These California towns are just 20 miles apart but getting from one to the other requires a 350-mile drive and there's a good reason
Published on Mar 18, 2026 at 1:23 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Mar 18, 2026 at 8:51 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
These two towns in California are separated by just 20 miles, and yet you have to drive hours to get from one to the other.
For once, this has nothing to do with bad planning or lazy engineers.
There was simply an insurmountable geographical hurdle.
And it’s not the only one in the States.
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Why the journey between these two towns in California takes so long
As the crow flies, only about 20 miles separate Kanawyers and Independence in California.
The problem is that the mountains between them rise above 13,000 feet, and this section of the range has no roads crossing it.
To drive between these two towns, you have to drive south, then around the southern end of the Sierra Nevada near Bakersfield and the Mojave Desert, and back north on Route 395.
As a result, this 20-mile gap is actually a 350-mile drive.
It takes about six hours to get from Kanawyers to Independence.
Or vice versa.
As the crow flies versus as the car drives
This is just the latest example of the difference between theory – as the crow flies – and reality.
The world is full of geographical anomalies that turn what could be a short trip into a really long journey.
The aforementioned example is pretty extreme, but we can think of at least two more that are even worse.
The towns of Skagway and Haines in Alaska, for example, are separated by just 15 miles, but they’re also on opposite sides of a canal.
To drive between them, you must cross into Canada, drive up into Yukon, and then back down into Alaska, and that’s going to take seven hours.
Fortunately, there’s an alternative: a 45-minute ferry.
There is no alternative in the case of what is possibly the worst example of two neighboring towns that are actually not close at all.
Located in the North Cascades in Washington, the small towns of Mazama and Stehekin are separated by some of the most vertical terrain in the US, and there’s simply no way to drive directly from one to the other by road.
Like the infamous Darien Gap in the Pan-American highway – America’s longest highway – but in Washington.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
