Take a break to see farm country, historic towns, nature preserves, good walking, authentic soda fountain, Bald Eagles, and the endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel.
A drive along the upper eastern shore of Maryland will take you through historic towns, nature preserves and farm country; you will never once be far from the water. Begin your trip on Route 213 in Chesapeake City at the western end of the Delaware Canal and Chesapeake. As you head south, this is one drive where there are many opportunities to walk along the way as you visit some interesting tourist spots. A way to begin the trip, in fact, is with a visit to the Canal Museum, where you can learn about how the place grew in the 1830s as a result of canal-related industries. Read more . . .
Originally a section of a 19th Century Spanish frontier trail, this 109-mile, 3-hour trip through southern Louisiana Cajun country is best accomplished in the spring and fall, as summers are naturally hot and humid. Begin in Houma, the center of Terrebonne Parish and a seat of Cajun tradition. Feast on some of the local etouffe, gumbo, or jambalaya before heading west on Bayou Black Drive (U.S. 90), skirting the bayou. Colorful operators along the way provide tours of the Atchafalaya Basin, North America’s biggest river-basin swamp. Outside Houma, look for the turnoff on the right for Wildlife Gardens, which features swamp tours, an alligator farm, and trapper’s cabin. 
This 105-mile, 2-1/2 hour route winds through wildlife refuges, prairies, marshes, and Gulf shoreline in southwestern Louisiana and is a favorite of birding and shelling enthusiasts. The leisurely drive is best accomplished fall through spring, and insect repellant is extremely recommended. The drive takes off from Sulphur, just west of Lake Charles on I-10. Its name is taken from the huge mineral deposits found in a nearby salt dome. Going south on Route 27, it goes across the Intercoastal Waterway and passes Calcasieu Lake. Beyond the bridge, the landscape changes dramatically to a brackish tidal marsh, followed by oil fields and a shipping channel. It then continues on through Hackberry where many shrimp boats crisscrosses Calcasieu Lake. 
For a fascinating start to this trip, begin in Morehead with a stopover to the Kentucky Folk Art Center. Here, you can learn about the past culture of Daniel Boone and Eastern Kentucky. From there, take U.S. 60 west to Route 801, which runs along Cave Run Lake, an 8,400-acre blue lake bordered by forests that extend all the way to the water. This is a good spot to do some outstanding muskie fishing and to enjoy some great boating. Nearby Zilpo Road, the state’s only National Forest Scenic Byway, leads you to the Zilpo Recreation Area with its overlooks of the forests, lake, and entrance to the Sheltowee Trace Trail. 
Leave Lexington to the south on Route 68 and drive to Harrodsburg over some of the best rolling roads lined with field-stone fences in the heart of the Bluegrass portion of Kentucky. Short trips on side streets can put the best of roller coasters to shame. There’s a wealth of American history to take in during the 115-mile drive, as well as the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. The village is located halfway between Harrodsburg and Lexington, the first permanent settlement in Kentucky. Continue your drive south for 10 miles and you will reach Danville, one of Kentucky’s historic communities. Coming from Danville, head west on Route 150 to the heart of the Civil War action in Perrysville.