The north end of U.S. Highway 1 has always been in Fort Kent, Maine and in 1926 ended in Miami, Florida. In 1938 the ending was extended to Key West, Florida. It is also the longest north-south highway in the United States. Although a good part of the route hugs the Atlantic coastline, a large part is quite distant from the coast. Originally, US 1 was built to provide quick travel before the Interstate system was built. Now that Interstates are the primary mode of quick transportation, most of US 1 within city limits is regulated by stoplights. Plan on a much slower trip than a run down I-95.
It is possible to drive U.S. 1 in either direction, the mile markers in Florida begin in Key West at zero and go northward and in Fort Kent, Maine there is a sign that proclaims on one side it is the beginning and on the other side that it is the end. You might want to pick one or more states and travel the route through those states.
There are 529 miles of highway in Maine, the second longest stretch and only 4 miles shorter then the mileage in Florida. Traveling south in Maine some of the cities and towns you will see are: Fort Kent, Madawaska, Grand Isle, Caribou, Ellsworth, Bucksport, Belfast, Camden, Rockport, Rockland, Newcastle, Wiscasset, Bath, Brunswick, Freeport, Yarmouth, Portland, Saco, Biddeford, Kennebunkport, Ogunquit and Kittery.
The coast line of New Hampshire is fairly short and therefore U.S. Highway 1 is short also. You will visit the Seacoast region and the cities of Portsmouth, Hampton and Seabrook.
Here the Route enters Greater Boston, passing through Melrose, Revere, Chelsea, Boston, and Canton.
Continuing south you'll follow what was known as "the Old Boston Post Road" and pass through Westwood, Norwood, Sharon, Walpole, Foxborough, Wrentham, Plainville, North Attleborough, and Attleboro to the Rhode Island border.
Route 1 enters New York at Port Chester and passes through Rye, Mamaroneck, Larchmont, New Rochelle and Pelham in Westchester County where it is known as the Boston Post Road. From there the road passes through the Bronx and Manhattan before leaving on the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey.
Traveling south through Florida on U.S. Highway 1, some of the towns or cities you will pass by include: Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Ormond Beach, Holly Hill, Daytona Beach, South Daytona, Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, Titusville, Cocoa, Rockledge, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Grant, Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Hobe Sound, Jupiter, North Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Dania, Hollywood, Hallandale, North Miami Beach, North Miami, Miami, Coral Gables, South Miami, Kendall, Perrine, Homestead, Key Largo and the rest of the Florida Keys to Key West, where it ends at an intersection in front of Key West's City Hall. The highway is 533 miles long through the state of Florida.