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musika's avatar
musika
Explorer
Feb 14, 2020

Niagara NY to Acadia NP in 5 days

Hi folks,

I tried a search but couldn't quite find what I'm looking for. Hopefully you are able to help! Sorry for the book that follows...

We are travelling from Nova Scotia to Ontario for an event in June. I'm pretty confident I can figure out the Canadian leg of our trip, but the US side is tripping me up a bit.

We will be leaving Cambridge ON on Sun Jun 28, plan to cross the border at Niagara Falls NY, and want to be in Acadia National Park by July 3rd at the latest so we can experience all your Independence Day glory in Bar Harbor :) That gives us 5 nights along the way. Here's where I need route/campground suggestion help:

- We will have 2 kids with us, so our maximum drive time every day is a factor. We'd prefer to spend no more than 5-6 hours total driving each day.
- If we can squeeze it in, we'd like to spend at least a night, maybe 2, in the White Mountains area of NH to take the kiddos on the cog train.
- We're from the East Coast, so we're used to bumpy roads, but not mountains. Avoiding very steep grades would be helpful (how do I identify the grade?).
- I need the most help figuring out the NY/VT/NH side of things.

My initial trip plan has us doing something like this:

Jun 28 - Drive to Hamlin Beach/Lakeside State Park in NY
Jun 29 - Follow Niagara scenic byway for a stretch. Stop at Brown Tract Pond SP in NY to break up the drive. (This would take us through the Adironacks and this is where I start to get iffy on road conditions)
Jun 30 - Either drive straight through Vermont (would like to hit Burlington and Waterbury, likely go via Montpelier to Franconia area NH?) or stop overnight in Groton Forest - downside to this plan is needing to book 2 nights when we only need 1.
Jul 1 (Happy Canada day!) - Start of our 2 nights in the White Mountains area - route and campgrounds TBD - still can't decide if it's better to be up near Jackson...or Franconia... or the Conways...
July 2 - Still in NH
July 3 - Cut cross country to Acadia NP (I am aware this will be a long driving day but not sure how we can break it up).

From there we'd plan to spend the nights of July 3 and July 4 in Maine, then the super long trip back to NS.
Roads and Routes
  • Crowe's avatar
    Crowe
    Explorer
    Feb 20, 2020
    So the good news is that we will have 2 nights in NH (Jun 30/Jul 1) and 3 nights in Maine (Jul 2/3/4, leaving the 5th for home).

    Awesome! Traveling on the 2nd might be a little better than the 3rd but best of luck on the 5th lol! Enjoy!
  • ryegatevt's avatar
    ryegatevt
    Explorer II
    Feb 20, 2020
    From Twin Mt I would pick up Route 2 and travel East to Newport and hop. Off. On I955 to Bangor and then SE to Acadia. I have traveled this route many times (almost in my back yard) and even in July you won’t find it crowded. It’s mostly a very scenic smooth 2 lane State Highway. Probably 4 hours from TW to Bangor, but you will find the only road to Acadia will be very slow and crowded. We take this route from NH to Acadia every year, but always in September & October when the crowds have gone home and we almost have the place to ourselves. As a life—long New Englander I’m afraid I’d beg off on a July trip with the excuse,” Waal, just can’t get theah from heah...“
  • musika's avatar
    musika
    Explorer
    Feb 20, 2020
    VTLee wrote:
    Take the ferry from Plattsburgh to Route 2in Vermont to I-89 to exit 7 to Barre and then stay on rt. 302 to Twin Mountain.


    Thanks, I think we will be likely doing that.

    Question - any suggestions on a route through the Adirondacks to get to Plattsburgh? Rte 3 or alternate?
  • VTLee's avatar
    VTLee
    Explorer
    Feb 18, 2020
    Take the ferry from Plattsburgh to Route 2in Vermont to I-89 to exit 7 to Barre and then stay on rt. 302 to Twin Mountain.
  • musika's avatar
    musika
    Explorer
    Feb 17, 2020
    Update on the camping front - we do have reservations as of today in Twin Mountain NH and at Hadley Point in Acadia NP area. We decided based on the advice so far to travel to Maine on July 2 instead of July 3. So the good news is that we will have 2 nights in NH (Jun 30/Jul 1) and 3 nights in Maine (Jul 2/3/4, leaving the 5th for home).

    The not so nice news is that we now have 2 nights to get ourselves from Cambridge ON to Twin Mountain NH. This is where I need some routing help. We will be crossing the border at Niagara Falls. My initial thought was to hug the lakeshore (Following the Seaway Trail), then cut inland on Route 3. We'd take Route 3 through the Adironacks and overnight somewhere between Cranberry Lake and Saranac Lake (still picking a spot).

    Questions - What's the best route through the Adironacks with a trailer? We need to make some time, but we also want a semi-pretty drive. How's the grade on route 3?

    We will need to cross over into Vermont. Keeping in mind our ultimate destination is Twin Mountain NH (therefore Rte 302 into NH), what's the best crossing? I feel like it's not worth it to go as far north as Plattsburg?
  • Crowe's avatar
    Crowe
    Explorer
    Feb 15, 2020
    With regards to travel from NH to ME - Do you think it's of value to boot on through on I-95 as far as we can, or would we benefit from going Rte 1 along the coast? We've done both before, but not with a camper. I'm guessing from your comments that Rte 1 is likely to be a bit of a gong show.

    It does stink when you get pigeon-holed into a particular time frame but if you act quickly you might be OK. Just have multiple places in mind. Personally I'd go as fast as I can on Rt. 95, which depending on timing might not be that fast! Mid-week SHOULD be better. Do your best to avoid rush hours. Rt. 1 could be a nightmare. It's busy during regular summer weeks but that week will probably be insane. Thanks to my Yankee roots and personality I'm a "let's get there as fast as we can and spend as much time as we can at our destination". Keep in mind that campground availability may affect your travel schedule. As a back-up plan if you get stuck and can't find a cg, look at some of the hotels in the area. Some of the chains like Embassy Suites and such aren't uber expensive and often offer breakfast.
  • mkc's avatar
    mkc
    Explorer
    Feb 14, 2020
    July 4th weekend is, by far, the absolute busiest for northeast campgrounds. One that we typically stay at often has just a handful of folks during the week, is 3/4 full on normal weekends, and books solid for July 4th the day then open for the year. Most campgrounds (at least private ones) will have a 3-night minimum for holiday weekends. Fridays headed up 495/95 are already a headache, it being a holiday weekend this year will mean a nightmare for travel.

    Your best bet would be to have reservations and get there earlier in the week, preferably by Wednesday afternoon since a lot of folks are going to be traveling on Thursday as well. And be prepared to pay for Thursday through Saturday nights...
  • jkwilson's avatar
    jkwilson
    Explorer III
    Feb 14, 2020
    The only sites that are likely available even now are at places like Bar Harbor Campground that don’t take reservations, and you won’t have any luck showing up late week. Coastal New England is insane on a normal weekend during the summer.

    That area is a wonderful place to visit, but you are in for a chore. We visit often as we have two kids in the area, but we generally avoid any driving on Fridays or Sundays or the days around holidays.
  • musika's avatar
    musika
    Explorer
    Feb 14, 2020
    Crowe wrote:
    If you have not yet made your reservations for the White Mountain area and Acadia it may be a moot point. You are also picking one of the worst possible weeks from a traffic standpoint to travel. From North Conway, NH, to Bar Harbor is just over 200 miles. How long it will take will depend on your route (there are multiple) and traffic but it should be less than your 5-6 hour timeframe. July 3rd being a Friday will compound this. It could be a miserable trip trying to get through it all. If you can travel to Acadia mid-week that would help some. There's plenty to do in the area to keep you occupied for the extra time. Your trip does not allow for a lot of "down" time to enjoy what the area has to offer and will be compounded by the extra traffic due to the holiday. With kids I'd drive straight through VT and spend the time in NH & ME.


    Unfortunately the week is fixed, as I said we are travelling for a wedding so not much we can do about the timing. I'm trying to book sites this week so you're right that will really determine where we end up in NH. For ME, looks like a couple of sites still have availability so we should be good on our general plan there.

    With regards to travel from NH to ME - Do you think it's of value to boot on through on I-95 as far as we can, or would we benefit from going Rte 1 along the coast? We've done both before, but not with a camper. I'm guessing from your comments that Rte 1 is likely to be a bit of a gong show.
  • Crowe's avatar
    Crowe
    Explorer
    Feb 14, 2020
    If you have not yet made your reservations for the White Mountain area and Acadia it may be a moot point. You are also picking one of the worst possible weeks from a traffic standpoint to travel. From North Conway, NH, to Bar Harbor is just over 200 miles. How long it will take will depend on your route (there are multiple) and traffic but it should be less than your 5-6 hour timeframe. July 3rd being a Friday will compound this. It could be a miserable trip trying to get through it all. If you can travel to Acadia mid-week that would help some. There's plenty to do in the area to keep you occupied for the extra time. Your trip does not allow for a lot of "down" time to enjoy what the area has to offer and will be compounded by the extra traffic due to the holiday. With kids I'd drive straight through VT and spend the time in NH & ME.

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