Blue Route
Blue Route is a State Scenic Byway in Pennsylvania. Within Pennsylvania it covers roughly 20 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Blue Route with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
The Blue Route Scenic Byway carries Interstate 476 for 21 miles through Philadelphia's western suburbs, linking I-95 in Chester to the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting. Officially known as the Mid-County Expressway and the Veterans Memorial Highway, the road earned its nickname in 1955, when Pennsylvania highway planners sketched three possible corridor options on a map in blue, red, and yellow ink and ultimately chose the blue line through the Brandywine Valley region of Delaware and Montgomery counties. Unlike Pennsylvania's rural byways, this is a limited-access expressway rather than a leisurely backroad drive, and its scenic designation reflects the wooded, hilly corridor it threads rather than roadside stops along the shoulder. Drivers exiting along the route reach Ridley Creek State Park, the Brandywine River Museum of Art, Tyler Arboretum, and the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum, giving the highway more value as a gateway to Chester County attractions than as a destination drive in its own right.
- I-476 corridor, Chester to Plymouth Meeting
- 21 miles through Delaware & Montgomery counties
- Named for a 1955 blue-line highway plan
- Ridley Creek State Park
- Brandywine River Museum of Art
- Tyler Arboretum
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Blue Route
No campgrounds are listed close to Blue Route yet, but there are rooms near the route.
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