America's Scariest Drives

[Marine Mike]

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-...VzLTQtMTUtMDk-

Highway One/Big Sur
California

Alfred Hitchcock could not have conjured a scarier highway—122 miles of vertigo between Monterey and Morro Bay. Two lanes for nearly its entire length, the road meanders along cliff tops poised high above the Pacific, including 33 bridges and countless drop offs into liquid oblivion. Anyone faintly squeamish should not attempt to drive this route.


The Saddle Road, Big Island
Hawaii

The Big Island's incredible Saddle Road shoots between two hulking volcanoes across a sweltering lava-rock desert. “Famously bad and dangerous” is how one guide describes Hawaii Route 200 between Hilo and Waimea. Although improved in recent years, much of the route is narrow and one-way; intermittent fog makes it even more hazardous. Side roads lead to the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.


Aspen to Leadville via Independence Pass
Colorado

The 187-mile drive from Aspen to Leadville traverses some of the highest, harshest and most desolate geography in North America. The drive kicks off with a summit of 12,095-foot Independence Pass, a stretch of state highway 82 that is narrow, twisting and often without guardrails. The latter portion near Cañon City includes a short detour across Royal Gorge Bridge, which hovers 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River — built 1929 and still the highest suspension bridge in the world.


Dalton Highway
Alaska

The longest stretch of road in U.S. with no services, the 414-mile Dalton throws down several gauntlets including gravel roadway, steep grades, dangerous animals, and dire weather conditions. It’s an awful long wait for a tow if you break down out here.


U.S. Highway 50
Utah/Nevada

They call it the “loneliest road” in America, the 473 miles of U.S. 50 between Hinckley, Utah and Carson City, Nev. But it’s also one of the creepiest, especially in mid-winter when snow can cover the entire route or the middle of summer when daytime temperatures are almost always in the triple digits. The Nevada Commission on Tourism issues a free “Highway 50 Survival Guide.”


Tail of the Dragon
North Carolina/Tennessee

Tucked just below Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the sinuous “Tail of the Dragon” is an 11-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 129 between Tabcat Bridge, Tenn., and Deals Gap, N.C. Get ready for 318 curves, many of them monster switchbacks and hairpins, as well as a series of steep “S” curves called The Slide.


State Highway 170
Texas

This rollercoaster desert road along the Rio Grande is straight out of No Country for Old Men (which was filmed nearby). A dipsy-do roadway, stray animals and floods are just a few of the hazards along the 99 miles of the river road between Lajitas and Candelaria. Much of the highway runs through picturesque Big Bend Ranch State Park.

[mikejet]

The 110, 10 and 101 frewway intersections in Downtown Los Angeles.

The 10 and 405 intersection in West Los Angeles.

[brettallica]

I'm a neighbor of Highway 1. It's a nice drive, and very popular for scenery as well as motorcycle riders. Great road. I wonder who wrote that article, though. They sound like they're scared of just about anything.

Also not on this list — but should be — is Highway 17. Anyone who lives in the Bay Area knows about this one. It's also pretty much the only legitimate thoroughfare from north to south California, at least that's not many miles inland. That is a terrible freeway.

[silversnake]

I've been on 170 and I would have to agree

Driving in Houston on a day to day basis was pretty scary in itself though,

[jkwest]

I love highway 1...my favorite drive ever.

On a trip back from Washington, I got a wild idea and drove to the coast in Oregon...I then spent two days driving south to Mexico and spent a few days in Baja. It was great...then, I had to drive back up to my neck of the woods..

[pacificvibes]

Yup highway 1 is the best. I dont know what this guy was thinking.

[paperkut]

There is a canyon drive from Brigham City, Utah into Logan, Utah that is about 20 miles and it is the most horrific drive especially in the winter. With gusts up to 60 to 75 mph and snow drifts that cover the road and your vehicle, so you can't even see out the window. This drive sucks!!

[crxvtec]

I lived in Hawaii for 7 years and only took saddle road twice. It is not a one way road but only the middle of the lanes are paved well. The sides are older pavement and very bumpy so people tend to stay in the middle. Also, because of the volcanoes(mauna kea and mauna loa) there are some visual deceptions. For example, you may think you are going up hill by looking to the side but you are really going downhill and accelerate very quickly. Also, some of the turns are very blind. You have to see it to know what I mean. Also, when you rent a vehicle, you are warned NOT to go on that road as there are NO services and you pay for ALL towing if the rental breaks down.. It is a very twisting road. I like it but alot of my friends were paranoid to go on it( no cell phones back in the 90's when I lived there). Kinda cool to see it mentioned on a national level. The road is used to get to the top of Mauna Kea which is where some of the best observatories in the world are. No pollution and no city lights. It is also used to get to a small millitary base that is on the road. Man, I actually miss that place for a second.