New York to California: the shortest border chain

You can get from New York to California crossing only land borders — the shortest chain passes through 7 states.

Fewest states

1. StartNew York
2. 1Pennsylvania
3. 2West Virginia
4. 3Kentucky
5. 4Missouri
6. 5Oklahoma
7. 6New Mexico
8. 7Arizona
9. FinishCalifornia

Shortest route by distance

Measured between state centers, the shortest chain covers about 4,050 km — and it takes a different path:

1. StartNew York
2. 1Pennsylvania
3. 2Ohio
4. 3Indiana
5. 4Illinois
6. 5Missouri
7. 6Kansas
8. 7Colorado
9. 8Utah
10. 9Nevada
11. FinishCalifornia

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.