Going to New England

[Gooding__R]

Looking at taking a spring trip to the New England area and do not want to take I-95 North out of SC. I want to avoid the BIG cities of Baltimore, and NY not to mention the Beltway around Washington. Looking at I-77 to I-81 but need routing from I-81 back to New England. I have traveled to the West and North West on my last 3 trips and now I want to go North. I love to take the secondary and back roads if possible and take my time, I hate being pushed along on the Interstates. Hope someone can help.

[Allworth]

From Florida I cut inland at Fancy Gap (Roanoak Rapids) through Central Virginia to stay West of Richmond/Washington/Baltimore and then through the Delaware Water Gap and run East above the NYC traffic.

I avoid tolls as much as possible and we do not mind traveling on secondary roads.

The "low Bridge" warning on U.S. 6 at Port Jervis, NY, is not true. Actual clearance is 13'-8".

Avoid U.S. 1 in any part of Maine. Terrible pavement; worse traffic.

[weathershak]

Take Rt 17 North out of SC. I do it all the time and most of the towns now have a bypass. There are still a couple of stretches that are 2 lane, but it is a nice drive. Take 17 to Rt 64 to Rt13 North thru Delmarva to Rt 1 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge to the NJTP to Exit 11 to The Garden State Parkway North. You can then decide if you want to cross the Tappan Zee bridge to Rt 95N or other options thru NY. Safe travels

[Gooding__R]

Thanks all for your input. I will look at all the options and see which one is the best once I decide where I want to go in the New England area. I have heard so much about this area and am looking forward to the trip. Thanks again

[jplante4]

The routes I've taken to do what you want

- I81-I84-I90
- I81-I78-I287-I684-I84-I90
- I81-I80-US209-I84-I90

Of those, I like the 3rd best. US209 up the Delaware Water Gap is very scenic and misses most of the construction on I84 in PA.

[Dick_B]

Go to www.google.com/maps and put in your starting and ending cities. Once the route has been established you can Click and Drag to make changes to any part of the trip. It shows the time and miles for each route.

[jergeod]

95 to Fredricksburg VA 17 to 66 to 81 to Binghamton NY 88 to 90 to exit 24 there will be no toll take freebee 90 to 787 to Troy then rt7

[DrewE]

Where in New England are you headed?

I'm in Vermont. I tend to use I-87 and I-88 to get to I-81, catching I-87 most often around Lake George, NY. That's not so convenient of a route for e.g. the Boston area, but would be workable for most places in northern New England.

The US highways are generally acceptable for RV travel, though some may be slow or rough in places. Most of the state routes in New England are also OK, but there are some big exceptions that are definitely not good for RV travel. A couple of examples, not the only ones, include VT 17 across the Appalachian Gap (between routes 116 and 100) which would be better avoided, and VT 108 through Smuggler's Notch (between routes 100 and 15) should positively not be attempted with nearly any RV. A few big trucks or motorhomes manage to get wedged between the rocks in Smuggler's Notch most years.

[ford_truck_guy]

Or-------

You can exit 95 in Carmel Church VA , exit #102 ( just north of Richmond ). Take 301 north... To 301/50 to 896 to 95 just below Wilmington DE.. At that point you can take the Jersey pike north to exit 10--287 north 87 to the tappen Zee bridge .. 684 north to 84 east to the Mass pike..

[gbopp]

I-81 north to Scranton,PA then I-84 east into New England is a good way to avoid the major cities.
If you want side roads, check the map. One possibility is pick up US 209 north of Harrisburg,PA. That will take you into New York state.

[kohldad]

I did a similar trip from Charleston this past fall.

I77 to I81 is the way to go. From there, depends on where in New England you want to go. Would be a big difference if you are wanting to visit Boston than if you were headed to Lake Champlain.