Scenic drives in the Mid-Atlantic
16 curated roads, 7 paved and 9 gravel, across PA, VA and WV. Every road here was researched and verified rather than pulled off a listicle, and each is paired with the town worth basing yourself in.
- Back of the Dragon (VA 16)
- Longhouse National Scenic Byway
- PA 144 — Hagerty's Road of the Year
- PA-381 (Ohiopyle & Fallingwater)
- Pocono ridge roads & the Tricky Triangle
- Skyline Drive
- US 6 & the PA Grand Canyon
- Canaan Loop & Dolly Sods (Mon NF)
- Highland County — 'Virginia's Switzerland'
- MABDR & Spruce Knob gravel
- MABDR Central & Bath County gravel
- MABDR South & Grayson Highlands
- Michaux SF gravel & the MABDR
- Pine Creek & Tioga SF gravel (MAMMOTH)
- Rimrock Rd (FR454) gravel spur
- Rothrock & Bald Eagle SF gravel
The turn-by-turn routes are members-only. Each of these roads has a verified Google Maps route that actually draws the road — the part that took the work, and the part interactive maps usually get wrong. Those live in the full Drives Atlas, which opens with an email. No account, no password.
Driving one of these?
Turn on “Avoid highways” in your maps app first. Otherwise you get rerouted onto the interstate and skip the entire point of the road.