Heading to the N.E. U.S. This summer!

[craigatcsi]

We have finally decided to head to the Northeast states this summer. We have already hit the western states and most of the Southeast states. We need to pick up the states North of D.C..

We are doing a benefit bike ride in July in Indianapolis, and decided that since we are going to be that far east (from Omaha), we might as well continue on from there.

We are going to have to get Pass Cards so we can swing by Niagra Falls. Is there much reason to ride around there on the Canada side or is it better to take the U.S. Side to Maine?We figured to ride to Maine then take the eastern seaboard down to D.C., then head west towards home. I know that I want to stop somewhere to see an old sailing ship, one I can go onto and explore. I have always been fascinated by them.

My wife thinks we can do this trip in 2 weeks easily. I just can't see it. Again, we are leaving Omaha, NE stopping in Indianapolis for a day then east to Maine, down to D.C. The westward to home. I say 3 weeks would be tight.

 

What do you think?

[bongobobny]

Wow! Tuff choice! Both are scenic routes. The only main issue with the Canadian route is geting past Toronto, but only because of the traffic. It is a neat city to see though! You definately want to see the Falls from the Canadian side. Let the WNY crew know when you are in the area, we are friendly natives!!

 

Going thru NY has a lot of scenery to see and a lot of historical places to visit should you choose that route. Of course you could end up doing both as here is several places to cross in the east side of the state as well...

[Marcarl]

If you want to see the Falls, you need to see it from the Canadian side, the Americans just don't know how to display it right. Now going from the Falls to Maine, I would be riding through NY,,,, the Canadians went and messed up all the good scenery around Lake Ontario,,,,, unless you go way round Hamilton and Toronto,,, and add another day or two to your trip,,,,,, some nice country out there, but the you'll miss the nice country of NY & NH.

My choice would be NY..........

[Dave77459]

We have finally decided to head to the Northeast states this summer. We have already hit the western states and most of the Southeast states. We need to pick up the states North of D.C..

We are doing a benefit bike ride in July in Indianapolis, and decided that since we are going to be that far east (from Omaha), we might as well continue on from there.

We are going to have to get Pass Cards so we can swing by Niagra Falls. Is there much reason to ride around there on the Canada side or is it better to take the U.S. Side to Maine?We figured to ride to Maine then take the eastern seaboard down to D.C., then head west towards home. I know that I want to stop somewhere to see an old sailing ship, one I can go onto and explore. I have always been fascinated by them.

My wife thinks we can do this trip in 2 weeks easily. I just can't see it. Again, we are leaving Omaha, NE stopping in Indianapolis for a day then east to Maine, down to D.C. The westward to home. I say 3 weeks would be tight.

 

What do you think?

I am also planning a trip to Maine. I've decided that if I want to go to the Four Corners Monument in Madawaska, ME (about as north as you can get in the continental USA), then via Canada is better. For "southern Maine", I'm going through VT and NH. You may not capture VT if you go through Canada.

 

You can't do much better than visit Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT. There are many old sailing ships to explore. I went in December, and although cold, it was fascinating.

 

Dave

[bongobobny]

...and you are right, no way in heck can it be done in 2 weeks, waaaaaaay too much to see and do!!!

[BIG TOM]

When in wny and if you need a place to stay don't hesitate to call.....many members here will give you a pillow to lay you head on.....Its what family is for and the price is always right......

[Scooter Bob]

Again, we are leaving Omaha, NE stopping in Indianapolis for a day then east to Maine, down to D.C.

 

Yey, though Omaha isn't rural, everything around you is. If your not a fan of the big city stuff, I would suggest you just keep heading East from Indy, and switch your whole route around. Get the big city stuff done early, and then enjoy the rest of the trip. Mt Washington in NH is quite a ride, and there is a lot of great scenery around there as well. For me, the coastal stuff was way too busy, but I did manage to spend 48 hours in ME just ridin' around.

 

Just my , Scooter Bob

[Dave77459]

...and you are right, no way in heck can it be done in 2 weeks, waaaaaaay too much to see and do!!!

Hmmm. From here (Houston) to Maine and back is only 4500 miles? That's only 10 days. He can do what he wants in 3600 miles. That's but 250 miles a day?

 

Dave

[craigatcsi]

Well, I can't walk very far, so we usually spend the vast majority of our trips on the bike. So, other than the ships and visiting people, there won't be very much touristy things.

craigr

[RedRider]

You should enjoy this trip. Did it a couple of years ago with my Dad and a friend.

 

Do you have a mapping software (Streets and Trips)? If so, I can send you some routes.

 

+1 on ScooterBob's suggestion of Mt Washington, NH. Very, very cool.

 

We left out of Ft. Wayne, IN and went thru Canada (crossed at Sarnia, ON / Port Huron, MI) and crossed back into the US on the ferry at Kingston, ON / Cape Vincent, NY. North side of Lake Ontario is very nice as long as you stay by the lake.

 

Some highlights:

1) NY - Ferry across Lake Champlain. Leaves from Port Kent, NY and arrives in Burlington, VT. Also, at the southern end of Lake Champlain is Fort Ticonderoga. Take the tour if you are into history.

1.1) VT - Hwy 17 across the Green Mountains - amazing scenery

2) VT - Little country store in Hancock - South side of Hwy 125 in Green Mtn Natl Forest. Go to the deli in back and have them make you a sandwich. Only place I have ever seen that has candy, maple syrup, and ammo next to one another on an end cap next to the front counter.

3) NH - HWY 112 - Kancamagus Hwy.

4) NH - Washington Mtn. Don't come this far and not climb this on your bike. FYI - the temp will fall 30+ degrees on this climb. It may be shirt sleeve weather at the bottom. It won't be at the top and there is no place to stop and add layers. Wear your jacket the whole way. Have your wife take pictures 'cause your eyes will not be leaving the roadway. If you pull a trailer, leave it at the bottom.

5) ME - Cadillac Mtn in Arcadia Nat'l Park - get up really early and join the crowd at the top to watch the sun come up. You can ride all the way up. Another bonus is the park rangers do not man the booths at 4:30am and it doesn't cost anything. Ride the road around the park once the sun is up. Two lanes, one way, no traffic, no rangers, great pavement.

6) ME - Belfast - Young's Lobster Shore Pound. This is a place where lobster fisherman offload their catch. Young's has a 'kitchen' where you order your meal. The 'chef' pulls a lobster out of the tank and cooks it. This lobster has gone from the ocean floor to your belly in a matter of hours. The most incredible seafood meal ever. Accept extra napkins if offered. If you are even close, do not miss this stop.

 

There is plenty of other fantastic stops along the route. These just happen to stick out in my memory.

 

2 week is no problem for this trip. Niagra Falls from the Canada side is prettier.

 

You will need a passport (or one of the new special passes) to get back into the US. DO NOT take a gun into Canada. They do not have a good sense of humor about our 2nd Amendment. Also, if you have criminal record (including DUI), you may find it much easier to stay in the US.

 

Have a great time, take pictures, and write a report telling us about your epic adventure.

 

RR

[craigatcsi]

Wow, RedRider!!

This is exactly what I am looking for.

Thanks

[RedRider]

If you don't have it, go get a copy of Microsoft Streets and Trips mapping software. Easy to use and great for planning trips. You can even go onto EBay and get a copy that is a couple of years old for $10 or so. Not a lot of changes (unless you are a mapping/GPS/LD rider freak) over the years that will affect the normal user.

 

Feel free to ask questions.

 

RR

[craigatcsi]

If you don't have it, go get a copy of Microsoft Streets and Trips mapping software. Easy to use and great for planning trips. You can even go onto EBay and get a copy that is a couple of years old for $10 or so. Not a lot of changes (unless you are a mapping/GPS/LD rider freak) over the years that will affect the normal user.

 

Feel free to ask questions.

 

RR

 

So with this software, can it tell you more than my $300 Garmin GPS?

 

Can I upload the software into my Garmin? - I know nothing about this.

 

craigr

[Marcarl]

So with this software, can it tell you more than my $300 Garmin GPS?

 

Can I upload the software into my Garmin? - I know nothing about this.

 

craigr

o to the Garmin site and download a copy of MapSource. It's free to Garmin users, takes a little to get used to, but works quite nice, then can be directly downloaded onto your Garmin. Streets and Trips is a hassle to download onto your Garmin and sometimes comes up with errors,,, although I think S&T works nicer than MS.

[Dave77459]

o to the Garmin site and download a copy of MapSource. It's free to Garmin users, takes a little to get used to, but works quite nice, then can be directly downloaded onto your Garmin. Streets and Trips is a hassle to download onto your Garmin and sometimes comes up with errors,,, although I think S&T works nicer than MS.

I think MSST is a great tool for ride planning. You can discover points of interest along your route. Importantly, you can tell it your fuel range, and it will locate gas stations around that distance. It can split days based on travel times. And, it will pick scenic versus fastest versus shortest routes. Those features are very useful for trip planning.

 

However, as you say, it wasn't great at downloading stuff to my Garmin. The version I have won't even try (2004?). I am considering getting the newest version, but if I do, I will still transfer the route over to MapSource to interact with my GPSr.

 

My $0.02.

 

Dave

[hunter 1500]

If it were me I would take RT3 from Watertown NY over through Saranac Lake and then 76 to Lake placid. Then through Keene and then over to Crown Point where they now have a ferry instead of a bridge. From there you can take rt17 over to rt100 and from there to rt4 over to NH and to the Kangamangus highway.

[craigatcsi]

Is Lake Placid pretty enough to spend the night or a few hours at or is it one of those places you just 'swing by & check out' on your way to somewhere?

[RedRider]

Lake Placid in the summer is pretty and mildly interesting, but full of tourists. A couple of hours to say "I was there" and move on. Cooperstown, on the other hand, .....

 

RR

[RedRider]

The new S&T2010 (and I assume 2011) allows you to export the route into a .gpx file. This can be imported into Garmin Mapsource for loading onto your GPS.

 

Otherwise, S&T is just a great tool for planning your routing. If you are like most on vacation, you are not really all that concerned about laying in an exact route to the minute detail. You are more concerned about where to stay the night and some interesting points to visit during the day. Once you have your route planned on S&T you can input the interest points into the Garmin by brute force (right on the GPS) each morning. It works fine for all but LD rally planning (if done properly, it can be done during a LD rally also).

 

RR

[steamer]

you aked about seeing an old sailing ship.try the USS constitution in Boston,also Mistic harbour in Conn.They have olds whaling ships.

[hunter 1500]

Is Lake Placid pretty enough to spend the night or a few hours at or is it one of those places you just 'swing by & check out' on your way to somewhere?

 

Kinda pricy in Lake Placid. You could see it in a couple hours. Ski jumps are cool and the scene of the miracle on ice. The route to and from is the good part. Very nice scenery.

[bongobobny]

you aked about seeing an old sailing ship.try the USS constitution in Boston,also Mistic harbour in Conn.They have olds whaling ships.

Another vote for Mystic, Conn!! Very nice city, lotsa interesting stuff!! Spend some time at their aquarium too!!

[cecdoo]

You should enjoy this trip. Did it a couple of years ago with my Dad and a friend.

 

Do you have a mapping software (Streets and Trips)? If so, I can send you some routes.

 

+1 on ScooterBob's suggestion of Mt Washington, NH. Very, very cool.

 

We left out of Ft. Wayne, IN and went thru Canada (crossed at Sarnia, ON / Port Huron, MI) and crossed back into the US on the ferry at Kingston, ON / Cape Vincent, NY. North side of Lake Ontario is very nice as long as you stay by the lake.

 

Some highlights:

1) NY - Ferry across Lake Champlain. Leaves from Port Kent, NY and arrives in Burlington, VT. Also, at the southern end of Lake Champlain is Fort Ticonderoga. Take the tour if you are into history.

1.1) VT - Hwy 17 across the Green Mountains - amazing scenery

2) VT - Little country store in Hancock - South side of Hwy 125 in Green Mtn Natl Forest. Go to the deli in back and have them make you a sandwich. Only place I have ever seen that has candy, maple syrup, and ammo next to one another on an end cap next to the front counter.

3) NH - HWY 112 - Kancamagus Hwy.

4) NH - Washington Mtn. Don't come this far and not climb this on your bike. FYI - the temp will fall 30+ degrees on this climb. It may be shirt sleeve weather at the bottom. It won't be at the top and there is no place to stop and add layers. Wear your jacket the whole way. Have your wife take pictures 'cause your eyes will not be leaving the roadway. If you pull a trailer, leave it at the bottom.

5) ME - Cadillac Mtn in Arcadia Nat'l Park - get up really early and join the crowd at the top to watch the sun come up. You can ride all the way up. Another bonus is the park rangers do not man the booths at 4:30am and it doesn't cost anything. Ride the road around the park once the sun is up. Two lanes, one way, no traffic, no rangers, great pavement.

6) ME - Belfast - Young's Lobster Shore Pound. This is a place where lobster fisherman offload their catch. Young's has a 'kitchen' where you order your meal. The 'chef' pulls a lobster out of the tank and cooks it. This lobster has gone from the ocean floor to your belly in a matter of hours. The most incredible seafood meal ever. Accept extra napkins if offered. If you are even close, do not miss this stop.

 

There is plenty of other fantastic stops along the route. These just happen to stick out in my memory.

 

2 week is no problem for this trip. Niagra Falls from the Canada side is prettier.

 

You will need a passport (or one of the new special passes) to get back into the US. DO NOT take a gun into Canada. They do not have a good sense of humor about our 2nd Amendment. Also, if you have criminal record (including DUI), you may find it much easier to stay in the US.

 

Have a great time, take pictures, and write a report telling us about your epic adventure.

 

RR

 

 

Dont forget Whiteface Mtn and Lake Placid, then head to the Ferry, Ben and Jerrys in Vt is worth the trip. If ya get into SE Pa give me a call. Craig

[dalv]

Craigr,

 

Lotta good suggestions - Redrider hit it right on. We spend alot of time in the Adirondack Mts near Lake Placid and there is some awesome riding throughout the area. Lake Champlain and VT could eat up 2 weeks alone - not to mention NH and ME. Burlington, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, Jay, Lake George to name a few.

 

We also spent alot of time in ME along the coast and inland B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L albeit touristy in July/August.

 

I'm not a fan of Niagara Falls (no offense) kinda honky tonk although incredible to view at night under the lights. Should see it so you can say you did. I would suggest riding along Lake Ontario to Adirondacks / VT / NH / ME.

 

2 weeks is tough as there is so much to see and very different as you travel. 3 wks min I vote. Stop and smell the roses. Enjoy the ride!

 

Dal