What to do between NY and Chicago?

[Zaaac]

Hi Guys,

I'm an Aussie. I started visting this forum about 6 months ago when I was thinking of embarking on my big American road trip and after reading some of the posts I took the plunge and bought tickets.

Now it's a coast to coast trip from NY to LA. The western side is easy to plan (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada etc) but the part from NY to Chicago is a bit of a tricky one. What route would you guys recommend? Something nice, something unique, something American with things to see. Any must see stop offs on the way?

Also once I hit Chicago, how should I then make my way to Colorado? Up through Nebraska? Or Kansas? Should I take Route 66 for as long as I can? I just want to see it all but alas there's only so much time....

Edit: Just to confirm I like the natural stuff, the big cities that all look the same aren't essential.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I have to start by saying that I think your statement that cities all look the same is as silly as saying all national parks look the same, but getting beyond that, if your goal is to avoid cities, then are you sure you want to go to Chicago at all?

Certainly you could, but if that's not essential, then you might open yourself to much more of the eastern US.

The bigger question is how much time do you have - both for the first segment and for your total trip overall.

There are certainly no shortage of places you could go - just a handful of ideas right off the bat would include Niagara Falls, New River Gorge, or Cuyahoga Valley National Park - but that's just the tip of the iceburg.

[Mass Tim]

How much time do you have for this trip? If it's only a week, well, then you don't have much time for anything, really. If it's a month, then you've opened up quite a few options along your route. Is there a particular pressing need to be in Chicago by a certain time? If not, have considered meandering a bit in the eastern US?

I'm not sure what you mean by "something American" - everything you're going to encounter along your route is going to be, in some way, American.

[Zaaac]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Thanks Midwest Michael!

I have to start by saying that I think your statement that cities all look the same is as silly as saying all national parks look the same

It was a little tongue in cheek to be fair!

This is the rough plan, just wondering what you guys think. It'll be over a 3 week period (after which I'll spend a few days in San Francisco and one other place - maybe New Orleans?).

Fly into NY and rent a car (will not spend much time there as I have been quite a few times)
Drive through NJ to PA
Spend some time in Pittsburgh and Gettysburg
Drive to Chicago through Ohio (stop in Toledo maybe?) and Indiana (hopefully avoiding the big highways - any suggestions here? Fort Wayne looks interesting)
Drive through Iowa to South Dakota to see Mt Rushmore and Deadwood
Then off to Wyoming for a bit of Yellowstone
Followed by Colorado (Monument Valley)
Utah (Salt Lake City)
Arizona (Grand Canyon) and
Nevada (US 50, Reno, Hoover Dam and Vegas)
Before ending in California through Yosemite & Lake Tahoe

What do you guys think? Is it too ambitious? We'd like to avoid highways were we can as well to take in the scenery and enjoy the drive.

[AZBuck]

Nebulous plans that just list a few states, the odd destination, and no timeline are extremely difficult to offer advice on, as no one really knows how you're planning to allocate your time. Outlines cover a multitude of sins. Where you have asked for specific advice: I like US-224/US-30 across the Midwest. And three weeks is a good amount of time for a one-way transit of the US leaving time for visiting the places you've mentioned. One thing to keep in mind is that the US is roughly the same size and shape as Australia, and you are driving the equivalent of Cairns to Perth.

AZBuck

[Zaaac]

Hey guys,

Just wondering if anyone had any advice on the most scenic route between mr rushmore and Cody. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Midwest Michael]

You've never indicated when this trip will be - which will make a fairly significant difference in terms of what roads will be available. If this is winter, several roads, and in fact much of Yellowstone itself will be unreachable by car.

If its open, the Beartooth highway is one of the most famous scenic drives near Cody. There are also several great scenic drives in the Black Hills. When you get to SD, look for a paper version of this map, which is available at all tourist info centers as well as most tourist centered businesses in the black hills.

[Zaaac]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the advice and you patience, the trip is happening as we speak, I posted the message from a mall in Rapid City, SD this morning. After visting Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, we eventually went through Alt 14 in the Bighorn Mountains. It was quite beautiful but all of a sudden the weather turned ugly and we were caught in the middle of a blizzard! So, we decided to play it safe and turn back and took a five hour detour through Billings MT to get to Cody. Got here near midnight, but safe and alive.

Not sure what the weather will be like for Yellowstone tomorrow, fingers crossed.

[glc]

If you are in Cody, you are going to have to take WY-296 (Chief Joseph Highway) to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone. The east entrance on US-14 is closed.

2 websites that you must look at:

1. Wyoming DOT

2. Yellowstone conditions

It's a good thing you turned around yesterday - Alt-14 is now closed.

[Zaaac]

Thanks for the links mate. Yellowstone was open today bar certain areas. It was snowy but drivable. Quite spectacular.