Top 10 Scenic Drives in the USA

Sometimes we don't realize how beautiful our own country is. There are lots of wonderful sights in the USA but sometimes we think that we have to go to Europe or South America or the Middle East to find beautiful scenic routes, but there are a lot right here. Here are my top 10 scenic drives in the United States.

1. San Francisco to Monterrey. If you go south from San Francisco along the coast, you will drive on cliffs right next to the beach but a hundred feet or more above it.

2. Beartooth Scenic Byway. On the way to Yellowstone National Park, take this route at over 10,000 feet above sea level, you'll get some of the most gorgeous views of snow-capped mountains in the USA.

3. Pacific Coast Highway. Between San Diego and Los Angeles, this highway is lined with breathtaking views of the calm Pacific Ovean.

4. Blue Ridge Parkway. Officially it is 469 miles long starting in the south near Cherokee, NC and just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and stretching up to Virginia along the Appalachian Mountains.

5. Redwood Forest. If you like trees, this is the place to go. And the drive as you approach from San Francisco is amazing as the trees get bigger and bigger and you get the anticipation of seeing some of the greatest trees on Earth.

6. A1A. This is the road along the east coast of Florida that goes through the historic town of St. Augustine, the nation's oldest city.

7. Lake Ponchatrain. It's been over a decade since I've been the New Orleans but there is a bridge that spans nearly 10 miles over the lake on the way to New Orleans. Maybe it's the anticipation of getting close to New Orleans but I really did enjoy driving right over the water on the way there.

8. Grand Canyon. You don't even have to get out of the car to see the canyon. It's so big and one of the natural wonders of the modern world.

9. This isn't a drive but rather a boat ride at the Mammoth Caves National Park. These caves are great wonder to me and they have boat tours that take you around the caves and surrounding forest without having to brave the cold and darkness inside the caves so much.

10. Seaway Trail. This goes along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and up to Niagara Falls.