Gear up for an all-American road trip: As Route 66 turns 100, the best behind-the-wheel

Route 66 has been gearing up for its centenary all year, with November 11 marking 100 years since the fabled Mother Road was established.

But while its mighty 2,448-mile march from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, is the stuff of road-trip legend, there are plenty of other American highways worth spinning your wheels on.

I’ve spent the past decade zigzagging across the US, more often than not on four wheels – including driving Route 66 end to end – and can confirm that America really is the land of the road trip.

There’s nothing like the freedom of the open road, watching the scenery shift from sun-baked deserts to snow-capped mountains, and cruising into tiny towns or fabled cities as the miles roll by.

Ready to get behind the wheel? From the Deep South to the wilds of the Rockies here are ten top alternatives to Route 66.

California dreamin’

Highway 395

Many Brits set their sights on California’s palm-trimmed coast, scooting their way along Highway 1. 

Instead, make tracks inland to the Eastern Sierra for a dose of desert scenery and Gold Rush history.

Driving north from Lone Pine, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town in the mountains, and you’ll hit highlights such as Mono Lake, an ancient saline lake with twisted rock formations, and Mammoth Lakes, where the landscape morphs from dusty desert to pine-fringed lakes and snowy mountains.

Don’t miss: Take a detour to Bodie State Historic Park, a once-booming mining community that’s now an eerie ghost town filled with creaky buildings and empty streets.

Musical Mississippi

Highway 61

Enjoy a journey into musical folklore along Highway 61 from Memphis, Tennessee, through the Mississippi Delta to Vicksburg, Mississippi. 

Spend a good chunk of time in Clarksdale, where neon-sprinkled juke joints host live blues every night, and be sure to visit Dockery Farms, a former cotton plantation where it’s said the blues was born.

Don’t miss: Time your trip for Juke Joint Festival, a rollicking celebration of Delta blues held each spring, with live music spilling from bars and onto the streets of Clarksdale.

The wild west

Beartooth Highway

The beauty of the American West is on widescreen display along this 68-mile road trip through southern Montana and north-western Wyoming.

Ease out from Red Lodge, a once rough-and-ready mining town that now has a pretty Main Street filled with boutiques and swish restaurants.

From here, you’ll snake upwards into the dramatic Beartooth Mountains, each switchback revealing fresh views of jagged peaks, alpine lakes and forests. 

Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife – from mighty grizzly bears to mountain goats – before rolling into spectacular Yellowstone National Park via its north-east entrance.

Don’t miss: Saddle up for a horse-riding adventure in Montana’s mountain-crammed backcountry with Elk River Outfitters, out of Red Lodge, and get a true taste of the Wild West.

Fun in Florida

Overseas Highway

Water, water everywhere – that’s what you can expect on a jaunt along the Overseas Highway, a ribbon of road that skips across the ocean between the islands of the Florida Keys.

The 113-mile stretch of US Route 1 connects mainland Florida to the famous archipelago. 

The blockbuster finale is Key West, the southernmost city in the contiguous US, packed with beachy restaurants and home to Ernest Hemingway’s former residence; the lighthouse across the street apparently helped the writer find his way home whenever he was sozzled from a few too many drinks at the local watering hole.

Before you reach Key West, don a snorkel to explore the coral gardens of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park on Key Largo, America’s first underwater park, and keep your eyes peeled for the pint-sized Key deer roaming on Big Pine Key.

Don’t miss: Visit the Turtle Hospital in Marathon for a heart-tugging behind-the-scenes look at how injured sea turtles are rescued and rehabilitated, before being released into the wild.

Go UFO spotting

Extraterrestrial Highway

Nevada knows how to do weird and wonderful – just ask anyone who’s ventured along its Extraterrestrial Highway, as State Route 375 is known.

Get a taste of the otherworldly on a 98-mile cruise from Crystal Springs to Warm Springs through the state’s desert landscapes.

Quirky stops include the Alien Research Center, guarded by a giant silver extraterrestrial, and the Little A’Le’Inn motel and restaurant in Rachel, where you can tuck into an Alien Burger while swapping stories with fellow UFO hunters of what lies beyond.

Don’t miss: Take a detour towards the mysterious top-secret military base, Area 51, keeping firmly outside its restricted boundaries, of course.

Quaint in Vermont

Route 100

If you could bottle up New England’s charm, it might just look like Vermont’s Route 100, where road trips frankly don’t come much more quaint.

It’s a joy to pootle along, as it joins up cute little towns filled with clapboard houses and neat steepled churches, from Weston, with its old-fashioned country store, to Waitsfield, where a historic covered bridge spans the Mad River.

Between Stamford in the south and Newport near the Canadian border, the 217-mile highway also serves up a glorious parade of forested mountains, particularly when autumn sets the beautiful maple trees ablaze.

Don’t miss: Sweeten your road trip with a stop at Green Mountain Sugar House in Ludlow, where you can sample Vermont maple syrup and tuck into a maple creemee (soft-serve ice cream).

Taste of Texas

Highway 290

Most Brits travel to Texas for a taste of cowboy culture rather than Cabernet Sauvignon, but there’s a flourishing wine scene to discover in Hill Country.

Follow Highway 290 between Johnson City and Fredericksburg, where vineyards and tasting rooms pop up between rolling, bluebonnet-scattered hills and cute historic towns.

The highlight is Fredericksburg, with its slick tasting rooms and Pioneer Museum, detailing the region’s German heritage.

Meanwhile, top wineries include Becker Vineyards, with its atmospheric stone barn for tastings, plus sprawling lavender fields inspired by Provence.

Don’t miss: Come in summer, when roadside stalls along Highway 290 are piled high with juicy Hill Country peaches, and swing by Burg’s Corner in Stonewall for sweet peach ice cream.

Pacific coast spin

Highway 101

So many Pacific Coast road trips come to an abrupt halt at San Francisco, but there’s a world of oceanside wonders awaiting north of California – in Oregon.

The coast road hugs the Pacific for more than 350 miles, leading on to beaches peppered with driftwood and sea stacks, and misty hiking trails lined with towering Douglas fir trees.

Make time for stops in quirky seaside towns such as Astoria, the filming location for classic 1980s flick The Goonies, and chase waterfalls at parks like Hug Point State Recreation Site.

Don’t miss: Make the most of Pacific views with a stay at Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa in Pacific City. The luxurious rooms offer great ocean views, as does its hot tub.

Small-town charm

Natchez Trace Parkway

Road-trippers with their sights set south should make a beeline for the Natchez Trace Parkway.

This scenic drive winds 444 miles from Nashville, Tennessee, south to Natchez, Mississippi, mopping up plenty of history, small-town charm and soul-stirring scenery along the way.

Essential stops include the neon-glittered honky tonks of Nashville’s Lower Broadway, the movie-perfect Main Street of Franklin, just outside Nashville, and Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley.

There’s also plenty of history folded in, from visiting the gravesite of famous explorer Meriwether Lewis to exploring an ancient indigenous site at Pharr Mounds.

Particularly for music lovers, it’s well worth continuing south through Louisiana until you reach the jazz-soaked, cocktail-fuelled heart of New Orleans, with its wrought-iron balconies and wonderfully raucous nightlife.

Don’t miss: Breakfast at Nashville’s Loveless Cafe for some of the best biscuits (scone-like baked goods – not cookies) in the South.

Canyons galore

Scenic Byway 12

Utah has a way with rock, and Mother Nature’s awesome handiwork is on fine display along Scenic Byway 12.

It runs for more than 120 miles from near Panguitch in the west to Torrey in the north-east, taking in some of southern Utah’s most photogenic red-rock scenery.

You could breeze through it in just under three hours if you made no stops – but it’s well worth slowing down.

Take time to explore two of Utah’s ‘Mighty Five’ national parks (Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef), with their hoodoos (extraordinary spires of rock) and slot canyons.

Leave plenty of time for hiking and celestial sightseeing, too, with dazzling star-filled skies after dark.

Don’t miss: The state’s south steals most of the attention, but continue north afterwards and the scenery eventually changes to alpine-esque lakes and forested mountains, with culture-rich stops such as Salt Lake City.