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First road trip ever! Looking for a list of the top 5 or 10 attractions to see on the way from Portland, Oregon to NYC. Reserved 6 days for the excursion - is this enough time? RV suggestions for 5 adults welcomed. Any and all tips welcomed!
Thanks,
Therese
Mapblast & Mapquest both prefer I-80 at 2900 miles one-way Portland to NYC.
That's 8-9 hour driving days for 6 days solid.
This is your "first road trip ever"! Make it great!!!
First - I am assuming this is a summer trip (not winter?).
If you have more time & can switch off drivers to have a couple long days, I would recommend:
Day 1 - Portland to YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WY - leave early & drive right through 13-14 hrs.
Day 2 - see Yellowstone (this will NOT be enough time to see all - but will give you a taste)
Day 3 - 8-9 hours to CODY WY, SHERIDAN, DEADWOOD.
This will give you a taste of mountain pass scenery, and lots to see/do in each of these towns / areas if you want to stop. Historic "wild west" towns.
Day 4 - just beyond Deadwood & very close together are:
MOUNT RUSHMORE, CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL, MAMMOTH SITE (archaeological dig site - very interesting) or CUSTER STATE PARK (drive amongst the buffalo!)
-- Start early a.m. & choose a couple of these to see in the morning. Then continue eastward (2 hours) to drive from #240 at Wall through BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK South Dakota same day.
Famous WALL DRUG (tourist trap / souvenirs, food, etc.) is right at #240 & I-90. Interesting stop though. Lots of memorabilia, historic photos, etc.
You then come out of the park off #240, back on I-90 still heading east. RV in the park overnight or some small town east of Badlands.
Day 5 - bright & early, continue I-90 to CHICAGO (14 hours)
Day 6 - 9-10 driving hours - #I-69 past FLINT Michigan to SARNIA Ontario Canada border crossing. #402 east to London Ontario to #401 east to #403 to Q.E.W. (Queen Elizabeth Way)
- to NIAGARA FALLS Ontario (Canadian side is MUCH better than U.S. side)
Lots to see & do at Niagara Falls. The women will want you to include Niagara-on-the-Lake - beautiful little town with shops, etc.
Day 7 - Niagara Falls (border crossing) to NEW YORK CITY
7 hours (plus time for heavy traffic & border crossing possible delay - maybe 9 hours? driving)
If this seems WAY too hectic, just cut out some of the stops I recommended, but follow this route instead of I-80 since it gives you a great variety to see along the way. Of course, either way you'll have a few hours of "boring" across the plains, but hey! that's okay too.
Syv, thanks for the tips. Very helpful as I am coming from an island where a drive point to point is no more than 2 hours (with traffic!).
Anything along the route for energetic/social mid-late 20 year olds?
Are you looking for night life / social /shopping / city life?
Or hiking / walks / gardens / bicycling / rafting / outdoor "stuff"?
A little bit of both, some night life and rafting would be great.
Do you know of any interesting festivals/fairs taking place along the route suggested from Oct. 13 to Oct. 23?
Therese,
October is prime harvest festival month for the entire route. One of the sites we use, when looking for such events is www.festivals.com -- it takes a while to drill down to the page that allows you to search by date and state, but I found 100+ listings of events that meet your criteria.
Mark