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Route north from the Auto Train

J

jimmymack49

New member
Does anyone have any ideas about getting to New England from the Auto Train avoiding I-95 and I-81 and DC/Baltimore traffic? Basically I'd like to get to the Tappan Zee Bridge or the other bridge at Port Jervis.



1982 R100T
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the forum!
It's wise to skip rt 95 :banghead
I'm rusty on road conditions but may like rt 84.
Good luck.
Gary
 
Avoiding I-95 Around DC

There is an alternative to I-95 which is a little slower, but more scenic. I made a trip from VA to NJ via the DelMarVA Peninsula. My dim old brain seems to recall going across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel, then getting on US Route 13 up the DelMarVA Peninsula to Lewes, DE. Once in Lewes, I took the ferry over to Cape May, NJ, and then went north on local roads, and then the Garden State Parkway. The GSP will take you up to the Tappan Zee.

A fine trip as I recall.
 
Thanks

ExGMan said:
There is an alternative to I-95 which is a little slower, but more scenic. I made a trip from VA to NJ via the DelMarVA Peninsula. My dim old brain seems to recall going across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel, then getting on US Route 13 up the DelMarVA Peninsula to Lewes, DE. Once in Lewes, I took the ferry over to Cape May, NJ, and then went north on local roads, and then the Garden State Parkway. The GSP will take you up to the Tappan Zee.

A fine trip as I recall.
Click to expand...

I've gone that way in a car and you're right, it is a good way but I was coming up I-95 from the south. This time I'll be starting from Lorton VA so it would be backtracking to get to the Bridge-Tunnel.
 
jimmymack49 said:
I've gone that way in a car and you're right, it is a good way but I was coming up I-95 from the south. This time I'll be starting from Lorton VA so it would be backtracking to get to the Bridge-Tunnel.
Click to expand...
From Lorton there are no Potomac river crossings until the DC Beltway.

You could go west from Lorton and then turn north, taking Rt. 15 up past Leesburg to Point of Rocks, where 15 crosses the upper Potomac into Maryland.

That is quite a ways out of your way. I'd bite the bullet and go north on I-95 to the Beltway, cross over the Potomac on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, *then* look for a non-95 route further north.
 
You don't say where you are ending up in New England. The Tappan Zee is not considered New England.
I would do 15 up to Harrisburg pa. Then take 81 for two hours, not a bad ride, then 84 up through Ct. Then Mass turnpike to I think it 470 east around Boston and then you can connect with 95 in Portsmouth NH.
I've toured NE a bunch of times starting out in Harrisburg. Tough to give directions without knowing where you're headed. I would certainly avoid NY or the eastern seaboard until Maine
 
A fine road up through CT it CT15 which is the Merritt/Wilbur Cross Parkway. Up here in New England, "parkway" is a term which means a road from which which trucks (big ones...not panel vans) are banned.

CT15 is a fine road with lots of curves and elevation changes. You could use I-684 from the TZ Bridge to I-84, but be ready for some brain-numbing concrete slabs along the way.

Of course, riding north on CT15 lets you stop at "Katz's Deli" in Woodbridge, CT. Get the lean pastrami...it's the best. :thumb
 
Maine

sal said:
You don't say where you are ending up in New England. The Tappan Zee is not considered New England.
I would do 15 up to Harrisburg pa. Then take 81 for two hours, not a bad ride, then 84 up through Ct. Then Mass turnpike to I think it 470 east around Boston and then you can connect with 95 in Portsmouth NH.
I've toured NE a bunch of times starting out in Harrisburg. Tough to give directions without knowing where you're headed. I would certainly avoid NY or the eastern seaboard until Maine
Click to expand...

Eventually I'll be going to Bar Harbor but I'm not in a hurry. I didn't bother to mention that because I'm originally from central MA so I've been all over New England and I'm familiar with the roads there. I'm just trying to get out of Lorton and avoid the big cities and superslabs whenever possible. The Tappan Zee is just my way of avoiding NYC and I-95.
 
This far-west-Texas country boy needs a little help here. What is the auto train? Which rally is it going towards?? I found the TappenZee bridge, but the auto train was an elusive target.
 
PGlaves said:
This far-west-Texas country boy needs a little help here. What is the auto train? Which rally is it going towards?? I found the TappenZee bridge, but the auto train was an elusive target.
Click to expand...
AMTRAK runs a train just below Washington, DC (Lorton, VA) to Orlando FL (and back). Drive your car/bike onto the train, head for a reserved cabin or the cheap seats, wake up the next day in Florida without being drained by the (boring) 700+ mile slab run down I-95.
 
Look at taking 123 north from Lorton to the Fairfax County Parkway, the FCP to US50, 50 to 15 through Leesburg to Harrisburg, PA. You will go past Gettysburg which is worth a stop. At Harrisburg, to avoid I81, take 22 (it is a little south of and runs parallel to I81). 22 eventually merges with I78 to get you to Easton. Then pick up 57 just east of Easton. It will intersect I80 which will get you to the Tappan Zee. It is not the fastest route, but avoids 95 and 81.

R/Jim
 
Thanks

Chicota said:
Look at taking 123 north from Lorton to the Fairfax County Parkway, the FCP to US50, 50 to 15 through Leesburg to Harrisburg, PA. You will go past Gettysburg which is worth a stop. At Harrisburg, to avoid I81, take 22 (it is a little south of and runs parallel to I81). 22 eventually merges with I78 to get you to Easton. Then pick up 57 just east of Easton. It will intersect I80 which will get you to the Tappan Zee. It is not the fastest route, but avoids 95 and 81.

R/Jim
Click to expand...

Thanks, that sounds exactly like what I'm looking for.
 
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