America's Longest Scenic Road Trip: Driving Route 20 And What To See (2024)

The longest route in the United States is claimed to be U.S. Route 20 (or U.S. Highway 20) which runs east to west across the nation. This is a monster of a road trip and it takes around a 14-day or a 20-day itinerary to comfortably complete. The US has so many underrated epic road trips worth taking in the United States, and Route 20 should be added to the list!

U.S. Route 20 stretches across the continent from the Pacific Northwest to New England in the East. At one end, its terminus is in Boston at Route 2; at the other end, it terminates in Newport, Oregon where it intersects with U.S. Route 101. Here is what to know about traveling the route and what to see along it.

U.S. Route 20: The Longest Road In The United States

At 3,365 miles long, Route 20 is currently the longest highway in the United States

Road Trip in the United States

U.S. Route 20 is one of the coast-to-coast highways (as indicated by "0" in its route number). The route runs more or less parallel to Interstate 90 (the longest Interstate Highway in the country). Its western terminus in Oregon is around a mile from the Pacific coast.

• Length: 3,365 miles (or 5,415 kilometers)

Route 20 passes through some of the most stunning terrain in the United States. One of the oddities of the highway is that it breaks in Yellowstone National Park. The two sections of the road are connected through Yellowstone by unnumbered roads (U.S. numbered highways are not designated within National Parks).

Highway 20 in North Cascades

• Eastern Terminus: Kenmore Square, Boston, Massachusetts
• Western Terminus: Intersection with U.S. Route 101, Newport, Oregon

Originally, Route 20 ended at the eastern entrance of Yellowstone, but in 1940 it was extended from the western side of the park to the Oregon coast.

Route 20 was once the second-longest road in the United States, behind U.S. Route 6 (which also runs coast to coast). It took the top spot in 1963 when the terminus of Route 6 was changed shortening the route.

Route 6 is now 3,227 (or 3,249) miles long while Route 20 is 3,365 miles long — making Route 20 over 100 miles longer than the next longest route.

Route 20 Oregon To Yellowstone (& Key Attractions Along The Way)

Discover some of the best of the west western Route 20

The western section of Route 20 starts at Newport, Oregon. The route passes through some of Oregon's most stunning landscapes including crossing the Central Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Mountains (through Santiam Pass), before passing through Bend and then traveling over the Oregon High Desert.

It is impossible to list all the stunning attractions in this section, but Bend in central Oregon is one of the best places to see volcanic landscapes.

Panoramic view on Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone

Key Attractions Route 20 Oregon to Wyoming:

• Cascade Mountains, Oregon
• Newberry National Volcanic Monument - Lava River Cave, Oregon
• Oregon Badlands Wilderness, Oregon
• Craters of the Moon National Park and Preserve, Idaho
• Yellowstone National Park, Montana & Wyoming

U.S. Route 20 then passes into Idaho and passes through Boise and the southern half of the state. One of the key attractions in Idaho is the Craters of the Moon National Park and Preserve. Here visitors can see a vast ocean of lava flows with a scattering of cinder cones and sagebrush. It is easy to see why these unearthly landscapes are likened to the alien landscapes of the moon.

U.S. Route 20 then passes through less than 10 miles of Montana before crossing into Yellowstone National Park (where it is unnumbered). Yellowstone is the oldest national park in the United States and arguably the best destination for a North American wildlife safari.

Route 20 Nebraska to Boston (& Key Attractions Along The Way)

The Eastern half of Route 20 has timeless landscapes of the Finger Lakes and the Colonial city of Boston

Aerial view of Keuka Lake in Finger Lakes, NY

Picking up again at the eastern entrance to Yellowstone, Route 20 then crosses through the rest of Wyoming into Nebraska. It runs the full length of Nebraska into Iowa and then on to Chicago. It is worth stopping in Chicago for a while to discover the Windy City (and the third largest city in the USA).

Key Attractions Route 20 Nebraska to Massachusetts:

• Nebraska Sandhills, Nebraska
• Chicago, Illinois
• Michigan City Lighthouse & Pier, Indiana
• Finger Lakes, New York
• Boston Freedom Trail, Massachusetts

Traversing along the Lake Michigan coast, the highway passes through Indiana (if driving in the winter, the ), and then through Ohio, a little bit of Pennsylvania, and Upstate New York. Perhaps the most stunning region of Upstate New York it passes through is the Finger Lakes region (this region is magical in the summer).

Freedom Trail Sign, Boston, MA

Finally, Route 20 enters Massachusetts and terminates in Boston. Boston is one of the most historic cities in the United States and a great place to learn about the Colonial and Revolutionary periods of the nation. Take the time to discover the Boston Freedom Trail and discover the story of the birth of the nation.