Heading to Jacksonville for the IBA Party or heading to Daytona for Bike Week, or both? Coming from the west or northwest? US 90 is a great alternative to the slab:
About a year ago I had some extra time returning from a family funeral in Mississippi and decided to ride US 90 as much as possible instead of Interstate 10 on my way home to Jacksonville. It was part curiosity and part nostalgia. While various state legislatures debate designating Interstate 10 “The Barb Smith Highway,” US 90 has always been my “Mother Road.”
As a child, this was the highway we used every year in the family car on our vacation trip to see my grandparents in Petal (near Hattiesburg) and in the farm country near Philadelphia, Mississippi. And there were aunts and uncles and lots of cousins my age all over the State. This was always an exciting trip for me, and I had the towns and landmarks and road signs memorized. This was, of course, before the Interstate was built. Before I-10 was complete across Louisiana and Texas, I drove a lot of US 90 to and from Ft Bliss during my Army active duty.
Prior to 1926, US 90 was Florida State Road 1, “The Old Spanish Trail.” It was the first paved highway in the State, and eventually linked Pensacola to Jacksonville. Much of it east of Pensacola was brick, and I remember riding on the brick highway in the late '40s. Some of the old brick road still exists east of Milton and is being turned into a bicycle and pedestrian trail. I took the opportunity, on the way to Stagecoach in December, to take a few pictures.
Riding US 90 home from Mississippi was a pleasant surprise. Most of it is still two-lane, and much of it is hilly with lots of nice sweepers. There is a stretch east of Tallahassee that was lined on both sides in the '50s and '60s with large crepe-myrtle bushes, which bloom throughout the warmer months in a bright pink color. Many of those bushes, trees now, are still there. It was a very enjoyable ride.
It is easy to bypass the cities of Pensacola and Tallahassee, where the traffic lights and traffic would be the worst, as US 90 intersects I-10 in a few places. Entering Florida, eastbound, it would be best to stay on I-10 and ride it to Exit 31, SR 87, and take 87 a few miles north to pick up US 90. At this intersection of 87 and 90 you can see the old brick highway, which goes east and west for a few miles on the north side of US 90.
About eight or nine miles east of Quincy, hop on I-10 again to avoid Tallahassee. There will be several exits into Tallahassee should you need to stop there. At Exit 209 you can resume your eastbound trip on US 90, and this is where the road gets more scenic and there are more hills and curves.
Approaching Jacksonville there are several places to get back on the Interstate. At Baldwin you can turn right on US 301 and head south for about a mile to the interchange with I-10. This is probably the easiest, and it is about 13 miles from the I-295 interchange and 18 miles from I-95 near downtown Jax.
From the State line near Pensacola to Jacksonville, it will take about an hour or so longer to ride US 90. In addition to 90, the US highways in general in Florida are pretty nice rides. Many of them are still two-lane for much of their length and take you through National Forests and farm country, and are lightly traveled in comparison with the Interstates.
