from illinois to the east coat

hii there,

I'm planning for a road trip and I'm putting all my trust on the members of this site, so please help me.

I'm an international student here in the US, I will finish this may and I'm planning for a road trip with my dad, mom and sister. we will start from champaign, illinois, spring field and st. louis and I want to take them to see DC, NY and niagara falls. in the way to there I would like to visit the best "natureistic" places, anything unusual, mountins, vallies, and so on.

I don't mind going south little bit before going north, maybe as far as SC.


my parents love nature, but they are not so much educated about the American history, so history museums will not be that much attractive for them, however, I'll save musuem visits to DC and spring field, il., I think it will be enough for them ( what do you think? )

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

You won't have to go that far out of your way to have a great drive with lots of wonderful, natural scenery. From St. Louis, just head east on I-64/I-164 to Evansville, IN and the IN-66/US231/Green River Parkway to Bowling Green, KY. A short run north on I-65 would then bring you to Mammoth Cave National Park. After that continue down US-231 to I-40 east and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You can then head north along the Appalachian Mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Shenandoah National Park before heading into Washington. Between Washington and Niagara Falls, try US-15 north through the Susquehanna River Valley with stops in New York's Watkins Glen and Letchworth state parks.

AZBuck

Thank you so much AZBuck

these are great places. do you know how many days will be enough to enjoy the Mammoth Cave National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Watkins Glen and Letchworth ?

I made a guess that 2 days for each should be OK, any comment on that? if you have been to these places then you probably know better.

thanks again

~reyad

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

As with most places of natural beauty, you can devote as much time to these places as you are comfortable with. Certainly two days in the Great Smokies especially if you enjoy hiking, maybe the same at Letchworth. Mammoth Caves is another place that you could spend a couple of days in and not see everything, but be aware that the only way into the caves is on park ranger led guided tours, and each walk has a separate charge for each person that goes in. The only park I listed that would not support a multi-day visit would be Watkins Glen. The hike up through the Glen is well worth the visit, but can be done in an afternoon. My general advice to people who want to get the most out of their visits to national and state parks is to check with the rangers or guides at the visitors centers and get their advice on how the park can best serve your desires and time frame. They are the ones who really know what the park has to offer and you are the ones who really know what you want.

AZBuck