Great Lakes Road Trips

“The Mother Road” wraps up its trek across the breadth of The Show Me State as it heads toward the Illinois border. There are several Route 66 icons in and around St. Louis, including Ted Drewes, a frozen custard stand that's been in business since 1929. A concrete (think extra thick milkshake) at Ted's is a St. Louis summertime tradition.

Cool summer breezes, sandy beaches and inviting lakefront resorts draw visitors to Northwest Michigan by the thousands. This route offers a sampling of the best the area has to offer, passing vineyards, cherry orchards, rustic farmland and wooded country lanes with frequent stunning views of Lake Michigan and the islands offshore.

The 229-mile Eastern Ohio River Historic Byway overlaps part of the 943-mile nationally designated Ohio River Scenic Byway. This drive trip through southeastern Ohio includes lots of water views, fields, hills and cliffs. The star of the route is of course the Ohio River, which marks the border between Ohio and West Virginia.

Dreamed up by George Washington, signed into law by Thomas Jefferson and built between 1811 and 1834, the Historic National Road is celebrated as the nation’s first federal highway. Head west into the Land of Lincoln on eastern Illinois’ section of the road. You’ll see countryside, covered bridges and a few small towns from the National Road’s heyday along the way.

Illinois’ Lincoln Highway is part of one of the first transcontinental highways and stretches across the state from Indiana to Iowa at the Mississippi River. The historic route runs through quaint towns full of Victorian homes and murals and farmland full of crops.

The highlight of this drive along the Lake Superior South Shore Scenic Highway in the Upper Peninsula is the awesome view it provides of the water. The beginning of the route is in Hiawatha National Forest, so it's not surprising that trees dominate the scenery. The number of highway lanes varies throughout the trip. Take some time and pull off at the designated scenic areas.

Copper Country Trail (US 41) passes through wooded Keweenaw National Historical Park and runs the length of Keweenaw Peninsula, the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula along Lake Superior; its shore is dotted with lighthouses. You'll see remnants of the area's copper mining legacy. Autumn is an ideal time for the drive. Watch for deer and black bears.

US 169 spans 966 miles and five states; this portion of the highway takes you through part of Minnesota. Fertile farmlands flank the road, which also edges a section of the Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area. The park's diverse landscapes (wetlands, floodplain forest and blufftop oak savanna) are home to such creatures as minks, gray foxes and beavers.

Picture-postcard views greet travelers along Drovers Trail Scenic Byway (SR 147) in southeastern Ohio's "Hill Country." In the early 1800s, farmers drove their livestock eastward along this route toward the markets in Baltimore. Today the byway is marked by gently sloping hills, small farms and ivy-laced barns.

This portion of the Ohio River Scenic Byway begins with the charming historic town of Newburgh. SR 66 offers views of the southern Indiana countryside and the river as it winds its way through Hoosier National Forest.