What’s Your Favorite Road Trip?

We’ve spent more time in our cars than on airplanes this summer – which might be a first for a group of travel-magazine editors – but as pandemics and postponed trips have kept us closer to home, we’ve doubled down on the slow, scenic, and socially distant appeal of the road trip. We think you have too: In a flash poll on our Instagram Stories earlier this summer, 87 percent of you said you wanted to take a road trip soon. So, where are you headed? These are a few of our favorite drives – we hope they spur some ideas for you, whether you’re ready to go now or later.

The Sangre de Cristo mountains, outside of Taos, New Mexico. (Getty Images)

The High Road, New Mexico
“The drive from Santa Fe to Taos should’ve taken a couple of hours, but I kept stopping to snap photos of small village adobes, famous churches, and art galleries.” – Veronica Rosalez, senior graphic designer

Highway 20, aka the North Cascades Highway, in Washington. (Getty Images)

North Cascades Highway, Washington
“My favorite close-to-home road trip is along Washington State’s Highway 20, aka the North Cascades Highway. The road is closed in the winter when snowpack makes it impassable (for years, a woman named Tootsie Clarke passed out homemade cinnamon rolls on opening day every spring). There are in-your-face mountain views, alpine lakes, and, on the east side of the mountains, the majestic Methow Valley with small inns, a few good restaurants, and a great network of hiking trails.” – Marika Cain, managing editor, Virtuoso Life

The Dalmatian Coast, Croatia
“Island-hopping Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast [pictured above] from Split to Dubrovnik by car ferry. Go in early September after colleges have started back for great weather with less crowds.” – Justin Paul, senior editor, Virtuoso Life

One of many ranches off of Colorado’s Highway 62. (Getty Images)

Highway 62, Colorado
“My favorite road trip is the short kind. The main route from Ouray to Telluride takes less than two hours, so you can add in a lunch stop at the True Grit Café in Ridgeway, where John Wayne filmed True Grit. It’s a nicely paved two-lane highway with breathtaking views of the San Juan mountains. Keep an eye out for deer and elks.” – Melanie Fowler, design director

Sunrise over the Great Smoky Mountains. (Getty Images)

Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina and Tennessee
“Driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway has a calming, almost mystical effect, as the soft blue-greens and rolling mountains make you feel as if you’re underwater in a forgotten paradise. Be sure to turn off at points to explore the rest of Appalachia, where you’ll find the world’s best fried chicken, farmer’s markets, and plenty of patio rocking chairs.” – Samantha Falewée, assistant editor

The curve-hugging route around Lake Wakatipu, outside of Queenstown on New Zealand’s South Island. (Getty Images)

Milford Sound, New Zealand
The drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound on New Zealand’s South Island delivers one incredible “Is this real!?” vista after another. You can do it all in one day if you’re ambitious (it’s about eight-and-a-half hours round-trip), but my husband and I broke it up with an overnight just outside of Fiordland National Park. That gave us as much time as we wanted to pull over and take in the scenery (and trust me, you’ll want to). – Amy Cassell, manager digital content

Top Photo: Getty Images