Detrioit to Niagra Falls in Spring 2015????

[LarryJM]

I'm in the process of planning out spring 2015 "road trip" to the Detroit, MI and then to Niagra Falls and am looking at sometime in the mid April to Mid May time frame with about a week in the Detroit area and about 10dys to 2 weeks in the Niagra Falls area. We will be coming from the Wash D.C. area and returning to the same. Time is not an issue nor is cost if that would change anyone's recommendations/thoughts.

While nothing is guaranteed I'm wonder what in general the weather snow wise mainly we might be facing and would like to hear from some long time natives around those two areas what in general the weather might be like say from 15-30 April in Detroit and 1-15 May in Niagra Falls. This recent "snowmagedon" NY thing sort of has us spooked right now, but we realize this is NOT NORMAL at least as far as the magnitude goes.

Major plans area to hit the Ford museum complex in Mi and of course all the Niagra Falls things. We have passports and are also considering maybe working in things like the AF museum in Dayton and anything in the Cleveland, Columbus region. We are more the museum types and not the outdoors, hiking, etc. types. So any tidbits or recommendations things especially unique around the potential areas of our planned road trip would be appreciated.

Oh we do have our passports for Canada, but won't tow there because of the food/weapons restrictions so our travels as far as RVing goes has to stay on this side of the border. Day trips are fine.

TIA,

Larry

[michigansandzil]

I live an hour north west of Detroit and have my entire life. I would wait til may like others have suggested. Campgrounds won't be open and it's usually chilly in April. We returned home from spring break last year on April 16th and the accumulated snow from winter was still melting in our yard. It will snow until the second or third week in April, but usually doesn't stick that late in the year.
May will be much more pleasant.
10 days in Detroit is a long time. Greenfield village can easily take two days at your pace. Don't forget Henry Ford museum. While in Dearborn, go grab dinner at an Arabic restaurant, very high middle eastern population there.
If you like theater, the Fox is a beautiful theater downtown. You'll have to check to see what's playing.
The air force museum in Dayton is great. We stopped there this spring and we all enjoyed it. One day should be plenty of time though.

[LarryJM]

1. Niagara got it and spelling was never my strong suit and I don't have spell check on my text editor I sometimes use so once misspelled it most likely won't get corrected at least by me:B

2. I totally get the Canada aspect and it would save a lot of time, but we would still want to hit the northern side of the us along that route. Also, no will it forgo the weapons aspect and we have a dog and have a NORCOLD freezer and tend to pack huge amounts of frozen, canned and dog food and just don't want the hassle of the potential border issues so taking the TT into Canada is a non starter.

3. As far as the timing I appreciate the input and will consider sliding everything to the right about two weeks making Detroit first part of May and Niagara the last half.

4. We tend to do things VERY SLOWLY and never spend more than like 4 hours or so sightseeing for the day with maybe a dinner out that same day and usually limit actual attractions to 1 a day and take a day off every 3 or so days. We're retired and have long ago quit trying to burn the ole candle from both ends so to speak. We typically spend 60 days at Disney World and spent 2 weeks in Key West and found enough things to keep up happy in those two place.

All great suggestions and ideas and please keep them coming if you have anything you think would be beneficial or interesting.

Larry

[padredw]

Not trying to change anyone's mind, but I agree wholeheartly with BobR about driving through Canada from Detroit. We crossed over from Port Huron to Sarnia. (I think much simpler than crossing at Detroit/Windsor)

We also enjoyed staying at the Fifty Point Conservation Area. One of the nicest campgrounds we've ever stayed in. It was about a 45 minute drive to the Canadian side of the falls. After our visit we crossed back into the US at Niagara Falls.

Our entry into Canada and back into the US was entirely routine. Incidentally, we had a big dog in the back seat, but did not even have questions about that even though we were fully prepared.

[Tripalot]

I live close to the Falls and if at all possible I would delay your trip for a couple of weeks at least. Around Michigan/Ohio areas, the majority of the c.g's may not be open yet - probably limited around Niagara as well. The blossoms and flowers at the Falls may not be out yet, depending on the severity of winter. I would also check to be sure some of the attractions you are interested in are open as you really are ahead of the tourist season for those areas.

Although there is a lot to do around the Falls, 10 days is a long time to be there. One of the highlights should be the boat trip to the base of the Falls
(may/may not be running in early May - again weather dependent). It is a much nicer place to visit in warmer weather.

[BobR]

Traveling from Niagara to Detroit is a much more pleasant drive on the Canadian side IMHO.

[Dick_B]

You can go to www.weather.com and get the averages for any city in the US.
Can't imagine what one does in the Niagara Falls area for 10 days? Maybe I'm missing something but my Wife and I bicycled to the Falls one summer and spent about an hour there including lunch. We stayed at a campground near Lockport which, BTW, might be another stop. Take a boat ride on the Erie Canal (yes, the same canal from the song `low bridge, everybody down...)

[nickthehunter]

It's not likely you will hit a snow storm in Dearborn in mid April. More likely it will be cold and rainy. Mid May would obviously be better weather. The Detroit Zoo is worth a day trip. If your going to the Henry Ford you may also want to take the Ford Factory tour. it books out of the museum.

I highly recommend the AF museum in Dayton, but it's a full day of walking if you want to take it all in. But it's free so no harm in breaking it up into 2 days. While you're in that general area you may also like Old Mans Cave further south in the Hocking Hills area of Ohio.

[pasusan]

Hi Larry - we live up here. We wait till the very end of April/beginning of May for our first trip of the year. And... We go south. You will be seeing leafless trees and possibly cold weather. Not likely to be snow, but is a possibility. Usually when we leave for our 2 week trek the trees up here are completely grey and naked and as we drive south and to the east of the Appalachians things start greening up. Then when we come back spring is arriving up here.

There are beautiful plantings around Dearborn and the Falls and you won't be seeing them at their best, to say the least.

Hope this helps...


Edit... Be sure to stop at the Cleveland Museum of Art

[D___M]

It's "Niagara" and it's Spring in May. (40 years of residence) You don't have worry about snow. Daytime temps are in the 60's/70's