New York to Cleveland Road Trip in January via Baltimore

[AussieDude]

Hi from Australia and my daughter and I are looking at traveling by road from New York to Cleveland Ohio via Baltimore in January. After advice and things to see and do maybe on the way and best route?

[landmariner]

Personally, for a NYC to Baltimore to Cleveland route, I would ride the train (Amtrak). If you book 3+ weeks in advance you will probably get a discount fare for the Northeast Regional trains. No need to ride business or first class and I would recommend against travel at some of the busy times including Sunday evenings on this segment. The Acela train is faster but more expensive.

The train or airline (e.g., Southwest Airlines) are both good for Baltimore to Cleveland.

For driving NYC-Baltimore, the I-95 and New Jersey Turnpike are the most direct. Try to avoid rush hours on both ends of the trip. Philadelphia historical sites are about the only attractions on this route. It is not what I would classify as a "scenic" drive. You could also choose to drive west from NYC and south through Pennsylvania -- one route could take you through Amish Country (Lancaster, Penn. area).

Baltimore to Cleveland is more scenic. Most direct is I-70 west to the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Cleveland. I am not a big fan of the turnpike route and opt for I-70 to I-68 through West Virginia and then north on I-79 towards Pittsburgh and then I-76 West to Cleveland. The mountains of Western Maryland and Morgantown are scenic and have less traffic than the turnpike.