Suggestions route from Northern Virginia to Bangor, Maine?

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GoBeautifulPlanet

Active member
Joined
Apr 26, 2021
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30
Location
Herndon
Our first RV trip several years ago was to Acadia National Park in Maine. Our GPS led us onto a no-truck parkway with low bridges, so after a terrifying few minutes, we took the first exit and attempted to find a detour. This time my husband is driving alone from Northern Virginia to Bangor, Maine, as I have to work and will join him by plane. Do you have suggestions on the best route to take? I won't be able to help navigate. He prefers fewer tolls and less stress. I would appreciate any suggestions you have.
 
Just south of Richmond take 64 west over to 81. Then 81 north to 84 East. Then pickup Mass pike which is 90 east. Go about 20 miles and Take 290 through Worcester Ma to 495. Take 495 to 95 north. It’s longer in time and miles but you miss all the big cities.
 
I prefer Route 301 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge, then I-295 to I-195 to I-95 to I-287 to I-684 to I-84 to I-681 to I-91, back to I-84 to I-90.

Follow I-90 to I-495 to I-95. You couldn’t pay me to take an RV on I-290.
 
...... Then 81 north to 84 East. Then pickup Mass pike which is 90 east. Go about 20 miles and Take 290 through Worcester Ma to 495. Take 495 to 95 north.......... but you miss all the big cities.
I don't know what your definition of "Big City" is, but downtown Hartford, and Boston suburbs qualify for us. The route above is just what we used every time we went to visit our children in Bahh Haborr, and this was our speed route. We would do it in one day (10 hrs) from central PA, I would drive thru Scranton, Connecticut, and 495. My wife would drive the rest (she hated the big-city traffic). I've considered going further north on 81 then across from Albany/Troy thru the Green Mountain Range. But for a lone driver, the speed route might be best.
 
I would also point out i NEVER bought fuel in Connecticut (and now PA) if I could avoid it. PA has highest gas tax in country right now, and Conn. was always high. Across 84 at PA/NY/NJ border we would stop in Port Jervice. Turn left, NJ prices, turn Right NY prices. Gas Buddy might clarify. My next stop would be New Hampshire right on 95. There is also a Walmart at Milford Pa, if you are into quick stop & rest places.
 
I agree as far as Port Jarvis and high gas prices. We always went left at the light and the 1st station on the right which is a Valero. Easy in and easy out and quick. No lines. There’s a Flying J just up the street and a couple other stations but all the prices are the same.

Going north on 95 after entering CT, it’s either Exit 1 or 2 for the welcome center/rest stop. Take the road to the right all the way to the back. There are many long spots set up for tractor trailer trucks. You can spend the night there and they have a dump station that’s free.
 
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I take 290 all the time and never had any issues unless it’s between 4:00 and 6:00 PM.
Between the bridge expansion joints bouncing everything in the cabinets, and the crazy merges, exits and sharp corners as I-290 twists through downtown Worcester - no thanks. Plus traffic is always backed up to get on I-290, then again to get back off. Staying on I-90 a couple of more exits directly to I-495 is three lanes of mostly straight highway without the hassles.
 
We took (from Herndon, Virginia): 28N to 7W to 15N to 581W to 81N to 84E to 95N, arriving in Acadia. My husband said the trip went very well to get there. On the way back, however, the roads were in bad condition. The route was relaxing without traffic, besides some road work near Hartford, Connecticut.
 
Shots of Narrows Too Campground

See above for a link to my Instagram account with shots of the waterfront at the Narrows Too campground near Acadia. That's the second time we stayed there and we really liked it. It's about 25 minutes from the most popular hikes and is quiet and convenient. The wifi is virtually non-existent, but otherwise the park is great. The waterfront sites have fabulous views.

I'll make a video of Acadia as soon as I have more time and post it to my YouTube channel, Go Beautiful Planet. It's a wonderful park with tons to do. Here's a photo from our trip.


DSC_0195 nice colorful horizontal birches_small.jpg
 
The cell service is very bad. We have T-Mobile, which had pretty much no coverage, so without realizing it, we used up all our partner roaming data with AT&T. I did hear others say that coverage in the Acadia is limited overall. I downloaded offline maps onto my phone so that we could navigate and do all the hiking we wanted without cell service.

I like the AllTrails app for hiking, and Google offline maps worked for navigation.
 
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