Preliminary research

awellis3 · 01-26-2015, 01:36 PM

Fighting off cabin fever, I'm researching our trip from Richmond, Va., to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to visit with relatives and see the area. I know some of youse are from around this neck o' the woods and can offer some local knowledge.
Okay, from Richmond, we're heading up 95 to D.C. to take 270-70 to Hagerstown and take I-81 into PA to avoid Baltimore and N.Y. City.
We have a choice of staying on 81 to Binghamton, then using I-88 to get to Schenectady and I-87 into Saratoga Springs. This is a 590 mile route.
Another option is to leave 81 at Scranton and take I-84 east to I-87. This is shorter by about 12 miles.
I haven't towed a trailer north past Harrisburg, so a bit of local knowledge would help out here.
We have learned that 350-400 mi. is a comfortable day for us. So either route would dictate an overnight stop somewhere along 81 before Wilkes-Barre (say, near Hazelton). Any advice here would also be appreciated.

Help a brutha out,
Teach

EMD_Driver · 01-26-2015, 02:47 PM

Any chance of staying in/near Hagerstown, MD and letting us take you two to dinner??

Poppy & Nana · 01-26-2015, 04:37 PM

All I can say is I HATE ROUTE 81!!!! If there is anyway to avoid 81 I would do it in a heartbeat!!!! The road is rough and always congested with construction!

Don't get me wrong we travel it at least two or three times a year....only 'cause there is no other direct route to where we go!

**PTHutch** · 01-27-2015, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awellis3

... I'm researching our trip from Richmond, Va., to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to visit with relatives and see the area. I know some of youse are from around this neck o' the woods and can offer some local knowledge.
... Any advice here would also be appreciated.

Help a brutha out,
Teach

Teach,

Here's my suggestion to consider as a possible route to take.

> Take I-95 North to Exit 152B – Dumfires Rd / Rt. 234
> Take Dumfires Rd / Rt. 234 to I-66 West
Note: Dumfires Road turns into Prince William Parkway
> Take I-66 West to Exit 40 – Rt. 15 North
> Take Rt. 15 North to Rt. 11 west (just south of Harrisburg, PA)
> Take Rt. 11 West to I-81 North
> Take I-81 North to I-88 North (just north of Binghamton, NY)
> Take I-88 North to I-90 East
> Take I-90 East to Exit 24 I-87 North
(note, there's no toll for this section of I-90 when entering I-90 from I-88 and exiting at Exit 24)
> Take I-87 North to Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

I've towed on all these roads before and have had no problems.
The Rt. 234 - I-66 - Rt-15 will avoid all of the DC / Baltimore area traffic.
I would suggested avoiding towing on the Beltway & I-270 around DC.
There's always a lot of traffic. I don't even like driving that when not towing.

I-81 does have a lot of truck traffic and there's not much shoulder north of Scranton, PA. But I find it ok to tow on.

The I-84 cut-over to I-87 is an alternative route, but remember that I-87 to Albany, NY is a toll road. You can get on NYS Thruway web site to find out how much the toll will be using their Toll & Distance Calculator. Using their calculator it indicates the toll would be $15.55 for 4 axles.

Hope this is of some help.
Hutch

awellis3 · 01-28-2015, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EMD_Driver

Any chance of staying in/near Hagerstown, MD and letting us take you two to dinner??

Thank you for the kind invitation. We'll be rolling through trying to get close to the NY line on day one.
But, the trip is next September.

Teach

awellis3 · 01-28-2015, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PTHutch

Hope this is of some help.
Hutch

Thanks so much. I printed the route and will study it in my map program. I'll probably have some follow up questions later.
Traffic bothers Penny more than me. Her biggest bug-a-boo is folks who think their left blinker automatically makes a space for them to merge onto the freeway. She's much happier on a crowded, rural interstate than on a less crowded urban section where on and off ramps show up every mile or so.
Her second peeve is traffic lights, stop-and-go traffic.

Later,
Teach

**PTHutch** · 01-29-2015, 09:20 AM

Hey Teach,

Quote:

Originally Posted by awellis3

Thanks so much. I printed the route and will study it in my map program. I'll probably have some follow up questions later.

Glad it's of some help. Feel free to ask any questions. May want to PM me because I'm not on the forum as much as I used to be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by awellis3

Traffic bothers Penny more than me. Her biggest bug-a-boo is folks who think their left blinker automatically makes a space for them to merge onto the freeway.

In my experience, around DC on the Beltway, most drivers don't use their blinkers, they just move, space or no space.

Quote:

Originally Posted by awellis3

Her second peeve is traffic lights, stop-and-go traffic.

There's a few stop lights on Rt. 234 from I-95 to I-66 but it's not like city driving, and many of them are few and far between.
Rt. 15 you may get into a little traffic around Leesburg, but the rest of it is a nice drive thru VA, MD, & PA.

Let me know if you have any questions.
Hutch

awellis3 · 01-31-2015, 09:47 AM

Any way I slice it, I'll be on 81 between Harrisburg and Scranton about the time we hit our 350-400 mi. travel-in-a-day preferred limit.
We have never overnighted at a WallyWorld and would prefer not to unless there is no other option.
There seems to be a dearth of camping options near 81 in this area of PA. I've checked federal and state parks on the internet - zilch. Most of the private campgrounds I've found are 20+ miles from 81.
Anyone know of a place to camp closer to 81 between Hazelton and Scranton?

Thanks,
Teach

**PTHutch** · 02-03-2015, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awellis3

Anyone know of a place to camp closer to 81 between Hazelton and Scranton?

Teach,

In New Milford, PA there's The Camp at East Lake
New Milford is about 35 miles north of Scranton and the campground is about 2 - 3 miles off I-81.

If you decide to take the I-88 route through NY to Albany area, this could be a possible stopping point for you.

I camped there once, over 10 years ago, so I can't remember anything about the campground, other then we stayed there overnight on one trip.

This is the best I can do. I don't know of any campground between Hazelton and Scranton other then looking at either the God Sam or Trailer Life campground maps.

Hope this is of some help.
Hutch

awellis3 · 02-03-2015, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PTHutch

Teach,

In New Milford, PA there's The Camp at East Lake
New Milford is about 35 miles north of Scranton and the campground is about 2 - 3 miles off I-81.
This is the best I can do. I don't know of any campground between Hazelton and Scranton other then looking at either the God Sam or Trailer Life campground maps.

Hope this is of some help.
Hutch

Thanks, again. The internet searches weren't turning up anything close to 81. I'll check this place out.

Teach

Wannabes · 02-04-2015, 09:23 PM

Teach,

You mentioned taking I-84 east of Scranton as an alternate route, if you do this you might want to check out Promised Land State Park about 20 miles east of Scranton. Tho' we have not stayed there, many of our friends have and say that it's a good place to camp.

awellis3 · 02-05-2015, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wannabes

Teach,

You mentioned taking I-84 east of Scranton as an alternate route, if you do this you might want to check out Promised Land State Park about 20 miles east of Scranton. Tho' we have not stayed there, many of our friends have and say that it's a good place to camp.

I appreciate the referral. However, we have discovered that our travel day gets to be no fun after about 350 mi. Four hundred is stretching it. I mean, we're retired and do this for fun. This means we need to stop around Wilkes-Barre. Anything north or east of Scranton is too far.
I did notice Frances Slocum S.P. is only 12 miles off I-81 right at Wilkes-Barre. This looks to be a good spot.
I think I'll put an inquiry about the park over on RVNet and see who chimes in.

Teach