# The most boring U.S. state **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262 "2019-12-22T22:57:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/161 "2019-12-28T22:31:18Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Well yeah, suburbia is boring pretty much everywhere. Same with interstate highways. Comparing states by their suburbs and interstate highways would be like comparing national parks by their parking lots and bathrooms. Some of us recall the James Watt National Parking Lot. That was a great one! And the disabled bathrooms at Yosemite Falls Lodge are quite good, better than at Crater Lake. Some 'burbs surprise and they’re not all White, but often ethnic outposts. Malvina Reynolds wrote LITTLE BOXES to decry “doctors and lawyers and business executives” moving into Daly City, south of San Francisco. DC is now the heart of Filipino culture on the mainland. One of my Los Angeles area 'burb homes is now quite Guatemalan. Think of it as evolution in action. 'Burbs seen from a highway may seem homogeneous, but poke around and they emerge as unique. It’s like interstating across the Mojave. Speed by at 75 mph, it’s all Stinking Desert. Stop and walk the ravines and ridges at twilight for a quite different view. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/162 "2019-12-28T23:49:53Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Yes, they both are. Also, the Central Valley of California on I-5 between Santa Nella and Grapevine is very boring. > > Map: [Google Maps](https://goo.gl/maps/PxcAaNFwrmeUz4HE8) as well as being longer than some states ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2019, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/163 "2019-12-29T10:20:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > And, quite frankly, US 12, though the hills and trees and river might be pleasing, is turn after turn of exactly the same thing for over 100 miles from Kamiah to Lolo Pass. LOL! Pics 2, 3, 4 and 5 were from the shoulder of US 12, Kamiah to Lolo Pass. I guess the trick is to pick the right mode of transportation at the right time of year (spring runoff). > [@Muffin](#): > > Idaho? Boring? In what world is that? > > [This is boring?](http://my.tbaytel.net/culpeper/LochsaRiver.html) ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/164 "2019-12-29T16:50:11Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Connecticut would get strong consideration for its relative nothingness and status as a food desert for travelers, except it’s small enough that the boredom factor is limited. > > Pennsylvania is wretchedly long and boring and attractions are limited except for Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland and Polka Party on the radio on Sunday mornings in western PA. Food and water are also hard to come by. And bathrooms. Having driven down I-81 in Pennsylvania a few times, I’m left wondering, do they not believe in rest areas at all in that state? Pennsylvanians must have 20 gallon bladders or something. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/165 "2019-12-30T04:45:39Z")
I don’t see “the most boring Interstate highway drive within one state” and “the most boring state” as equivalent. States contain more than standardized roadways, which are not designed for visual excitement. Much happens off those roadways. Views and events differ with time and pace. I-70 at noon in July does not define Kansas and Los Angeles does not define California. Anywhere is boring if you’re in the mood, or fascinating if you look hard. Even Kansas supports one hard-ass species of cactus. Tough little bugger, yah. That said, I have little use for Florida, even though (or because) I’ve never been there and my chance for assignment to Key West evaporated. Give Florida back to Cuba. They can have Boron, California too. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/166 "2019-12-30T20:09:21Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Idaho. I see you are one of those folks that confuse Idaho with Iowa. I haven’t been to every state (been to all of the western states), but of the ones I have visited, I’ll give Kansas the title of most boring. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/167 "2019-12-30T20:14:27Z")
Coastal Maineiac: > [@](#): > > And bathrooms. Having driven down I-81 in Pennsylvania a few times, I’m left wondering, do they not believe in rest areas at all in that state? Pennsylvania’s highways have plenty of rest areas. Though many highways simply delegate that task to gas stations and truck stops near exit ramps. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/168 "2019-12-30T20:47:38Z")
I actually _like_ the elaborate “travel plazas” that are along the interstate highways in some Eastern states. (Multiple restaurants, gasoline, clean bathrooms and so forth.) But according to [this article](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129455513), new ones can’t be built because of a 1960s era federal law, meant to protect existing businesses off the highways. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/169 "2019-12-30T20:54:16Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > …A few people mentioned Indiana… and specifically the liquor laws… those have been gone for a few years now. \*\*You can now buy anything you want in most grocery stores anytime you want. \*\*We were just listed in a Forbes survey in the top states to visit. We have the top attendance sporting event (Indy 500), professional teams, we hosted one of the top rated Super Bowls, the top rated Children’s museum in the country (adults love it too), award winning parks and trails, and are frequently mentioned in the up and coming food scene. My suburb has been listed multiple times in various “best places” surveys. We also have the newest National Park…[ol] > [/ol]. Sorry, really nothing that sounds worth a visit. I mean, re: the bolded, this almost sounds like a joke? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/170 "2019-12-30T21:17:19Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > MX-1 through Sinaloa state is pretty boring except for the gunfire. Where, exactly, does MX-1 go through Sinaloa? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/171 "2019-12-30T21:18:08Z")
After consideration, it’s New Hampshire. All the cows and trees start to look alike after a while. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/172 "2019-12-30T23:01:35Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I see you are one of those folks that confuse Idaho with Iowa. > > I haven’t been to every state (been to all of the western states), but of the ones I have visited, I’ll give Kansas the title of most boring. I guess that’s a possible explanation of naming Idaho, but more likely some kind of political thing like saying WY is boring which is even more ridiculous. ID and WY both have amazing roadside scenery in many places; whereas there’s no state large or small which doesn’t have boring roadside scenery _somewhere_. Iowa has a mix of plains and rolling hills in some places, but generally prosperous looking rural vista’s, rich land with obviously industrious people living there. Attractive IMO. I’m a little saddened sometimes by poor rural areas in the South. It’s not a blame thing or whose ‘fault’ according to my politico-social theorizing (and not really anxious to hear everybody else’s), just can be a downer driving along. But this is such an inkblot test. ‘Interesting’ is what? A lot of posts harp on interstate views, rest stops (really?), or completely different scale, interesting things to do in cities (nightlife, in the day time?). If you not only like big cities (I live next to NY where I’m from and like it) but never want to be anywhere different (sometimes I do want to be somewhere different) then maybe anywhere outside NY is equally ‘boring’. I know people here who think that, even where I live a 6 minute train ride from being in the City is ‘boring’ and ‘nowhere’. To each his own. But I like small road (not Interstates, our recreational road trips are usually 85-90% non Interstate) driving almost everywhere in the US I’ve been, which is almost everywhere in the US. Just getting toward bizarre to call Idaho or Wyoming scenery boring IMO. Not liking the Dakota’s I can see (I liked it, sparse beauty). ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/173 "2019-12-31T05:42:55Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Where, exactly, does MX-1 go through Sinaloa? Oops. My 2003 _Guia Roji_ is outdated. (And my bad eyes have trouble with its small print.) What used to be Fed-1D is now Fed-15D, the _cuota_ (toll highway) partly paralleling the _libre_ (toll-free) Fed-15 running the length of Sinaloa. I recall our drive south in the 15 corridor as pretty tedious. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/174 "2019-12-31T17:25:08Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Sorry, really nothing that sounds worth a visit. I mean, re: the bolded, this almost sounds like a joke? Let me recap my post for you… I said that many of the posts were using old or limited information. Someone mentioned Indiana’s odd liquor laws (yes, we used to have them). Those laws have been gone for a few years now… very few limitations, I can walk into Kroger on Sunday and buy a bottle of Scotch (cite for using old information). ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/175 "2019-12-31T17:31:15Z")
I spent a couple of years driving between Michigan and Wyoming several times a year and I have to say that the east-west drive across that state is the most mind numbing experience I have ever known. There might be something interesting somewhere in Nebraska, but it sure ain’t along I-80. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/176 "2020-01-07T12:40:05Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > I spent a couple of years driving between Michigan and Wyoming several times a year and I have to say that the east-west drive across that state is the most mind numbing experience I have ever known. > > There might be something interesting somewhere in Nebraska, but it sure ain’t along I-80. I still think I-80 through Iowa is worse; it’s just that Nebraska has a lot more of it. Lincoln is lovely but you don’t see much of the interesting stuff from I-80. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/177 "2020-01-07T12:50:42Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I still think I-80 through Iowa is worse; it’s just that Nebraska has a lot more of it. > > Lincoln is lovely but you don’t see much of the interesting stuff from I-80. I-70 across Missouri is pretty mind numbing too, except for the brief zig-zag stretch of minor interest when crossing the Missouri River just west of Columbia. I find many of the interstate highway miles to be quite “sterile”, insulating you from the interesting parts and sights. The US highways on the other hand, they immerse you more in the local flavor. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/178 "2020-01-07T13:13:51Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I really think a lot of these opinions are based on really limited or old experiences. Sure, driving through Pennsylvania on I70 is boring as hell, but Pittsburgh and Philly have a lot to offer. > > A few people mentioned Indiana… and specifically the liquor laws… those have been gone for a few years now. You can now buy anything you want in most grocery stores anytime you want. We were just listed in a Forbes survey in the top states to visit. We have the top attendance sporting event (Indy 500), professional teams, we hosted one of the top rated Super Bowls, the top rated Children’s museum in the country (adults love it too), award winning parks and trails, and are frequently mentioned in the up and coming food scene. My suburb has been listed multiple times in various “best places” surveys. We also have the newest National Park. > > Again, if you have just driven through or haven’t been there recently you may not have a very good objective. I lived in Kansas when I was 3 but don’t think I could be a very good judge of what it is like now. Yeah, but our state is also super red politically (drowning in the magma of MAGA) and like, doesn’t even have medicinal, man. ---
**Author:** ![TheSundial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@TheSundial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSundial)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/179 "2020-01-07T15:12:50Z")
For anyone that’s said Indiana, I don’t think they know what they’re talking about with the state as a whole. This is a lone tree I found on Google Street View in Indiana: > **[Untitled1-Copy-1 hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/xqwSHk1)** > > Image Untitled1-Copy-1 hosted in ImgBB I went there in person and it was absolutely massive. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in the US and I’ve been to 25-30 states before, Banff National Park, Europe three times including Norway. A great view I found in Indiana also: > **[Untitled25-Copy-1 hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/KKgrfVX)** > > Image Untitled25-Copy-1 hosted in ImgBB As an Indiana native, Brown County is very pretty and hilly. The entire state is not flat and devoid of trees. The very northern part of the state is on Lake Michigan which very few people know about. There are sand dunes and it’s pretty. You can even see the Chicago skyline over the water. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/180 "2020-01-07T16:33:11Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Delaware. Has there ever even been a book or movie set in Delaware? There’s the excellent children’s book [Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware](http://mt-anderson.com/blog/his-books/series-books/jasper-dash-and-the-flame-pits-of-delaware/). Assuming his geography of the state is accurate (and he’s got a section several pages long assuring the reader that he’s never been to the state and is completely ignorant about it), Delaware is amazingly exciting. The author even wrote a new state song, [which you can listen to here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn5hRfCA-mU), to gain a sense of how thrilling the state is. Oh, and there’s even a [tourist guide to the state](http://www.mt-anderson.com/delaware/)! I’ve never seen that before and look forward to learning about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262.md?page=10)