Cape Cod to Niagara

Hi Everyone

I am new to the Forum and would be really grateful for any advice.

We are coming over for a 2 week road trip in October and plan to drive from Cape Cod to Niagara. We have allowed 2 days and 1 night for this.

I have read that if you go on the direct route it is a boring drive, and we would really love to see some of the Fall colours and have a more scenic trip.

So is anyone able to recommend a route we could take that we could do in 2 days/1 night where we would take in some of the Fall colours and see some nice places or scenery on the way. Also if anyone has any recommendations for where would be a good place to stop off to spend the night and break the drive up.

We are a couple in our 50s from London and we'd be grateful for any of your views/ideas
Many thanks

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

It's true enough that the 'direct' route from the Boston area to Niagara Falls is not only not terribly demanding (It's all motorway, I-90) but it's also expensive (It's all a toll road. However, here at RTA we truly believe that there are no boring roads. That's not to say that there aren't more interesting (and cheaper) roads available to you. As long as you understand that it will take a bit longer to drive such 'more interesting' roads, you'll be fine, and two days is plenty of time to make the drive from the Boston area to Niagara Falls.

The two main roads you're going to want to look at are MA-2, the Mohawk Trail through central and western Massachusetts and US-20 which follows the alignment of he old Erie Canal through upstate New York. As you plan your two days of driving, you may also want to consider some of the many sites listed in this compilation of previous discussions about RoadTrips in that general area.

AZBuck

You'll love US 20, and its European flavour. A true sign of the early settlers, in the names and architecture of all the small towns along the way. Although you are not likely to see any of the big chain accommodation along this route, there appeared to be quite a number of smaller accommodation options, especially between the State border and I-81.

A good map would really help you here. Since you are not coming over till October, I would write to the NY tourism authorities and ask if they will send you a map. NY State publishes excellent detailed maps of the various regions. Alternatively, you could purchase a road atlas from the RTA store via the link at the bottom of this page. As a last resort - though it would be a bit late, especially since you will be wanting to book your accommodation for this busy leaf peeping season. - you could pick up a map at the AAA on your arrival, if you bring your automobile club membership from home with you.

It is so hard to get a good idea of all the little towns along the way from a computer mapping program.

Lifey