Scenic Roads

Types of Scenic Roads

In Arizona, "scenic road" is a general term that is often used to identify state-designated and federally designated scenic roads.

The state-designated scenic roads include three types of roadways:

  • Scenic Roads
  • Historic Roads
  • Parkways

The federally designated scenic roads (known as "byways") include two types of roadways:

  • National Scenic Byway
  • All-American Road

There are a total of 26 state-designated scenic roads in Arizona. Of this number, 19 are state-designated scenic roads, three are state-designated historic roads and four are state-designated parkways.

There are a total of five federally designated byways in the state. Three of these byways are National Scenic Byways and two are All-American Roads.

A roadway can share both state scenic and federal byway designations. For example, a state-designated historic road can also be a federally designated All-American Road; a state-designated parkway can also be a federally designated National Scenic Byway. Five of the 26 state-designated scenic roads share federal byway designation.

ADOT administers the state-designated scenic roads program, while the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) administers the byways program. ADOT also assists the FHWA in nominating roadways for federal byway designation.