Best Labor Day Road Trips

Its almost Labor Day and summer is one step closer to ending. That's why Yahoo! Travel came up with a list of America' best road trips for those people who have yet taken one this year.

So make the most of Labor Day this year by packing up the car and escaping for the weekend.

Highway 1: All-American Road
There's a reason Highway 1 is iconic, and if you haven't seen the breathtaking views from the California coastline, it's the only way to do it. Navigating the celebrated 123-mile stretch between Big Sur Coast Highway and San Luis Obispo North Coast Byway is no laughing matter--factor in switchbacks and narrow single-span bridge crossings--but the scenery more than compensates: The aquarium and canneries of Monterey, the greens of Pebble Beach, the soaring redwoods of Big Sur, sea otters loafing on the Pacific bluffs and the mysterious Hearst Castle perched on a cliffside.



Michigan's West Coast /Photo: NewscomMichigan's West Coast
Explore the bucolic beach towns along the western coast of Michigan, driving along U.S. 31 from Saugatuck to Mackinac Island. Lake Michigan's calm shorelines, great boating and pristine boardwalks boasting homemade corndogs are perfect for kids, as are the sloping sandy peaks for climbing at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. You'll have to ditch the car for the ferry trip to Mackinac--no cars are allowed on the island--so plan to grab a bike and explore the eight-mile loop of Lakeshore Boulevard on two wheels rather than four.



Big Bend National Park /Photo: LeafletBig Bend National Park
Everything is bigger in Texas, and in Big Bend National Park, it's larger than life. The 30-mile Maxwell Scenic Drive cuts through some of the park's most spectacular vistas: dusty ranches of long-ago rangers, terra-cotta cliffsides and a jaw-dropping expanse of sky that opens up each evening to exhibit a sea of stars that puts any planetarium to shame. Get out of the car for a two-day rafting trip along the Rio Grande.



Blue Ridge Parkway /Photo: Ken ThomasBlue Ridge Parkway
2010 marks the 75th anniversary of the country's most widely visited National Parkway, which connects Shenandoah and Great Smokey Mountain National Parks. The celebrations stretch from West Virginia to Tennessee. Walk in the Civil War footsteps of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee in Lexington, Va., or see the small town charms of Mount Airy, N.C., which was the basis for Andy Griffith's Mayberry. Stay at the Mountain Lake Resort in West Virginia; its idyllic cabins stood in for the Catskills in the classic summer rom-com Dirty Dancing.


Florida's Gulf Coast /Photo: NewscomFlorida's Gulf Coast

Do your part to help Gulf Coast tourism by skipping Orlando and heading further west instead. Driving the coastline along Highway 98 from Tallahassee to Silver Springs, you'll pass through wildlife refuges and citrus fields, kitschy mermaid shows and the remnants of early Spanish settlements. Want wildlife? Watch out for gators and turtles at Wakulla State Park, or snorkel with manatees at Crystal River Archaeological State Park.

Visit us at Hillcrest Ford and see how you can enjoy this road trip with a brand new car.

Original Article