East Coast Trip

Parks we really liked so far:
Fisherman's Memorial State Park in Rhode Island. Close to Newport and beautiful beach towns.
Scussett Beach State Park in MA. Just off Cape Cod next to the Cape Cod Canal. At the beach!
Schoodic Woods campground in Acadia National Park. Huge sites on the very quiet Schoodic Peninsula.
Jonesport Campground in Jonesport, ME. The views are wonderful, the town is tiny and quiet - a downeast Maine experience.
Winhall COE in southern Vermont.

The roads in far northern Maine are marginal - frost heaves got on my nerves.
We loved Cooperstown, liked Bangor, hated Old Orchard Beach. We are now in the finger lakes with plans to head to Alexandria Bay, a must see according to our friends from New York.

We were headed to Bar Harbor with a stop in Mystic Ct and a few points north from there. We were advised to take US 17 to I-81 then I-84E past Newburgh NY and then take CT-9 to connect to 95. DH decided NOT to heed this advice, and we went I287 across the Tappan Zee bridge and hooked up to I-95 near Stamford CT. BIG mistake. It was a flippin' zoo, and I-95 in CT is also a zoo. Hook up to 95 much farther north depending on where you want to stop to visit. We recently came to Harrisburg PA from New Hampshire on I-84/I-81 through Newburgh and realized we should've taken the advice given.

Mystic CT is worth a stop. We also took a ferry to Martha's Vineyard from Woods Hole MA. I particularly loved Newport RI. Bar Harbor is a must.

I haven't made that particular trip, but have toured around a reasonable amount in the area.

Besides NYC (as most of the other posters have suggested), I would avoid driving through Boston. Driving under Boston isn't too bad (in the tunnel) but propane is forbidden from the tunnels, so it's a no-go for an RV. Driving Boston surface roads are no fun.

A solution, if you wish to see the city (and it has a lot to offer), is to take public transport in. I've gone from the Alewife station most recently, which has a large parking garage (that would not be appropriate for an RV but would be for a towed or tow vehicle). Apparently sometimes getting a parking space there during weekdays can be a bit of a problem, but it isn't during weekends.

Some other suggestions of places to visit...the White Mountains of New Hampshire (Mt Washington, the Kancamangus highway, Franconia, etc.) are beautiful. Mystic Seaport, if you're into ships or boats or water travel at all. The Shelburne Museum is eclectic and unique (and large). There are many pretty areas of the Adirondiacks. New York also has some spectacular state parks, including (perhaps most famously) Watkins Glen and Letchworth State Park, both around the Finger Lakes region.

For RV parks, I've heard very good things about Lake George RV park, though I've never set foot there myself.

You might get more helpful suggestions if you provide a little more information. What sort of RV are you traveling with? What kinds of activities and sites do you like? What are you looking for in a campground/RV park? How tight is the budget? How much time do you have?

wrushing wrote:
We are planning an extended trip from Alabama over to Savannah, Georgia...then all the way up the East coast to Maine (and possibly Nova Scotia); then back down through New York State, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, etc. Just wondering any of you have made a similar trip, and if so, parks you liked, good highways, or highways to definitely avoid. We will especially be looking for a good way to bypass the New York City/New Jersey area. Appreciate any and all information on routes, RV parks, and attractions. Thanks!!

If you want to bypass New York/New Jersey I would recommend you make your way over to I81 north towards Scranton PA from there you take I84 east towards Providence RI. this will by pass all of the bad traffic congested roads. As far as seeing things you have the Blue ridge, Pocono mountains, Gettysburg, Cape Cod.

Just a thought if you stay on I81 up towards Binghamton NY you his the Finger Lakes wine country. No a bad place to get some good wine to go with the seafood.

I personally run the I84 to I90 and go around Boston when heading to New England and North.

Safe travels.

tjfogelberg wrote:
NY and NJ are must visit states! They're no more congested than anywhere else on the East Coast. The Jersey Shore, Jones Beach SP(Long Island) and Manhattan are a few places I would suggest considering.

If your looking for a relaxing non stressful ride I would recommend avoiding NJ/Manhattan. They both have a lot to offer but we're not friendly drivers and if you try to travel between the hours of 5AM and 9PM plan on sitting in traffic.

JMO

Ed

I agree with AdirondacJack on all points. Take 17 north from Savannah. 17 near Fredricksburg is a great way to bypass Washington, Baltimore and NYC. Boston is a beautiful and historic city. Normandy Farms in Foxboro is a nice CG to see it. The Bar Harbor CG in Bar Harbor is very nice, but they don't take reservations. BH is a must see. Shorehills in Boothbay is a good CG. Nova Scotia and the Cabot trail are very scenic. PEI is also scenic.

We loved our trip to Newfoundland, but you need at least one month on the Rock to do it justice.

We took a similar trip a few years ago. We loved Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. We will probably go back in a few years after we make it to some of the many places we have not been to yet. Even in Canada we stayed at many Passport America parks. We always checked the rating at Rvparksreviews.com so all of them were at least an okay place to stay and many were even better. If you have time and money, we also recommend taking the ferry to Newfoundland. We enjoyed it even more than our trip to Alaska.

NY and NJ are must visit states! They're no more congested than anywhere else on the East Coast. The Jersey Shore, Jones Beach SP(Long Island) and Manhattan are a few places I would suggest considering.

We did a New England loop a couple of years back along a good decent with some pretty good campgrounds. (http://www.snowbirdrvtrails.com/orangedot.htm). We avoid the major cities by taking I-95 to US-17 (near Fredericksburg) to I-81 to I-78 to I-287 and then I-87 to I-84 East. US-17 North from Savannah is an interesting route also if you have the time, enjoy Low Country cookin' and small coastal towns.