Hey there. A couple of friends and I are going to be driving from Tampa, Florida to New York City for new years. We would like to avoid highways at all costs and take the scenic routes if possible. Is this possible to do during the winter months? We are planning to leave here on the 26 or 27 and arriving in NYC on the 30. The spring semester starts up again on Jan 6 so we would have to be back in Gainesville by that time. So I have a few questions regarding this trip.

Is it feasible to avoid taking I95 and other major highways throughout the drive so we could take the scenic route?

Is it dangerous in the winter with icy conditions and such to be driving in the mountains through NC, VA, etc...?

We are planning on just stopping at either cheap motels along the way but preferably would like to just pitch a tent and camp along the way to make it as cheap as possible. I spent a couple of months driving through mexico this summer and we just camped along abandoned roads everynight. Is it possible to camp along the way for free and would we be able to just pull over to some small side street to do this?

What guide books would you recommend for this trip? We want the drive to be as interesting as possible rather than a drag along some highway.

We were thinking of stopping in washington dc or phili along the way. Do you have any suggestions on preferred cities along the way or cool places to check out?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you very much.

-Tobias