San Antonio to Nova Scotia--what shouldn't we miss?

Thats a lot of country. What are your likes and dislikes?
Nashville, Natchez Trace, Great Smokey Mts, North Carolina Beaches, Williamsburg Va., Washington DC, NYC. That's just the first two or three weeks.

Don't miss any of the tolls.
p.s. Bring lots of cash, there's plenty of them.:E

For whatever state you are passing thru do a Google search for `______ tourism' and put the state or city name in the blank space and get more information than you will want or need.

I would try to take in Niagara Falls along the way. You could cross into Canada there and travel through Ontario into Quebec. Stop in Quebec City and tour the city & Montmorency Falls. In New Brunswick make sure you visit Hopewell Rocks. You can take in Fundy Trail Parkway, Magnetic Hill and the Reversing Falls. Nova Scotia you will want to visit the Town of Lunenburg, Peggy's Cove and make sure you tour the Cabot Trail. You could then travel home a more direct route through the US. Travelling through Canada will add a few miles to your trip but will give you an alternate route so you don't have to backtrack.
If you travel in the summer make sure you plan ahead and make reservations.

Mayberry, NC - home town of Andy Griffith, Snappy Lunch, Blue Ridge Parkway, me.

As others said, this is a wide open question and then some.

Personally, if it were me taking the trip and I had no real time limits, I would at least consider something like the following:

New Orleans -- a thoroughly fascinating city
GSM NP/Blue Ridge Parkway/Shenandoah NP
Maybe a side trip to Washington, DC, where one could easily spend a month visiting museums etc.
Knoebels amusement park, Elysburg PA (because I really like it)
Letchworth SP in New York; maybe also Watkins Glen, or a few others. They have some very nice parks. Letchworth is extra special, though.
Niagara falls, particularly if one hasn't been there before.
Cross through the Adirondacks and Vermont (lovely country all) and see some of the White Mountains of New Hampshire
Bar Harbor, ME and Acadia NP

On the way back, I might take a somewhat more costal route and see some of the eastern seabord cities: Boston, NYC, Philly, etc. They are fascinating to visit but not much fun at all to drive in or even near. There are some superb things to see and do in smaller burgs, as well; for example, the Mystic Seaport boat museum.

Well Damnd,

First off, if you could tell us if you are most interested in:
Scenery,
Real Historic Locations,
Museums - like the in a building kind.

Let me tell you for starters that the price of land in the east coast megopolis if so high, that campgrounds are very rare in striking range of urban centers. (The urban center of the east coast is about 50~150 miles wide inland from where the water touches land. As we have friends all along that area, we have never had to get to a crampground. There really is just one city (look at Google Earth for confirmation) and it stretches along the coast (pretty much I-95) from Portsmouth NH to Petersburg VA. All I can say as a refugee is be ready.

I have always wanted the trip planner that you seek. One that would say,"Hey, you are only an hour's drive from ?????" I haven't found one. The list of places I could suggest would take too long to type. My best suggestion is that you load this route to a AAA trip planner and HANG ON......

When I set up the route in Google Maps, I did notice a shot brain stupid for you. It routes you across New York City. This is something you absolutely do not want to do. Do not try to cross the Hudson any farther south than Nyack-Terrytown (I-287 TappenZee Bridge). Just don't do it. Also, it set you up for a section of Hutchison River Parkway. This is probably bad. Many (most) of the east coast roads that are called "Parkway" only allow passenger cars.

I hope you are aware that the east coast is loaded with history, and there is more than you can absorb in a single pass. I don't care how you plan. You are going to miss things. Just make a list of what you want to not miss the next time.

Be safe. Oh, New York and New Jersey are VERY anti-gun states. NJ has even killed the "Peaceable Transit" idea. Canada allows no hand guns at all, but you can get a permit to carry a long gun. So, be sure you know all the rules before departure.

Matt

Number 1, I'd avoid Austin and come up US 281 then over to I-35 (for example at Lampassas. From Waco I'd take TX 31 to Tyler and TX 155 on to Linden and US 59 to Texarkana.

Nice camping at Tyler State Park or several good spots around Texarkana (example: Shady Pines.) From Texarkana no reason not to take I-30 to Little Rock and I-40 on to West Memphis, AR. Either Tom Sawyers or Memphis North KOA are good overnights.

I would take I-55 up through Arkansas rather than crossing over at Memphis. I-155 over to Dyersbury, TN and Union City and up to the Purchase Parkway in Kentucky. Lots of really good campgrounds in and around Land Between the Lakes. Kentucky Dam Village State Park and several really nice COE sites around the Lakes.

Take Western Parkway to Elizabethtown, KY and Blue Grass Parkway on to Lexington. Kentucky Horse Park is a nice campground near Lexington and one of the many nice place to visit in that beautiful area.

Someone has suggested Niagara Falls in Canada. I'd agree. You could take I-75 from Lexington to the Detroit Area. I'd go on up to Port Huron and cross over into Sarnia, Ontario. In fact I am going to do just that in June. We are staying in Fifty Point Conservation Area for the second time because we liked it so much. Easy drive over to Niagara Falls (we are going to stay a week and just drive over for a visit to the Falls.)

One could go on over to Montreal for a nice visit and I'm going to leave it at that-- Oh yes, there is Bar Harbor.

Just some ideas about the route.

MDKMDK wrote:
Don't miss any of the tolls.
p.s. Bring lots of cash, there's plenty of them.:E

Set up E-Z Pass program and breeze through the toll booths.

Lakeside

Be prepared for toll road sticker shock. You can travel from San Antonio due north to the Canadian border and pay two tolls - HE Bailey in Oklahoma and the Kansas Turnpike in Kansas.
You can travel anywhere west of I-35 and pay no tolls.
On my first trip from OKlahoma to PEI and Nova Scotia, I was blown away by the number and amount of tolls.
There are many and varied things along the way, depending on which way you go.
If you travel in early fall, you will see some beautiful fall colors; however, many RV parks in the NE close in September.

GM