North America loop

[BCam]

We're planning a 2-month (? - retired with no commitments) loop tour from Sacramento, across to and up/down the eastern coast, including parts of southern Canada. We've done the Southwest and up the west coast, although we don't mind going up or down the west coast again (our kids live in Seattle area).

We've done Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley.

We're use to dry camping in state parks, but don't mind occasional upscale parks, too, especially near cities.

Definitely want to hit the Smithsonian.

Any suggested routes? Places to be sure to see? Time of year to do trip? Ways to plan.

Thanks.

[JimFromJersey]

Since I'm a native too, I'll kick in my three cents worth.

First, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a must-do, just for the sake of it. It's not especially scenic or breath-taking, but it's the only one like in North America, and is worth the $10. Going North, it will also dump you on the Eastern Shore/DelMarVa peninsula which is a quiet, interesting drive up to the Delaware Valley. (I-64 around Norfolk can be a b**ch, but you'll live.)

If you're into that stuff, Williamsburg and the other "colonial" sites and sights in the Mid-Atlantic can be interesting. Monticello, Mount Vernon, etc. I won't cover DC as there are other much more experienced people here who can tell you about it.

The big problem over here on the east coast is that there are not a lot of RV parks, or campgrounds in general, except in real tourist-attraction rural areas. And certainly none around any of the 'downtown' areas of the older East Coast cities, that I know of. People use Liberty Park for NYC, and Cherry Hill for DC, but I'll be damned if I can recommend an RV park anywhere near Philly.. 🙂 Plenty of T/As and Pilot/Flying Js and things across the river along I-295 and the NJTP, but I don't know of anything on the western side of Philly. Too built up. I'm not even sure if there's a good RV place out around Valley Forge. There's a KOA out near West Chester, 35 miles west of Philly.

There's fairly decent mass transit in the city proper of Philly, but your problem will be getting to a station. If you find a place over on the Jersey side near Camden (ugh), you can get on what is known as PATCO, which is a high speed, few-stop commuter train that will get you right in to Center City Philly in about 15 minutes from it's farthest station. Camden has a big aquarium along the river, and the USS New Jersey battleship, but not much else to recommend it, unless you like viewing decrepit old refineries and abandoned row houses. You can get around much of Philly on foot, or a quick taxi ride is easier than trying to figure out where the SEPTA buses might be going this time. Independence Hall, the Bell, City Hall, the Franklin Institute, and the Art Museum are typical tourist destinations, but check out the Mutter Museum, Penns Landing, and some of the other places near center city. The old Eastern State Penitentiary is just a block or two from the Art Museum, and is an interesting tour for the penal system aficianado.

It might almost be worth renting a car for the day or two that you visit Philly. The traffic here is nowhere near as hectic or frantic as around DC or NYC, just don't get caught on the Schuylkill Expressway at 5:15 pm on a Friday night in the rain... 🙂

Another option is to park at one of the newer casinos near center city Philly - I think SugarHouse allows overnight large-vehicle parking. It's on the waterfront. Harrahs/Philly is actually in Chester, about 15 miles south on 95 along the river, and you don't want park overnight there. Trust me. There's also Parx out near Bensalem, in the northeast of town, that I think is also fairly close to mass transit.

Here's a quite useful blog that has more info.

http://www.cheddaryeti.com/2012/06/20/rv-parking-for-philadelphia-10-reasons-its-worth-your-effort/

[BillMFl]

Ive been to DC three times and still haven't seen it all. 🙂

[4runnerguy]

As noted, this is a very quick trip, given the distance. A couple of thoughts:

>If you can travel in March - May or September - November, you'll avoid many of the crowds as the kids will be in school.

>You will have an option of a coastal route or of following the Blue Ridge Parkway. No, they're not like mountains in the west, but they have a beauty all their own. If you take the coastal routes, be prepared for heat and humidity in the summer in the south.

>If you do a fall trip, start in the north and head south, following the changing of the leaves. Be prepared for a lot of company on the trip.

>If you can carve out more time, definitely plan on multiple days in the D.C. area. The Smithsonian is actually a number of buildings, and there are a number of amazing things to see elsewhere on the Mall, too. The next time we go, we want to spend a week.

[jefe_4x4]

Yes, 2 mo. seems all too short, even for me. I posted about a trip here about 6 mo. ago, trying to learn more about the things to see along our proposed route for a U.S. boundary states tour, clockwise, touching every state that has an international boundary. I got almost no response to this plea, but am certainly bookmarking this post as good fodder for our trip. I finally wound up going to Trip Advisor with great, local results and got lots of info.
The most important thing I learned is that this country is a lot bigger and deeper than a short trip can accommodate. It is a jolt to see that you are in a paradigm shift. At first, jeanie and i thought we could do this trip in 8 weeks. Huh! Not good thinking. We then expanded it to 12, then 16 weeks to get the most out of it. We travel at a rather fast pace, not staying more than one night in any location. We camp in Federal Campgrounds, State Campgrounds, County Campgrounds, BLM, Nat. Forests, dry camp about anywhere that looks good and most importantly stealth camp, especially in the cities. We have developed a 'sense' about successfully picking a spot that works for us. We pick a spot, go up the stairs, pull down the blinds, and camp. It looks like no one is home. The rig is 20 ft. long and will fit in any parking spot along the curb or in a lot.
Our big boundary trip has not happened yet, but the wheels of preparation are still turning. Our twist is we are doing it in a small Lance truck camper on an off-road prepared 4WD Dodge diesel pickup, expecting to camp on every beach (right on the sand) that will allow same. There are quite a few that fit that requirement.
Thanks for all the replies to this post, as I have downloaded a lot of good info for our trip.
regards, as always, jefe

[2gypsies1]

Whew! Two months? If you're retired, take your time and stop and enjoy the places you'll pass through. We've full-timed for 17 years and travel constantly and we still haven't seen it all. 🙂

It might be good to travel north and then across Canada first and be in the NE for the colors of fall. Then leisurely work you way down the east coast and spend the winter along your southernly route back to California.

[tatest]

If two months, you will probably need to plan it, because you are probably looking at 8000-9000 miles of driving, 20 to 30 days of driving time for a fairly fast sightseeing pace and not including any extended stops.

For me, I can't imagine the loop as anything less than six months, as I am both a city explorer and a wilderness person, so places like southern Alberta, the bare-rock parts of the West need a week or more, and if I am going to cities like Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, D.C., Atlanta, Nashville, Houston, San Antonio all need at least a week. I was in D.C. for three months, free on Sundays, could not get beyond scratching the surface. Four years in Chicago and I have to keep going back. A week in NYC wasn't enough to get started, I would need 10 years to really learn it.

East Coast must-sees for me are Boston, New York, Philadelphia, the museums and monuments of D.C., Jamestown and the Williamsburg tourist complex, Charleston, Savannah, and on the way back, Atlanta, Nashville and Memphis. Three days to a week for each are going to use up a couple months, considering the driving time to get there.

Then working your way back west, Houston and San Antonio are repeated week-long visits for me, Santa Fe and the Taos art communities are "must see" on the way to the Rockies across southern Colorado (choose Pagosa-Durango-Cortez or Pueblo-Poncha-Monarch-Gunnison-Monarch-Grand Junction, or try to do them both) the onto the Colorado Plateau in southwest Colorado, southern Utah, northern Arizona.

Six months to a year, I would wing it. Two months for such a loop, you need a travel planning program to work in times for each stop, how far to move each day, and just a quick pop in and out of each city you might want to visit.

If you are going into southern Canada, May through September for the timing.

[Matt_Colie]

Bcam,

There sure is a lot to see everywhere. I don't know what your interests are, but if you are way close to the bottom of the lakes, plan two days is Chicago (parking is bad and expensive), for the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum and the (of course) the Museum of Science and Industry. Now, this will take a little doing, there is a wonderful car museum called the Gilmore in Hickory Corner MI and that is not that far off the highway between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. There is the Air Zoo in Ka'zoo. It got called that because they house a collection of privately owned Grumman Cats. Then you have to make a decision to go south to the Cord-Auburn-Duesenburg and National Truck Museum (two that are close together) or north to the Detroit museums of Henry Ford and GreenField Village. Unfortunately, both that complex and the Airforce Museum at Dayton are both what I call one day museums. By that I don't mean they will take a day, both will, but if you are within a day's drive, you should not miss either and they are most of a day apart....
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is about a half hour museum by the about account. If you get near Erie PA, there is an neat (small but neat) museum all about the naval actions on Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
Upper New York (don't have any loaded weapons) is just amazing scenery. If you get near Johnstown, the flood museum is a nice, but a short stop.
As others have said, stay away form New York City. If you are going East of there, cross the Hudson at the Tappen Zee (Nyack and Terrytown) and plan east from there. I could write all night about New England, I love it and I wish I lived there still.
Lets turn you south to the DC area. Pass up Philadelphia unless you have a native guide. The Liberty Bell is best read about and everything else is buildings. it is a typical megapolis east coast city.
The National Aquarium is in Baltimore, but I have only ever been there by passcar. It is very good and very large.
On to the Smithsonian(s)... You do that it is about seven major and a bunch more smaller museums - Right? The Air and Space can kill a day. Last time we were there, we only had three days and even though it was a second visit for DW and Yours Truly, the kids felt cheated and they were right.
You can see most of what matters about DC just driving though it (again a megapolis just be patient). You might want to park and walk the Lincoln and a couple of other memorials.
There is history all over the east, but I will only direct you to two more. The first is the Mariner's Museum in Newport News. This is where the Monitor is being recovered. It is guaranteed to surprise you. That was much more a ship than you might have ever expected.
If you drive the Outer Banks to get to Hatteras most of it is tourist trap, but the real museums (Wright Bros., Hatteras and others) are pretty good, but watch the prices. The ferry to Cedar Island is a great boat ride. You can overnight in their lot.
About another couple of days (or so) south of there is Charleston. An interesting place on its own, But do not miss the Hunley. It isn't a cheap show, but it is well worth it.
Savannah is a beautiful city and much too tight for most RVs in the historic district.
My fingers are tired now, so I will leave you to continue planning on your own.

Matt

[fireman93514]

We did a similar trip after we retired and spent nine months doing it. We should have spent more. There is so much to see. Some of our eastern highlights were:
Civil war battlefields, including Fort Sumpter
Mammoth Caves
Smoky Mountain National Park
Washington DC

[BillMFl]

Cherry Hill RV Park in DC is the place to stay. You won't have to drive at all to see the sites. They have a shuttle that connects you with the subway right downtown. Parking in DC Mall area is hell and the subway is clean, fast and convenient. You exit about a block from the mall. Plan on at least 2 or 3 days if you want to see it all. And take the shuttle bus that leaves from the mall Smithsonian and takes you out to the Air Museum wing of the Smithsonian near Dulles. Just about every plane that ever flew. I summer in Maine and Acadia is great. Go north to Quoddy Light and you will be standing on the furthest NE point in the US. Very strong tides and whirlpools. There is a great state park campground a few miles west. In New Brunswick stop at the bridge over the reversing falls in St Johns. At Hopewell you can walk on the sea floor at low tide and view the "chocolate rocks". 39 foot tides come back in quickly there and you can watch the tidal "bore" as the tide comes in. Its a standing wave that flows up the bay and up the Chocolate river. There is a wonderful National Park right on the mid coast of NB with many campsites. There are many many historical sites in New England where America as we know it was born. Too many to mention here but get some travel guides. And if you get near BoothBay Me be sure to stay at Shore Hills, the best RV park in the Mid coast and a great quaint little working harbor town.


PS: After Labor Day the crowds are down, the kids are back in school and reservations at choice locations are much easier. And fall in the NE tends to be sunny, dry and cool. By mid Oct the nights can be frosty.

[AJMom]

We're planning a two-week loop from NJ through New England in June. Just an FYI, most, if not all, state parks in New England have no water or electric hookups. We will probably visit Plymouth Plantation, and maybe Boston, in MA, and definitely plan on Camden, ME and Acadia Park/Bar Harbor, ME, then will head home through the White Mountains, NH.

[Veebyes]

Well since you are retired why race around & try yo do it in only 2 months?

From MD we have done the loop around doing the Pacific Northwest twice. Each trip was at least 10,000 trailer miles. Each trip was over 120 days. Both trips seemed a bit rushed. Neither one was what you could call laid back & easy going.

If starting from CA head out in April/May towards the Gulf Coast, up the Atlantic seaboard & back across either through the middle or north to Seattle then back down. Figure on at least 4 months to do it.

[Dick_B]

Be prepared to experience a different world `out here'. We have never dry camped in more than 10 years of RVing. One reason is that the opportunities don't seem to exist where we want to go.
So my only advice is to carry Mountain Directory East and West for your planning.

[enblethen]

I would suggest taking US 2 across the northern US. We took it all the way to Michigan, then dropped down and came around the Great lakes to Niagra Falls then into Bangor.
Proceeded south along US 1 into New and York and south to DC. On that trip we came back west on US 36-38. Another trip was to angle down to Corpus Christi and then around the Gulf of Mexico to Key Wets, up the east coast to Virginia and then snaked down the Smokey Mountain Trail.
Hate to tell you but each of these trips was over 2 months.
I would make a list of your planned route, send a tourism request to each state and province to give you a better idea of sites you want to visit.

[Dr_Quick]

If you are going up the east coast don't forget Acadia in Maine, and if you are that close to Price Edward Island, I would highly recommend it too. Hopewell Rocks is great too in New Brunswick. Consider Cape Bretton Island, in NS.

Also if you go to Nova Scotia get some good local maps at the welcome center and a GPS would be good. Unless you like getting lost in NS.