Eastern Washington to Maine September/October 2015

[BosDad]

I'm beginning to plan a road trip from eastern Washington state to Maine, down to Pennsylvania, on to North Carolina and then back to eastern Washington for my 70th birthday. I can take as much time as I need (within reason), 3 to 5 weeks being easily available.

I'll be travelling in a car that will NOT be very happy in snow or ice (modernized 1968 Camaro).

To get to Maine, I'm torn between (i) heading east through lower Canada (I've never been in that part of Canada), (ii) skimming along the northern border of the US, or (iii) trying to hit some of the great parks in Wyoming and the Dakotas. I'd love to avoid major metropolitan areas (Chicago), but won't let that deter me from an otherwise great route.

My big issue is the route from west to east. I realize that I'll need to cross the Great Plains no matter how far north or south I go, but are there interesting portions of the Great Plains? Once I'm in North Carolina, I'm guessing the fastest route home will be the most appealing.

I'm not particularly concerned about budget or mileage, roads with curves are more desirable than interstates, but I want to maximize the quality of the scenery out the car windows.

Any suggestions?

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

How about a trip that does a little of the US and a little of Canada? Start by heading towards Yellowstone then onto the Dakota (South for the Black Hills/Badlands, North for Teddy Roosevelt NP), then make your way towards across Minnesota towards Lake Superior. Drive along the lake - taking in the many attractions like the Apostle Islands and Pictured Rocks, and then cross the border at Sault Ste Marie. Head east across Ontario where there are numerous provincial parks worth consideration of your time, and then continue towards Ottawa and Montreal before reentering the US.

[AZBuck]

I absolutely concur with Michael and see no reason why you can't include both (i) and (iii). I would actually include (ii) as well on your first, eastbound leg in the western US, using US-2 as much as possible, e.g. to Glacier National Park (but use Going to the Sun Highway through the park). Another great road is MT-200 through eastern Montana; it traverses badlands terrain and while it's relatively straight (left-right) it closely follows the terrain (up-down) and is remarkable in its desolate beauty. I can't personally vouch for its 'continuation' as ND-200 but that would take you past the North Unit of Theo. Roosevelt NP, the state parks and national wildlife refuges along Lake Sakakawea, and on into Minnesota where US-2 again becomes your route of choice to get to the southern shore of Lake Superior as Michael mentioned.

Along the Trans-Canada between Sault Ste. Marie and Montréal almost the only non-scenic stretch is through the mining district around Sudbury, and after Montréal both ME-27 and US-201 provide great routes through Maine's north woods depending on where you're headed.

Finally, it would be more natural to include the many great sites of southwestern South Dakota on your return leg from North Carolina to Washington. A couple of other routes worth considering on this leg: The Trace up through the Land Between the Lakes in western Kentucky, the Little Dixie Highway (MO-79) from St. Louis up to Hannibal, and US-12 over Lolo Pass and into Lewiston/Clarkston. In fact, much of your return journey from St. Louis to Washington will follow the route trailblazed by Lewis and Clark so there will be many scenic and historic reasons to get off the Interstates and poke around a bit.

AZBuck

[BosDad]

Thanks to both of you - that's exactly the information I wanted. I started building the car for this trip about 15 years ago, so it feels good to be down to planning the actual route. The car was built for backroad touring, so these route suggestions are perfect.

I'll sit down with some maps, plan a route and post back up to see if it needs to be tweaked.

Thanks again for the prompt and really informative responses.