America’s Best Sports Car Roads, Part III

By Lyndon Conrad Bell

Lyndon Conrad Bell

Contributing Writer

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630 views Nov 21, 2010

Our quest for the best places to roll in the United States continues. Working our way across the country from west to east, we started in Hawaii in Part I. In Part II, we got the last of the western states covered. Part III, finds us in the Midwest, starting in Iowa on the Loess Hills Trail.

Iowa: Without question, the most interesting road in Iowa is the Loess (pronounced Luss) Hills Trail. Right off the bat, driving it, you’ll cross the Lewis and Clark Trail, Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, and California Trail, as you trace the eastern bank of the Missouri River. You’ll also see natural features that exist in only one other place on Earth—in China. A rather complicated route; you’ll find a map detailing it here.

Missouri: State Route 265 is one of the most scenic drives in Missouri. Among its highlights are the Y Bridge (pictured), Inspiration Tower in Branson, and the fact it also encompasses the Ozark Mountain Parkway. The route goes through a number of towns, but there are also some nice twisty sections as well. Variety is what makes MO-265 an interesting drive. Well, that, and the fact it leads to and from Branson.

Arkansas: Crowley’s Ridge Parkway offers verdant patches of wildflowers in the warm months, exceptional fall color going into winter, and an abundance of historical sites. The actual ridge itself is a 150-mile long geological formation. Our requisite winding road is laced with four state parks and has been designated a national scenic byway. The 198 mile long route starts at the Arkansas/Missouri border, you’ll find it detailed here.

Louisiana: The Louisiana section of the Great Mississippi River Road traces the waterway’s route from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Given the river’s role as a major transportation corridor through the state, following the river road is like touring the state’s history, including many of the state's most famous and recognizable group of monumental plantation houses.

Mississippi: Running south out of the town of Monticello, MS-587 zigzags in sympathy with the Pearl River’s twists and turns down to Columbia, Miss. In addition to the crooked pavement we sports car folk love, a highlight of this route is Red Bluff, just outside of Columbia. Said to be Mississippi’s Grand Canyon, it was formed by erosion caused by the Pearl River just as the one in Arizona was carved by the Colorado River.

Tennessee: The Cherohala Skyway is shared with North Carolina, but that’s just one more reason to drive it. Totaling thirty-six miles and cresting at 5400 feet above sea level, the Cherohala runs between Tellico Plains, Tenn. and Robbinsville, North Carolina. It took 34 years to complete, at a cost of $100,000,000. And the first time you point the nose of your two-seater into one of its long sweeping corners—enough said.

Kentucky: In central Kentucky, State Highways 402, 77 and 715 form a short but highly memorable route between the villages of Stanton and Pine Ridge. Tracing the route of the Red River, this road is included because it features one of the most unique attractions we’ve found anywhere, the Nada Tunnel. More like a paved cave with two openings than a formal tunnel, the Nada is basically a 900-foot hole blasted through the mountain.

Illinois: For some reason, many of the best sports car roads trace the route of a stream or a river. In Illinois, take IL-100 out of Alton to where it meets IL-136 just west of Havana. You’ll wind along with the Mississippi to where it meets the Illinois. When you come to Eldred Road, use it to get to IL-108 and take the free Kampsville Ferry across to IL-100 and return. It’ll be a very good day.