Niagra Falls to Arcadia NP Route Suggestions

Hug the coast on NY104 to US11 north at Maple View. Follow US 11 to US2 near Canadian border. US 2 crosses Lake Champlain. After you cross Lake Champlain, US2 turns south towards Grand Isle. We stayed at Apple Island RV Park in South Hero VT. US2 will take you to Bangor ME. Pumpkin Patch RV park in Bangor is nice if you need a stop before heading to Bar Harbor. There is a KOA in Canaan ME and Two Rivers RV Park in Skowhegan.

I like the northern route..I90 to I87 to Watertown,NY. Then state highway 11 across NY state to Champlain, NY. Cross over to Vt. on US 2 and check out VT. Stay on US2 all the way to NH. Continue to Gorham,NY. and go south on state route 16. Check out Mt. Washington. Go back to US2 and take it all the way to Bangor,Me and from there US Alt1 to Bar Harbor not the fasted but a very nice ride.

I often go across the Adirondacks using NY 365 to NY 8 to 9N (north) to the bridge to Vermont 17. NY 8 has some rather steep and curvy bits through the mountains, especially towards the eastern terminus, but nothing too extreme. From there, 22A north to US7 to I-189/I-89 to US 2 at Montpelier would make sense. (You could take US2 instead of I-89 for much of that, but there's no good reason to do so in my opinion; the roads are pretty much parallel through that stretch, often immediately adjacent, and I-89 is easier going.)

Don't be tempted to follow VT 17 through to VT 100. It's a very pretty road, but going over the Appalachian Gap in an RV would not be any fun at all--it's quite steep and has numerous switchbacks and sharp corners.

By the way, it's Acadia (with no "r").

Edit: Some points of interest include various museums in Rochester (the George Eastman house, among others), the Shelburne Museum, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, the Fairbanks Museum (and the fine little art gallery in the public library, or Athenaium, down the road), and of course lots of stuff in the Mt Washington area. If you do go go through the islands on Route 2, there's a neat antique tool museum at the Apple Island resort.

We are doing the opposite route in September to follow the leaves. We have planned (backwards)
Niagara Falls (4 Mile Creek State Park) - Finger Lakes (Letchworth and Watkins Glen State Parks) - 10,000 Islands (Alexandria Bay) - Grand Isle (Grand Isle State Park)- White Mountains (Crawford Notch State Park) - Bar Harbor (Acadia).

We planned our route based on what 'locals' thought the best places to be were. Tops on the list: Alexandria Bay and 10,000 islands, Letchworth State Park, and Watkins Glen State Park. These three came up over and over and over.... Our exact roads will completely depend on weather but we typically decide the morning we travel based on more local input.

Best of luck and enjoy the trip!

As a "local" along some of your route (western NY), I would agree that Letchworth and Watkins Glen are worth seeing.

Rte 104 between Niagara Falls and Rochester, as of a couple of years ago, was in sort of bad condition, road-wise. It's an older concrete roadway, and there were miles and miles of ca-thump, ca-thump, ca-thump. With a trailer, that's a real unpleasant experience. It's a shame, because it is scenic country, with nice views of Lake Ontario.

If you head southeast from Niagara Falls, through Buffalo, and on into East Aurora, that's a nice little village. You can visit the Roycroft Museum (arts & crafts movement) if that sort of thing interests you. Vidler's is an old-time five and dime store with lots of unique stuff. Beyond East Aurora, you would take rte 20A across western NY. In Warsaw, turn south on rte 19, then right on 19A until you get to the south entrance to Letchworth Park. Most of the really interesting stuff in Letchworth is at that southern end of the park, but the campground is about 12 miles north from there.

Exiting Letchworth at the north end, take rte 408 through Mt. Morris, and follow signs to Interstate 390 North. Take 390 to exit 10 and then get on rte 20 heading East. In Geneva, head south on rte 14 to get to Watkins Glen.

After that, I don't have a lot of specific advice, other than this: avoid Ithaca if you can. It is almost always a traffic nightmare, and with an RV it would be torture.

-Speak

hey dahkota... you mention staying in Crawford Notch State park in NH. The State CG there - Dry River - will be pretty tough to get your Bounder in - I think there are maybe 2 sites you could readily get on... Better option is just before you get to Crawford Notch - check out USFS CG's Sugarloaf I and II on Zealand Rd. just east of Twin Mountain ( aka "Carroll"). Both Sugarloafs and Dry River are dry camping = no hookups or even dump stations. Hope that helps! ST

Or a combination of some of the suggestions,like 104 over to Fulton, then pick up Ny 3, up through Watertown, all the way to Plattsburgh, then take the Cumberland Head ferry to Grand Isle, to Rt 2 all the way to Maine.
Certainly not the fastest, or shortest, but quite possibly the most scenic.

As a start, take Route 20 across New York State. It is a nice road with some interesting stops.

bukhrn wrote:
Or a combination of some of the suggestions,like 104 over to Fulton, then pick up Ny 3, up through Watertown, all the way to Plattsburgh, then take the Cumberland Head ferry to Grand Isle, to Rt 2 all the way to Maine.
Certainly not the fastest, or shortest, but quite possibly the most scenic.

I agree, although since I live in Oswego, NY I usually pick up NY 3 in Mexico (NY). While lots of twists on a 2 lane road, continuing on 3 through the Adirondacks to Plattsburgh, then US 9 to US 2 is a slower, but more scenic route. If you have time, a stop at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake is worth a visit.

vermilye wrote:

bukhrn wrote:
Or a combination of some of the suggestions,like 104 over to Fulton, then pick up Ny 3, up through Watertown, all the way to Plattsburgh, then take the Cumberland Head ferry to Grand Isle, to Rt 2 all the way to Maine.
Certainly not the fastest, or shortest, but quite possibly the most scenic.

I agree, although since I live in Oswego, NY I usually pick up NY 3 in Mexico (NY). While lots of twists on a 2 lane road, continuing on 3 through the Adirondacks to Plattsburgh, then US 9 to US 2 is a slower, but more scenic route. If you have time, a stop at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake is worth a visit

True, a great museum about life in the Adirondacks, also if time is of no importance, a side trip at Saranac Lake over to Lake Placid,site of the '32 & the '80 winter olympics, if you're into the Olympic scene.