Travel

After many miles on the road, I find Interstate highways to be a bit of a double-edged sword. While they can save you time, are easy to navigate, and usually have ample services, they’re often the most boring way to get somewhere. This is especially true if it’s a repeat drive that was boring the first time. If I’m not in any particular rush, and the back highway doesn’t add THAT much extra time and distance, I will always opt for a nice back highway. 

I’m not saying I never drive on the Interstate. Sometimes you have little choice, especially when traveling due north-south or east-west, or over long distances. We recently took a trip to Spokane from Denver, and we took I-90 the whole way. This was partly because I’d never been on that section of I-90 before, and the drive was quite long. If I were to do this drive again, I’d make more of an effort to avoid the Interstate. But when you need to cover long diagonal distances, say from Cody, Wyoming to Fort Collins, Colorado, which I write about in my lonely drives section, you may not even need the Interstate. 

What do I mean by “state highways”? These are usually one or two lane roads with speed limits around 65 mph. In some states, specifically inland Western states, you can drive faster on a back highway than you could on an Eastern Interstate. Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont have a maximum speed limit of 65 mph no matter where you drive. Conversely, there are highways in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Texas, and other big open states where you can go 70 mph or more on a single-lane highway with no median. In fact, the highest posted speed limit in the country, 85 mph, is not even on an Interstate, but on Texas State Highway 130. My point is that you’re not really losing much time by taking these, and if you’re trying to enjoy the whole trip, driving included, this is the best way to do it. 

So what makes back highways so great? For one, they are much more scenic than the Interstate. They go through towns, cities, have smaller side roads intersecting them, and offer much more in terms of stuff to see. Maybe you will hit a light or two, or get stuck behind a slow truck for a while, but overall, driving on back highways is just more fun. Road tripping is not just about the places you see outside your car, it’s about enjoying the entire experience. And if you do want to enjoy places you can stop at, like a country store, a scenic overlook, or a charming town, you won’t have a chance while barrelling down the Interstate. 

I will sometimes take this principle a step further on short trips of less than a hundred miles, and opt for true back roads instead of the state highway. These are one-lane roads with speed limits around 45 mph. These roads can really make the drive fun. The ones I like best are usually in the Northeast, where the densely forested landscape and rolling hills make for fantastic twisty roads with lots of great scenery, but you can find great back roads in every state. 

Your approach when road-tripping is what dictates the type of road you take. If you simply want to get to your destination as fast as possible, just put in the address and follow the GPS. But if you want to enjoy the drive itself, spend a little time mapping out your route, and try to incorporate some cool stuff to see on the way. Use back highways and backroads if it makes sense and don’t worry about adding a little extra time to your trip, because it will likely be a lot more fun.