Trip to Northeast states

There's a whole lot to see and do around these areas!

Cities and cultural areas: Washington, DC could keep you busy for months with the various museums (many free), memorials, the National Zoo, etc. (I've stayed at Greenbelt NP, which is maybe a half hour or 45 minute walk from a Metro station and very affordable.) Highlights for me include the zoo, the Air and Space museum annex at Dulles Airport (many, many more historical aircraft on display than at the main air and space museum), and some of the art museums. The National Building Museum's free tour was interesting, too, giving the history of the building it's housed in.

Philadelphia--many historical sites, the world-renowned art institute, performing arts...while I haven't visited there with my RV, if I did I would probably stay at the Campus Park and Ride.

NYC--also enormous, with museums, arts, gardens, zoos, etc. to fill many many days. There are a number of threads here on places to stay near NYC (and most other major cities), probably the most convenient overall being Liberty Harbor across the river in New Jersey. I've stayed at Floyd Bennett Field, which is not the easiest to get to with an RV (being in Brooklyn), but is affordable and reasonably accessible to public transit.

Boston--historical sites, museums, the New England Aquarium...avoid driving in Boston if at all possible, particularly with an RV. Driving under Boston via the big dig is not too bad, at least if you avoid rush hours, but hazardous materials including propane tanks are not permitted in the tunnels.

If you like theme parks and amusement parks and roller coasters, there are many fine places to stop. Knoebels (Elysburg, PA) is probably my overall favorite; it has a wonderful vibe, and the campground on site is exceptionally convenient and well run, though not exceptional as a campground (smallish sites--some very small, modest landscaping, utilitarian but clean and functional restrooms, etc.) Other decent amusement parks of varying sizes include Kennywood (outside of Pittsburgh), Hersheypark (Hershey, PA), Kanobie Lake Park (Salem, New Hampshire), Lake Compounce (Bristol, CT), and Rye Playland (Rye, NY, unusually owned by the city), among others.

Natural areas: Letchworth State Park in New York is a must-see, one of the very nicest state parks anywhere. Watkins Glen (the state park with the glen itself) is neat, too. Acadia (note: no "r") is lovely, as are the White Mountains generally of New Hampshire, and indeed many places in the region. Hiking trails abound throughout the Adirondacks, the Green Mountains, the White Mountains, etc...some quite long distance trails (such as the Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail). There are many places to bike or canoe as well.

Other sites and things: If you like baseball, spending a day or two at the Little League World Series is well worth the effort. There are some fun minor league teams and ballparks, as well; I'm naturally fond of the Vermont Lake Monsters and their home park at Centennial Field, which is an older ballpark than any major league stadium.

The Shelburne Museum is a great stop, which its eclectic (and extensive) collection of generally folk art related things, very broadly interpreted. Mystic Seaport has a world-class collection of boats.

That's probably long enough, though it just starts to scratch the surface. If you share some of your particular interests, that would help a lot in recommending specific things.

We did a NE tour: Niagara Falls (smells like a sewer), the Fingerlakes (excellent KOA), We stopped at some historical fort in NY then into NH and VT to Bar Harbor for a week, then down to Boston (stayed at some state park south of Boston and rode the Ferry), did Concord and Lexington. The down to DC, stayed at Cherry Hill. Let me tell you one Boston and DC are HOT and muggy in July. People complain about the western states but I'd say the NE is just as bad. Not Maine of course.

Arcadia is like no other major NP that we ever visited, it is split into small units scattered up the coast apart from the Bar Harbor unit. There are islands off the coast too. The photogenic area is north of Bar Harbor.

A major goal of our trip was to see a lot of American historical sites. Boston is very interesting but as I said really hot.

One thing I recall was people warning us our F-150 (5.4L) pulling a smallish TT (Trailmanor) would have a tough time with the 'mountains' in NH and VT. We did see some hills but missed the 'mountains'. F-150 didn't even notice them.

Acadia NP/Bar Harbor, ME
Freeport, ME (if you like to shop)
Ogunquit, ME
Kennebunk/Kennebunkport, ME
Cape Cod, MA
North shore, MA (Salem, Newburyport, Rockport, Gloucester)
Lexington/Concord, MA
White Mtns, NH
Stowe, VT
Colonial Williamsburg, VA
Gettysburg, PA

I wouldn't bother worrying about "don't waste your time". Your interpretation of an area will be completely different than someone else's. If you can be more specific about what you like to do then narrowing down where to go becomes easier. If you have no specifics then just make a list, start with #1 and keep going.

Allegany State Park in southwestern NY. We like to stay in the Red House campground on the creek.

Letchworth SP in upstate NY.

Watkins Glen a short hop east of Letchworth has 3 nice places to stay, and wineries all the way around Seneca Lake.

Southeast Mass and Cape Cod. Normandy Farms is the best in this area. Also on the Cape is Atlantic Oaks

Vermont has several on Lake Champlain. and you can't come to the northeast without doing Acadia NP in Maine.

If you're going to Western NY, you'll have to pass through Central NY to get to the rest of your itinerary, so you may want to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. State Parks close by, and lots of commercial campgrounds. Lots of wineries in the Finger Lakes area, too.

In Maryland, Assateague Stae Park is a personal favorite - miles of beach just for campers, as close as most of us will get to a private beach with no one within 25 yards or more. Not many sites with electric, and probably all gone by now, although there are many without hookups, but with access to bathhouses, dump station & water fill-up. Pro Tip: Unless they have changed, the Maryland Senior Pass rate (half-price for non-weekend camping) is available to out-of-state residents! The adjacent National Park is also on the beach, although a bit more primitive.

We have camped extensively in the NE part of the US. There is quite a bit to see, depending on your interests.

Highlights include Niagara Falls (have passports so you can travel into Canada), the Finger Lakes part of New York State, Lake George, NY, Green Mountains of VT, and Acadia National Park in Maine.

You will hit a lot of toll roads in the NE so I recommend you get a EZ pass.

Pennsylvania:
Flight 93 Memorial

Three Mile Island America's worst Nuclear Incident.

Hershey PA

Yuengling Brewery Very interesting tour, even if you don't like beer.

Maine:
Freeport ME Nice town. Overnighting allowed in public parking area.

I like to use Roadside America when traveling. Maybe you can find something along your route.