Death Valley

Hotels in California

Here's one for the though and super fit - a cycle trip through notorious Death Valley in California and Nevada. It's the lowest place in America at 86m (282 ft) below the sea level, and also one of the hottest on earth with temperatures regularly reaching 54ºC (130ºC) in the day (but sometimes freezing at night). That makes it the ultimate cycling challenge.

Death Valley National Park is a unique environment, offering a wonderfully atmosphere landscape of sand dunes, salt flats, multicoloured rocks, canyons, snow-capped mountains and seemingly endless wilderness. The Park has a number of roads, mostly narrow and twisting, and not even the most dedicated mountain biker can be expected to explore them all.

A good journey follows California Route 190, which crosses the middle of Death Valley (albeit not in a straight line) from Panamint Springs in the southwestern corner of the Park. From there it's a 29 km (18 mi) run to Emigrant, then another 13 km (8 mi) to Stovepipe Wells Village, which has all the facilities required for a little R&R.

You'll need it - the next leg is the 44km (28 mi) slog along CA-190, which turns sharply south before reaching the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. If you want to see that low point, detour to Badwater Basin, the south of the Visitor Center. If you can't face that 52 km (34 mi) round trip, continue to CA-190 and make the straight run to the Park Valley Junction, a 45 km (28 mi) ride.

If that's not enough to test your cycling prowess, you can take the State Line Road to Pahrump, Nevada - or even (if you're lucky) cycle on from there to Las Vegas. Wimps can do Death Valley by air-conditioned car - which does give them the opportunity to explore the Park's many wonders more thoroughly.

HOW

By bike

WHEN TO DO

November to March to avoid the worst heat conditions (and traffic).

TIME IT TAKES

A day, if you don't keep stopping off to admire the sights.

HIGHLIGHTS

A literal highlight - Towne Pass, a 1510 m (4955 ft) summit that greets you just inside the Park.

Mosaic Canyon near Stovepipe Wells - take the dirt road for sweeping views and extraordinary walls of polished multicoloured rock.

Zabriskie Point - no, not the iconic Antonioni movie, but the real thing to be found shortly after the Furnace Creek Visitor Center - it's an amazing rock formation.

A long, cold shower and good night's sleep at journey's end, wherever that may be.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Death Valley is the low point, but the high point in the lower 48 states - Mount Whitney - is just 123 km (76 mi) west of Death Valley. After cycling the valley, why not go on to climb the mountain?

Hotels in California

Blue Ridge Parkway

Hotels in Virginia and North Carolina

How can you ignore the USA's most - visited National Park, which also happens to be the world's longest and narrowest? Of course you can't - this 755 km (469 mi) National Parkway and All - American Road must not be missed, running as it does through the famously scenic Blue Ridge mountain chain, part of the Appalachians. The road was a 1930s job - creation project in the states of Virginia (Milepost 0) and North Carolina (Milepost 469), though not finally completed as a throughway until 1987.

 

The effort was worthwhile - the scenery is stunning (those mountains really are a study in misty blues!), whilst the road passes through unspoiled lands maintained by the National Park Service and the US Forest Service. There are 26 tunnels along the way, together with six viaducts and 168 bridges that carry the parkway across ravines, rivers and across roads to ensure an ininterrupted journey. The Pakway starts at Rockfish Gap, Virginia, from the terminus of Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive (itself a rewarding journey). It ends in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, North Carolina. Towns where you can stop off include Waynesboro, Roanoke and Galax in Virginia, or Boone and Asheville in North Carolina.

 

A drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway is a memorable experience, but to make the most of this unique landscape it really is necessary to stop frequently and explore some of numerous side roads and trails which often lead to stunning vistas that change according to the seasons, with a variety of trees, colourful foliage and flowers to be enjoyed, especially in spring and autumn. There are also plenty of interesting heritage sites to remind the traveller of the simple lives those hardy mountain families once led.

 

HOW

By car

DEPART

Rockfish Gap, VA

WHEN TO GO

May to October (the road is not maintained in winter and high sections are often closed).

TIME IT TAKES

Two days, if you hurry along, but taking more time will allow you to explore properly.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Mabry Mill by its tranquil pool at Milepost 176.1, where a trail leads to this vintage gristmill, sawmill and blacksmith shop where old - time skills are demonstrated throughout the summer.

The Blue Ridge Music Center at Milepost 213 near Galax, Virginia - a museum and concert centre with a busy schedle, mainly of country music.

Mount Mitchell - the highest point in eastern North America, reached via a road off the Parkway at Milepost 355.4...what a view.

The Folk Art Centre at Milepost 382, for sales and exhibitions of Appalachian crafts, with three galleries, a library, book store and interpretive programmes.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Frontiersman Daniel Boone blazed a pioneering trail to the west that crosses the Parkway near Milepost 285 in North Carolina.

Hotels in Virginia and North Carolina

 

Historic Route 66

Hotels in United States

With vast distances and a well-developed railroad system, the US.A had roads that were little more than local tracks until well into the 20th century, In 1919 the War Department's "s first Transcontinental Motor Convoy - an expedition that included future World War II Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower - Look rnonths to cross from east to west. When a Federal highway systern was developed, Route 66 - established in 1926, signed in 1927 and fully paved by 1938 - was one of the first.

 

This iconic road - from Chicago to Los Angeles through eight states and the heart of America, covering some 3,940 kIn (2,450 mi) was nicknamed 'The Main Street of America', bringing prosperity to towns along the way and serving as the major route for westward migration during the Great Depression of the 1930s and industrial booth of World War II. Subsequently, Route 66 facilitated tourist development and acquired legendary status, featuring widely in literature (John Steinbeck christened it 'The Mother Road'), films and popular music. But its death warrant was signed in 1956 by the aforementioned Dwight Eisenhower - by then President - when he put his name to the Interstate Highway Act, which led to today's freeway network and made US-66 red1llldant, thongh it didn't, vanish from maps until 1985.

Many sections were incorporated into freeways, and it is now impossible to follow the original route, which anyway varied over the years. But happily nostalgia soon set in and much of the old road has been designated – and marked - as Historic Route 66, with new sections constantly being added. These may be found especially in Illinois, New Mexico and Arizona, and with the help of patience and specialist maps, those who warm to the romance of this famous road can still retrace much of its length - or simply drive individual sections for a reminder of the way America once travelled, not so long ago.

HOW

By car

DEPART

Chicago, IL

WHEN TO GO

April to October for easy driving conditions.

TIME IT TAKES

Allow several weeks for a realistic attempt to travel the entire length of Historic Route 66.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Historic Odell Standard Oil Gasoline Station in Illinois, opened beside Route 66 in 1932 and now restored to its original condition.

The National Museum of Transportation in St Louis, Missouri, with a huge collection of historic vehicles and memorabilia, including a unit from the old Coral Court Motel that once fronted Route 66.

The National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma, that allows visitors to recreate a journey along the entire length of Route 66.

- The first-ever Big Mac was munched on 66 in San Bernadino and the site is now the glitzy McDonalds Route 66 Museum, fun of McDonalds memorabilia and home of the California Historic Route 66 Association. Two for one!

YOU SHOULD KNOW

American fast food culture was born on Route 66, when Red's Giant Hamburgs in Springfield, Missouri became the world's first drive-through restaurant in the late 1940s.

Florida Keys Scenic Drive

Hotels in Florida Keys

From the tip of Florida, the Overseas Highway (US-1) runs along chain of subtropical isles where the Atlantic meets the Gulf of Mexico connected by over 40 bridges. It nuts for 203 km(126 mi) through a brilliant tropical landscape of blue sea, reefs and lush vegetation. Mile Marker 126 is just below Florida City on the mainland, starting the countdnwn to Key West.

 

The highway crosses the southern edge of the famous Everglades to bustling Key Largo, the largest and northernmost key. It continues through Plantation Key before sweeping across Snake Creek and on to Windley Key. The Middle Keys begin at lslamorada (Purple lsle), where a memorial at Mile 82 commemorates victims of a 1935 hurricane that was one of the most powerful ever recorded in the USA.

US-1 hurries across Long Key Viaduct to tiny Conch Key, then crosses Grassy Key to Marathon, the sprawling commercial heart of the Middle Keys, before taking the spectacular Seven Mile Bridge, one of the world's longest. Now, the keys seem to become more isolated, and wildlife becornes more obvious - like the endangered miniature deer on Big Pine Key (visit their sanctuary) and a profusion of birds such as eagles, red-tailed hawks and falcons. 

For the final section, the road crosses a succession of small keys that almost seem to merge, before arriving at the end of the line – Key West, a quirky place that seems to owe more to Caribbean culture than American. It is truly eccentric and unlike anywhere else in the USA, and tills this one drive where both Journey and destination more than come up to expectations. It is possible to do the return trip in a day, but with plenty of attractions to explore along the way most visitors prefer a leisurely drive that includes an overnight stop.

 

HOW

By car

DEPART

Florida City, FL

WHEN TO GO

October through Mnrch to avoid storms and scorchIng summers.

TIME IT TAKES

Half a day

HIGHLIGHTS

John Pennekamp coral Reef State Park - the first underwater state park in the USA, featuring thr coral reefs found only in Florida for diving, snorkel ling or reef trips in glass bottomed boats.

The Theatre of the Sea on Windley Key, featuring performing sharks, dolphins and sealions.

At Crane point Hummock on Marathon - the combined Museum of Natural History of the Florida Keys and Florida Keys Children's Museum.

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Whitehead Street, Key West.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

The southernmost house in the continental USA - a wonderful  turreted victorian confection in pink, may be found at 1400 Duval Street in Key West.

Mississippi Riverboat Cruise

Hotels in Mississippi

An enduring image of 19th century America is the riverboat - a sternwheeler belching wood smoke from tall twin stacks as she dashed up and down the Mississippi, Ohio or Missouri Rivers. There was probably a high-stakes poker games going on within the fancy white superstructure, ending in gunplay when five aces came down in the same hand, whilst Mark Twain watched from the bank, pen in hand. Well, maybe it wasn't quite like that, but these stylish craft certainly played a vital role in developing the central-southern and mid-western USA.

Americans are good at marrying tradition with commerce, so it's still possible to experience the delights of this traditional river transport by taking a paddlesteamer trip. 

The modestly named Majestic America Line runs a variety of cruises using a couple of late 20th century steamboats - American Queen (the largest river steamboat ever built) and the Mississippi Queen. Each is the ultimate in old-fashioned comfort and style, though American Queen is something of an impostor - she looks the part and has a sternwheel driven by steam, but her main source of propulsion is diesel-powered propellers. The company's Delta Queen, built in 1927, is a National Historic Landmark, but sadly her cruising future is on hold as a result of modern safety regulations.

These steamboats offer both a selection of "see of river" cruises and theme cruises including the popular Jazz and Civil War itineraries. A cruise won't be cheap, but really is an opportunity to experience the elegant atmosphere and travelling style of a bygone era. The romance of paddle steamers is infectious. If you don't fancy the Mississippi, sternwheelers are now working Alaska's Inside Passage and the great rivers of the northwestern USA (Columbia, Willamette and Snake) for the first in a century.

HOW

By boat

WHEN TO GO

Cruises are available all year round.

TIME IT TAKES

Most cruises are seven nights, but there are shorter and longer options to be found.

HIGHLIGHTS

Hearing a calliope - these steam-powered organs were, and still are, very much part of the riverboat scene.

Small-town America at its best (plus 29 locks) on an Upper Mississippi cruise from St.Paul down to St.Louis seven nights).

All the charm and elegance of the old Deep South on a Lower Mississippi cruise from New Orleans to Memphis (seven nights).

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Louis Armstrong sure knew what he was talking about when he sang the classic song "Ol" Man River - he travelled up the river from New Orleans by paddle steamer, stopping at various towns along the way to play.

Hotels in Mississippi