Let's go for a ride

AZ-88 between Apache Junction and Roosevelt Dam was built in 1905 as a supply road for the workers constructing Roosevelt Dam, the first major dam built by the U.S. Reclamation Service. The paved western section — from Apache Junction to Tortilla Flat, about 17 miles — passes Canyon Lake and then climbs through the Superstition Mountains on a narrow shelf road carved into the desert hillside. The landscape is pure Sonoran Desert: saguaro cactus on the south-facing slopes, cholla and prickly pear on the valley floors, and the red and brown volcanic rock of the Superstitions rising above everything. Canyon Lake sits in a canyon formed by the damming of the Salt River, and the blue-green water against the rust-colored rock walls is a combination that looks almost artificially saturated. Boat tours operate from the lakeside marina, and kayak rentals are available for a closer look at the canyon walls. The lake is a popular weekend destination for Phoenix residents — it sits several hundred feet above the city and makes an easy half-day escape. Tortilla Flat, at the end of the paved section, is a hamlet of about six permanent residents with a saloon, general store, and restaurant that have been catering to travelers since the 1920s. The walls of the saloon are papered with dollar bills — a tradition visitors are invited to continue. Beyond Tortilla Flat the road turns to gravel on its way to Roosevelt Dam; that section has been closed to through traffic since the 2019 Woodbury Fire and the floods that followed, so check ADOT's current status before planning to continue. The paved drive alone is worthwhile on its own terms.

UT-9 climbs from the floor of Zion Canyon through a series of switchbacks before passing through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel — a 1.1-mile bore blasted through solid Navajo sandstone in 1930. The tunnel requires one-way traffic control for large vehicles, and even standard cars emerge into a completely different world: the western end opens into the main canyon's lush cottonwood and cliff-face drama, while the eastern end exits onto the slickrock plateau, where the landscape shifts instantly to open red-rock desert. This is one of the most dramatic landscape transitions available from a single drive anywhere in the world. The switchbacks immediately west of the tunnel are the most scenic section — tight hairpin turns carved into the cliff face with direct views down into Pine Creek Canyon. The canyon colors shift through the day as the light angle changes, from deep shadow at dawn through warm salmon and ochre in the afternoon. Checkerboard Mesa, visible from the road about two miles east of the tunnel, is a dome of sandstone marked by an extraordinary cross-hatch pattern produced by the intersection of horizontal layers and vertical fractures — a geology lesson in plain sight from the passenger seat. The full highway continues east to connect with US-89 near Kanab, making it the standard approach for visitors arriving from Bryce Canyon or Page, Arizona.

The Twisted Sisters — the informal name for Ranch Roads 335, 336, and 337 in the Texas Hill Country northwest of San Antonio — cover about 100 miles through limestone ranch land that turns spectacular in the spring wildflower season and again in the clear-light fall. The three roads form a loose circuit through the Leakey and Camp Wood area, passing through small hill country towns, crossing the Frio and Nueces rivers, and threading through cedar and oak-covered ridges on curves tight enough to have given the roads their name. The Texas Hill Country is motorcycle territory — the roads are clean, the curves are satisfying, and the local culture has adapted: Leakey and Camp Wood have developed a hospitality economy around weekend riders arriving from San Antonio and Austin, with camp sites, river lodges, and diners that have been open on the same hours for forty years. March brings bluebonnets — Texas's state flower — in concentrations along the roadsides that can stop traffic in both directions as people pull over to photograph them. The Frio River canyon near Leakey is cool enough in summer to swim in, and several river outfitters rent inner tubes for floating the quieter sections. The nearest major city is San Antonio, about two hours to the southeast.

The Mount Evans Scenic Byway ends at the highest paved road in North America, at 14,130 feet above sea level — above the cloud layer on most summer days, and above the altitude at which most unacclimatized visitors start to feel the effects of thin air. The road climbs from Idaho Springs at about 7,500 feet, passing through three distinct ecological zones in about 28 miles: montane forest, subalpine, and finally the alpine tundra above the treeline where only grasses, cushion plants, and slow-growing lichens survive. Mountain goats are extremely common near the summit — habituated to cars and often blocking the road completely. Bighorn sheep, yellow-bellied marmots, and pikas are also frequent sightings on the upper section. Summit Lake sits at about 12,830 feet and is a popular short stop before the final climb; the lake often retains ice through June and sits in a cirque that feels almost European in its austerity. The road is only open from late May through early November. The air at the summit has roughly 40% less oxygen than at sea level — acclimatize in Denver or Idaho Springs for at least a day if arriving from sea level. On a clear day the view from the summit extends over 100 miles in every direction.

ID-75 between Shoshone and Stanley crosses the Sawtooth Valley and climbs Galena Summit at 8,701 feet, giving the most complete view of the Sawtooth Range available from a paved road. The Sawtooth Mountains rise abruptly on the valley's western side — granite peaks between 9,000 and 10,800 feet, sharp enough to justify the name — and the highway runs between them and the headwaters of the Salmon River through a valley that few travelers from outside Idaho know exists. The town of Stanley at the northern end of the byway is small enough that its gas station closing time matters, but it sits at the edge of one of the best trout fisheries and whitewater rivers in the United States. Redfish Lake, just south of Stanley, is an alpine lake fed by snowmelt and framed by the Sawtooth peaks — the drive up to the lodge overlook is worth the detour. The byway is accessible year-round but the Galena Summit section can be treacherous in snow. The summer wildflower bloom on the slopes below the summit, usually peaking in late July, is one of the most concentrated in Idaho. The drive pairs well with the Craters of the Moon National Monument about 90 minutes to the south — a lava field landscape that makes an almost comically strong contrast to the alpine scenery of the byway.

Needles Highway — SD-87 between Custer and Hill City in the Black Hills — covers 14 miles through a landscape of eroded granite spires, including two tunnels blasted through solid rock so narrow that a truck side mirror would scrape the walls. The road was completed in 1922 under the direction of South Dakota governor Peter Norbeck, who wanted visitors to experience the Black Hills at a pace where they could appreciate the geology rather than pass through it. The tightest, the Needles Eye Tunnel, is just 8 feet 4 inches wide and under 10 feet high — measure anything larger than a car, mirrors included, before committing. The pinnacles that give the highway its name rise from the forest like the spines of something buried in the hillside, rising as much as 100 feet above the surrounding pines. The Cathedral Spires viewpoint gives the best concentrated view of the formations. Sylvan Lake, at the northern end of the highway, is a granite-rimmed reservoir popular for swimming and short hikes, and one of the most photographed lakes in South Dakota. The highway connects directly to Iron Mountain Road to the north and to the southern entrance of Wind Cave National Park to the south, making it the central piece of a full Black Hills circuit. Allow at least two hours for the 14 miles — the tunnels, the stops, and the general pace of driving something this involved cannot be rushed.