How to plan historic highway routes without rushing the trip

What to take away

• Elevation change is a better predictor of driving time than distance on a historic route.
• Loops beat point to point trips, because they remove the return drive from the schedule.
• Plan half as much as you want to see, then add the rest only if the first day runs early.
• Leave the last hour of every day unbooked. Historic routes generate unplanned stops.

Rushing a historic route defeats the whole point of choosing one. These roads were laid out at the pace of animals and early engines, and they still reward being driven slowly. The planning problem is not finding things to see. It is refusing to schedule all of them.

Use elevation, not mileage

A short route with a large climb takes far longer than its distance suggests, and the climbing is usually where the history is, because the road had to negotiate the same obstacle everyone else did.

The BLM's page for the Lewis and Clark Back Country Byway in Idaho describes a 36 mile loop following the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail through the Lemhi Valley, and notes a gain and loss of four thousand feet with steep grades to match. The page recommends a slow and meandering journey with time to stop, and mentions that Lemhi Pass is known for wildflower displays in spring and summer.

Thirty six miles with four thousand feet of climbing is a day, not a morning. Read every route that way.

Loops save you a day

A loop returns you to your starting point without repeating the drive, which is worth more on a two or three day trip than any other planning decision. The BLM describes the Silver Island Mountain Back Country Byway in Utah as a 54 mile loop around the Silver Island Mountains through the Great Basin, providing access to the historic Hastings cutoff of the California National Historic Trail, the route made infamous by the Donner and Reed party of 1846.

A loop of that length with a documented historical connection is a complete day out of a single base. Point to point routes of the same distance need a second night or a long return.

The half plan

1. List everything you want to see on the route.
2. Schedule half of it.
3. Drive the first day and see how the estimate held.
4. Add from the reserve list only if you finished early.
5. Keep the last hour of daylight free every day.

Step five is the one that matters. Historic routes produce unplanned stops, and the stop you did not plan is usually the one you remember.

Practical pacing rules

• Two interpretive stops before lunch, one after. Three good ones is a full day.
• Book the first night, keep the second flexible if the route allows it.
• Front load the driving so the afternoon can absorb delays.
• Turn back at a fixed time rather than a fixed place on any road with a rough surface.

Where to go next

Deciding which sort of road you want is the first move, and the fifteen kinds of historic route sorts them by what each one preserves. If you are considering paying somebody else to plan it, how to compare guided trips shows what a good itinerary looks like.

Common questions

How many miles a day on a historic route? Between 120 and 200 if you want to stop properly. More than that and you are driving past the subject.

Should I book accommodation in advance? The first night yes, later nights only where options are scarce. Flexibility is worth more than a small saving.

How do I know how long a climb will take? Read the elevation figure on the route page and assume roughly half your normal speed while gaining it.

Is it worth driving a route in both directions? On short loops and passes, often yes. Landmarks read completely differently from the other side.