What type of vehicle will you be taking? That can change recommendations. If fun type Blue Ridge Parkway should be included, if a sedan I would avoid that side trip.

We're renting a F150 pick up or similar, one way from Miami.

Plan is to drop down to the Keys, then northerly meandering from there.

Historic interest and scenery.

Considerations will include the fine recommendations made here. Must-stops will be Smithsonian etc in DC and 9/11 memorial in NYC.

I recommend checking out the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the area around Oriental, North Carolina.

Also, check out Annapolis and the United States Naval Academy. While you are in the area, go out on the Chesapeake Bay with these guys and enjoy the scenery while catching big Striped Bass. https://griffinsguideservice.c...xSI8pg4aAgrKEALw_wcB

Your post mentioned visiting historical places. The Jamestown Ferry takes you on some pretty back roads, and dumps you out right next to the historic Jamestown Settlement and the National Historic Site.

Jamestown Ferry

Blue Ridge Parkway, while scenic, has a speed limit of 45MPH. If I recall, there may also be a toll to access it at the beginning. There was one southbound in VA.

A 3 week road trip - starting in the Florida Keys and ending in Maine. Sounds like a U.S. 1 route, I would plan on driving for 3 to 4 hours and seeing what’s in that area. I don’t know if Ford 150 is the best choice for parking or gas mileage. The southern most point in the US is in Key West where US 1 starts. The most northern point on US 1 is around Van Buren, Maine.

I always wanted to make the US1/ A1A trip south to north on a motorcycle. Maybe one day...

Sounds like you are going to have a great time. Just remember to plan for unexpected stops when you see something that peaks your interest.

Maine - Acadia National Park has already been listed. Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia is worth the effort. It is the first point in the US to see the morning sun. Depending on the date, you need reservations. Dress warm. Breakfast in Bar Harbor afterwards. Take your America the Beautiful pass.

Lobster Rolls and Lobsters in Maine.

Camden Maine is a pretty little town if you are driving up Route 1. Just North of is Camden Hills State Park, a drive up to the Camden Overlook on Mount Battie Road is worth the time. Albeit there is a $6 per head entry fee.

Essex, MA for Woodman's clam shack

There is much in Boston and the surrounding area to see and do.

The advice from Alyron about unexpected stops is golden.

Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay have been mentioned, I second that.

I am all for you do you but, while I like the F150, the bed isn't going to be useful without a bed cover (not sure if bed covers come with rentals). If you visit cities, especially as you get more North, parking is often in garages and clearance can be limited.

Enjoy the trip, sounds like a great time.

All great advice and more great tips! Thanks again!

This will be our third roadway adventure. We've done two three week trips from Oregon looping on different roads.

The standing agreement between the wife and I is to not travel the same road twice. Sometimes it can't be helped...

Going your route with plenty of time, weighting in history preferences, I'd try to fit in:

Cape Canaveral

One or more of the mega-entertainments around Orlando (Universal Studios, House of Mouse, etc.)

Charleston, SC

Outer Banks. Maybe catch the historical play The Lost Colony and tour the Elizabethan Gardens before getting to the actual coast. If you have time, consider the ferry to Ocracoke Island.

Head inland from there, maybe stop in Durham, NC to see Bennett Place, the farmhouse in which Sherman accepted Johnston's surrender, ending the Civil War?

Check out the Danville, VA tank museum? Be aware has reduced operating hours - Friday and Saturday only, and visits start at 10AM and last guests 3:15PM. If that can fit into your schedule, it's great. I've been there three times (it's about three hours away) and I spend hours and usually fill my camera's memory each time.

From there, it's not far to Appomattox Courthouse.

At that point you are in the thick of Civil War battlefields - pick and choose as desired. Civil War trails maps central page

If you stay sort of west, you can swing up to Gettysburg via Harper's Ferry - both well worth stops. If you head east toward Richmond, there are more battlefields and of course then it's straight shot north to DC.

DC is chock full of worthwhile historical stuff, well worth time spent. Since you've got three weeks, may have time to do that and then backtrack west to Harper's Ferry and on to Gettysburg?

If you stay east and continue on the history angles, I'd hit Annapolis, Philadelphia, Trenton NJ for sure. NYC has a lot of cool stuff, maybe take a circle line ferry tour, go see NYSE, WTC Memorial, catch a play, etc. If you like Mark Twain, you can tour his house near Hartford CT, not far off the direct interstate from NYC to Boston.

If you want to go the backroads, maybe stick to the coast heading north of NYC instead of heading to Hartford, and visit Newport, RI and check out the old-money mansions.

Boston has a massive amount of history. If you have time consider the "Duck Tour" which gets you some unique viewpoints while you go on a restored amphibious landing craft partly on roads, partly along the river.

Heading north from Boston, maybe visit Salem and Marblehead?

And then, you'll be north of my direct experience. Lots of good stuff, undoubtedly, but haven't experienced them personally.

Thank everyone. One last bump.

Fall is NOT the best time for a East Coast roadtrip. Fall is hurricane season. Prediction for hurricanes this season is high.
You may need to have a secondary route in the event of potential bad weather. Travel insurance mandatory. Secondary airport to fly into if Florida has a hurricane warning/watch.

If you plan to drive from the Florida Keys to Maine, I bet you put on 10 pounds just from the Southern Cuisine alone. Enjoy your trip!

If you stop at one of the many lobster shacks in Maine, don't buy a big lobster. The smaller ones are a lot better tasting and less tough.

If your heading to Maine…and have time, and passports….take the ferry trip out of Bar Harbour up to Nova Scotia….the Bay of Fundy is a wild place to see with 50 foot tidal swings and some of the best seafood I’ve ever had….very cool place.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
Blue Ridge Parkway, while scenic, has a speed limit of 45MPH. If I recall, there may also be a toll to access it at the beginning. There was one southbound in VA.

No areas of the BRP have a toll - no matter what state or direction you're traveling in.
You're thinking of Skyline Drive which travels through the Shenandoah forest in VA.
That one has a toll.
SLD is basically sort of like an extension of the northern tip of the BRP.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
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.

These are all great stops, but i'd add Amelia Island, Jekyll Island, Hilton Head SC, Charleston SC, Wrightsville Beach+Moorehead City, Washington DC for all of the Smithsonians and Arlington, St Michaels MD, Roheboth beach MD, NJ isn't worth stopping in.