UPDATE 3-U.S. highway travel rises as economy recovers

* Scenic states see boost as vacationers drive, not fly

* Nevada sees travel drop as recession hurts gambling

* Much more improvement needed to boost refiner profits

(Adds comments from analyst)

By Timothy Gardner and Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. motorists drove more miles for the fourth month in a row, which could indicate that both the economy and demand for gasoline are starting to recover, analysts said.

U.S. highway travel soared 2.5 percent in September from a year ago, rising to 240.7 billion miles (387.4 billion km), the U.S. Transportation Department said on Friday.

It was the biggest jump in miles traveled since the numbers started rising in June.

In September, highway travel was up in every state except Nevada (down 1.4 percent) and Pennsylvania (down 0.4 percent). Driving also fell 2.3 percent in the District of Columbia.