Road Trip to North East, Looking for Suggestions

As soon as you get into Maine on 95/1 make a point to stop here...
http://www.kitterytradingpost.com
It won't disappoint.

If you continue up Rte 1, there's all kind of touristy things and outlet stores.
LL Bean is up the road in Freeport.

It's the off season so Southern Maine traffic won't be a clusterbang.

 

Might was well send him to Sams's Point. Hell even the top of the Trapps and the Nears have some amazing views and color that time of year. To bad it'll probably be to cold to enjoy a dip at Split Rock.

How much is a day pass going for on the Preserve these days?

 

https://mt-washington.com/drive-yourself

 

Who knows, it was like $40/head last time I was there. Haven't been in a few years.

Sam's Point is a good hike, ice caves out to the waterfall is always enjoyable.

 

Last time I was there it was $15 for a day pass and $80 for the yearly. lol

Sam's Point used to see a lot less traffic then everywhere else. It's still crowded but what can you expect when your an hour from NYC and 3 hours from Boston. It's a pretty amazing place and well worth the visit.

@Unner I forget but do you climb?

 

Over the next week in going to try and lock down our route through the area. I'll drop you a PM for sure if we'll be going through the New Platz area.

Good to know about the moose. I just redid all the forward lighting on the 4Runner, to include new headlights, so that should make it a bit safer. Sounds like Acadia and Bar Harbor are the places we should focus on in Maine then!

Nice, I didn't know that was a thing up there. Too bad it's $50 for a week pass when we'd probably only be there for a few hours. We may head out there just to see the cape though.

Thanks for the suggestions. Good to know traffic won't be too bad, just have to make it past all the big east coast cities on the way...

Didn't realize you had spent time up in this area. You were my Sierra Nevadas expert already. Water temperature is only a state of mind.

Man, $55 for two people to drive up seems steep. Although the views do look nice. I thought this was interesting from their website. Doesn't say anything about having several hundred pounds of armor, tires, etc on your vehicle.

We have weight restrictions for an automobile—you can NOT have over 900 lbs of interior weight inside a vehicle.

Which preserve is $40 a head? The Minnewaska one shows only a $10 vehicle fee, unless I'm missing something.

 

We'll probably be there on a Sunday so I guess I should expect them to be pretty busy.

I don't climb, actually never been rock climbing.

 

The Gunks and Acadia are two of the best places to climb on the East Coast. They also have a bunch of stuff to do if you don't climb. Acadia is a really cool place. Bar Harbor is your typical tourist trap but it's also cool in it's own way. One thing you have to do is eat a bunch of lobster rolls. If you've never had one your mind will be blown.

Acadia has kayak rentals. I highly suggest you rent one. Seeing Cadillac Mt from the water at sunset is pretty rad. Also make sure to do the Precipice Hike. Did I mention eat a bunch of lobster rolls? Yeah, eat a few for me. I miss those damn things. lol

 

Acadia is a park I've always had on my list so I'm looking forward to seeing it. Maybe I'll rent a canoe and take the dog out on it. I've never had her on the water though so it could get interesting.

I've never had a lobster roll, so it's definitely on the list of foods to try. I'm looking forward to trying all the local foods on this trip.

 

@Unner I was referring to Mohonk which is the expensive one, but Minnewaska is worth the $15 or whatever per car, but you might not even be able to get in... lines are usually down the road in peak season. Do you hike?

 

Gotcha. I do like hiking. Just nothing that is too crazy long.

 

Sounds to me you better budget another week in your itinerary !
I live in So. NH and I'll bet it's the better part of 8 hrs to Acadia from here...

If you do make it over to VT, Rt 100 is a pretty nice ride up to the Canadian border...

 

it is not the cheapest option for sure i agree
however it is the highest peak in the northeast and if you get clear skies the views are amazing
the mountain/cog rail way/hiking trails/ auto road all have a lot of history
if you are into racing and specifically hill climbing, this road has a lot of history and though the speed limit is 15mph, you are still driving up the same road that legendary drivers rip at high speeds

but yea with all the other suggestions listed in this thread with or without going up mt washington it sounds like you will have a ton of fun!

Pots Pics along the way!!!

 

Crazy long in terms of time or miles? haha
This is 100% worth doing if you end up in the New Paltz area: https://hikethehudsonvalley.com/hikes/mohonk-mountain-house-labyrinth-and-lemon-squeeze/
Or in the Hudson Valley check out Kaaterskill Falls or Breakneck Ridge (difficult but worth it)

 

if you are going to be up in Acadia and want a really fun short hike with great views check out the Precipice Trail
i highly recommend this one: https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/hike-precipice-loop.htm
I have seen grandmas climb this, so as much as caution is advised on this one, it is still very very doable

 

Breakneck has been crazy packed since covid started, and even leading up or was crowded. Really great hike and view but try and go early if you do. Kaaterskill is the same story, beautiful view but super crowded now. Me and my wife used to park at the top and walk to the top of the falls and it used to be completely empty but last year we made the decision that it'd be the last time we tried

 

You're not wrong. It was closed for a little while they did renovations for the parking areas and to put up a guardrail in some spots (which I've still been unable to find) but it's worth the pain in the ass that is parking and dealing with the crowds. If anyone is looking for a much shorter but also excellent hike in the area I can happily steer them in the right direction, it's only a half mile or so but you end up at a fantastic waterfall and don't have to deal with the millions of steps that is Kaaterskill.

 

I haven't been recently but mt beacon is a great view as well

 

If you're gonna take I-81 it'll bring you pretty close to Pottsville, PA where the historic Yeungling brewery is. Oldest operating brewery in the U.S. Never taken the tour but I've heard its really cool. Its free and they give you free samples at the end.