Nothing against Route 66, Highway 61, U.S. 20, and all those other long and winding nominees for the great American road trip. But if this driver had to pick an ultimate favorite — a single 1,500-mile-or-so two-lane border-to-border kick-in-the-derriere route to sink one’s gas pedal into — there’s no question what highway I’d be on. The road I’d choose is the one that’s as far west as you can be without getting saltwater on your rims. It’s the American version of Italy’s Amalfi Coast — cliffside, beachside, stay-on-your-side! driving that’s hands-on-the-wheel and eyes-on-the-road as much as you can peel them off the scenery.

Spectacular scenic route doesn’t say the half of it.

This superlative stretch of snaking pavement is called by various names depending on where along the West Coast it’s doing its land-water hugging. It’s the storied Highway 1 through California, U.S. 101 in Oregon, Interstate 5 for the bit above Seattle. But wherever you are along it and whatever it’s called at that point, the coastal highway is the way to experience the westernmost edge of the country

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