Looking down over Lake Tahoe in spring of 2023.Andrew Clark/The Globe and Mail
Perhaps it’s me. Perhaps it’s only me, but when I’m behind the wheel enjoying one of the world’s “scenic drives” my thoughts can take a morbid turn. The first time I drove the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Big Sur, Calif., for instance, I found it hard to stop myself from wondering, “How many drivers have launched themselves off a cliff because they were distracted by the staggering beauty of the earthly wonders they were passing?
I was reminded of this predilection recently while driving the Reno to Lake Tahoe Loop in northwestern Nevada. This scenic drive involved cruising from Reno through the Carson Valley and stopping at mining towns such as Genoa and Virginia City and then cutting along the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It ended with a drive around Lake Tahoe from its south end to its northern tip and circling back to Reno. The highways and roads wind through the mountains bordered by steep drops. The scenery is gorgeous, from the sage brush and caramel-coloured soil running from Reno to Virginia City to the snow-capped mountain tops that ring Lake Tahoe’s crystal blue water.
At least that’s what I heard it looked like.
Part of the road as Andrew Clark drives the Reno to Lake Tahoe Loop in northwestern Nevada in spring of 2023.Andrew Clark/The Globe and Mail
I was driving and drivers are supposed to keep their eyes on the road. Scenic drives are great when you are in the passenger seat. When you are the driver, they are a tug-of-war. The human being wants to drink in the scenic stuff. Scenic drives are a balancing act to be sure. Smart drivers use the stops provided where they can pull over, get out of their vehicle and enjoy the views.
The Reno to Lake Tahoe Loop has its share of beautiful, nerve-wracking distractions as all winding and steep mountain roads do.
Some find their thrills on rollercoasters. Not me. Why pay when you can take a scenic drive? And with that, here are my top scenic drives:
Pacific Coast Highway – The PCH is my mainstay scenic drive, it’s one I make almost every time I’m in Northern California visiting family. Mind-blowing vistas. Twists and turns and stretches of coastline that leave you breathless. The PCH is rejuvenating.
The view from the Bixby Bridge along the Pacific Coast Highway in California.The Globe and Mail
Amalfi Coast and Cilento – Not for the faint of heart. The Amalfi Coast in Italy provides some of the world’s most spectacular driving. Gliding on roads carved into the sublime landscape, you snake along the journey south from Naples. I like to keep heading south into the Cilento region, finishing off at the beach community of Palinuro, which gets its name from Palinurus, the helmsman in the Aenied who is over-powered by the God of sleep and hurled into the sea (perhaps he was distracted).
A view in the Cilento region of Italy.Andrew Clark/The Globe and Mail
The Canadian Rockies – One of the few scenic drives (in the warm months) where the number of bears you see hits double digits. The drive from Calgary into the Kootenays is like travelling through the world’s largest art gallery. Every inch of this incredible mountainous region is a masterpiece.
Traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway passing through Canmore, Alta.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Eastern Ontario in Autumn – No steep cliffs. Just a world draped in colours so brilliant and alive that they almost make the cruel winters that follow seem worth it.
Umbria – Driving through the green heart of Italy you’re struck by the region’s brooding Etruscan power. The mountains and hills seem alive with ancient forces and spirits (and black truffles). I like to start at Amelia, then drive through Spoletto, the Montefaclo region, Assisi and Perugia and then circle the top of Lake Trasimeno and on to Cortona in Tuscany.
The view in Umbria, a region in Central Italy.Andrew Clark/The Globe and Mail
I’m tempted to put the “Million Dollar Highway” on my scenic to-do list. Dubbed the “Highway to Hell,” It’s 40 kilometres of road (335 metres above sea level) that runs through Colorado’s San Juan Mountains from the towns of Silverton to Ouray. Built in 1880 as a stagecoach road, the route has no guardrails and so many “S” turns that drivers must often travel no more than 10 kilometres an hour. In February, FindMyPlate named it the second most dangerous highway in the United States. First place went to US Route 1 in Florida (which is by no means scenic). There are approximately 40 accidents per year on the “Highway to Hell” as well as seven deaths. It can be so unnerving that drivers freeze and are unable to continue.
According to Durango Herald reporter Bailey Duran, “There are conflicting stories about where the nickname “Million Dollar Highway” came from. Some say a man working on the road in 1921 said it would cost $1-million to pave, while other reports say it earned the nickname because of its million-dollar views or because people have said they wouldn’t drive it again for $1-million.”
You know, if I want to experience the “Highway to Hell,” I can always hop on Toronto’s Don Valley Parkway at rush hour.
All things considered, maybe I’ll settle for Ontario’s Highway 7 in mid-October to see the autumn leaves.
Andrew Clark