DC to Montreal

[TarHeelTripper]

Hi y'all! I need help planning a trip from DC to Montreal with one overnight stop in between. I'm currently thinking of going up 95/87 with a detour on either the NY Lake to Locks or Vermont 100 Scenjc byways.

I just did a trip to Philly/NYC/Boston a few months ago so I think I'm looking for a more scenic route this trip.

Any advice is helpful! Thanks!!

[Lifemagician]

Hi, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

There certainly is an abundance of scenic routes in the area through which you will be travelling. At least on the US side.

You will notice that all good maps have these routes high lighted on them. Do you have maps? The ones from AAA/CAA are amongst the best, and you can follow all the scenic routes from them.

Lifey

[Quebec Gen]

I-95 and I-87 are not what I would call scenic roads, not to mention the heavy traffic that you commonly find on these major interstates. If I were you I'd more or less follow the Potomac River to the I-81 corridor and head North from there. Rather than taking I-87 all the way, I'd take U.S. 9 from North Hudson to Rouses Point (U.S. 9 follows the path of I-87).

Better yet, if you have time on your hands, drive through the Adirondacks (any East-West route will do) to highway 30 and head North to Malone and take highway 37 to Ft. Covington and cross the border at Dundee. Ride the QC 132 along the St. Lawrence to Valleyfield, then take QC 201 and QC 338 E to follow the Soulanges canal to Vaudreuil-Dorion. Hop on I-20 and take the first exit after the bridge to Montreal Island in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue (western tip of the island) and drive along Ste-Anne boulevard and Lakeshore Rd. all the way to Verdun (great views on the St. Lawrence and lots of waterfront parks).

The best way to navigate through the City is to park your car near a metro station in a « quiet » area (for example, near Charlevoix metro station) and just use public transit (metro, buses) and walk. Watch out for parking signs, they can be very tricky. If a parking sign bears a red square with a number in it, that means it is reserved for residents with a parking sticker, do not park there! Your best bet is near street corners (FYI lun = Mon, mar = Tues, mer = Wed, jeu = Thurs, ven = Fri, sam = Sat, dim = Sun).

Have fun!