ROAD SORTIES Scenic Roads

River Road Scenic Byway

River Road Scenic Byway is a National Scenic Byway in Indiana. Within Indiana it covers roughly 17 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along River Road Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.

Indiana's River Road Scenic Byway follows the Ohio River for about 286 miles from Mount Vernon near the Illinois line to Lawrenceburg near Ohio. It's Indiana's share of the three-state, 943-mile Ohio River Scenic Byway, designated in 1996 as one of the original 14 National Scenic Byways in the country. The route strings together State Routes 50, 56, 62, and 66 with local roads through Evansville, Corydon, New Albany, and Madison. The drive passes the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, marking Abraham Lincoln's childhood home, along with Civil War sites and stops on the Underground Railroad. Southern Indiana's unglaciated hill country, left untouched by the last Ice Age unlike most of the Midwest, shows up here in unusual rock formations, caves, and fossil beds not found farther north in the state. Orchard-dotted farmland gives way to steep forested bluffs overlooking the river, tying together river commerce history, frontier settlement, and some of Indiana's oldest, most distinctive geology in one long corridor.

Plan a drive on River Road Scenic Byway →

What is a National Scenic Byway?

National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.

Where to Stay along River Road Scenic Byway

No campgrounds are listed close to River Road Scenic Byway yet, but there are rooms near the route.

Campsite and lodging links are affiliate links — booking through them may earn Road Sorties a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Recreation.gov links are not affiliate links.

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