At the northernmost section of the drive, Route 1 follows closely along the Maine Coastline. You’ll see all the quintessential New England scenery: windswept coasts, rocky shores, fishermen’s barges, and lighthouses overlooking the ocean. A particular highlight is the 12-mile stretch between Danforth and Orient, Maine, a drive so beloved it has been nicknamed the “Million Dollar View.” You might be inclined to agree when you see Grand Lake and Peakaboo Mountain passing by your windows.

Along the way, be sure to stop at Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park along Cape Elizabeth. The Portland is the oldest lighthouse in Maine, dating all the way back to 1791. Or stop in the Seashore Trolley Museum, the world’s oldest and largest electric railway museum with more than 250 trolley cars from all over history. And it wouldn’t be a trip to Maine without eating at the Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier, where you can spend a meal or a whole day enjoying the marine wildlife both on and off your plate.

Route 101: The Pacific Coast Highway
U.S. Route 101 runs right along the Pacific Coast, from Los Angeles, through Oregon and all the way up to Olympia, Washington, offering amazing, picturesque views along the way. Also known as El Camino Real (or “The Royal Road”), the Pacific Coast Highway runs approximately along a centuries old trail linking various Spanish missions, pueblos, and presidios.

Today, driving the 101 will present you with breathtaking sheer cliff sides that plummet into the Pacific Ocean below, especially if you take the California Highway 1 whenever possible to hug the California coast. The 1 will also take you over the Bixby Bridge outside Monterey, where you’ll get to drive right over the Rainbow Canyon as it empties into the ocean.

You can stop just about anywhere along the 101 and 1 to catch an amazing view, but be sure to check out Hearst Castle–the inspiration for Citizen Kane‘s Xanadu–in San Simeon. Or grab a bite at Nepenthe in Big Sur, a mid-20th Century diner that affords oceanside views. And don’t miss the Prehistoric Gardens in South Port Orford, Oregon to catch a glimpse of some life-size dinosaurs, albeit reconstructed out of concrete.