March 1-2 week road trip loop from NYC

[Stewartes]

Hi, I'm new to the states, moved here in December, and friends are already getting in line to come visit. The first is heading over the last two weeks of March and we're planning a road trip in my car.

Have looked at threads north from NY, and have a vague idea if we go north... a loop via Rhode Island to Ontario, Toronto, Niagra then back via finger lakes and Hudson valley. But wonder about the time of year and whether it might be better to head south?

Again possibly following the coast down New Jersey towards D.C. Then looping back inland. I'd really appreciate it if anyone had any thoughts on this or any route suggestions ... How far south could we realistically get on a such a loop, is the coast very populated and rural (would the driving be interesting or terrible?) and would we be better sticking inland?... would it be too much of a stretch to get to the Carolinas in such a time frame and back? If anyone has any loop suggestions (or can point me to threads) for march from NY that would be amazing. I have (and will continue to) search on the site.

Thanks so much,

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

When I lived in northern New England, March was often referred to as our fifth season (Mud) especially on rural roads in Vermont. Now, while it's true that the most roads are paved, the weather does tend to be cold, cloudy and drizzly at this time of year in that area. By contrast, the weather along the mid-Atlantic to southern coast is just getting to be nice and the tourists haven't quite started to show up yet. You don't want, I think, to go as far south as Florida which will still be full of 'snowbirds', but Georgia and the Carolinas would make a great destination.

A little more specifically, what I'd suggest is that you get down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to start. There you'll find lots of great beaches, history (Blackbeard to Wright Brothers), seafood, etc. And from there, if it's still not warm enough for you, you can look at Charleston SC and surrounding areas, or even the Cumberland Islands of Georgia as well as Savannah. You could make it all the way to Georgia in two solid days of driving, so certainly a full loop there and back can be accomplished in a couple of weeks.

To close the loop back to New York, if the weather looks inviting, you can then head north along the Appalachian Mountains/Great Valley basically using I-81. A number of attractions along such a shore/mountains east coast loop are described HERE.

AZBuck