Having never camped on the east coast we're looking for any ideas of back roads and places not to miss while driving from Raleigh, NC up the east coast to Maine then over to the Finger Lakes area of NY. Before heading south for the Fall colors.
We have a 32 Class A with toad, would hope to avoid freeways and large cities when possible. Would love any suggestions! We'll be starting mid July hoping to be back in Florida early November. Are reservations required for most parks, does anyone know?
Thanks
Lucky Mike said
04:13 PM May 4, 2014
I can tell you ....route 1 and 1A from Northern Mass on up Beautiful and alot of overnite pull offs...
I travel this route Alot from the boston area to Bar Harbor Me. then take route 2 towards VT..pick up Route 9 thru the national forests to NY....the rest is easy!!!!!!!!
Gypsy Girl said
04:24 PM May 4, 2014
Thanks, Mike...I'll check out those routes.
Lucky Mike said
04:29 PM May 4, 2014
you can come across a little higher but rt 2 will take you thru the white mountains and Kangkamungas in NH and thats something you really want to see....after that you can take 89 N or drop to rt 101 till you reach VT...but route 9 is very scenic and passes thru the national forest with nice roadway and plenty of pull offs
Selah said
05:51 PM May 4, 2014
Don't miss Letchworth State Park at the top of the Finger Lakes Region in NY. Often referred to as the Grand Canyon of the east it has some spectacular water falls. It was built by the CCC and has amazing stone work. Stock up on groceries first as there is not much around there.
Alie and Jims Carrilite said
06:58 AM May 5, 2014
Go east on 64 out of Raleigh first and follow US17N up through Va and Maryland etc, take the Chesapeak Bay Bridge, don't take any detours around towns etc.
cherylbrv said
07:00 AM May 5, 2014
I will probably be following that route up north during the summer as well. Any steep grades or narrow winding roads to be concerned about (for a newbie)?
Jake62 said
07:08 PM May 5, 2014
There are some gorgeous roads from New York thru-out the N.E. My main concern would not be winding roads or grade issue, but the height of your rig. I've traveled some "parkways" which had very scenic bridges; however, clearance was under 10' so we had to go around them and use the TOAD to cover some of the more "out-of-the-way" sites.
Mike, I look forward to checking out your suggestions ...
-- Edited by Jake62 on Monday 5th of May 2014 07:09:31 PM
Terry and Jo said
08:52 PM May 5, 2014
I'll tell this story because of what Jake just wrote, but I'll not name to whom this happened. This family was traveling the east coast and went through New York Their GM's On-Star system wanted to route them onto a highway that did not allow large vehicles. They ended up "downtown" and after finally getting help from On-Star and a local policeman, they found their way out. However their "way out" had a low underpass that peeled back the roof of their fifth wheel.
When discussing this on the forums some time back, there was a resident of the Connecticut area that said they went as far west as Pennsylvania before traveling south around New York.
Terry
Camper Chronicles said
07:16 PM May 6, 2014
Totally agree with Mike the Kankamangus HWY or Kank as we call it up here is amazing
Gypsy Girl said
06:30 AM May 7, 2014
Thanks, EVERYONE, for all your ideas. I do worry about height limits on back roads...is there any easy place to check that out before we start a drive? We're definitely doing the Kankamangus!
PIEERE said
08:58 AM May 7, 2014
Locate a Truck Driver maps guide (map Book) or try your search engine. This lists heights; widths; lengths and weights for bridges. Route 3 from Plattsburgh NY. leads you through the Adirindack Mtn. Park to Watertown close to Lake Ontario; from there you can take I-81 South to Syracuse and find a route to the Finger Lakes. This is gorgeous with the fall colors starting in Sept. to mid-Oct. Pieere
Having never camped on the east coast we're looking for any ideas of back roads and places not to miss while driving from Raleigh, NC up the east coast to Maine then over to the Finger Lakes area of NY. Before heading south for the Fall colors.
We have a 32 Class A with toad, would hope to avoid freeways and large cities when possible. Would love any suggestions! We'll be starting mid July hoping to be back in Florida early November. Are reservations required for most parks, does anyone know?
Thanks
I travel this route Alot from the boston area to Bar Harbor Me. then take route 2 towards VT..pick up Route 9 thru the national forests to NY....the rest is easy!!!!!!!!
There are some gorgeous roads from New York thru-out the N.E. My main concern would not be winding roads or grade issue, but the height of your rig. I've traveled some "parkways" which had very scenic bridges; however, clearance was under 10' so we had to go around them and use the TOAD to cover some of the more "out-of-the-way" sites.
Mike, I look forward to checking out your suggestions ...
-- Edited by Jake62 on Monday 5th of May 2014 07:09:31 PM
I'll tell this story because of what Jake just wrote, but I'll not name to whom this happened. This family was traveling the east coast and went through New York Their GM's On-Star system wanted to route them onto a highway that did not allow large vehicles. They ended up "downtown" and after finally getting help from On-Star and a local policeman, they found their way out. However their "way out" had a low underpass that peeled back the roof of their fifth wheel.
When discussing this on the forums some time back, there was a resident of the Connecticut area that said they went as far west as Pennsylvania before traveling south around New York.
Terry