NA: Interstate or Back Roads?

ARFlyer

ARFlyer

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The last thread got me thinking about a debate I always get in to with my friends.

Do you like to use interstates or back roads (US, State, County) for travel ?

I will go first. I like interstates if I have a need or to get somewhere in the shortest time possible. If not, I perfer the back roads for multiple reasons. Less traffic and less crazy drivers. A lot more visually satisfying scenery. Also I can drive 10 over and use the whole road for cornering. :

I guess I'm bias since I was raised and still live in Arkansas. If you want to go anywhere in the north part of the state FORGET about interstates and quick travel. A 120 mile trip could easily take you 3+ hours.

So what does the rest of POA say?
 
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I hate to drag grannies undies in to this, but it just depends. I prefer the freeway but I'll take back roads to avoid severe congestion.
 
Generally speaking, car=interstate, motorcycle=backroads.

Robert Persig wrote, "it is better to travel than to arrive". I think there is much truth in that.
 
If you gotta get there in minimum time, and there's an Interstate along the route, you gotta take it.

But if there's no deadline, I enjoy taking the backroads. I've taken trips where the goal was to avoid pavement as much as possible, or avoid road numbers with fewer than 3 digits. Found some highly photogenic bridges and low water crossings that way.
 
If I want to get there quickly I take the interstate. Otherwise I enjoy back roads. When I was younger I would entertain myself by driving around aimlessly.
 
Jim_R said:
If you gotta get there in minimum time, and there's an Interstate along the route, you gotta take it.

But if there's no deadline, I enjoy taking the backroads. I've taken trips where the goal was to avoid pavement as much as possible, or avoid road numbers with fewer than 3 digits. Found some highly photogenic bridges and low water crossings that way.
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So you talking like Forest Roads and farm roads?

I been trying to find a back roads route from Little Rock to Austin. But everything that ive found in Texas is four lanes and busy. I don't mind taking the interstate,but I thought I could take a long quite route for fun.
 
It depends. Preference to back roads, but will hop on the interstate if it avoids traffic jams, huge numbers of traffic lights, or I need to make time.

Lots of nice stuff on the byways
 
"When we get these thruways across the whole country, as we will and must, it will be possible to drive from New York to California without seeing a single thing."
-- John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley: In Search of America​
"If the traveler expects the highway to be safe and well graded, he may as well stay home. The little roads without numbers are the ones I have liked the best, the bumpy ones that lead over the hills toward vicinities unknown . . . . I keep thinking I will find something wonderful just around the next bend."
...
"The interstate highway system is a wonderful thing. It makes it possible to go from coast to coast without seeing anything or meeting anybody. If the United States interests you, stay off the interstates."
-- Charles Kuralt, A Life on the Road
​
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/first.cfm
 
I prefer the backroads, but hey, I'm from Arkansas too!
 
It depends.

Back roads through mountains sometimes require high clearance and four wheel drive. And there is the omnipresent risk of washouts. Nevertheless, it can be fun for a 30 mile trip. For 300, it's exhausting. In the winter in the Sierra, you don't have much choice of back roads, as they are all snowbound.
 
Normally, I will try out every route between repeated end points and then stick to the fastest.. I find back roads (US and State highways) to be nearly as fast as interstates in the west and with a lot less traffic..
 
Second time I drove to Airventure (from NJ), instead of the brutal nonstop marathon thing, I got off I-80 near Cleveland, and took Rt. 2 (?), which runs roughly parallel, all the way to a campground on the lake, near Sandusky. The next day, I left at dawn and eventually rejoined the interstate in Indiana.
It was obviously slower.... to the point where the overnight rest became necessary. But it was much more enjoyable. I could actually tell what town I was driving through... hell, on the interstates it's easy to lose track of what state you're in. It's almost as interesting and educational as riding a train, where you go through the "backstage" parts of every town.
Most of my long-distance driving has been all about shortest time enroute, but when I can spare the time, I prefer to explore a little.
 
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Graueradler said:
Normally, I will try out every route between repeated end points and then stick to the fastest.. I find back roads (US and State highways) to be nearly as fast as interstates in the west and with a lot less traffic..
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Well that's your enginneer side coming out. :D
 
Jim_R said:
If you gotta get there in minimum time, and there's an Interstate along the route, you gotta take it.
But if there's no deadline, I enjoy taking the backroads.
Click to expand...
That.
I drove from Tampa to Denver a few years ago. From Biloxi west I stayed of Interstates the whole way. It was a nice trip.

If your route is close to an interstate, there's no comparison speed wise to maintaining 75-80mph for three hours rather than 65 and slowing through (and often having a stop in) every town the highways.
 
I hate driving. Whatever is fastest is the road I take.
 
Graueradler said:
Normally, I will try out every route between repeated end points and then stick to the fastest.. I find back roads (US and State highways) to be nearly as fast as interstates in the west and with a lot less traffic..
Click to expand...

I've never seen a US highway anything like a back road. State highways, occasionally. If it has two or more lanes and high speed traffic, it is NOT a back road.

Locally, the south end of CA-35 reduces to one lane, passable at maybe 20 MPH in good weather and daylight. That's a back road. At least, it's paved. A four-lane US highway with guard rails and a 65 MPH speed limit is a major road.
 
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ARFlyer said:
So you talking like Forest Roads and farm roads?

I been trying to find a back roads route from Little Rock to Austin. But everything that ive found in Texas is four lanes and busy. I don't mind taking the interstate,but I thought I could take a long quite route for fun.
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Texas doesn't have "forest roads", but yeah, same concept. Ranch/Farm roads, but also County roads. (Okay, so the county roads often had only 1 or 2 digits, but then they also were often unpaved, so that was okay!)

Google Maps has rendered it somewhat obsolete, but if you're a map junkie and want the scoop on the back roads in this part of the country, you need "The Roads of Texas" atlas. Over the years, they added some adjacent states, including Louisiana and Arkansas, but the atlas line has been sold from publisher to publisher over the years, and I'm not sure all the states have been maintained. Looks like there are some used versions of the Arkansas map, but I know that new/current versions of the Texas map remain available.

This appears to be the current publisher: Kappa Maps / Universal Publishing

The Roads of Arkansas may be out of print, but used copies are apparently still available on Amazon.com (though some are ridiculously priced!!): http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0940672537/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

I now carry the "Roads of Texas compact atlas" in my plane--perfect size to fit in the seat back, and map-savvy pax enjoy using it to follow along with our route.

When I first stumbled across this atlas almost 20 years ago, it was like unexpectedly finding the holy grail. Essentially, every public road in the state is shown, and there's also a fantastic amount of landmark detail. Churches, graveyards, cattle guards, and other very local details are included. I would often feed the driver info like, "Okay, soon we're gonna dog-leg to the left and cross a cattle guard. Should see a small pond on the right with a church and graveyard on the far side. There'll be a gravel road just past the graveyard--turn right."

Those trips were a blast....
 
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RJM62 said:
Ummm... You're in Hawaii, right?

. . . .

Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii?

-Rich
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing but he also lists central Oregon.
 
interstate for speed until I reach my destination, then back roads for the day trips for enjoyment
 
For a mission....Whatever gets me there faster..

For a road trip.... To spool down from life's stresses,, backroads everytime..

For safety... Interstates for sure... You have more outs to evade the idiot drivers out there trying to kill ya.... Backroads give you a ditch on one side and either a haywagon or a drunk driver on the other.... YMMV.
 
EdFred said:
I thought the same thing but he also lists central Oregon.
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Wow... that must be a long road.

As for the thread topic, I don't mind Interstates, but I prefer the secondary roads if I'm in no hurry.

I am, however, a veteran shunpiker, and I avoid toll roads in general whenever I can. I especially try to avoid toll roads and toll bridges in New York, even if it costs me a bit more to avoid them than what the tolls would be. When I can't avoid the tolls altogether (for example, when crossing the Hudson eastbound), I route my trip to cross the river at one of the northern bridges where the tolls are lower, and then work my way south on the free roads on the East side of the river.

I despise toll roads in New York for three reasons: (1) The tolls were supposed to be removed once the bonds were paid off, but that never happened; (2) The former TBTA (now MTA) bridges and tunnels were illegally seized, and the toll revenues have been illegally diverted away from road construction to mass transit ever since; and (3) Because of the illegal diversion of funds and the MTA's astonishing capacity for ineptitude, the roads and bridges are falling apart, despite the absurdly high tolls.

I've become pretty adept at toll avoidance. If I really, really want to, I can get from here to almost any part of New York City for $1.25. (Staten Island is the exception. The Rockaways are doable, but require a considerable journey.)

-Rich
 
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RJM62 said:
Ummm... You're in Hawaii, right?

. . . .

Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii?

-Rich
Click to expand...

There are, in fact, Interstate highways in Hawaii - in and around Honolulu. Look at the map...

Remember that the name of the highway system technically is: "Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". And there are plenty of military installations in/around Honolulu....
 
I find that I can hardly stand to drive on two lane highways anymore, particularly in hilly country like Arkansas. Too many slowpokes and not enough places to pass.

Here on the plains, it's not bad since you can pass almost anywhere, but all the little towns, get to be a pain in the rear.

I second the comments about northern Arkansas. It's a booger to get around up there where the maximum speed limits on any given stretch of highway are 55, but mostly it's less than that for safe travel.

I guess I get less patient with age. Whether I'm sightseeing or not, I like to cover some territory. Perhaps that's just because I'm used to the plains, where it's a long way to anywhere worth seeing. Heck, I don't even like to slow down to pay a turnpike toll, so we got a Pike-Pass so we can just keep on truckin'.

I find that there are a lot of interstates and turnpikes that offer really nice scenery. Again, in Arkansas, I-540 comes to mind. It's an absolutely beautiful drive from Ft. Smith up to Feyetteville. If you drive the old highway, all you see is the right-of-way for the highway and the trees that line it. Elevated roadways often offer better views of the countryside than the two-lanes down on the hardpan, cut through the trees.
 
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Just took the convertible from LA to Santa Cruz via PCH and some amusing side roads this weekend. Interstate 5 is for suckers and hardtops :D

When I'm in the south, I only take backroads with intent to get lost. There is guaranteed to be something entertaining occurring in banjoland on those back-roads.

I have a similar policy here in South Central LA. Tougher to implement as a white guy, but I still manage to find lots of amusement by cruising around and seeing what the locals are getting up to.

Strangely, I usually take my motorcycle on the interstate. The plane is "eh, whatever -- we're going thattaway" until I'm low on fuel, then its "nearest", land, fuel, ****, back in the air, repeat.
 
If I have the road to myself, back roads.
 
Unless there is a really good and compelling reason, back roads! I love desert backroads and have driven from San Diego via Las Vegas without touching interstate. When I lived in New Mexico I explored every corner of that state without having to use an interstate and for fun, hit the back roads of the south without getting near interstates!
 
RJM62 said:
Wow... that must be a long road.

As for the thread topic, I don't mind Interstates, but I prefer the secondary roads if I'm in no hurry.

I am, however, a veteran shunpiker, and I avoid toll roads in general whenever I can. I especially try to avoid toll roads and toll bridges in New York, even if it costs me a bit more to avoid them than what the tolls would be. When I can't avoid the tolls altogether (for example, when crossing the Hudson eastbound), I route my trip to cross the river at one of the northern bridges where the tolls are lower, and then work my way south on the free roads on the East side of the river.

I despise toll roads in New York for three reasons: (1) The tolls were supposed to be removed once the bonds were paid off, but that never happened; (2) The former TBTA (now MTA) bridges and tunnels were illegally seized, and the toll revenues have been illegally diverted away from road construction to mass transit ever since; and (3) Because of the illegal diversion of funds and the MTA's astonishing capacity for ineptitude, the roads and bridges are falling apart, despite the absurdly high tolls.

I've become pretty adept at toll avoidance. If I really, really want to, I can get from here to almost any part of New York City for $1.25. (Staten Island is the exception. The Rockaways are doable, but require a considerable journey.)

-Rich
Click to expand...

I'm of the same opinion. We don't have much in the way of toll roads out here but we have toll bridges. It's my opinion I pay a pile of State and Federal taxes for something, and a good part of that should be my roads and bridges.
 
I find that I can hardly stand to drive on two lane highways anymore, particularly in hilly country like Arkansas. Too many slowpokes and not enough places to pass.
Click to expand...

So that was you that passed me :)! Life is about the journey. Slow down and smell the roses :).
 
RJM62 said:
Ummm... You're in Hawaii, right?

. . . .

Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii?

-Rich
Click to expand...

I spend the winter in Hawaii. (Got enough of the cold during my tours in AK) We come home to Central Oregon usually in mid-April.
There are obviously no "interstates" in Hawaii, Oahu has some freeways due to the insane population density. Honolulu's traffic makes Seattle look positively benign.
 
somorris said:
So that was you that passed me :)! Life is about the journey. Slow down and smell the roses :).
Click to expand...

Haha! I don't care what anyone says, ROSES STINK! I figure the more territory I can cover, the more I'll get to see before I'm dead.

Speaking of traveling. I'm looking forward to a roadtrip back east this summer. We'll cover OK, AR, TN, NC, VA, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, ME, OH, IN, KY. It's gonna be grand!
 
We always used the Interstates for long distance travel to minimize time and fuel burn. In '07 my wife and I took our first extended road trip on the Harley. We spent a week crossing Nebraska and South Dakota mostly via scenic byways -- until we were trying to outrun some weather that we were later told developed into softball sized hail in Rapid City. Anyway, we had no idea Nebraska (where we've lived most of our lives) was that beautiful and diverse. We met some really great people and had a fantastic time.

We got home, packed up and left for a week in Germany. We had a rental car there, and did a lot of driving. The friends we stayed with lived in a tiny little farm village about 40 K outside of Nuremburg. So, again, part of the time we were on the Autobahn hauling ass, and part of the time we were on secondary highways and back roads. We met some really great people and had a fantastic time. The last day we were in Frankfurt, which might as well have been Chicago (though a little nicer looking, the Main doesn't run through Chi-town).

So, two weeks, two countries, one lesson... the Interstate (and Autobahn) is a great way to get from Point A to Point B and not see anything in between. If you want to see the country and meet the people, get off the main highway and stay out of the cities.
 
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