Texas to North Dakota: the shortest border chain

You can get from Texas to North Dakota crossing only land borders — the shortest chain passes through 4 states.

Fewest states

1. StartTexas
2. 1Oklahoma
3. 2Colorado
4. 3Wyoming
5. 4South Dakota
6. FinishNorth Dakota

Shortest route by distance

Measured between state centers, the shortest chain covers about 1,841 km — and it takes a different path:

1. StartTexas
2. 1Oklahoma
3. 2Kansas
4. 3Nebraska
5. 4South Dakota
6. FinishNorth Dakota

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.