RVing from New York to Chicago - suggestions please

Here is leg one of our trip which runs from New York to Chicago.  As I said earlier, cities are easy - so much to do and easy to find things.  It is the route between where we need to be sure to pick up on as many interesting sites as we feel we can fit in.

https://roadtrippers.com/map?a2=p!1*5*4,t!16369957&lat=41.87230457814363&lng=-87.64266868262408&utm_campaign=trip&utm_medium=share&utm_source=copy&z=12.757563586828525

What you need to know:

We are two sixty year olds taking our 14 year old grandson.  My wife is not into anything too strenuous and very interested in literature, history and religion.

I am up for most things (except maybe sky diving and bungee jumping) and we want a mix of the wacky, the wonderful and the interesting sufficient to keep our 14 year old up beat.  So, not too many museums, some activities and interesting scenic spots and walks.

So, on the track above - please tell me what you think we are missing on this first 800 mile leg?

Thanks again

My first suggestion is to start a new thread for each leg of the trip. You will get much more responses to a thread entitled 'New York to Chicago, what is to see there' than you are currently getting. In fact if you ask Tom, our fearless leader, he might split this one off.

You absolutely and positively do not want to drive your RV or anything else in New York City. I suggest parking outside and taking the subway into town. Better yet (but pricey) is to stay at the Liberty Harbor RV Park in New Jersey and take the ferry boat into the city. NYC has excellent public transportation, cabs, trains, subways, walking and railroads are the way to get around. If you plan on spending any time at all in the city get a book and a map and study it well. It is a huge town and there is a lot to see and do there.

Speaking of size, most people from the other side of the pond vastly underestimate just how large this county is. For example, England would fit inside of Texas five times with 15,000 square miles left over.

The elephant in the room is Niagara Falls. You will be driving about a hundred miles south of it and with some route manipulation you could get there with ease. It is an amazing place. Two things to do there that I highly recommend is the Maid of the Mist boat trip and Hurricane Deck.

In Cleveland you will massively impress the 14 year old if you take them to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In Indiana a great place to camp is Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. You will be driving right past it. We have 59 National Parks, 10 National Seashores and 4 National Lakeshores and they are the creme de la creme of beauty in this country.

If you only do one museum in this country make it the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Your grandson will go nuts over Sue, the largest and most complete T-Rex fossil in the world.

You will think my last recommendation is crazy but I suggest going to a Cubs baseball game if they are in town. Nothing is more American than baseball, it is our national pastime. The Cubs just ended a 108 year drought and won the World Series. They play at Wrigley Field which should be a national monument. Built in 1914 and it is a stunning place. You might not understand the game but the fans are just as interesting to watch. They would be the equivalent of going to England and watching a Liverpool FC match.

SeilerBird said:

My first suggestion is to start a new thread for each leg of the trip. You will get much more responses to a thread entitled 'New York to Chicago, what is to see there' than you are currently getting. In fact if you ask Tom, our fearless leader, he might split this one off.

...

You will think my last recommendation is crazy but I suggest going to a Cubs baseball game if they are in town. Nothing is more American than baseball, it is our national pastime. The Cubs just ended a 108 year drought and won the World Series. They play at Wrigley Field which should be a national monument. Built in 1914 and it is a stunning place. You might not understand the game but the fans are just as interesting to watch. They would be the equivalent of going to England and watching a Liverpool FC match.

Click to expand...

That's terrific thanks - really good suggestions in there so will get them onto the map.  I have started putting the maps into my blog so I can point people to the right page for each stage and will take your suggestion of starting a new thread for each stage.

We will catch Niagara on the way back round as we will be visiting friends in Toronto.  New have done the Falls etc but our Grandson hasn't and no doubt will love it.

Cheers

Chris

Thanks again and added all your suggestions - now on my blog with Roadtripper map http://www.annie-and-chris.com/north-american-road-trip/stage-one-new-york-to-chicago/

I will start a new thread as suggested for each stage starting with New York to Chicago

Chris

Hi

We are a couple of sixty year olds with a 14 year old grandson spending 6 months in our motorhome on a grand tour starting in April next year.  we are shipping our own RV from the UK for the trip.

I have been using Roadtrippers to find many interesting stops but i am sure you guys on here will have many more to contribute.

Stage One of our trip is from New York to Chicago.  I am sure we will find lots to see in the cities quite easily but when travelling between it would be great to have suggestions (got one or two already on my original thread).

So, have at it - here is a link to a map on our blog and see what you think we should see that I have missed.

http://www.annie-and-chris.com/north-american-road-trip/stage-one-new-york-to-chicago/

Cheers

I see that you have Liberty Park on your map, which is basically an asphalt parking lot in an industrial zone. A better choice near NYC would be Croton Point Park, which is a Westchester County campground right on the Hudson River north of NYC. There is a train station across the street for easy access into the city.

Where are you planning to stay near Chicago? Are you towing a vehicle? (I hope)

Delaware Water Gap is on your list, excellent choice. Pretty country, good kayaking or tubing if you have the time.

I noticed that you have a railway museum on the list. You might want to check out Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA instead. Not far away, and it's the premier railway museum in the Northeast.

Further west, you're passing near Sandusky, Ohio. Cedar Point is considered one of the top roller coaster parks in the country.

In Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry is phenomenal. You could easily spend an entire day. Navy Pier is good for restaurants, right on Lake Michigan. Driving a motorhome in Chicago is going to be a challenge though.

I've stayed at Liberty Harbor. Yes it's just a asphalt lot, but with Power, water and security (dump station available). There is a ferry from Liberty harbor to the Financial district in NYC. Even better it's only a 5 block walk to the PATH (Port Authority) subway station. Two line go from there, one to the World Trade Center (Financial District)  and the other ends at 34th and 6th ave. From there you can transfer ti the NYC subway or just walk as Ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

In Chicago there are some RV Parks but they are way out of the city. In a northwest suburb near Elgin, Ill is a nice Kane County RV Park, Paul Wolff. With a few miles is the Big Timber train station with service to Chicago. Anther option is the Casino RV park in Joliet to the southwest. There is train service to Chicago from downtown Joliet.

This summer we also stopped in Cleveland and really enjoyed the Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame. It took us all day.

With a 14 year old there's Ceder point in Sandusky Ohio probably the best roller coaster park anywhere.

For clarification, I'd split messages from the Introduction topic, then we ended up with two parallel discussions. So I merged the two.

BinaryBob said:

Where are you planning to stay near Chicago? Are you towing a vehicle? (I hope)

Click to expand...

Thanks, added to my Roadtripper Map as alternative campground

BinaryBob said:

Where are you planning to stay near Chicago? Are you towing a vehicle? (I hope)

Click to expand...

Not towing a vehicle - plan on hiring a car if needs be when visiting larger cities or using public transport.  Have had  a good campground suggestion for Chicago at Indiana Dunes - which is a fair way out

ceejayt said:

Not towing a vehicle - plan on hiring a car if needs be when visiting larger cities or using public transport.  Have had  a good campground suggestion for Chicago at Indiana Dunes - which is a fair way out

Click to expand...

I wasn't suggesting Indiana Dunes as campground for Chicago, I was suggesting it as a place to spend a day or two before Chicago.

HappyWanderer said:

Delaware Water Gap is on your list, excellent choice. Pretty country, good kayaking or tubing if you have the time.

I noticed that you have a railway museum on the list. You might want to check out Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA instead. Not far away, and it's the premier railway museum in the Northeast.

Further west, you're passing near Sandusky, Ohio. Cedar Point is considered one of the top roller coaster parks in the country.

In Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry is phenomenal. You could easily spend an entire day. Navy Pier is good for restaurants, right on Lake Michigan. Driving a motorhome in Chicago is going to be a challenge though.

Click to expand...

Thank you

Removed Whippany Railway Museum and added Steamtown - will have had plenty of rollercoasters in Florida so will skip that, have added Museum of Science and industry - looks excellent.

Map updated with those changes.

SeilerBird said:

I wasn't suggesting Indiana Dunes as campground for Chicago, I was suggesting it as a place to spend a day or two before Chicago.

Click to expand...

Ah, thanks - campground suggestions for Chicago?

Cheers

ceejayt said:

Thank you

Removed Whippany Railway Museum and added Steamtown - will have had plenty of rollercoasters in Florida so will skip that, have added Museum of Science and industry - looks excellent.

Map updated with those changes.

Click to expand...

And boy do we have roller coasters here in Florida. When you get down here let's go out for lunch.

SeilerBird said:

And boy do we have roller coasters here in Florida. When you get down here let's go out for lunch.

Click to expand...

April 10th to 24th in Orlando - there will be 18 of us in two villas (that's my four children, partners and 10 grandchildren in one villa and me and the wife on our own in another!  They gate the pool, the games room and home cinema etc - we get the peace and quiet~~!!

ceejayt said:

April 10th to 24th in Orlando - there will be 18 of us in two villas (that's my four children, partners and 10 grandchildren in one villa and me and the wife on our own in another!  They gate the pool, the games room and home cinema etc - we get the peace and quiet~~!!

Click to expand...

I live right outside of Orlando and I can make some great suggestions for things to do here in Orlando that aren't very common knowledge.

SeilerBird said:

I live right outside of Orlando and I can make some great suggestions for things to do here in Orlando that aren't very common knowledge.

Click to expand...

Great, if nothing else we should meet up