Baltimore to California July/August

Helping my son relocate from his active duty base in Dayton, OH, to Baltimore, MD, and he has a car and a truck, he no longer needs the truck, so I'm going to bring it home to California. So, cross-country I will be going, and the goal is to stay in the northern part of the country. On the east coast, probably make my way to Philadelphia (about as far north as I'll go), drive through southern Pennsylvania, check out civil war battlegrounds in the region, and then turn south through West Virginia and Kentucky, to Kansas City, go north, and make my way through South Dakota, Mt. Rushmore continuing to Montana...down to Yellowstone...eventually back to Northern California.

Any "must see" spots? Recommendations for the route? I read the thread about civil war grounds, but thought I'd toss out an inquiry to get some additional input for the overall trip. I have the luxury of taking my time so no particular rush.

Any places I should avoid? Any routes preferred over any other because of monotonous scenery, or danger, or difficult roads?

Look forward to hearing from anyone.

Please thank your son for his service on our behalf.

These are weird times for most of us -- not even thinking about road trips is pretty odd for most of the Advisors on this forum. Donna has done most of the work on the Civil War thread and we have created maps showing all of the campgrounds adjacent to the Civil War sites.

Do you like Bourbon? If you can stay a night or two in Louisville, you can walk to some of the more famous distilleries right in town. At least I think they are open, (again, weird times). And I would certainly recommend a "Hot Brown" while in Louisville.

For those of stuck in inside these days because of Stay-at-Home orders, I don't think we know of any monotonous scenery -- other than the shape of our monitors.

You could actually drive one of the roads on my bucket list -- The Lincoln Highway -- It was the first transcontinental highway and dates from the early 1900's.

I am sure you'll hear from others soon. It is beautiful country you'll be driving through.

Mark

Welcome to RTA!

It sounds to me like there will be no monotonous viewing out your windshield at all, except maybe in South Dakota. But as I go through those areas, I think about the history that the area has, and that makes it less monotonous.

One person's "must see" is another person's "must avoid", but there's more to some of the areas that you've listed. For instance, in the Mt Rushmore area, there is Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument, Custer State Park with its two scenic drives (Needles Highway and the Wildlife Loop), and about 50 miles west is America's first National Monument, Devil's Tower.

At this point, it's hard to tell just what services in the national parks might be open. If you're going to Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton, Devil's Tower, etc., you might want to consider either a regular annual pass ($80) or (if you're eligible) the lifetime pass ($80 for life). At this time, the parks have a lot of buildings and most of the cave places have the caves closed. But by late July and into August, who knows????

I've been recommending that travelers take their own disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting toiletries with them, along with their own pillows if using hotels. Be sure to bring a mask as other states are like us in California, requiring them. Plus gloves of some sort for fueling that truck. The most difficult is eating out. There are a few states that are still on "take out" and "drive through" only, though most are starting to open up dining rooms.


Donna

Since your route from PA to South Dakota is already going to take you as far south as Kentucky, you might consider going even farther south and head all the way to Vicksburg. Presumably Gettysburg is a primary stop in PA (don't underestimate how big Gettysburg is, and consider hiring a guide who will ride with you in your car if that's still available this year), and as such, hitting the sites of the 2 major civil war battles that took place on the same day would be a unique way to bookend the trip.

If not, Fort Donaldson is another significant site that was a major turning point for General Grant, and just south of the KY border and the also worthwhile Land Between the Lakes Recreation area.

As far as danger, your single biggest danger will the Pandemic. Obviously, you'll need to take extra precaution to avoid becoming infect and even more importantly avoid spreading the virus. As with everything this year, flexibility will be king, as no one can say what kind of COVID restrictions will be in place 2 months from now. Even for National Parks, the restrictions are different from place to place and are changing frequently.

Thanks for all the input. I do intend to make my way through Louisville - was there once and there are still a couple of bourbon types I need to try...just a couple more left on the list! I picked up some books on civil war battlegrounds and will definitely take a look. Lots of things to see for sure.

Most of the parks are closed still...hopefully that will change. There is an interactive site about Gettysburg, and the visitor center looks very interesting.

Taking you at your word about your choice of route (i.e. assuming Kansas City is a 'must see' stop for you) and interests (history and scenery) I've got a few suggestions for you. But as always the final choice of what to see and which routes to take to those sites will be up to you. That's the whole point of RoadTrips, the freedom to do what you want at your own pace.

Let's start with the very first leg, Baltimore to Philadelphia. Every mapping routine that exists will send you up I-95. That section, except for crossing the Susquehanna, is about as boring, unscenic, and stressful as any road I've ever driven. For the record, I grew up in Delaware, went to high school outside Baltimore, and worked for several years in south Philly so I've driven that bit of I-95 more times than I care to remember or even think about. So what's an alternative? Unfortunately, there's really only one, US-1, but it is just a very long suburban strip-mall-lined thoroughfare at least to Bel Air MD. So that's where I'd start. Take I-95 to MD-24 north at Exit 77A. Head on up to US-1 (NOT Business-US-1 which will take you through downtown Bel Air) north around Bel Air and follow that for a while. Besides being a more relaxing and scenic route, US-1 will take you by a couple of possibly worthwhile locations. First, there's Longwood Gardens which if open - it's currently not - would provide a refreshing chance to get some exercise. Then there's Brandywine Battlefield where a British sniper had Gen. Washington in his sights but decided not to fire. Unfortunately, US-1 is not a great way to enter Philly for the same reason it wasn't a great way to leave Baltimore. So look at using US-322 east from just past Brandywine Battlefield to reconnect with I-95 north into the city. At least that portion of I-95 is toll free.

In Philadelphia itself, there are many historic sites including Independence Hall, the Betsy Ross House, the USS Olympia (Commodore Perry's Flagship), and for just a breath of fresh air Fairmount Park. Once again, leaving Philly means using some very unrelaxing roads, but your goal is to get out of the city and onto open highway as quickly as possible. To that end your best choice is the Schuylkill Expressway to the Pennsylvania Turnpike (both marked as I-76). Exit 320 from the Turnpike would put you on PA-29 south to US-202 west to US-30 west and on to Gettysburg. Also don't overlook Chambersburg just down the road.

As you next head down I-81 to I-70/I-68 west through Maryland, you might want to make a stop along America's first interstate road, the National Road at the LaVale Toll Gate House. Next up, south of I-79 near Charleston WV, would be New River Gorge. As you then head into and through Kentucky on I-64, there are a number of Civil War battle sites along with Mammoth Cave, of course. Just a note there, try to arrive at the cave early as the first tours of the day tend to be the least crowded. Also Kentucky has built a fairly extensive system of Parkways and while I haven't driven them all, I have found those that I have used to be good alternatives to the Interstates. In western Kentucky there are two early Civil War battle sites you might want to check out, Paducha, Fort Henry and Fort Donelson.

Well, I can see that if I keep going at this level of detail, this is going to turn into an epistle, so just a few scattered suggestion for the rest of your trip... North of Kansas City is the town of St. Joseph, home to the start of both the Pony Express Route and the Oregon Trail which basically follows I-80/US-30/the Platte River and would organically (and scenically) take you through Nebraska and on into Wyoming. You could also use US-26 west from Ogallala and US-385 north from Bridgeport up into the Rapid City SD area where, besides Mount Rushmore, there's also Wind and Jewel Caves, the Badlands and Devils Tower.

Similar adventures can be found between Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons and wherever you're ultimately headed in northern California, but we'd need to know a bit more about your specific destination and whether any of our suggestions have proven useful so far.

AZBuck

AZ Buck - that's EXACTLY the input I was hoping to find. THANKS!

KC/St. Louis just happen to be on the way to getting to Mt. Rushmore...absolutely incidental since they look on the map to be towards my ultimate direction. No particular reason to go there. So I'm wide open after Gettysburg area...planning to go through WVA and KY...already went through Ohio on the way to Baltimore...so the question is the route from, say, Louisville to Black Hills.

At this point I'm just looking for some bucket list stuff. My ultimate destination is Sacramento. I know that northern Nevada is pretty dismal and uneventful...but not sure I can avoid it.

If you are going through South Dakota on I-90 and have any interest in the Cold War the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is just off the interstate by The Badlands. It can be a short visit at the Visitors Center or plan ahead and actually visit a Missile silo. Check the website for more information as the Visitors Center is still closed and like so many places are doing a slow reopening.

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Originally Posted by lanzador49

I know that northern Nevada is pretty dismal and uneventful...but not sure I can avoid it.

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What! Are you kidding me? Northern Nevada has some of the most spectacular driving roads in America! Classic Basin and Ridge scenery. Have you actually driven there? You could go right through the Basin and Ridge National Monument.

If you have never driven NV-317 from Caliente to Elgin -- you have to do it! It's like being in Zion NP with no one there. And Kane Springs Road to US 93 is one of my favorite roads. Actually, I guess you might think that is too far south if you are heading to Sacramento. But you could certainly drive US-50 (Again along the old Lincoln Highway) to Carson City and thence to Sacramento.

And there is all sorts of cool stuff along I-80 if you want to stay north.

Mark

Thanks for the insights...all of that is probably a little too far south for me for this trip.

I did hang out in Black Rock one week for Burning Man...one week was enough. But the stillness was spectacular.

As you continue west from Yellowstone and the Tetons (where you could check out Mormon row) Craters of the Moon NM is quite a cool stop that doesn't need to take up too much time. Twin Falls would be a pretty decent spot to stay over. You could check out Perrine memorial bridge that spans the Snake river and have a stroll around the Centennial waterfront park or even take a ride out of town to visit Shoshone Falls. Not far from the Falls you can check out the site where Evil Knieval attempted to jump the Snake river canyon.

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Originally Posted by Mark Sedenquist

For those of stuck in inside these days because of Stay-at-Home orders, I don't think we know of any monotonous scenery -- other than the shape of our monitors.


Mark

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Never a truer word was written. My arrival in the U.S. should have been 10 days ago. No light on the horizon yet.

Alas!

Lifey

Some updates on the routing: Going to bypass Philadelphia and save it for a trip there with my son in the fall. So, going from Baltimore, to Gettysburg, where I'll camp at the KOA for a couple nights. Then to Hagerstown/Antietam for a couple nights also at a KOA.

From there, over to Morgantown/Cheat Lake overnight, maybe get in a round of golf. Then, down to New River Gorge for a couple of nights, with a day of rafting.

After that, it's either south through Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis...or Lexington, Louisville and the Bourbon Trail, THEN down to Nashville, Memphis, and on into Ozarks. Less direct than going through St. Louis...but what the heck - see more, drive more...

From there, north to get me to Mt. Rushmore, and after that, Billings and Bozeman MT, and down into Yellowstone.

- - - Updated - - -

It's tough figuring out where I'll be and when in order to make campsite reservations...!

I've plotted out my route from Baltimore that takes me to "Land Between the Lakes" and the next leg is to get me to Mt. Rushmore, through KC.

One option is to swing down to Jackson and Memphis first, then head north into the Ozarks. OR...I could just avoid going that far south and go due west from the Paducah area west into the Ozarks.

The push north is important, and the question is, should I spend the couple of days a swing down to Memphis would take...?

I'm going to Gettysburg, then Antietam, Morgantown, down to New River Gorge, then up to Frankfort, to Mammoth Cave area, then Ft. Donelson area, avoiding major cities to the extent possible.

Please keep all posts about the same trip in the same thread. - Mod

Swinging south from Paducah to include Nashville, Memphis and Branson would add a full day (430 mi and 7.5 hrs) of driving to your trip. Plus any time spent sightseeing or backroading. Only you can say whether you should spend your time in that way. If this is the only time you expect to pass through these areas in your life, then certainly spend the two days to see them rather than just whiz through on the Interstates. But my own experience has been that there's always the next trip and I'd rather enjoy the trip I'm on to the fullest than just try to squeeze as much in as possible.

AZBuck

Your input is fantastic! I have been to Nashville, and I really like your ideas about Mammoth Cave and Ft Donelson area, which I am opting for instead of dipping even further south to Memphis.

Basically, I am opting to spend a little more time in Yellowstone over going further south into Memphis which I would really love to see, but I am on my own, and need to be mindful of fatigue.

I am spending a couple of days in the Ozarks to be by some cool waters, and my big push will be some time to rest up and clean up in KC, then to Doniphan NE, and from there to Hot Springs south of Mt. Rushmore. Then to Sheridan into Cody, and then into Yellowstone East.

Will update as I firm things up. Tough to make reservations in advance with the unknown of the road looming...

Which lake in the Ozarks? Table Rock (by Branson), Lake of the Ozarks (mid-MO) or Truman Lake (a little west of LotO)? I'm familiar with LotO.


Donna

After Frankfort KY, the plan is to head down to Mammoth Cave (Park City), from there to "Land Between the Lakes" (by Ft. Donelson), and then around to Alley Spring, then to Camdenton so it would be Lake of the Ozarks

One of my daughters lives and works in Lake Ozark. year round. Let me know if you have questions about the area. If I don't know the answer, she will (or her husband, who grew up there!).


Donna

Great, Donna, thank you! I sent a private message and I appreciate any input. I've never done anything like this and it's shaping up to be quite a trip! All new.

I have traveled quite a bit on my own in Latin America, and I also did the southwest on a motorcycle, so I am no stranger to adventure, but that being said, I always prefer to be "mainlined" when it comes to seeing new places...I don't like to follow the beaten track and like to know where people OTHER than the regular hoards of tourists go. That is...if someone's willing to share their favorite hole in the wall...

I saw your PM first, so I responded. But since policy at RTA is that stuff like this should be shared publicly, I will do that.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park - not far from Camdenton - not necessarily hit by a lot of tourists. Snyder's Castle, or Mansion, is an interesting relic, and Natural Bridge is more ... well, natural. There are other places in the park, like the natural spring, that we have not yet explored. Best yet, this park is FREE, so you can't beat the price!

Lake of the Ozarks State Park -- well, that one is more touristy, but there's a beach there and some hiking trails. We haven't really explored some of that park, either.

Willmore Lodge - up on the north end of the lake, is a piece of history where few tourists seem to go. There's a tiny museum in there and a GREAT view of the Lake!

Bagnell Dam Viewpoint - another good place. Also, if you want to drive across Bagnell Dam, you can still do that, but it's rather narrow. It's an old road.

As for "hole in the wall" places - I hope most of them have survived the Pandemic - one is Stewart's Restaurant on the old strip. Good old-fashioned home cooking. It's only open for breakfast and lunch. Kay's was another place, but I understand it has closed (sadly). Li'l Rizzo's at 2146 Horseshoe Bend Pkwy, Lake Ozark is off the beaten path and the locals go to that location rather than the one in the Outlet Mall.

Outlet Mall - sad to say, it was barely surviving the Rt 54 Bypass, then along comes online shopping and then the Pandemic. Many of the stores have closed. There may be a few left. Right now there's no telling what is going to happen to it. The stores I would go to, when in the area, have all closed and moved on.

Between Camdenton and Osage Beach, you'll find what you need as far as restocking your cooler and snack bag for the trip. There's a Walmart in both, but I think Target is only in Osage Beach next to HyVee's. That's a great place for groceries. Plenty of fuel is to be had in Camdenton and Osage Beach. The last two times we were there, Camdenton had cheaper diesel.

Hope this helps!


Donna

Made it back in one piece from a journey that began on June 26 when I flew to Dayton, then drove to Baltimore on July 2. Then left on July 16, returning to California on August 25. Was set to come back earlier, but the heat and fires and ash in the air were not too appealing so I hold up in a little town called Driggs, Idaho, near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. If you ever get a chance to be in the Grand Targhee area, MUST check out the "Teton Teepee" Great place to stay.

Took much advice from those kind enough to provide input here, went through Gettysburg and Antietam, then into West Virginia, then Kentucky, then Tennessee, into Missouri, then the big push north and west to South Dakota. My trip coincided with the beginning of Sturgis, so there were tons of bikes out there. From there into Wyoming (Cody), east yellowstone as a base, and went through the Beartooth Pass, Chief Joseph Highway...eventually down into the Tetons and into Idaho.

I did get a speeding ticket coming down from Devil's Tower...my phone dropped between my seat, I needed to get to a gas station, I was lost, and got pulled over doing 40 in a 30. That was a bummer.

My first night on the road at a campsite near Gettysburg was noteworthy because it must have looked like the 3 stooges setting up camp. I never set up the tent before the trip so as easy as it actually was, it was much harder the first time in the dark.

Cicadas were unlike anything I have ever experienced. In Missouri the noise was a mix between a chainsaw and an MRI machine. Good thing I had a decent supply of bourbon from my ride through Kentucky!

Can't wait to be on the road again!

Thanks for checking in with an update. Sounds like you had a good time besides the ticket !

Dave.

Yes, the cicadas are pretty rough here this year.

We stayed in Driggs after our trip through Yellowstone a few years back (2014). It was small town and very quiet -- unlike West Yellowstone or Jackson!

My daughter hasn't complained about the cicadas this year, but she may be very used to them now.


Donna