Tag: On the Road

George Washington spent his life in Virginia. Though military campaigns would take him beyond its borders for more than a combined decade—first as part of the French and Indian War and later during the American Revolution— most of his 67 years saw him surveying, defending, and developing the land of his birth. It’s altogether fitting during this year celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence, that we take to the road across Northern Virginia and follow in the footsteps of the Father of Our Country.

While there’s plenty to recommend a visit to the heart of North Carolina any time of the year, springtime in this part of the world is something special. A road trip over the rolling hills of the state’s Piedmont region promises farm-fresh fare, an explosion of native wildflowers, and a bumper crop of newborn animals.

Northeast Arkansas is a land dominated—geographically, economically, and culturally—by the Mississippi River, which courses along its eastern border. Travelers across the tabletop-flat fields spreading to the horizon in all directions—and today planted with soybeans, corn, and rice—will discover stories tied to the farming of cotton at sites from the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum to the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, as well as the company town of Wilson, which has been reborn as an upscale resort destination.

The 70-mile stretch of the Great River Road running alongside the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans is one of the most storied sections on the 3,000-mile course of America’s longest national scenic byway. The area (sometimes called the German Coast, as it was settled by German immigrants in the 1700s) is more widely known as the Sugar Coast, a nod to the extensive sugar industry that flourished along the shores of the river in the 1800s (and remains an important part of Louisiana’s economy today).

Southwest Alabama is a land dominated by water, from Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico to the Magnolia River and the Mississippi Sound, as well as a host of lakes and lagoons, swamps and sloughs, bogs and bayous. As such, travelers along Alabama’s Coastal Connection, a National Scenic Byway, will be treated to plenty of stunning water views.

Travelers to this swath of the state will discover local crafts, vintage tourism draws, and even a ghost town along the way.

Northeastern Mississippi is a crossroads and has, over centuries, been formed by that distinction. Here, the watery world of swampy wetlands and still bayous meet ridges of hickory, ash, and maple.

Discover a rich civil rights legacy, nature-based attractions, celebrated restaurants, and storied estates along Old Georgia Highway 3.

Travel along a route lined with history, including stops at the world's oldest bourbon distillery and Abraham Lincoln's birthplace.

Discover knockout scenery, abundant outdoor activities, and a trove of cultural offerings along forested ridges and folds of the Allegheny Mountains.