Avoiding DC traffic on 495

301 to us50 to 95 is an option.. 95 isn't as bad between 50 and cherry hill cg Can have traffic in morning heading to dc.. Waldorf isn't much fun.. There is a toll on bridge across the Potomac but you avoid the craziness on 95...time is your friend . plan to hit 95 n dc in early afternoon be at cherry hill cg no later than 230... Traffic jam is your friend... U get cutoff less the heavier the traffic takes about 3h to tow from Richmond to cherry hill... Avoid early morning expect bad traffic in VA on 95n from 6a to 11a. late afternoon expect backups in md for 3 to 7p

Shot-N-Az wrote:
Time your trip to hit 495 around noon.

Yep. In DC time is the best way to avoid traffic. Driving from Boston via Pennsylvania to North Carolina we pushed on through to Fredericksburg so we could get through DC late in the day. Slept late and hit the road with no traffic the next morning.

Time your trip to hit 495 around noon.

With a toad, a lot of the HOV Toll lanes coming from VA aren't an option anyway as they do not allow trailers. I think coming in from the NW is your best bet as well.

As mentioned, coming down I-270 from Frederick is your best bet. Do not get on it until after 10am to avoid rush hour traffic. Plus check google traffic to make sure there isn't a bad accident closing the road. Once you get to Gaithersburg you have two options:

1) Route 200, the Inter-county Connector (ICC) is a viable option and off-peak the toll won't be too bad. Traffic tends to be light on it. You would get off at I-95 South and go to the next exit to get to Cherry Hill.

2) I-495 would avoid the tolls. Do it mid-day and you will avoid bumper-to-bumper, but it still is heavily traveled. Get in the middle right lane and just keep going til the route 1 exit.

I've lived here 25 years and to be honest, given your size, there aren't really any other viable options. It's all about avoiding the rush hours.

Not sure if this applies to you, but I 66 just "adjusted" their tolls. During peak hours, they are OUTRAGEOUS!

From the south, I greatly prefer the east side of 495. That stretch from 95 to 66 in the southwest part of the beltway always seems to be brutal. I've always avoided it.

Otherwise, your only real viable alternative is to come in like I said- I-70 to I-95. You still need to avoid rush hour and Fridays on that drive.

Thanks for the suggestions. We were there about 8 years ago and left Richmond about 9 a.m. We thought we were early enough but construction and traffic were terrible on the west side by the time we got there. We would like to come into the area more from north west.

Where specifically will you be before hand?

You might be able to bring in I-70 to I-95 south in Maryland. But you have to be decently north to make that viable.

Otherwise, Route 200 is a tollroad that runs east/west. The problem there is that there aren't many bridges that cross you from Virginia to Maryland.

Really, 495 is your most viable option. Just take it slow and avoid Friday and rush hours (Mon-Thurs, 10-2). I've never had an issue towing through there at 50-55mph.

We are in a 36'motorhome with a toad. We would like to avoid tolls.

When I stayed at Greenbelt NP, which is in the same general neighborhood, I took I-270 to I-495, and vice-versa, and didn't have any great problems. I'd assume a lot depends on the time of day when one is traveling.