From the cliff-edge curves of California’s Pacific Coast Highway to the tundra crossings of Alaska’s Marine Highway, the United States has hundreds of officially recognised scenic drives. This interactive US scenic byways map plots 878 named byways covering 78,635 mapped miles — All-American Roads, National Scenic Byways and state-designated routes — and lets you filter by designation, search any town or address, and click any route to see its designation, administering agency and length.

How to use the scenic byways map

Get your bearings

Each line is one scenic byway, coloured by its designation. Zoom with the scroll wheel or the + / − buttons, and drag to pan. Hover a route to highlight it; click anywhere along it to open a panel with the byway name, its designation, the agency that administers it and its mapped length.

Filter and search

Use the Filter by designation checkboxes to show or hide All-American Roads, National Scenic Byways, state byways or local routes. Type in the Filter routes by name box to narrow the map to a single corridor — try “Route 66”, “Coastal” or “Parkway”. The address search recentres the map on any town or landmark, and My location jumps to where you are.

Scenic byway designations explained

Not every scenic byway carries the same status. The map uses four tiers, and the colours on the map match this order:

• All-American Road (42) — the highest tier. These roads possess multiple intrinsic qualities of national significance and are considered destinations in their own right.
• National Scenic Byway (163) — routes with at least one outstanding scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational quality.
• State Scenic Byway (581) — routes designated by an individual state’s own scenic byway programme; the largest group by far.
• Local / Other (92) — locally designated drives and back-country byways managed by land agencies.

US scenic byways by the numbers

The 878 byways on this map run for a combined 78,635 miles, an average of about 90 miles each. They range from short urban parkways to multi-day touring routes:

The longest scenic byways in America

These are the longest single byways in the dataset. Several of the longest are regional heritage touring routes — Texas, for example, divides the state into ten sprawling scenic “trails” that each link dozens of towns:

Scenic byways state by state

Every state runs its own collection of scenic drives. The table below ranks the states by how many byways the federal and state transportation datasets record, with a link to a detailed map and route list for each one. Planning an overnight stop? Pair any route with our US campgrounds map.

Hawaii, Connecticut, Delaware and the District of Columbia each have only one to three byways in the transportation datasets, so they are shown on the national map above but do not yet have their own state pages.

Planning a scenic drive

A scenic byway is only as good as the trip you build around it. Use the designation filter to find the headline All-American Roads near you, then look at what each route connects. Mountain byways pair well with our US mountain peaks map; river routes such as the Great River Road follow the corridors on our US lakes and rivers map; and history-themed drives line up closely with sites on the US historic places map. Always check seasonal closures before you set out — many mountain and back-country byways close in winter.

Where the data comes from

Route geometry and designations are drawn from the US Department of Transportation scenic byway layers published at geo.dot.gov, which combine the federal National Scenic Byways inventory with each state’s own scenic byway data. The layers have been harmonised into a single consistent dataset for this map. Coverage reflects what those agencies publish: a few states — Hawaii in particular — carry far fewer byways in the data than they designate locally. Routes show the mapped corridor and are for reference and planning only; always check current road conditions before travelling.

Frequently asked questions

What is a scenic byway?

A scenic byway is a road recognised by a state or federal programme for its outstanding scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational qualities. Designation does not change who maintains the road — it highlights the route as worth driving for its own sake.

What is the difference between a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road?

Both are part of the federal programme. A National Scenic Byway has at least one of the six intrinsic qualities; an All-American Road must have multiple qualities of national significance and be a destination in itself. There are 42 All-American Roads in this dataset, the most celebrated drives in the country.

What is the longest scenic byway in the United States?

In this dataset the longest single byway is Alaska’s Marine Highway, an All-American Road that runs roughly 1,985 mapped miles — though it is travelled by ferry rather than car. The longest road route is Historic Route 66.

Are scenic byways free to drive?

The byways themselves are public roads and free to use. Some pass through national parks or recreation areas that charge an entrance fee, and a few sections are seasonal toll roads, so check ahead.

How many scenic byways are there in the US?

This map shows 878 named byways across 47 states. The true national total is higher, because some states designate routes that are not yet published in the transportation datasets.