NYC to Niagara Falls fall foliage
Hii,
I'm planning on doing a three day trip from NYC up to Niagara Falls and back, returning via a different route so to see a bit of NY state fall foliage and off course Niagara Falls.
Travel date - Saturday, October 5th.
I'd really like to take a scenic route - going through forests and hills as opposed to freeways all the way! We can't really camp unless the facilities are pretty good (shower, toilet, shop nearby etc) again because I'm driving with my mom. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what the best route would be?
Two Good Ones to Consider
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Since your trip seems to be all about the journey and only secondarily about the destination, you can afford to take the road(s) less traveled and enjoy the slower pace and the scenery. So forget the thruway and look instead at the Hudson River Valley and US-20 along the northern tips of the Finger Lakes for one direction and an 'as the crow flies' route through New Jersey, Pennsylvania and western New York for the other.
The first route is a fair bit longer, but at around 460 miles can still be driven in a day, particularly if you begin or end that day a bit to the east of Niagara Falls where lodging will be somewhat cheaper than in the tourist area near the Falls. Basically, this route combines US-9 (and its many variants, NY-9, and the Taconic Parkway) between New York and Albany, and US-20 between Albany and Niagara Falls, If you need to make up some time, you can always hop on the Thruway (I-87/I-90) for a while. Highlights of this route, besides the scenery, include West Point, Saratoga Springs, Cohoes Falls, the Erie Canal, historic Seneca Falls and the wineries of the Finger Lakes.
The second route, although you can do either one in either direction, is more direct but involves a bit more navigation. I will describe it as though you are returning on it fro Niagara Falls to New York. Starting out on US-20 eastbound from Buffalo, take NY-63 southeast to connect with I-390 which joins I-88 near Avoca NY. Follow I-88/NY-17 to Waverly and there take US-220 south to Towanda PA and US-6 east. At Scranton pick up I-380 to I-80 and take that the rest of the way into the city. Highlights on this route include Letchworth State Park, Corning (glass), Elmira (soaring), the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, and the Delaware Water Gap National REcreation Area.
As for a place to stay, I mentioned earlier that there are both cost and timing advantages to staying a bit east (and south) of Niagara Falls proper. I'd suggest that you look in Amherst and North Tonawanda outside of Buffalo.
AZBuck
