The fabled Route 1 East Coast strings together everything that one needs on a memorable vacation: scenic beaches, sprawling suburbs, offbeat seaside towns, virgin forests and breathtaking coastal views. This is the ultimate coastal road trip, one where it all begins!

Welcome to Route1views.com

Route1views.com is a unique and vibrant platform that connects artists, travelers, photographers and story tellers who happen to take a trip down this epic route. Our mission is to share the unforgettable experiences of travelers along US Route 1 through art, music, photography and personal stories that help join people, eliminate discrimination and forge meaningful bonds. By contributing your story, you will make this community even more awesome!

What is special about Route 1?

The US Route 1 East Coast Travel Road is the nation’s first north-south interstate highway that runs a staggering 2,390 miles along the east coastline of the United States. While the north terminus of the highway has always been Fort Kent in Maine, the route culminated in Miami, Florida until 1929, after which it was extended to Key West in Florida.

Being the longest north-south thoroughfare in the country, a good part of Route 1 East Coast hugs the picturesque Atlantic coastline, but those parts that lie away from the seashore nevertheless offer more opportunities for travel, sightseeing and tourism. This historic route will enable you to sample some of the country’s rich past, natural beauty, landscapes and splendor as well as the diversity of its upbeat residents.

Want to know more about East Coast history and culture? Want to learn interesting facts about each state that you probably haven’t heard before?

Check out the East Coast states journey!

Cities that are on the Route 1 Road

Route 1 East Coast is called the foundation of the nation for some very good reasons. The East Coast features some of the most sprawling and dynamic cities as well as highly distinguished historic and cultural sites. While the East Coast can sometimes seem an intimidating place due to its vastness and diversity (there are surely a dizzying number of places on Route 1 East Coast that will leave your head spinning for a while), it also offers an unparalleled opportunity to explore some of the nation’s most amazing and exciting places. History and geography fuse in a spectacular manner here in the East Coast of the United States.

Maine (527 miles)

Traveling on US Route 1 along the coast of Maine may well be the most memorable and interesting road trip in the United States. Maine not only boasts an abundance of scenic beauty and natural attractions (including 5,000 miles of a serene coastline), it also features beautiful sandy beaches, quaint boating towns as well as all the adventure the Acadia National Park has to offer. There are many charming beach towns dotting the southern region of Maine, including Kennebunkport, Bar Harbor and Rockland with many turn-of-the-century town houses, trendy restaurants, tourist shops and active harbors.

New Hampshire (17 miles)

The Route 1 road trip through New Hampshire is an approximately 40 mile long drive along the enchanting colonial seacoast. Your journey in New Hampshire along Route 1 will start at Portsmouth – one of the most splendid cities of the late 18th and early 19th centuries – which still has a working waterfront and an exciting downtown. Route 1B will take you over the causeway in Portsmouth to New Castle. This narrow strip of road will take you round the island, past the great Wentworth-by-the-Sea and early military fortifications including Fort Constitution and Fort Stark. On the other hand, Route 1A will turn you south through Rye and North Hampton to Hampton proper, giving you glimpses of state parks and oceanfront beaches on the way.

Massachusetts (86 miles)

Traveling southward along Route 1 from Salisbury at the New Hampshire border, you will pass through many North Shore towns including Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Danvers, Ipswich, Topsfield, Lynnfield and Saugus. From here, the highway will enter into Greater Boston, passing through more towns such as Revere, Malden, Chelsea, Canton and Boston. If you continue to go south, you will follow what was once known as the ‘Old Boston Post Road’ and drive through Westwood, Sharon, Norwood, Walpole and many more towns and will eventually emerge on the Rhode Island border.

Rhode Island (57 miles)

From Pawtucket at the northern border of Rhode Island, the US Route 1 wanders through Providence, Warwick, Cranston, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, East Greenwich, Charlestown and Westerly.

Connecticut (117 miles)

Route 1 East Coast offers some really great drives along the Connecticut shoreline. The highway follows the Connecticut coastline from Greenwich to Stonington. Route 1 serves as a local business and travel thoroughfare in the state of Connecticut along Long Island Sound. Despite its apparent east-west orientation, the highway in Connecticut still forms part of the larger north-south route. US Route 1 runs throughout the state and has many junctions and stops in cities like Greenwich, Branford, Stonington and Waterford.

New York (66 miles)

For 22 the miles of US Route 1 in New York you might want to allow more time per mile than any of the other 12 states it goes through. After passing the near newly built Yankee Stadium and directly in front of the Bronx Zoo, the original 1926 route crossed into Manhattan at Kingsbridge, and north of the 843 acres of Central Park, following Broadway to Times Square before crossing the Hudson River through the Holland Tunnel.

Since 1932, US 1 has been routed over the George Washington Bridge, but there’s no reason you can’t detour into lower Manhattan today to enjoy the view 1,872 steps above the street from the Empire State Building, descend into the 911 Memorial, gape at the grandeur of Grand Central Station, marvel at the masterpieces in the MOMA, skate away the day at Rockefeller Center, experience the novelty of One Vanderbilt, spend an afternoon at The MET, walk the High Line, book a show at Radio City Music Hall, count the creatures featured at The American Museum of Natural History, wear your diplomat hat at The United Nations, or toe the line at The Edge before crossing into Fort Lee, New Jersey!

Between Connecticut and the Bronx, there’s a wealth of colonial history in Westchester County in the outposts of Port Chester, Rye, Mamaroneck, and New Rochelle. Home to almost 9 million people, there’s so much to experience in the New York City region.

New Jersey (66 miles)

Say what you will about New Jersey, it’s 66 miles of Route 1 are packed with great places to visit. For the full NJ experience, you’ll want to stop at a diner and shop at a mall, cross the newly-restored Pulaski Skyway to Newark, experience Revolutionary War history in Princeton, Trenton, and Elizabeth, trace family roots at Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Hoboken, check out Thomas Edison’s Workshop, and trundle along the 78 mile Delaware & Raritan Canal recreational trail before leaving for PA on the “Trenton Makes the World Takes” bridge.

Pennsylvania (81 miles)

Route 1 changes in Pennsylvania more than in almost any other of the 13 states it passes through. Beginning in Morrisville as you enter PA from New Jersey, there’s still evidence of Bucks County’s agrarian past, although the suburbs of Philadelphia have been expanding over farms and fields for 75 years. Old town centers of Langhorne, Penndel, and Bensalem have expanded toward I-95, the PA Turnpike and 295. Nearby is the legendary subdivision of Levittown, a prime example of suburbanization in the county where large-scale home building began in 1952 and continues today. As you enter Philadelphia’s Northeast edge, the roadway expands to 12 lanes of traffic on Roosevelt Boulevard, one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the country.

The trip through northeast Philly to Center City comprises fifteen of the 81 miles of Route 1 through the second most populous city in the East. The original route along Roosevelt Boulevard turned South onto Broad Street toward City Hall where it then turned West on Market St. This original route brought motorists within easy reach of Old City where the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Christ Church, the Betsy Ross House, and Arch Street Meeting House. West of City Hall they would encounter The Masonic Temple, Love Park, the Philadelphia Art Museum (now with the Rocky Statue), the Water Works, the Philadelphia Zoo, and Fairmount Park. Prior to 1960, Route 1 left Philadelphia past the University of Pennsylvania southwest on Baltimore Avenue, reaching the other end of the city after more than 20 miles in Yeadon, Delaware County. Through Lansdowne, Springfield, Media, and Lima, the suburban fringe of the city recedes, and fields and farms appear along the roadway. Wawa is a name that might be familiar to you because of the dairy that is located there that has grown into a large convenience store chain. Concordville, Chadds Ford, and the Brandywine were the sites of some of the most important engagements of the War for Independence.

You should stop to smell the roses and take in the beauty of Longwood Gardens when passing through Kennett Square. Prior to crossing the line into Maryland, you’ll pass Lincoln University, America’s first historically black college a few miles from Oxford.

Washington, DC (7 miles)

Our Nation’s Capital has 7 miles of Route 1 running through its heart.  Beginning on Rhode Island Avenue in Woodridge, US Route 1 goes past some of our most treasured places, including the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, The Smithsonian Museum of American History, The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine,  The National Gallery of Art, The Washington Monument, The Jefferson Memorial, The US Holocaust Museum, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and the little-known George Mason Memorial before crossing the Potomac River via the 14th Street Bridge.

Florida (545 miles)

US Route 1 runs a total of 545 miles in Florida along the state’s east coast. The journey on Highway 1 in Florida commences from Key West, crosses at the St. Marys River and enters into Georgia north of Boulogne and south of Folkston. US Route 1 was designated throughout Florida when the US Numbered Highway System was first laid down in 1926. This route provides a great low-cost beach getaway road trip that passes dozens of charming little seaside towns for which Florida is so famous.

Take an exhilarating journey through the art, culture, music, and history of the East Coast States

The US Route 1 map gives you a detailed representation of the many places and regions through which this grand road passes and offers the opportunity for an epic road trip. As you can see, the starting point is Whitehead Street or Fleming Street in Key West, Florida and the end point is Route 161 in Clair, New Brunswick, Canada.

The approximate length of the journey is 2,369 miles or 3,813 kilometers. Major junctions along the route include Whitehead Street / Fleming Street in Key West, FL, I-10 in Jacksonville, FL, I-16 near Swainsboro, GA, I-20 near Aiken, SC, I-26 / I-20 in Columbia, SC, I-40 in Cary, NC, I-64 in Richmond, VA, I-64 in Richmond, VA, I-83 in Baltimore, MD, I-76 in Philadelphia, PA, I-87 in New York City, NY, I-90 / I-93 in Boston, MA, I-95 in Houlton, ME and finally Route 161 in Clair, New Brunswick, Canada.

The states that the US Route 1 passes through include Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

Planning Your Route 1 Road Trip

The US Route 1 East Coast stretches 2,400 miles – starting from the ‘America’s First Mile’ roadside sign in Fort Kent, Maine and culminating at the ‘Mile 0’ milestone at the very tip of the Keys of Florida. The mile markers are placed all along Route 1 and it is up to the travelers going along the highway to pick as many or as few states they want to travel and explore.

The Route 1 highway traces the Atlantic coastline in some states and meanders inland in other places, giving you a taste of everything this great country has to offer. As you make your way along this historic road, you will pass through big metropolises, small beach towns, rolling sandy beaches, a series of national parks, popular tourist spots, preserves and seaside mountains.

US Route 1 is not by any means a limited access highway. Some of the joys of a long road trip like the one promised by US Route 1 include not only the opportunity for sightseeing, but also enjoying regional specialties that cannot be found in your regular chain restaurants. There are many roadside attractions on US Route 1 that entice tourists and travelers to take a break from driving and stretch their legs for a bit. Farm stands alongside the route offer fresh local food, while diners serve everything from fast food to locally sourced seafood.

Commuters and holidaymakers planning their Route 1 road trip can make advance reservations along the way for hotels and motels, and there are many apps and websites that help travelers find lodgings that suit their budget and preferences. Similarly, there are also many reasonably-priced campsites that offer unique camping opportunities throughout the year for those taking Route 1 road trips.

Why Use Route1views.com website?

Many of the activities that you will take on your US Route 1 itinerary are great stuff for history buffs, learning about the East Coast culture, sharing photographs and storytelling. You will likely attend a few festivals and events on your road trip, pass through some great cities and dreamy towns alike and discover some of America’s most significant tourist attractions on the way.

Route1views.com is a place to share all these experiences and much more! As a one-of-a-kind social platform, Route1views.com celebrates art, history, culture, music, photography and stories that come straight from the heart of those who have undertaken a memorable road trip along America’s oldest interstate highway anytime in their lives. Spin a picture that speaks a thousand words or share your experience in a heart-warming personal story on Route1views.com, and inspire others to follow in your footsteps along Route 1 East Coast.

Explore the Route1Views map to browse over 1000 unique stories.