Wife and I are planning a three week fall road trip. Starting from the Keys and working our way north to Maine.

We're free to go wherever. We avoid interstates and major highways. Neither of us have spent much time anywhere east; I've done a few trips for work: Boston, New York, DC, Orlando, so I've hit a few spots in those areas but it's all new to the wife...

Please share must-stops and historical gems along the eastern seaboard. We'll be able to travel inland and coastal.

I appreciate any input or suggestion to help us build a trip.

St Augustine, FL, Savannah, GA, Charleston, SC, Pawley's Island, SC. New Bern, NC. I'd avoid Baltimore/DC via 95. Maybe take 17 north to Norfolk and then over/through the bridge tunnel to 13. Cape Charles is a pretty cool little town once over the bridge. Then there is a ferry over to Cape May that you might be interested in. You might want to avoid NYC by taking the Garden State Pkwy to 287 into Conn. Lots of cool sights to see along the coast from there. Mystic Seaport, New London, Newport RI, New Bedford, MA, Cape Cod, Boston, Gloucester, Rockport, Newburyport, MA, Portsmouth, NH/Kittery ME. Lots to see going up the Maine coast.

Monticello near Richmond. One place that stood out for me, along the East coast. Almost as good as beef jerky sticks with chocolate pudding dip. Many battle fields and stuff, everywhere.
https://www.monticello.org/vis...your-visit/?ref=pnav

Philadelphia:

Reading Terminal Market
National Constitution Center
Indedepence Hall
The Liberty Bell
The Museum of the American Revolution

1st recommendation is Charleston, SC. Was there with my family last weekend, it was awesome.

After that, you have so many choices that it is hard to pick.

Want a theme park, Orlando.

Like museums, stop in DC.

Spring through fall, baseball fans, you will pass a ton of stadiums.

Fall through winter, like football, see above.

If it is fall, head off the coast into the NC mountains for some leaf views and maybe the Blue Ridge parkway.

I just got back from a trip to Maine on my bike.
VT-100 in Vermont is pretty great.
Fairly scenic little road going north.
Lots of woods. A waterfall. Mountains. etc

Once you get up to about Lowell, turn east.
Take 58 to 5 to 16 to 5a.
5a parallels a pretty scenic little lake at one point with some awesome cliffs.

This eventually brings you down to I-93 - aka "Franconia Notch Parkway".
Franconia Notch is amazing.

You can then head east again on 112 - aka "Kancamagus Highway".
It's a semi-curvy road through some mountains and hills with multiple pull off spots to look at the pretty views.

Heading north on 302 will take you through Crawford Notch.
Not quite as majestic as franconia, but still pretty awesome.

3 to 115 to 2 to 16 will take you on a loop up and around Mt Washington.
You can even hop a side road and take it UP the mountain if you want (for a small fee).

Once you get down near North Conway you can hop onto "Hurricane Mountain Road" to begin heading over to Maine.
Note: I did the trip on a motorcycle. If you're doing this in an RV or something then HMR is NOT for you.
It's got some fairly tight/steep turns. You have been warned.

From there, 5 to 2 to 26 to 16 takes you through some ME and NH backwoods areas.
Then it gets REAL nice.
16 loops up and over Mooselookmeguntic Lake and down next to Rangeley Lake.
Super scenic area.
There's a pull off point just south of "South Shore Drive" with an amazing view of both lakes.

Further northeast highway 6 takes you past a series of small lakes then turns south at Moosehead Lake.
There's a pretty great view of a small island with some awesome cliffs on it right about at the southern bend (Rockwood).

That's my 2cents.
Good luck!

We enjoyed Chincoteague and Assateague islands, the and the eastern shore of VA was a nice break from all the congestion everywhere else in the area. We also enjoyed Jamestown and Yorktown. The Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware was absolutely awesome, too, if you're into that sort of thing.

If you want to go more inland, Shenandoah National Park is a beautiful drive, and Gettysburg, Antietam, and Harper's Ferry are all interesting stops.

We used to make it a thing to visit and climb all the light houses.
But my wife’s bum knee pretty much stopped that, and day hikes.

We enjoyed Brookgreen Gardens.

Nice big mini golf in North Myrtle beach.

Gettysburg, PA would be nice in the fall. The battlefield tour with your own vehicle is well worth the time.

Hershey, PA is what you’d expect, but if you like chocolate it’s the place to go.

Princeton, NJ if you like to walk across a college campus.

Rhinebeck, NY is quite quaint. The Beekman Arms has an interesting tavern in it, like stepping back in time to the Revolutionary War.

Route 7 in Connecticut is a pretty fall drive through small New England towns along the Housatonic River… a few covered bridges still in use, fly fishermen casting for trout.

New Haven for Yale’s campus… but be careful of the neighborhoods around it.

Mystic CT is a place I’d recommend. Great town to walk around, interesting seafaring sites and ships.

Newport RI for the palatial Gilded Age “cottages.”

Boston, MA for obvious reasons. Walk the Freedom Trail.

Bar Harbor and Acadia Nation Park. Gorgeous on a sunny fall day.

Oh my!! This is fantastic SIGforum! Thank you, keep it coming.

This is a good web source for all things to see in FL, if you are coming up US1/95 then you can click on the area and see what is there to visit

Link - Things to see and Do FL

Navy Seal Museum Ft Pierce FL-Link

Kennedy Space Center - Link

You should check the launch dates and try to be there when there is a Launch. You can try and get one of the spaces to get up close. Link Nasa.gov page

If you do stay in Cocoa or Titusville, go to dinner at Dixie Crossroads and get the all you can eat Rock shrimp.. Mmmmmm Link

Valiant Air Command - Titusville cool warbird Museum Link

If you are into being natural, Playainda Beach at Canaveral is clothing optional.. Link

Daytona lots to see and do - the speedway is worth a stop if you are into motor racing, they have a tour that circles the track so you can get on it, although not at the speeds you'd like. And the Museum is pretty good. Link Speedway

Florida Gun Exchange - one of the best gun stores in Florida, great people, amazing inventory, lots of hard to find items, Holly Hill is in the Daytona area. Link FGE

While in Daytona, if you go up US1, you can turn off and drive on the beach, one of the few places left in the USA where you can take your vehicle right onto the beach, park, stay a while or cruise it.

St Augustine - Haunted Tour, old town, Castillo De San Marcos Fort, Link

I'd avoid I-95 other than in the Carolinas unless there are attractions along it that are a must see. It is just a slow roll the whole length of it. Last time I came up from Richmond to DC I did not exceed 25 MPH the whole way. Not that I-81, Rt. 1, or Rt. 13 flow much better, but at least there's something to look at other than taillights. It doesn't get any better through Wilmington, Philly, NJ, and the NYC area, not to mention the bridge being out in Baltimore (which means either a long detour around the West side of its beltway, or traffic lights and sketchy neighborhoods through town). I once chose to take the Springsteen tour down highway 9 in NJ to avoid the Garden State Parking Lot, one of the worst mistakes ever. When people in LA, Dallas, Denver, etc. complain about bad traffic, I just laugh. I've been in all these places, and they are all much much less congested than the major East coast throughways.

You might enjoy the book "Blue Highways - A journey Into America" by William Least Heat-Moon. He does what you're doing, staying off the main roads, seeing America.

Many years ago, when my wife and I did all of our vacation traveling on our motorcycles, I kept a book in my tank bag. The title was "Road Food" (or something similar). The book was organized by city and state, and listed some really great locally owned mom-and-pop restaurants, diners, etc. Long time ago. I have no idea whether that book is still published, might be "published" on the internet new.

Depending on when your dates line up, the Fryeburg, ME fair is Sept 29 - Oct 06. It's always a good time. From there you're only 30ish mins to North Conway, NH and the rest of the White Mountains which is always a nice scenic time.

quote:

Originally posted by architect: Last time I came up from Richmond to DC I did not exceed 25 MPH the whole way.

This should be repeated because Northern Virginia traffic SUCKS!

quote:

Originally posted by architect:...not to mention the bridge being out in Baltimore (which means either a long detour around the West side of its beltway, or traffic lights and sketchy neighborhoods through town).

The 95 and 895 tunnels are still in operation.

JP

I am not sure if there is a reason to go south to north, but if it is an option, I would recommend thinking about north to south. A three week roadtrip will allow the south to cool a little more before you get there.

A few places I have been I would highly recommend considering:

St. Augustine
Savannah
Charleston, SC
Ashville, NC
NC Beach towns - Holden Beach, Topsail Island, Ilse of Palms, Duck (outer banks)
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a must and a great way to avoid using I-95. If you go that way, Little Switzerland, NC is a cool small town
There is a tank museum in Danville Va that is worth the trip.
I hate driving around DC, but you could spend a week at all the stuff to see.
If you end up in Baltimore, stay at the Inner Harbor
Ocean City, MD is really nice.

A lot of great suggestions so far.
If it were me I would plan the northern route somewhat along the coast seeing some of the many suggestions here then on your way South drive along the spine of the BlueRidge Parkway. This will extend your leaf peeping opportunities. If you have time along the BRP stop to see The Biltmore in Asheville, NC. A truly amazing home built by George Vanderbilt…

https://www.biltmore.com/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: smlsig,

quote:

Originally posted by UTsig:
You might enjoy the book "Blue Highways - A journey Into America" by William Least Heat-Moon. He does what you're doing, staying off the main roads, seeing America.

I bought that book years ago. Two thumbs up.

Again thank you all for the outstanding tips and suggestions! Book is ordered.