This 113-mile Highway Was Named One of the Most Scenic Road Trips in the U.S.—and It's Nicknamed 'the Road That Floats'

Island hopping is traditionally done by boat, but that’s not the case in Florida, where 44 islands (or keys) are linked by 113 miles of roadway. The Overseas Highway, which literally stretches out and over the open ocean, is considered to be an engineering marvel of concrete and steel.

This road, which is often called “the highway that goes to sea” was nicknamed “the road that floats” by Hellotickets, a platform for finding and booking travel experiences and tours. The platform included the highway in their ranking of the “Most Scenic Road Trips in the U.S.”

In the ranking, “the road the floats” was named among iconic drives like the Pacific Coast Highway, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the nostalgic Route 66. “Stretching from Miami to Key West, this 113-mile highway glides over turquoise waters, connecting 44 islands via endless bridges," Hellotickets shared. "The Seven Mile Bridge is the ultimate Instagram moment, and a sunset at Mallory Square in Key West is pure magic.”

Traveling on the Overseas Highway is a popular to-do for visitors to Miami as it allows you to escape the city and experience the Caribbean-blue waters that surround the mainland. 

In the latter half of the 113-mile drive is the Seven Mile Bridge, the highway’s crown jewel. The bridge was one of the longest in the world when it was constructed from 1909 to 1912. Now it retains the title of the longest bridge in Florida and is among the longest in the U.S.

The bridge connects Knight's Key in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys and is wide enough that you can pull off and take in the views. (Although, if you want the full experience, you can bike or walk on the original bridge, which is now used for pedestrians and cyclists.) Catching the sunset at Mallory Square in Key West is the ultimate way to end the journey.

And while the Seven Mile Bridge may be one of the roadway’s main attractions, it is really just one of 42 bridges that were built to connect 44 keys off the coast of mainland Florida. The bridges and the roadway allow motorists to travel over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico.

The full list of “Most Scenic Road Trips in the US” from Hellotickets is below:

1. Pacific Coast Highway
2. Route 66 
3. Blue Ridge Parkway
4. Going-to-the-Sun Road 
5. The Overseas Highway
6. The Loneliest Road in America
7. The Million Dollar Highway
8. Great River Road 
9. Hana Highway
10. Beartooth Highway