Fascinating and Breathtaking Abandoned Roads Around the Globe
Roads have been around since ancient times. They have been connecting civilizations to one another for long times and just like any other structures, they tend to deteriorate from time to time and when they get to a point when they are no longer repairable or usable, they are abandoned by usual traffic and travelers.
Abandoned highways and roads have their own charm and beauty that becomes an attraction to tourists from all over the world. Some have unmatchable scenic beauty while others have stories attached to them that aren’t for the faint-hearted to hear or explore.
No matter where you go in the world to explore such an abandoned road, we are sure you want to take your phone with you and post about it online to share your experience with friends and family. Keep in mind that not all countries allow the usage of social networking sites and in some cases, you will need to hide your IP address and hide my location online of browsing. A good VPN can do this for you. You can easily change your location using a good VPN app. VeePN allows you a free trial that can be used to see how it works and then take it with you for your trips.
Make sure you have structured plans and are accompanied by someone else or a travel partner when you go to these places and explore them. Use a VPN, connect to a local server and see what areas you can visit nearby while you are planning the trip from home.
Now, it is time to explore some abandoned roads around the world that are worth exploring.
1.Route 66 - California
Why is Route 66 famous? Route 66 is the most well-known and picturesque road in America, but the introduction of Interstate 40 proved unbearable for the stretch of California from Needles and Ludlow. At the turn of the 20th century, Goffs was the mining desert and the railway outpost. However, the I-40 was introduced, transforming it into a fantasy road, and already small, isolated communities like Goffs – the world's capital for desert tortoises – were destroyed. Its abandoned roads and structures are still in existence.
It is a nice experience altogether, watching a once habited living area abandoned and it will definitely give you a feeling of nostalgia.
2.The Graffiti Highway – Pennsylvania
Graffiti is again one such option amongst abandoned roads that are worth paying a visit if you are in the state of Pennsylvania. The spray paint of many pilgrims who arrived before is going to let you know that you have arrived. However, these pilgrimages are to become soon a closed chapter in history: the 0,74 miles of Route 61 in rural Columbia County are being buried by crews. In 1993, the Graffiti Highway was formally closed due to a toxic mine fire literally smoldering far below the soil. In the 21st century, it achieved cults status as anyone flocked, from ghost hunters to forborne adolescents, turning its asphalt into a toilet.
Its had its share of weird events for sure but that is what makes it one of the most fascinating abandoned road in the US.
3.The Roads of Doel - Belgium
Doel is not far from Antwerp, a Belgian port that has swallowed up many similar small towns as it has grown over the years. More than a thousand people once lived there, but the abandoned roads of Doel are now deserted, despite the dozen or so people who still cling to life in the eerily quiet and empty town.
If you want to get a feel for what an empty and deserted town looks like, you can take a short trip to Doel. Although, the experience can be very creepy you will definitely enjoy some eeriness when you visit this abandoned road. You will have to hide your IP address online so you can use some exclusive online apps to share the experience.
4.Foreshore Freeway Bridge - South Africa
The bustling city of Cape Town launched a massive infrastructure project in the late 1960s to manage its ever-increasing traffic and congestion. Work on the Foreshore Freeway Bridge began in the early 1970s but was halted in 1977 without explanation.
Since then, the structure has been dubbed the "Unfinished Bridge." Despite the fact that efforts to complete it have never stopped — a contract was most recently proposed in 2018 — it remains abandoned to this date and spooky as ever too.
So if you want to experience a bridge that’s been stopped mid-construction, you can visit this abandoned road.
5.The Sidewalk Highway – Oklahoma
Oklahoma had only been a state for a little more than 15 years when work began on Ribbon Road, a much-needed and well-built 15-mile stretch of asphalt that connected two critical population centers. The young state didn't have much money, so the road was only 9 feet wide — the same width as a typical sidewalk.
When Route 66 arrived in Ottawa County in 1926, it absorbed what was then known as the Sidewalk Highway. Route 66 was realigned in 1937, and the old Ribbon Road/Sidewalk Highway was decommissioned. Some of it is still there.
Do you know what we think? We think this abandoned highway is such a good place to get some artistic fashion shoots done. Almost all of these abandoned roads are such a good scene for the photographers out there and some aesthetic bloggers as well.
6.The Jug Bridge and Ghost Roads –Maryland
The Jug Bridge ruins and its connecting roads are all that remains of what was once a beautiful and historic piece of American infrastructure. The three-arch bridge, which spans the raging Monocacy River 70 feet below, was the site of a terrible bus accident — one of the worst road disasters in state history — in 1985, which forced its closure. It's been abandoned since then and now resembles Roman ruins.
You can pay this abandoned road a visit and view the state of it as it is today for yourself.
7.The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike – Pennsylvania
The first superhighway in the United States opened to the public in 1940. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was built nearly 20 years before the National Highway System and established a precedent for how highways should be designed and built — but that doesn't mean the engineering and construction marvel was without growing pains.
A 13-mile stretch in the state's south on the border with Maryland and West Virginia funneled only two lanes through a series of choking mountain-pass tunnels, causing massive traffic jams. That section was rerouted and abandoned in the 1960s, leaving it to those who continue to bike, jog, and spray paint on its deteriorating asphalt to this day.
8.Kilauea Lava Roads – Hawaii
The Kamoamoa fissure eruption on the East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, a land birthed by volcanoes, poured molten lava from the earth's bowels onto the world above in March 2011. Even much smaller volcanic events can and do result in unstoppable lava flows that consume everything they come into contact with until they are no longer hungry — including roads. The many lava roads in Hawaii are sometimes repairable, sometimes scarred beyond recognition or use, and sometimes completely buried beneath layers of the solid black rock that remains after the lava cools.
These abandoned roads are surrounded by some classic Hawaiin beauty. Again, this is a good area for photography.
9.Kilauea Lava Roads – Hawaii
The Kamoamoa fissure eruption on the East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, a land birthed by volcanoes, poured molten lava from the earth's bowels onto the world above in March 2011. Even much smaller volcanic events can and do result in unstoppable lava flows that consume everything they come into contact with until they are no longer hungry — including roads. The many lava roads in Hawaii are sometimes repairable, sometimes scarred beyond recognition or use, and sometimes completely buried beneath layers of the solid black rock that remains after the lava cools.
10.Abandoned Mam Tor Road (A625) – England
Turnpike Road, also known as A625, was built in the early 1800s. One stretch in Derbyshire runs alongside the foot of Mam Tor, a small mountain or large hill also known as Shivering Mountain or the Mother Hill.
Whatever you call it, it has always been prone to landslides, which is bad news for the road traffic below. Derbyshire's Mam Tor stretch of the A625 was finally abandoned and closed for good in 1979.
This abandoned road is very beautiful as it is at a height and surrounded by the beautiful countryside.
11.Anne Beadell Highway – Australia
Even by the standards of the Australian Outback, the Anne Beadell Highway is remote, isolated, and epic. But that doesn't mean you should collapse there. Those who dare to drive it will experience an alien landscape of red dunes, salt lakes, and clay pans over a distance of more than 800 miles. According to AustraliasGoldenOutback.com, it "should only be attempted by confident drivers" incapable four-wheel-drive vehicles with high ground clearance. Bring plenty of supplies if you attempt to cross this vast expanse of the world's most rugged wilderness. If something goes wrong, there will be no assistance.
So if you’re a daredevil and love traveling dangerous roads to try out their skills, this beautiful abandoned road is definitely worth a try.
12.The Dark Hedges of Bregagh Roa - Northern Ireland
The Dark Hedges of Bregagh Road appears to be a scene from a fantasy series, and that's because they are. HBO filmed scenes from "Game of Thrones" there, and it's easy to see why. Bregagh Road, arguably the spookiest road on the planet, has eerie aesthetics created by design.
A collection of haunting birch trees were planted by the Stuarts in the 18th century. They had done this to impress the visitors that visited the Gracehill House, their Georgian mansion. The road's iconic trees continue to haunt.
This eerie abandoned road will give you the spooks while you travel through it. Just don’t attempt to go there during the night if you have a faint heart.
13.U.S. Highway 93 – Arizona
One of the last surviving stretches of the country's original highway system is US Highway 93. For generations, it served as a major north-south artery and is still the main link between Las Vegas and Phoenix, the last two major U.S. cities not connected by an interstate — a situation that is changing. The new Interstate 11 is in the process of absorbing or running alongside the majority of Highway 93, which was built when not only Vegas and Phoenix but also Reno and Tucson, had populations of fewer than 700,000 people.
The population has now risen to more than 8 million people. Highway 93's roadsides, like Route 66's, hosted a carnival of bizarre attractions, curiosities, and remote, tiny, and uniquely Southwestern towns. They're quickly becoming extinct. Most ghost towns along Highway 93, have already been deserted by habitants long ago.
14.Abandoned Roads of Pripyat – Ukraine
If there was a competition for one of the creepiest places around the world, Pripyat would definitely emerge as the winner. The town was home to the scientists that ran the nearby Chernobyl nuclear plant. It was aesthetic and beautiful beyond its time.
One of the most horrific nuclear disasters in the history of the world took place here in 1986 and it wiped out the town and the nearby wilderness completely. Needless to say, visitors and daredevils still made it to the town and faced dreadful fates due to the residue effects.
If ghost towns and abandoned roads are interesting and you want to experience history. You should definitely give this place a good try when you are visiting Ukraine.
15.MP-203 Highway – Madrid
Between 2005 and 2007, Spain invested roughly 70 million euros — or $85 million — in a superhighway project, which was forced to halt due to a suffocating recession. MP-203, which was intended to relieve congestion on the Barcelona Highway, was launched without the support of officials in charge of a vital rail line or toll road that refused to give up their tolls. It's now a weed-infested orphan road only used by sheep, goats, stray dogs, and the occasional cyclist.
There you have it, those are some of the most spookiest and fascinating abandoned highways for you to experience. Make sure you leave well prepared and have a VPN installed on your phone to take the full benefit of your network and share your experience with friends and family.