Eastern US/Canada/Texas Trip Advice

[rfloyd99]

We (wife and I, no pets) will be leaving Florida July 8th for a four month trip in our 27 ft. Travel Trailer. We have taken two month and a six month trips within the last few years, so aren't rookies, but haven't RV'd in the eastern part of the US and Canada before.

Our itinerary: Florida to Buffalo, NY through Pittsburgh.

Niagara Falls,Toronto,Ottawa,Montreal,Quebec City

Quebec to coastal Maine, then ramble around as
much of New England as possible.

Then to Upstate NY, then through Cleveland to Chicago (any suggestions for side trips into Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana?)

Then to Denver to visit family.

Then to Carlsbad Caverns NP, Big Bend NP, West Texas, Texas Hill Country, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, home to Tampa Bay.

Obviously we realize we can't see everything along that route! We are in our late 60's, reasonably fit and active, and enjoy both cities and the countryside. We like to stay in state and national parks when possible, and reasonably priced commercial parks (swimming pools, cable TV aren't important). We usually stay in one location for 2-5 days.

When we went on our long West Coast trip a couple of years ago we posted a question like this and got lots of really great tips, so thought I would try it again, especially since we haven't visited many of these areas, especially not in an RV.

So, if you are from or are familiar with the places along our route, please chime in with suggestions, warnings, etc.!

Thanks in advance,

Riley and Val

[rk911]

Willow13 wrote:
If Chicago is a must do on your list, you might want to consider staying here: Paul Wolff Campground and taking the train into Chicago.

completely agree. there is a metra station about 10-min from the CG.

[DavidandDayle]

Driving in the Toronto area means that nothing anywhere else will faze you. The roads are inadequate for the traffic. (I live in the area.)
There is a toll road called 407 ETR. If you do not have a transponder, they bill you, bill you for sending the bill, and charge extra if you are over, I think, 5 tons.
The campgrounds I know in the area are all at least an hour out of town.
Canada only checks passports so that you can get home again.

If you do this trip, will there be anything left for next year?

[Willow13]

If Chicago is a must do on your list, you might want to consider staying here: Paul Wolff Campground and taking the train into Chicago.

[jcsb]

As far as going in and out of Canada, check out the forum on Canada and Alaska. A lot of do's and don'ts. You must have a US passport to return to the US. When we went thru Canada to Alaska, your drivers license was good enough to get into Canada but we used our passports any way.

also info on not only firearms but food that is not allowed by either Canada or the US.

[rfloyd99]

OP here. Many great ideas, thanks to all who have taken the time to write. We will definitely study the rules re entering/returning from Canada (done it once, a couple of years ago, will check for the latest regs). Also, will now avoid I-80!

We enjoy cities (museums, architecture, casual local restaurants, etc.). We've had good experiences finding an RV park on the outskirts and commuting in for 2-3 days. Tips that fit this plan are welcome for the Canadian cities and Chicago. We are skipping NY, Boston, Philly, DC this trip. We recently lived in Denver, so are familiar there.

The suggestions for Parks, historical sites, great scenery, interesting small towns, etc. are welcome. As I said, no way we can see it all on such a long trip, but love the thoughts of those who have been there.

Plan so far is to be in Canada 3-4 weeks late July and August, New England and Upstate NY for a month, then west to Chicago, then arriving in Denver early October for a wedding, leaving there October 14th. So our trip through Texas and the south will be in hopefully cooler weather.

Thanks again, and please keep posting!

[TxGearhead]

Not sure how Tampa humdity compares to Houston and new Orleans, but it's plenty hot and humid along the coast in the summer. Just be prepared.

[4runnerguy]

Are you wanting to visit the big cities or are they just place holders for your general route?

As bgum asked, have you been to Washington D.C.? Easy to spend a week there between the museums, monuments, etc. Stay outside the city and take the Metro in. We also found Monticello in VA really interesting.

I find much of I-80 tough to drive because of the amount of truck traffic. Makes it very busy plus the highway is quite rutted because of all the trucks. We much prefer I-70 when possible. So to avoid that section, how about Pittsburg (any reason you picked that far west on your northern trek?) to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, then east through upstate NY, VT, NH (and any other New England destinations) to Maine (Acadia NP of course). From Maine, head east to and through NB/NS, then through Quebec. Continue west through Canada staying north of the big cities when appropriate. Reenter the U.S. either near Detroit or further north near Pt. Edward. South through Michigan. Plan on visitng Greenfield Village-Henry Ford Museum. Then pick your way south to Springfield Ill to visit the Lincoln Museum and the Lincoln Home. Both amazing places. Then pick your route to Denver. (Straight east from Springfield you'll hit the Mississippi at Hannibal, MO. A little touristy but interesting place along the rivier).

Don't know when your planned visit to Denver is, but Big Bend is cooler the later in the fall you can visit. A little out of the way if you're going direct to Carlsbad from Denver, but the jaunt west to Santa Fe might be of interest.

Austin is interesting, but plan on a full day in San Antonio not only to visit the Alamo but also the other missions along the Mission Trail. Don't miss sampling some amazing BBQ in the Hill Country.

A very long trip so once you pick a specific route, break it into sections and post questions about smaller segments.

[Orion]

The roads around Toronto include the busiest freeway in the world, or used to be until recently!
Also, make sure that you have NO weapons of any kind, including mace pepper spray etc, or anything related to them like holsters, shell casings etc, that will trigger a more intensive search.

[rfloyd99]

Thanks for the responses, I'm definitely making notes. Keep them coming!

By traffic around the Canadian cities, I assume you mean it is/can be heavy. We're used to that, and do what we can to avoid it. Any more specific details or recommendations?

[CFerguson]

I've never been there, but Chicago has the best museums this side of the Smithsonian. Otherwise, I'd avoid Chicago like the plague.

[Tripalot]

Are you aware of the traffic conditions around Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal & Quebec City?

[Shearwater]

Suggestion 1 - in West Texas the most interesting place(s) are the Davis Mountains. A lot of interesting wildlife on the circular drive and also the observatory which has evening stargazing programs.

Suggestion 2 - Interstate 80 is the single most boring route through the US. We've driven it many times. Unless you have a good reason to visit Cleveland and Chicago I would suggest other routes.

Suggestion 3 - Tour New England before crossing into Canada and then go west along the north shore of Lake Superior. Visit Thunder Bay and then reenter the US and travel along the north shore of Lake Superior to Duluth. Follow US 2 west through North Dakota (which is surprisingly interesting) and then cut south to Denver. (Eastern Montana is pretty boring.)

Suggestion 4 - Reenter the US at Sault Saint Marie and then explore the Upper Peninsula of Michigan before catching US 2. All routes are interesting.

Check the rules about entering Canada and reentering the US. There are strict rules about fresh food, liquor, and gifts that you really need to know.

[jplante4]

Moved from General RVing.

[Matt_Colie]

Riley and Val,

I do have some suggestions based on the route you sort of laid out.
I can't help with New England much because I lived in eastern CT and haven't even been back there in years.
But, I you are museum people, hang on.....
If you get north in upper NY, in Rochester is the Strong Museum of Play. This is a great stop if you were a child once or even know anybody that was.
If you go across NY on the Southern Tier Expressway (No Tolls), then plan a stop in the Corning Glass Museum.
If you are into ships and history, the museum in Erie PA is good. There are also numerous museum ships that dot Lake Erie, but I used to rum those, so I don't tend to bother with them.
If you plan to go north to Michigan, buy fuel in Ohio or at least check it out on gas buddy.
Now, for an excursion into MI, there are two museums that should not be missed and they are both in the same place. There is the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn (very near Detroit), and coupled with that is the Greenfield Village complex. Neither is cheap, so read about them first.
Then while still in Michigan and if you are car people. Lookup the Gilmore in Hickory Corners. It has collections that exist no where else. The Kalamazoo (a real place) has the Air Zoo that used to be a collection of Grumman Cats. It now has a lot else too. It is close to the highway.
From here, I would like to send you off the the Field and Science and Industy in Chicago. Both are very good but parking is a bear and expensive. You will have to leave the coach out of town...
Now let's see if I can post this....
Matt