By Sarah Rose March 28, 2015 Travel+Leisure
“To everyone in this country, the car represents freedom, mobility, and the control you feel over your destiny/destination,” says Callie Khouri, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Thelma & Louise.
From the dramatic California coast to history-lined thoroughfares of New England, there are countless scenic drives across the country—and some stellar standouts.
And on U.S. 1 from Key Largo to Key West, travelers are treated to a good time, Florida style. The island chain’s stretch of road encompasses everything from underwater coral reefs and 7 Mile Bridge, one of the longest in the world, to marinas where you can hand-feed tarpon, and beach bars filled with Jimmy Buffett fans drinking margaritas.
So bring a friend or your family and hit the road. In Khouri’s words—go see what America tastes like.
U.S. 1, Florida Keys
Leaving the mainland for the 120-mile-long island chain of Florida’s Keys, travelers enter a paradise of beach bars, water sports, and Parrotheads (Jimmy Buffett fans). From Key Largo to Key West, the overseas highway strings the islands together like beads, running past lighthouses, underwater coral-reef parks, and across 7 Mile Bridge—one of the longest bridges in the world.
17-Mile Drive, California
The so-called 17-Mile Drive spanning California’s Monterey Peninsula clocks in at less than 10 miles long. On a privately owned strip off Highway 1, stretching from the towns of Pacific Grove to Carmel, the road runs through the Del Monte forests belonging to the exclusive Pebble Beach golf community. With surf-beaten cliffs and colonies of harbor seals, it also boasts spectacular sunsets over the Pacific that residents say are worth the $9 entry fee to use the private road.