The short answer
A scenic byway is a road set aside for its scenery — and often for its history, recreation, or culture as well. In the atlas, byway postcards are filed under the places they cross, the way Route 66 keeps cards in both Illinois and Oklahoma. The full story of the Mother Road is in Route 66 postcards.
What counts as a scenic byway?
There is no single world list, but the idea is consistent: a road people drive for the view rather than just to get somewhere. Some are mountain highways, some are parkways through forests, and some are coastal drives with the sea running beside them. Postcard publishers loved them, because a good byway gives the artist a new picture around every bend.
The atlas carries byways from three continents — from Going-to-the-Sun Road in Montana and Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina to Great Ocean Road in Victoria and Causeway Coastal Route in Northern Ireland.
Mountain highways and parkways
Some of the most collected byway cards follow roads built through the mountains. Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia runs the crests of the Appalachians, Beartooth Highway climbs toward the Montana high country, and Needles Highway threads between the granite spires of South Dakota. Route 100 in Vermont follows the Green Mountains through covered-bridge country.
The route guides in the journal turn those roads into ready trips: a first route over Going-to-the-Sun Road and a first route over Beartooth Highway are good places to start.
Historic trails and desert drives
A second family of byways follows old travel routes. Natchez Trace retraces an ancient road through Tennessee and Mississippi, Turquoise Trail runs the old mining country of New Mexico, and Talimena Scenic Byway crosses the Ouachita highlands of Oklahoma. In New England, Kancamagus Highway and the Hocking Hills Scenic Byway in Ohio are autumn favorites.
Each one has a matching route in the journal, such as a first route over the Kancamagus, a first route along the Turquoise Trail, and a first route through Hocking Hills.
How the atlas files a road
Because a byway crosses towns and states, its card is filed under the place it passes — and the same road can appear more than once, like Route 66 in Illinois and Oklahoma. That keeps the atlas geographic: open a state, and every road and stop in it sits together. The national park postcards guide follows the same idea for the parks.
Collecting byway postcards
Byway collectors often build a set the way drivers build a trip: one card per road, or one per state along a long route. Because byway cards are made to be mailed from the road itself, they arrive with real postmarks — which is part of the appeal. If you are just beginning, how to start a postcard collection covers the basics, and the value guide explains what makes a genuine old card collectible.
Is Route 66 a scenic byway?
Route 66 is not usually classed as a scenic byway, but parts of it are preserved as historic routes and scenic byways. In the atlas it keeps its own place pages in Illinois and Oklahoma.
Where can I find scenic byway postcards?
Vintage byway cards turn up in antique shops and online marketplaces. New vintage-style cards — like the ones in this atlas — let you keep the look of any road you have driven. Browse by state from the United States, Australia, or United Kingdom country pages.