Baltimore to Nashville and back at end October?

[mutineer]

Hi All,

We're a family group of 3 adults from Brighton, England coming out for an RV hire trip between 25th Oct and 3rd Nov... and we're looking for suggestions on routes to take, places to see... and good RV hire options not too far from the Airport. We've never been to the South and any must see/hear route suggestions are welcome.. State parks / campgrounds, DC, Richmond, Dollywood, Nashville, Memphis if that isn't too far... and any other ideas. I'm a bit concerned about stuff being closed up at that time of year, so your tips would be very welcome!

Thanks from Nick, Gill and Bridget.

[Passin_Thru]

You can drive from Richmond to Nashville in 12 hours. Go for it. In VA and TN you can drive about 9 MPH faster than the posted speed without getting a ticket or pulled over for that matter. You'll probably be immune from fines being from England as we don't have reciprocity with Canada even so Canadians don't get stopped here. Do be careful of our heavy trucks , they are no longer professional like they used to be. A lot are ill mannered dirty and could care less about having a wreck. If you want, take a tour of West Virginia via I 66 to 55 hwy west and go through the W VA mountains and get a taste of the real US.

[mutineer]

Well, the shutdown means we might need to change our plans. Maybe next time for the museums and parks... And booking KOA sites would seem a good idea! More shutdown friendly suggestions welcome! We might try the long drive to Nashville after all.
Thanks from
Nick, Gill and Bridget

[Veebyes]

Take it that the 25th is arrival date & 3rd is departure date. That leaves 8 days of which one will be picking up & stocking the RV & one will be return day. That leaves 6 full travel days. Not much time. Figure a route of not much more than 1200 miles to have time to do more than drive by attractions. Draw an arc no more than 400 miles from Baltimore. Anything past that is going to be too far. Make your loop route within it.

[JimFromJersey]

And what ever you do , don't forget that in America, we drive on the RIGHT side of the road... 🙂 Enjoy, see the USA in your Chevrolet.

[TPUC]

You know we make a little drink called Jack Daniels down here in TN 🙂

[John_S_]

You better make some reservations too. It is leaf peeping time in Oct and the Smokies and the drive south on 81 will be crowded.

[magnusfide]

mutineer wrote:
Thanks everyone for your responses so far - that's great - really helpful, and really looking forward to the trip!

Bit of advice: avoid Patapsco State Park. My brother-in-law who is on the Baltimore police force states Patapsco's crime rate has become severe.

Nearby and much safer is Capitol KOA. Great owner and staff. They also have LP fill up on site too. Here's that link.
http://www.capitolkoa.com/

[mutineer]

Thanks everyone for your responses so far - that's great - really helpful, and really looking forward to the trip!

[sdianel_-acct_c]

How many days will your trip be? Just the 10 days between Oct 25th and Nov 3rd?
Nashville is 12 hours from Baltimore so 2 days out and 2 days back would really cut into your trip time. If you want mountains, I would stop in Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg area and see everything between Maryland and there. I would check availability of campgrounds as it's leaf peeping season, especially on the weekends or holidays like Halloween Oct 31st. You can check campgrounds open all year on www.woodalls.com First select city and state ie Sevierville TN, then scroll down to more options and check "open all year" and scroll down and select "filter" red button. We use www.mapquest.com to route and www.rvparkreviews.com before we select a campground. KOA's are usually a good choice if you are not familiar with the area. In Sevierville, we like River Planation RV park. For more rustic campgrounds without full hookups: www.recreation.gov Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open until December 31st. (no hookups) If you want "southern" Charleston South Carolina is 9 hours away and Savannah Georgia is a bit farther south. Enjoy your trip!

[Road_Runners]

After you rent your camper in Towson go a few miles and stop at Patapsco State Park in Ellicot City and spend a day or two getting used to your new rental. It is a nice forested oasis in the middle of chaos.

You will find it on hwy-40 which exits off I-695 on the east side of Baltimore. Don't exit into the park going westbound on hwy 40, however if your camper is over 9ft high. Go past the paptasco exit when going on 40 westbound and make a legal U turn and come into the park going east on 40.

[dahkota]

I'm guessing you are landing at BWI? Your best bet is cruiseamerica.com. It is located in Towson so you'll have to take a cab to get there.

You'll definitely want to stop in DC though you could spend your entire week there. If you are short on funds, Greenbelt Park is great.

From there, I would take the beltway (495) to Route 66W to head into Virginia and Shenandoah National Park. Big Meadows is still open at that time and you may catch the end of leaf peeping season.

From there, I would head down Route 81 to Tennessee. You can go to Great Smoky Mountains National Park or head toward Nashville.