Maine to Texas: the shortest border chain

You can get from Maine to Texas crossing only land borders — the shortest chain passes through 8 states.

Fewest states

1. StartMaine
2. 1New Hampshire
3. 2Massachusetts
4. 3New York
5. 4Pennsylvania
6. 5West Virginia
7. 6Kentucky
8. 7Missouri
9. 8Oklahoma
10. FinishTexas

Shortest route by distance

Measured between state centers, the shortest chain covers about 3,209 km — and it takes a different path:

1. StartMaine
2. 1New Hampshire
3. 2Vermont
4. 3New York
5. 4Pennsylvania
6. 5West Virginia
7. 6Kentucky
8. 7Tennessee
9. 8Arkansas
10. FinishTexas

The rules behind the route

These routes come from Bordlr's border graph: strict land borders. Distances are great-circle measurements between state centers, so they rank routes fairly without pretending to be driving distances.