This one needs little introduction. California packs a punch when it comes to road trips, but the Big Sur section of the Pacific Coast Highway is the most dazzling of them all. The green-flecked Santa Lucia Mountains sweep down towards the Pacific, which is met by washes of golden sand. Expect to move slowly on this stretch of the highway, especially around Bixby Creek Bridge. This mighty arch is one of the Central Coast's shining stars.

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Covering around 27 miles (43km), the Red Clay Valley Scenic Byway wriggles out across the Red Clay Creek watershed area, revealing a bucolic slice of Delaware. Drivers can expect quiet roads hemmed in by old-growth forest and charming sights like the Ashland Covered Bridge and its gorgeous latticed interior. Auburn Valley State Park, with its old paper mill and Queen Anne mansion, is another highlight.

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Roads don't come much more breathtaking than this. The Overseas Highway does exactly what it says on the tin, gliding over the Gulf of Mexico's blue-green waters and joining up the Florida Keys with the mainland. All 113 miles (182km) offer pinch-me views, but the most jaw-dropping stretches are those with water as far as the eye can see, the chain of islands a distant memory. The part travelling over Seven Mile Bridge, which strikes out from Marathon, is particularly special. 

The Peach State's island-scattered coastline is sorely underrated, but those who take to Coastal Highway US 17 can get a taste for it. Pine trees and red cedars fringe the road, which slips past pretty cities like Brunswick and crosses the Altamaha River, the Butler River and more. Detours take drivers to Georgia's driftwood-scattered Golden Isles (of which Jekyll Island is a favourite), while the bold Sidney Lanier Bridge (pictured) is not to be missed.

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America's Great River Road is a mighty beast and the only real way to tackle it is in scenic sections. Louisiana boasts a beautiful chunk that runs from the city of Baton Rouge to New Orleans and encompasses about 70 miles (113km). This section of road has become known as Plantation Alley for the many graceful, pre-war mansions that line the waterway. Among them is Whitney Plantation (farm house pictured here), a sugarcane plantation whose modern focus is shining a spotlight on the lives of enslaved peoples.

Think of a road trip in the Old Line State and you'll likely imagine an oceanside cruise. But Maryland's mountain landscapes pack a punch too and the Mountain Maryland Scenic Byway is a great way to discover the peaks. In all, the road covers some 193 miles (311km) in western Maryland, yet its very beginnings – at Keysers Ridge, some 3,000 feet (914m) in elevation – are particularly scenic. Deep Creek Lake State Park is another jewel along the way, while a detour to soaring Backbone Mountain is well worth the trip.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is one of Michigan's glittering highlights and H-58 (Michigan County Highway) is a beautiful gateway to it. The road inches right up towards the shoreline, following the arc of the famed North Country Trail, and opening up to glorious overlooks with views of Lake Superior. A true head-turner is Twelvemile Beach, a (you guessed it) 12-mile-long (19km) sweep of golden sand that's backed by the road.

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The best of Minnesota's scenic drives revolve around water, and no route is more impressive than the North Shore Scenic Drive, which hugs the North Shore of Lake Superior. Sweeping up from Duluth towards the Canadian border, this route has it all: incredible lake views, lush forested stretches and cool cities like Grand Marais, with its historic art colony. Top photo opportunities include the Split Rock Lighthouse (pictured), perched right at the edge of a crag that plunges down into the lake.

Few roads get you as close to the southwest's famous red rocks as the 23-mile (37km) Valley of Fire Highway, which slices through its namesake state park. The whole route turns heads, but highlights along the way include Elephant Rock, so-named for its likeness to the giant mammal. There are camping spots just off the highway in case you fancy making a night of it too. 

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One of the country's most underrated drives, the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway is a rippling ribbon of a road that winds alongside the Delaware River, on Route 97. It takes in a southern swathe of the Catskills and its lofty heights mean the views over the water are picture perfect. The most scenic section of all is the Hawk's Nest Highway, a cliffside spool of road with plunging river panoramas. 

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This one's for wildlife lovers. The Scenic Loop takes drivers through an unparalleled pocket of the badlands in Theodore Roosevelt National Park's South Unit. The otherworldly rockscapes along the 36 miles (58km) are a road-trip jewel in themselves, but glimpses of the park's residents – from wandering bison to prairie dogs – really make the journey.

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A name like Rim Drive can only mean one thing: heart-stopping views from a great height. Happily, Oregon's 33-mile (53km) Rim Drive delivers, as it skirts the edge of sapphire-hued Crater Lake, in the national park of the same name. The deepest lake in the United States looks marvellous from the road, which forms part of the longer Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway.

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Those after a coastal slice of Rhode Island can't go wrong with a trip along Ocean Drive in Newport. The route may be relatively short (at 10 miles/16km) but it packs a punch, lined as it is with the spectacular mansions that the region is famous for, plus lighthouses and, of course, endless views over the Atlantic. A failsafe stop is Brenton Point State Park with its many coastal picnic spots and its wiggling hiking trails. 

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This route through West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest breathes life into those 1971 John Denver lyrics: "Almost heaven, West Virginia". The 43-mile (69km) road strikes out from Richwood towards Marlinton and is hugged on both sides by spruce and fir trees. Among the named overlooks are Williams River and Little Laurel, each with breathtaking panoramas over hills carpeted in green. 

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The Great American West is true road-trip country and the Beartooth Highway really shows off the larger-than-life scenery the region is famous for. The road travels for 68 miles (109km), seeping across the border into Montana and right into Yellowstone National Park. Aside from the jagged mountains, forests and glacial lakes, wildlife like bears, elk and moose make this wild highway unforgettable.  

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