Memphis to New York.

[dinny]

Hello.Myself and my wife will be in USA in August.We would like ride a motorcycle from Memphis to NewYork.What is the most interesting and scenic route to take.We hope to do it in approx 8 to 10 days.Marty.Perth West Australia.

[DonnaR57]

Welcome to RTA!

There are several routes you could take, and they all could be considered interesting and scenic, in one way. It would depend a lot upon your interests. Along the way are Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline Drive (part of Shenandoah National Park), and many Civil War battlegrounds. Plus there is our nation's capitol, Washington DC, miles of Atlantic shoreline, and the historic district in Philadelphia.

My husband and I went from Memphis to north-central NJ, two summers ago, via I-40 and I-81, with a short stint on Skyline Drive. We were on a modified speed run and drove that in 3 days, so with 8-10 days, you've got plenty of time to see a lot of things.

I don't know much about motorcycles, so I can't make too many recommendations there. Just one: when we were on that portion of the trip, we ran into a number of rainy squalls. One group of motorcyclists chose to pull over underneath an overpass during one such squall. Two or three other cyclists chose to drive right through it. Just be prepared with rain gear, either way.


Donna

[AZBuck]

It is now standard on most American maps to mark scenic roads with dots running in parallel with the highway. And it is quite possible to simply connect many such roads in a nearly continuous line from Memphis to New York. You can start out by taking US-64 east across southern Tennessee, passing near Shiloh National Military Park (a Civil War battlefield), through Chattanooga and on to the North Carolina state line. There you can connect with a number of scenic roads all running roughly southwest-northeast along the Appalachians, such as the Cherohala Skyway, the Foothills Parkway, and - especially popular among motorcyclists - the Tail of the Dragon. These will bring you to the Great Smoky Mountains and the beginnings of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The BRP connects directly with Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park. It's also relatively easy to leave these roads to visit Washington DC. Either way, US-15 would then carry you northwards past Gettysburg and a possible detour into Amish country around Strasburg. Around this point you will have a begin to have a bit more difficulty finding 'wide open roads' as you navigate around Philadelphia, Trenton and the New Jersey suburbs of New York, but I-78 or US-202 offer relatively clear roads into the city.

AZBuck

[Lifemagician]

Once you get off the interstates, it is hard to find a route in Pennsylvania which is not a scenic route. It is a magnificent State through which to take the secondary highways, passing through all the small towns and hamlets tucked away in the mountains. Each with its own personality.

If you are a member of RAC in WA make sure you bring your membership with you. It will give you access to free maps and tourist information at the AAA. And as Buck mentioned, the maps show all scenic routes marked with a dotted line. The information given on those maps is invaluable. You can pick them all up in Memphis.

August? Might see you on the road in PA. :)

Lifey

[32vld]

Hello.Myself and my wife will be in USA in August.We would like ride a motorcycle from Memphis to NewYork.What is the most interesting and scenic route to take.We hope to do it in approx 8 to 10 days.Marty.Perth West Australia.

Are you bringing your own bike or renting a bike?

If renting are you picking up the bike in Memphis and dropping it off in NY?

Because if you have to bring the bike back to Memphis then you have 4-5 days to get to NY instead of 8-10 days.

Without knowing the answers to these questions all I can say is many bikers here prefer to take the old US routes instead of the Interstates.