Portland, OR to New York in October

[Therese]

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

[Syv]

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.

[Therese]

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?

[Syv]

Are you looking for night life / social /shopping / city life?

Or hiking / walks / gardens / bicycling / rafting / outdoor "stuff"?

[Therese]

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?

[Mark Sedenquist]

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