Raven117

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
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Oct 25, 2017
3,112
New Jersey is actually very varied. There are a lot of beautiful, preserved areas.

Delaware Water Gap (shared with PA, but still counts), High Point State Park, New Jersey Palisades, Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Pine Barrens, and many beautiful beaches.
Hehe, I know, I just recently visited and didn't quite care for the state very much. :)
 

Version 3.0

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,448
Colorado responses warm my heart, being from there. And it is wonderful. Visit if you haven't.

But the real answer is California. It has much of what Colorado offers, plus the coast. Too bad it's full of people.
 

collige

Member
Oct 31, 2017
12,772
California wins just because of sheer diversity and size. Worst is probably something tiny like RI or Delaware.
 

Grym

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,027
Worst is easy: if the state is shaped like a rectangle, it's got shit terrain. You can tell because when they were making the map there was nothing interesting enough to describe the borders and they just made it a rectangle instead.

Colorado and Wyoming would like a word with you.
 

Chance Hale

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,494
Colorado
Colorado responses warm my heart, being from there. And it is wonderful. Visit if you haven't.

But the real answer is California. It has much of what Colorado offers, plus the coast. Too bad it's full of people.

California is my favorite of the contiential states but the population and tourism rates make it a nightmare to visit during summer. I spent 4 days in Yosemite and nearly 40 dollars trying to get a half dome pass at 5 in the morning this summer and I didn't succeed. Where in Colorado due to the much smaller population there's so much more freedom in where you can explore and hike without spending rediculous amounts.
 

SliceSabre

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,556
I strong favor the look and feel of the landscapes of the Appalachian states

1280px-MonNatForest.jpg

I absolutely love those rolling old green mountains and hilly landscape.


Worst: The South in general. The landscape of the deep south states if fucking awful and has literally nothing of note when driving through there.
 

Raven117

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,112
I live here so I actually know the whole state doesn't look like the turnpike. Which out of staters tend to think of it.
I actually didn;t mind the turnpike. I was in and around the jersey shore....and I felt like a different species. :D

(Im playing around, but truth be told, NJ did not leave a great impression on me).
 

Thurston Last

Banned
Jul 26, 2018
1,350
Nebraska is pretty boring and I think it is a top contender, but the worst drive IMO is downstate Illinois. And that is coming from someone who has driven clean across Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and like half of Indiana. But that is just the highway. Illinois does have some interesting landscapes like Starved Rock and Shawnee National Forest.

FRENCH-CANYON-Western-End-of-Starved-Rockjpg.jpg

garden-of-the-gods-1.jpg


of course even Nebraska has some interesting things:

scotts-bluff.jpg


as does Iowa

maquoketa.jpg


As for best I love Colorado, but California is OP.
 

ZealousD

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,303
Southeast Oklahoma is actually fairly mountainous/hilly. And Northeast Oklahoma is pretty green and has plenty of forests, we even call it "Green Country". I wouldn't write off the state entirely just because of how flat and boring the western half is.

Alaska is very underrepresented in this thread. The state is a Bob Ross painting come to life.
 

ghostemoji

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,956
Missouri is beautiful OP. You crazy.

Oklahoma is pretty boring all things considered. I imagine I just haven't seen the more interesting areas though.
 

Karl2177

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,122
Those of you saying Iowa for the worst, you're mostly right. The parts that you drive through are incredibly boring (although no where near as boring as the driving parts of Kansas). The river valleys in Iowa are really pretty though.
 

CesareNorrez

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,757
I actually didn;t mind the turnpike. I was in and around the jersey shore....and I felt like a different species. :D

(Im playing around, but truth be told, NJ did not leave a great impression on me).

Jersey Shore could mean a lot of things. Wildwood, Sandy Hook, Point Pleasant, Atlantic City, Asbury Park, Cape May, Seaside Heights, plus many more. They are all very different places to visit.

Then we have mountains up North. Some really incredible places to hike and experience nature.

And the Pine Barrens are 1.1 million acres of NJ, that's nearly a quarter of the state's land area.

As a native it's always going to bug me when people think of it as an industrial state, like something out of Blade Runner. Even though it is the most polluted state in the Union.
 
Oct 25, 2017
12,754
I can't believe no one has said Idaho but I guess it isn't too surprising as I had no idea how amazing it was till driving through it.
 

DJ_Lae

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,223
Edmonton
Midwestern states have a nice variety of scenery - and the effect is more or less mirrored up in Canada where BC has by far the most variety and beautiful scenery in the country.

And then you have Saskatchewan, which is a rival for Kansas as far as rolling fields go. There's nothing to do or see.
 

miscellaneous houseplant

self-requsted ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
306
I won't deny that many/most states have more majestic features, but please don't judge the plains/flyover states soley on driving through them on the interstate. There's a lot of subtle beauty to the rolling hills, river valleys, intermittent forests and prairie that can be found on less-traveled roads.

Like, Nebraska/Iowa/Illinois are an unending nightmare of boredom on Interstate 80, but head just a little north to Highway 2 in Nebraska and you'll find the incredible Nebraska Sandhills that cover a quarter of the state. And northwestern Nebraska has all sorts of neat features, like Chimney Rock and Scott's Bluff. Driving highway 151 between Monticello, IA and Dodgeville, WI is a gorgeous, winding drive through rolling hills and small bluffs. Or Highway 52 between Sabula, IA and the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Lots of little county and state parks sprinkled throughout all of these states that make for great day trips too.
 

Raven117

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,112
As a native it's always going to bug me when people think of it as an industrial state, like something out of Blade Runner. Even though it is the most polluted state in the Union.
NJ wishes it was as cool as Blade Runner. :)

I drove from Philadelphia to Seaside Heights, then up to Newark Airport and back. Im going to try and not hold my impression of Seaside Height to the rest of NJ...but....its going to be hard. (Im just giving you a hard time my dude).
 

Morrigan

Spear of the Metal Church
Member
Oct 24, 2017
35,550
This is gonna be a thread with cherry-picked professional photographs being used as flimsy anecdotal evidence.

...I'm OK with this. Moar pics plz
 
Oct 25, 2017
12,754
Washington, Colorado, Utah, and California are stunning, but I'll also give a nod to all of New England in the fall - it's something else.

mvfKezu.jpg


Worst? Indiana/Ohio in my experience. Miles and miles of just flat nothing.
As a New England native I can get behind this. Fall was definitely my favorite season when I lived there (on the west coast now though)
 

adamsappel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,503
I grew up in West Virginia and think it is amazingly beautiful (minus the strip mines), especially in the fall; it's pretty grey in February, though. Montana was really beautiful when I lived there for a short time, and my father said that Idaho was the most beautiful state he's seen. On a cross-country drive, I thought Arizona had the most extreme changes in scenery, but I thought New Mexico had the neatest landscapes. Nevada was a hellish moonscape and any habitation is a testament to man's arrogance; there's a reason we tested atomic weapons there.
 

Restored

Member
Oct 27, 2017
66
This is pretty to solve by checking /earthporn posts on Reddit.

WA
AK
CA
OR

Will all easily be the top results with, Utah, Hawaii, Colorado and wyoming coming in behind them.

My personal opinion:

The variety of biomes in Washingt State is incredible and is the most beautiful.

Rainforests (only two north America)
Epic mountain ranges
High Desert
Fertile river valleys
Sandy beaches for miles
The Puget sound and islands in them
Leavenworth, WA is straight out of the sound of music if you like Alpine climates
Columbia River gorge is a world wonder

Consolidated Rankings:

1) Washington
2) Alaska
3) California
4) Oregon
5) Utah
6) Colorado
7) Arizona
8) Wyoming
9) Florida
10) Montana
 

Kangi

Profile Styler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,032
I'm very partial to western NC/eastern TN. Just driving through those mountains is wonderful.

Ax9E2Ol.jpg


Montana and Hawaii are probably further up there, though. Gotta give the worst to Kansas.
 

Chikor

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
14,239
Top is either Alaska or California for me, depending on how much you value variety of biomes.
Honorable mention goes to Utah, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Arizona.

Bottom is Nebraska .
 

Deleted member 176

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
37,160
There's a lot that could be best for different reasons. Worst is probably something like Ohio.

The way I see it is you can have good mountains, good forests, good deserts, or good beaches. Some have multiples of these things (Hawaii, Arizona, Florida as you said). Ohio has 0 of them. Tiny states like Delaware and New Hampshire can probably compete too.

Opinions and all, but I was coming in this thread to say West Virginia as the best.

lindy-point-blackwater-falls-state-park-west-virginia-D300_19491.jpg


new-river-gorge.jpg


Morehead-Photography-Winter-On-Cheat-Mountain-West-Virginia.jpg
Yeah, WV is one of those "best landscapes, worst people" states like Florida.
 

Chikor

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
14,239
Opinions and all, but I was coming in this thread to say West Virginia as the best.

lindy-point-blackwater-falls-state-park-west-virginia-D300_19491.jpg


new-river-gorge.jpg


Morehead-Photography-Winter-On-Cheat-Mountain-West-Virginia.jpg
Yeah, I don't think I would have put it at the top, but saying it's the worst is silly, it's a very pretty state.
But those threads always have people conflating their general opinion of the state with how pretty it is.
 
Oct 25, 2017
12,754
There's a lot that could be best for different reasons. Worst is probably something like Ohio.

The way I see it is you can have good mountains, good forests, good deserts, or good beaches. Some have multiples of these things (Hawaii, Arizona, Florida as you said). Ohio has 0 of them. Tiny states like Delaware and New Hampshire can probably compete too.


Yeah, WV is one of those "best landscapes, worst people" states like Florida.
New Hampshire has the white mountains...
greg-dubois-sunrise-over-echo-lake-wtih-peak-autumn-colors-white-mountains-new-hampshire-L.jpg
 

Stooge

Member
Oct 29, 2017
13,451
The answer for Best is probably California, Oregon, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii or Washington.

2nd tier would be Montana, Utah, Texas (Texas doesn't do anything "better" than the aforementioned states, but it does a lot of it)

3rd tier would be Appalachia, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, New England (non-Appalachia), Florida

"OK" states would be Michigan, Wisconsin, The Dakotas, coastal South, Maryland, NJ

The ugliest are going to be: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Delaware, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Ohio.
 

Version 3.0

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,448
California is my favorite of the contiential states but the population and tourism rates make it a nightmare to visit during summer. I spent 4 days in Yosemite and nearly 40 dollars trying to get a half dome pass at 5 in the morning this summer and I didn't succeed. Where in Colorado due to the much smaller population there's so much more freedom in where you can explore and hike without spending rediculous amounts.

No argument there. Thread is asking about landscapes, but if you take into account the ability to enjoy them, California doesn't fare nearly as well.
 

mjc

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
6,012
Illinois is such a boring, flat place. I dare you to drive through it and get any visual enjoyment out of it.
 
Oct 31, 2017
10,191
As someone who lives in WV, the landscape is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it is easily IMO, one of the most beautiful sections of land from my limited experience of other states. But also a curse because the features that give the landscape its beauty, also are what makes it a challenging place, from a logistic/economical standpoint which plays as a huge role in why the state and its people are both the way that they are, and the way that they are perceived.
 

marrec

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
6,775
Best? I dunno, Pennsylvania hasn't been mentioned so I'll throw that in.

Worst?

If you combined East New Mexico and West Texas Panhandle into one state it would be the ugliest most barren hellscape you could ever imagine. The pure and unrelenting horror of East New Mexico plains and desert brings the entire state down despite some mountainous regions to the north. So my vote is New Mexico.
 

HanSoloCup

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,685
Richmond, VA
I have been to 48 of the 50 states and have lived in 9 of them. Of everywhere that I have traveled, I still think Washington, Utah, and Virginia are my favorite (I exclude Hawaii because it should be its own category). Here are some of my pictures from the last trips I took there:

Utah
3iXMTu8l.jpg

MMRhnZHl.jpg


Washington:
YGGT28hl.jpg


Virginia:
ugGhC6ml.jpg


Now, on the other side. I never saw anything too amazing in the Nebrasksa/Kansas/Iowa region...
t7U5j6R
 

Chikor

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
14,239
No argument there. Thread is asking about landscapes, but if you take into account the ability to enjoy them, California doesn't fare nearly as well.
I don't know if I agree, most of California's natural beauty is very accessible, and there's a ton of gorgeous places which are not crowded at all. Half Dome can be a bit annoying to get a pass to, but as someone who hiked it before the lottery was put into place, this is a better system.
Also, the lottery system is not unique to California, you need for the Denali road and Grand Canyon River, the Wave and other places.
 
Oct 28, 2017
650
Michigan would be a great setting for an open world RPG. You can have the frozen upper peninsula, the sand dunes on the west side, cityscapes, forested mountains and waterfalls, all the lakes, it's got it all.
 
You're gonna have to explain the Rhode Island one here.

Beavertail State Park on Jamestown:
Beavertail-State-Park-Seascape-HDR-2-Mike-Dooley.jpg


Naragansett
Document


There's also the Cliff Walk in Newport that I personally like along with Block Island and Aquidneck Island which are surreal around sunrise.

Oh and check out the house Jay Leno bought in Newport. There's the ocean right in your backyard if you have the cash.

Osean_names05_arts.jpg