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The National Northern Tier Route Information
Roadpath Route Requirements:
In the original determination for choosing the roadpath route, the requirements were simple: (1) The roadpath must be a hard surface road; (2) The roadpath must be contiguous across the entire route, (3) The roadpath must not be an Interstate Highway (or any highway which would exclude bicycles) and (4) The roadpath route, in describing the "Northern" and/or "Northernmost" Highways, has as a definition, those highways which remain within the United States nearest to the USA/CAN border without crossing into Canada.
National Northern Tier Route Information
National Roadpath Description:
The Northern Tier route is the northernmost transcontinental roadpath entirely within the United States, which roadpath consists of a series of contiguous highways traverses the extreme northernmost highways within the country.
This contiguous roadpath traverses a distance of 4,872 miles, with the western terminus end at the
Cape Flattery Trailhead in Neah Bay, Washington, a foot path to the northern most lighthouse in Washington and the eastern terminus end at the West Quoddy Head where a lighthouse of the same name is located and this point is the easternmost point in the United States.
National Roadpath Information:
Roadpath Type:
West-East transcontinental route
Roadpath Total Length:
4,872 miles, 7841 km
Roadpath Use:
automobiles, bicycles
Roadpath Year Built:
1926 and/or later
Roadpath Waymark:
current highway signs associated with each roadpath
Roadpath Terminus Point One:
Location West:
Cape Flattery Trailhead Parking Lot, Washington
Coordinates:
48.3849460, -124.7158605
Elevation:
349 feet
Roadpath Terminus Point Two:
Location East:
West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Maine
Coordinates:
44.8150633, -66.9504890
Elevation:
63 feet
National Roadpath History:
This is a brand new National Scenic Byway, one which has its origin found within my personal desire to travel (as a recreational passage) across the top of the United States. In the fall of 2025, I left the west coast of Washington state headed eastbound on this roadpath with the desire to drive and document the route, recording the specific highways traveled, as well as locations for camping and/or overnighting. I was only able to drive to the state of Minnesota before the temperatures plummeted to near freeze at night, causing me to turn right and drive south to a warmer region (south Texas) for the winter.
Then, in the middle of February 2026, with the temperatures in south Texas soaring into the eighties, I departed my winter hiatus to begin my northbound Journey On™ through North America, traveling east by northeast through the
Interior Lowlands Region, then into the
Appalachian Mountains Region where I turned northeast into and through New England to the eastern terminus of this new National Scenic Byway, is the easternmost point in the lower 48 states, a coastal lighthouse know as
West Quoddy Head Lighthouse located not far from the town of Lubec, Maine, from whence I will begin the logistical eastbound drive of the North Tier Route.
National Roadpath Map:
(m0-maps-us-ntr-map) National Northern Tier Route Map
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