstrations. The Rhododendron Festival in Bakersville, North Carolina, held June 21-22, offers a car show, children’s activities and nights of traditional mountain square dancing with a caller and live band.
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