QOTD: What's Your Favorite Scenic Drive?

by Tim Healey

Published: September 29th, 2025

I was on a drive program last week, and instead of piling folks into a van or SUV for the trip to the airport, our OEM handlers tossed us keys and let us drive there on our own.

My route took me from near Mt. Adams, in Washington State, down towards the Columbia River, and then over the river to Hood River, Oregon, and down I-84 to Portland.

The weather was perfect, traffic was light, and at one point the entire river seemed to open up in front of me, with mountains flanking me on the left. Pine trees abounded. Stunning.

Interstate 84 isn't perfect -- it's only two lanes in each direction in spots, and there are places with little shoulder room and just a simple concrete divider between opposing directions. But sometimes the view was insanely gorgeous.

So I ask of you -- what's the most scenic drive? Yes, I've asked before but that was about three years ago, and this is the kind of topic that deserves the occasional check-in.

So, that in mind, sound off below.

[Image: davidrh/Shutterstock.com]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#QOTD #QuestionOfTheDay #ScenicDrives #ColumbiaRiver #Portland #PDX

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 16 comments

3-On-The-Tree on Sep 30, 2025

Nice drives back home in WA state, Cascades, Snoqualmie Pass. There are some scenic routes going up to Yellowstone as well. As well as on RT Tampa from FOB Speicher to FOB Diamondback. But the best drive is pulling into my shop at home.

Like Reply
Grandmaster T on Sep 30, 2025

Imagine a country so rich that people could invest money in gasoline in the middle of an economic collapse just to see scenic vistas.... this writeup must be for Canadians?

1 Reply

Recent Comments

Andarris Here in the Toronto area I haven't seen a 2006-2012 with intact rocker pannels for over two years now. I presume everywhere around the Great Lakes is the same ? They were super cheap dhring the first two years of the pandemic - could get one with less than 85K for around $6500 certified or a little higher mileage for $5000. Glad I skipped it, even in 2021 some of the 10's &11's were displaying corosion like you'd see on a 7 year older Impala, Camry or Accord. Also the mid-model switch to EPS made me balk at the few clean ones I found.
Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh I do not ever have delays. I only fly out of PDX or EUG to LAS or OAK and OGG then back .. have never been delayed in the last ?30-ish? trips to vegas/disneyland/maui/cruise ship vacations.... EUG has contract tsa so we never have any TSA delays. unsure which airports have PRIVATE contract TSA that is UNAFFECTED by the deadlock that i HOPE NEVER EVER END.
Big Al from Oz gidday mites how are yall feelin today? Want to have a barbie? We are right here gettin dee fire ready
Michael S6 The 3 Amigos better hope that the oil spike is short lived as 4-5 dollar a gallon gas would put a damper on their cash cows especially "Ford's strategic shift" of killing off the escape/Lincoln cousin. Most other automakers have a full line of vehicles with much better full economy. GM is sucking air and its Cadillac devision is mostly EV and geriatric line up of ICE cars and SUV's that were supposed to be phased out this year. The expensive gas may push shoppers toward EV but GM's horrible EV reliability is a barrier.
Tane94 I read the GM press release about first quarter sales 2026 vs 2025 and Buick is getting its butt kicked:Buick Total* 41,654 61,822 -32.6 The future is bleak for Buick.