Northeast Trip Help

[kyteacher]

This summer I am taking my family of 4 (wife and 2 daughters 11&14) from Louisville, KY up through the northeast. I am driving my expedition towing at 26' TT. We have 15 days leaving June 19-July 3rd. We typically try to hit as many national parks as possible, but with the big cities in this area we will probably want to check those out. We've never been to this area so we are going to want to hit a lot of the big touristy areas.

We are not thinking this will be a slow paced trip; rather we want to see as much as possible in the time that we have. The wife and I will come back later when we don't have kids or a schedule to slow down.

Here is a rough (possible) itinerary:

Day 1-2 - Louisville to Philly south Koa
tour philly-liberty bell, etc (debating on skipping Philly to
have more time north)

Day 3 - Philly to NYC (liberty harbor rv park)


Day 4-5- tour NYC
central park, 911 memorial, carlos bakery, statue of libery,
ellis island, Times square, hamilton grange, ??

Day 6- NYC to Normandy farms
rest

Day 7 - Boston- freedom trail

(maybe whale watching by cape cod?)

Day 8 - Drive to maine

Day 9-10 Acadia

From here we want to drive through the white mtns possibly

I am thinking about driving back through canada to Detroit and down I-75. We stopped in canada at niagara falls last summer and the kids got really excited to be in another country so I thought it might be fun to drive home 3-4 days and maybe stop in a few tourist spots along the way: Toronto, Ottawa (capitol?), ?? Not sure if you can see the northern lights that far south? We've also never taken our camper across the border so I don't know how hard that would be. Also, I've heard things are more expensive in canada, but don't know to what extent.

Otherwise we will just probably try to find a different way home through NY/Penn/Ohio.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts. I will just say that if you are going to say something about this is too much or our kids won't want to be in the car this much respectfully, please don't reply. We did 18 days across to yellowstone 2 summers ago and had a blast. My kids travel well, I do all the driving and love all the places we get to see. I know this type of vacation isn't for everyone, but it works for my people.

Are there places we are missing? Can you suggest a place/easy hike in acadia? Tell me about this part of canada? Is there some cool places to see between Vermont-Detroit on the canada side? Is it too expensive/hard to cross the border with a camper?

Thank you in advance.

[michigansandzil]

Philly is great! I'd go back.
We all enjoyed touring the Eastern State Penitentiary. Kids were 7, 11, and 13 at the time. They got to try out the cell lock where Capone stayed. It was a unique experience.
We also drove over the bridge to New Jersey to tour Battleship New Jersey.
Liberty bell only takes a few minutes.

FYI- if you want to tour Independence Hall in Philly or the Statue of Liberty at all, you need to purchase tickets in advance. It's well worth scheduling your day around a tour of the crown of the Statue of Liberty if they're still available, it was awesome!

When we stayed at Liberty Harbor, we took a ferry over to NYC and right where we got off the ferry, there's a stop for the on-off tour bus. We did try the subway too, but we found the on-off bus a great way to sit back and tour NYC.

Enjoy your trip!

[jfkmk]

Definitely take the Tappan Zee instead of the GWB. Yes, it has a toll, bug is a much easier drive.

[Lumpty]

I-95 in Maryland and Delaware are toll roads. 95 continues up through Philadelphia, but pretty much dead ends at Trenton, NJ, wrapping around as 295, ending up heading south, unless taking 195 to the NJ Turnpike at Exit 7A. The Delaware Memorial Bridge is free northbound, and from there the choices are 295 north to 195 to the Turnpike, or just pay the turnpike toll from its southern terminus, as there really isn't a choice from Exit 7A north anyway.

The Tappan Zee (now named Mario Cuomo) is tolled also.

I-95 through Connecticut until east of New Haven is awful traffic pretty much all times of the day. That 60 miles has taken me as long as 3 hours on a Friday afternoon. 684 to 84 to the Mass Pike is better, or the scenic route up the Thruway to the Mass Pike extension better still from a traffic point of view.

On the return, yes, 88 and 86 are non-tolled interstates.

It really is impossible though to get around the northeast without paying highway and bridge tolls. Hence my suggestion of the EZ Pass tag. That will at least make it convenient and allow for passing through rolling and no cash out-of-pocket.

[kyteacher]

So I don't know if I need to move this over to roads & routes but I do have a few questions about which roads are toll and which are not.

So my plan was to leave Louisville and go through Charleston, WV and across I-68 to I-70 go around Baltimore and up I95 to the KOA. I was trying to skip the I-76 Penn toll road.

Take 95 in to NYC.

Leaving NYC, I think we are going to be leaving late morning 10-11ish. I was planning on routing over the tappen zee (sp?) bridge to avoid the GW bridge. Follow I95 up to Foxboro.

And I guess pretty much stay on 95 in to Maine.

Most of my day drives up the NE are fairly short <300 miles per day. So if I need to extend a drive to avoid a big toll I am willing. If we are talking a couple bucks, I'm not too worried about that.

DrewE, you suggested skipping 90 coming home from Albany to NY state line by taking 88-86. I guess those aren't tolled? It doesn't look too much longer. Wonder if there are any National Park stops along any of that section.

Again, thank you guys for all the help. We are really excited to take our girls to this part of the country. They are in the 8th/5th grade and currently both studying the revolutionary war in their schools. It will be a lot of fun to take them to some of the real places where history took place.

Now I just need to start working on them for that early wake up call to do sunrise on Cadillac Mtn. Sunrise is really early on june 28/29th.

[mkc]

Regarding planning around tolls, if you do opt for any part of the NYS Thruway, you can calculate your likely toll(s) (and make sure to have enough cash) via their website

[HHfundays]

kyteacher wrote:
Thank you all for the suggestions. The 2 days off school this past week for the cold weather here in KY allowed some time to read up and make some reservations. We got our first 12 days reserved. Here's what we have so far:

Day 1a/1b- leave a half day early and drive to Philly south KOA- 2 nights

Day 2- Tour philly- liberty bell, historic stuff...

Day 3- Drive to liberty harbor campground- 3 nights

Day 4-5 Tour NYC (never been there)

Day 6- drive from liberty harbor to normandy farms campground (foxboro, MA)

Day 7- Boston- freedom trail

Day 8- Cape cod (whale watching)

Day 9- drive to Narrows Too campground outside of Acadia

Day 10-11- Acadia

Day 12- drive to timberlands campground- White mountains, NH

Day 13-15- drive home making a few quick stops along the way

White Mtns to Syracuse area

Syracuse area to Cleveland area

Cleveland to home


I know it is not possible to avoid tolls, but now my route planning is going to be balancing keeping the drives as short as possible while avoiding the "big" tolls (I'm looking at you George Washington Bridge).

Thanks again for the help. We are defiantly going to save the Canada trip for another day. Although, when my wife saw how close PEI is to Acadia she tried to talk me into extending the trip, but she is just starting a new job so longer than 15 days off may be pushing it a little.

Looks good. We have done almost all the same places and have enjoyed them. Canada is a great trip to save for itself. You won't doing it justice to just drive thru.

In Acadia make sure to do sunrise on Cadillac Mountain and if you have time the Timber Tina's Logging show.

We used the same campground as our base for Boston. It was great! Boston is a big city, so wear comfortable shoes. We also did an amazing whale watch out of Boston. Saw so many whales you didn't know were to look.

When in Philly it is best to order your tickets for Independence Hall on line before your trip, as tickets go fast. Get in line for the Liberty Bell early, as it can get long. The Mint is close and free if you have a few minutes to fill.

Plymouth Rock was very disappointing in person, so save that for last if you have time.

A drive up Mount Washington is nice.

Portland Maine is a great city too. Nice walk along the waterfront with great restaurants.

[mdcamping]

kyteacher wrote:
Thank you all for the suggestions. The 2 days off school this past week for the cold weather here in KY allowed some time to read up and make some reservations. We got our first 12 days reserved. Here's what we have so far:

Day 1a/1b- leave a half day early and drive to Philly south KOA- 2 nights

Day 2- Tour philly- liberty bell, historic stuff...

Day 3- Drive to liberty harbor campground- 3 nights

Day 4-5 Tour NYC (never been there)

Day 6- drive from liberty harbor to normandy farms campground (foxboro, MA)

Day 7- Boston- freedom trail

Day 8- Cape cod (whale watching)

Day 9- drive to Narrows Too campground outside of Acadia

Day 10-11- Acadia

Day 12- drive to timberlands campground- White mountains, NH

Day 13-15- drive home making a few quick stops along the way

White Mtns to Syracuse area

Syracuse area to Cleveland area

Cleveland to home


I know it is not possible to avoid tolls, but now my route planning is going to be balancing keeping the drives as short as possible while avoiding the "big" tolls (I'm looking at you George Washington Bridge).

Thanks again for the help. We are defiantly going to save the Canada trip for another day. Although, when my wife saw how close PEI is to Acadia she tried to talk me into extending the trip, but she is just starting a new job so longer than 15 days off may be pushing it a little.

As mentioned, may consider when leaving liberty Harbor, taking I78 west, then pick up I287 north/east to the Tappanzee bridge. once over the hudson river pick up I684 north to I84 east to CT/Hartford/Boston

All traffic is bad in the area but the GW bridge and I95 through NY/CT takes it to another level.

Mike

[Lumpty]

Tolls are pretty hard to avoid in the NE. I'd suggest getting an EZ-Pass account and tag which means you just drive through the booth and the RFID transponder just dings you for the toll, with an auto refill of the account via linked credit card. Yes, the GW Bridge is expensive to cross, and traffic on the Cross Bronx (I-95) up through Westchester and onto the Connecticut Turnpike is just brutal for about 20 hours a day.

A much better way is up the Garden State Parkway in NJ to the NYS Thruway (I-87/287), over what was the Tappan Zee Bridge (now named after Mario Cuomo) to I-684 to I-84 East through Hartford and onto Massachusetts. If any of the route is going to coincide with rush hours (6:30-9:30am and 3:30-7:30pm), I will even take a bigger detour and do the Thurway the other direction north almost to Albany and pick up the Mass Pike extension (I-90). 60 miles further and most of the time a shorter trip timewise due to no traffic. Really nice scenery just about all that ride too.

Big warning: The only "parkway" you can tow a trailer on anywhere in the northeast geography is the Garden State Parkway in NJ. Huge no-no with big tickets and fines on any in NY, as well as the Palisades Parkway in NJ. Also, low clearance bridges.

On edit: I posted before reading to the end of the thread; still, cannot stress the importance of staying off the NYS parkways and the Palisades.

[DrewE]

You can avoid a good bit of toll expense by taking I-88 and I-86 rather than I-90 across New York. In my opinion, it's a prettier route as well. It is a little longer distance (and time).

There are good reasons other than avoiding tolls to not take I-95 (or I-87) up via the George Washington Bridge; they are very much going through the middle of New York City, at least the Bronx, and so are busy, busy roads, sometimes slow, and often not all that smooth. You must also avoid nearly all of the parkways as trailers are restricted (and many/most also have some pretty low clearances). The Garden State Parkway is the notable exception; RVs are permitted on it throughout its length.

[kyteacher]

Thank you all for the suggestions. The 2 days off school this past week for the cold weather here in KY allowed some time to read up and make some reservations. We got our first 12 days reserved. Here's what we have so far:

Day 1a/1b- leave a half day early and drive to Philly south KOA- 2 nights

Day 2- Tour philly- liberty bell, historic stuff...

Day 3- Drive to liberty harbor campground- 3 nights

Day 4-5 Tour NYC (never been there)

Day 6- drive from liberty harbor to normandy farms campground (foxboro, MA)

Day 7- Boston- freedom trail

Day 8- Cape cod (whale watching)

Day 9- drive to Narrows Too campground outside of Acadia

Day 10-11- Acadia

Day 12- drive to timberlands campground- White mountains, NH

Day 13-15- drive home making a few quick stops along the way

White Mtns to Syracuse area

Syracuse area to Cleveland area

Cleveland to home


I know it is not possible to avoid tolls, but now my route planning is going to be balancing keeping the drives as short as possible while avoiding the "big" tolls (I'm looking at you George Washington Bridge).

Thanks again for the help. We are defiantly going to save the Canada trip for another day. Although, when my wife saw how close PEI is to Acadia she tried to talk me into extending the trip, but she is just starting a new job so longer than 15 days off may be pushing it a little.

[4runnerguy]

First you might get your reservations in order ASAP. You'll be travelling the week right before the 4th of July and you may already have a difficult time getting reservations in many places.

I could easily skip NYC and all the traffic, parking hassles, etc.

Your girls might enjoy Mystic Seaport Museum along the Connecticut coast.

If you want to do Cape Cod, consider camping somewhere around Sandwich, MA, (maybe Scussett Beach?) and taking a day to drive out and back. Maybe a second day at Newport RI. Interesting town.Tour the mansions or do the Cliff Walk. We even took in Boston from the Sandwich area by taking the train into town. A much more civilized way to do it.

Bikes are really fun to have at Acadia NP. There are miles of old carriage roads open to bicycles and walking. You can also rent bicycles for the day in Bar Harbor. Gets one away from the traffic noise and by lakes not accesible by car. Definitely something we'll do again when we go back. The two NPS CG's on the island are both nice, but no hookups. Some sites are close enough to the water to hear the surf at night.

[donut_dave]

just commenting on a few things. yes, camp at minuteman cg outside of boston and take the bus into town. Lexington and concord are an easy drive. our first time we drove into boston, horrible. also for dc, take public transportation. the first time we drove in, horrible. do the plimouth plantation. Plymouth rock is cool but you will be surprised how small it is. ranger said that for many years it was carted around in parades at which it would fall off the carts and break pieces off also said tourists would break chunks off as souvenirs.

philly, also do independence hall as long as you are there. not far from the bell.

acadia area, bar harbor cg is good and it is cheap. but there is no ocean access as it is on a high cliff. but good view. bar harbor is pretty crowded so take the free shuttle to get around. we went down to rockland area. nice cgs right on the ocean and not crowded.

[Lumpty]

Specific to NYC, as I'm pretty much a native, skip the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. If a view of Manhattan is what you're after you're going to get that walking to the Exchange Place PATH station in the mornings and back in the evenings, or take the free Staten Island Ferry roundtrip from Battery Park.

Here is a whirlwind suggested day tour route: do a loop of Manhattan island from downtown by the WTC up to Central Park West say to the American Museum of Natural History (between 77th to 81st Streets), then go across Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 5th Ave. The Guggenheim is a few blocks up at 88th. If museums aren't your thing, and yeah, you can spend a day in any of these, just using them as a landmarks on the walking tour is enough. The subway is handy to jump from areas to areas, but like many natives from the NYC area, if the weather is cooperative, you get a much better feel for the city by being a pedestrian to the greatest extent possible. Other good areas and things to explore: the Village, the Grand Central Station Planetarium ceiling, Union Square and Washington Square Parks, Chinatown, Little Italy, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Look at a map and see what pops.

Try some local pizza. It will be better than any you've had, as well as a bagel. Another local item not replicated as good anywhere else.

[Mike_and_Terry_]

Going north - Gloucester Fisherman Monument and Plymouth Rock . Acadia/Bar Harbor are very nice and if you get up early go up Cadillac Mt. and be the first to see the sun rise. If you drive to Lubec you will be at the eastern most pt in the US ( next to Alaska).

If you decide not to go to Canada ..Lake Champlain ,Lake Placid, Tupper Lake , and the Thousand Island on the St Lawerence River are also nice. Have a nice trip and Safe Travel.