End of August - Maine to Sandusky, OH; Niagara; Letchworth SP, and back in 7 days?

[rjletendre]

Hello!

I am working on planning a road trip with my hubby-to-be....we'll be departing from Central Maine. The highlights we want to hit are:
Cedar Point - Sandusky OH (drive all day on Sunday, check into hotel, all day at the Park on Monday, Depart Tuesday AM for Niagara)
Niagara Falls - Tuesday and Wednesday
Letchworth State Park in NY - Go to Letchworth on Wednesday afternoon, stay until Friday AM, then head back toward Maine...

Anything else is a bonus - is this feasible with departure on Sunday, and return to Maine on Saturday as listed above?

Any suggestions?

Thank you for your help!
Renee

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Cedar Point - Sandusky OH (drive all day on Sunday, check into hotel, all day at the Park on Monday, Depart Tuesday AM for Niagara)

While the rest of your trip might be ok, this part is a full stop, no way, no how, not going to happen, back to the drawing board.

"Central Maine" is a big target, but even from a more southern point like Portland, you're talking about a drive that's more than 800 miles. That's far too far to drive in one day - about 15 hours on the road in the real world, no matter what an online mapping program (than never has to slow down below the speed limit, much less stop for gas, food, and rest) might tell you.

Not only would such a drive be quite dangerous, due to fatigue, even if you made it there safely, there's no way you'll be in any kind of shape to enjoy a tiring day at an amusement park the next day, and even worse, get in the car and drive a few hundred miles the morning after that.

Now having said that, I do think it's entirely possible to rework your trip and still get most of what you hope to achieve into your week.

I would probably change the order and go to Niagara Falls first, then go to Sandusky (giving you the advantage of not trying to have fun after a marathon day on the road, and being at the park mid-week where lines should be much shorter), then hit a New York State Park on the way back - although perhaps instead of Letchworth, you shoot for something in more central NY, that more evenly breaks up the drive.

Even that is subject to exactly where you're starting from - you shouldn't plan to drive more than 550-600 miles in a day, which means if you're farther than Augusta, even Niagara Falls is too far to drive in a single day, and you might have to break that up, but that's more in line with what you should be thinking as you develop this plan.

[rjletendre]

Thank you very much for the suggestions - we are near Lewiston/Auburn....so slightly south of Augusta.

Also, we have a little wiggle room on the return - May end up going to NH to visit family on the way back - they usually do a reunion on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend.

Niagara, Sandusky, then Letchworth. I think we can work with that!

[landmariner]

A stopover on the way to Niagara Falls would be prudent and then on to Cedar Point the following day, is very doable. Letchworth is also within good range of Sandusky. I am looking forward to camping in Letchworth early-Summer myself :)

[rjletendre]

We've decided that we are going to go to Niagara (Sunday-Tues), Sandusky(Tues-Thurs), Drive to NH (Thurs-Fri)...We'll have to get to Letchworth at another time....

Thank you for all of the suggestions!