New England/New York camping route/advice

musika

Everybody wants to be a cat.
Joined
Oct 30, 2017
We will be traveling to a wedding in Ontario in June. On the way there we will be heading via Canada, and the way home we want to go via the US.

Tentative plan so far is to cross at Niagara Falls June 28 or early the 29th, then make our way through upstate NY, VT, 2 days in NH in the north Conway area, 2 days around bar harbour in Maine, then to home in NS.

This puts us in Bar Harbour over July 4 so I am hoping desperately we can get a spot somewhere. If not we will need to adjust to elsewhere in maine.

Any routing suggestions and/or places to camp especially in NY or Vermont that are not too far off the path?

For context, we tow a 24ft Rockwood mini lite and have 2 kids age 4 and 7 who are generally okay driving up to 7 hour stretches. We like scenery and history, and don't mind back roads (though we do need to be home by July 5/6 ish).
 
Well first remember that Route 90 is the New York toll road. If you can swing it I suggest the Lake George area to camp, it is beautiful. Have not camped up there, but used to make motorcycle runs up thru.
 
then make our way through upstate NY, VT, 2 days in NH
If you can swing it I suggest the Lake George area to camp, it is beautiful.

I live in NW Vermont on the Canadian border but have not done any camping in the region, I did go to a campground in the Lake George area to have a look, ( we have Six Flags membership and there is one in Lake George), anyway, the campground is Moose Hillock, and it is big. The sites are rather large, if I where to guess 30 wide by 60 deep with a nice stone fire pit. Cannot remember the price but they are on line. The even have GC rental.
And the they are also over in North Warren NH.
 


I don't know about campgrounds in NY or VT, but as a former Mainer, we used to camp in NH every year at Danforth Bay Campground near No. Conway. It's beautiful large camping resort off Lake Ossipee. I never camped in Bar Harbor but Used to camp in the Boothbay Harbor area every 4th of July, used to stay at Grays Homestead Campground, loved that you could place an order for cooked lobsters and clams and they would deliver them to your site. We used to go down to their beach and watch the fireworks. Hope you have a great time :)
 
Near Syracuse, NY is a drive-in called "Heid's of Liverpool." It's a local legend. The kind of place that the line goes out the door on the weekends with both locals and tourists.

It's a childhood favorite from visiting my great-grandmother in the summers. Go for the coney dogs and some birch beer. Wash it all down with a half moon cookie from any bakery in the area.
 


There is a campsight north or niagra falls thats nice. Not sure if you plan on staying in that area? Four mile creak state park. There is stuff closer but this is more spread out. Are you looking for like koas? Lake george is nice, food to stay dor a day or two. Same thing here, family resort style campgrounds. There are 2 state parks, one in the center on town, and another up in lake luzerne. Otherwise im sure there are nice spots on the Hudson along the way. I think any place you go will be good, your camping!
 
Thanks for the replies! I think Lake George and Cooperstown are a bit off the route I was thinking... Here's what I have got so far. We're trying to keep the google maps driving to under 6 hours a day where possible (knowing that it will be likely more than that with camper in tow, sightseeing, etc... comments welome! The more I think about it, the more going a bit south via Lake George into Vermont might make more sense...

Sat Jun 28 - Leave Cambridge ON, cross the border, camp at either Hamlin Beach or Lakeside State parks
Sun Jun 29 - Hug the lakeshore (Great Lakes Seaway trail), take in the sights along the way, camp at Brown Tract pond. (This campground is really just to break up the drive - not looking for scenic, just an overnight - open for suggestions on routing here because nothing seems obvious to me. Would prefer not to drive through Syracuse if we can avoid, we like smaller roads)
Mon Jun 30 - Make our way to Vermont, take the ferry to Burlington. Stop at Ben and Jerrys. Camp at Groton Forest (New Discovery state park)
Tues Jul 1 - Travel to NH to set up camp near North Conway NH for two nights. Our priorities in this area are Mt Washington Cog train, Outlet shopping, and likely Storyland. Everything I checked further north of North Conway appears to not be available or have a 3 site minimum.
Wed Jul 2 - Day 2 in NH
Thurs Jul 3 - Drive to Maine and (hopefully) camp at Acadia National Park (either State site or private campground).
Fri Jul 4 - Acadia NP and Bar Harbour fireworks!
Sat Jul 5 - The loooooong drive home to Nova Scotia (potentially with a stopover at a provincial park overnight if we need it, should be able to grab something on the fly)
 
Sat Jul 5 - The loooooong drive home to Nova Scotia (potentially with a stopover at a provincial park overnight if we need it, should be able to grab something on the fly)

Not much help for the camping/route ideas, but my parents and I camped in Nova Scotia in our Ford Econoline 150 van when I was 7 and then again when I was 13 or so in a rental RV. Also visited Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland over those years. One of the things I recall about Nova Scotia was that my parents collected a LOT of driftwood at the shore, brought it home, and then used it to build a geographical relief map/shape of the whole province which then hung in our family room for years....
 
I'm back after some more thinking and adjusting. I'm still stuck on what route to take through the Adirondacks. Revised plan:

Sat Jun 28 - Leave Cambridge ON, cross the border, camp at either Hamlin Beach or Lakeside State parks
Sun Jun 29 - Hug the lakeshore (Great Lakes Seaway trail), take in the sights along the way, camp at Brown Tract pond. (This campground is really just to break up the drive - not looking for scenic, just an overnight - open for suggestions on routing here because nothing seems obvious to me. Would prefer not to drive through Syracuse if we can avoid, we like smaller roads)
Mon Jun 30 - Make our way to Vermont, take the ferry to Burlington. Stop at Ben and Jerrys. Camp at Groton Forest (New Discovery state park)
Mon Jun 30 - Travel to Twin Mountain NH to set up camp near North Conway NH for two nights. (BOOKED) Our priorities in this area are Mt Washington Cog train, Outlet shopping, and likely Storyland. Everything I checked further north of North Conway appears to not be available or have a 3 site minimum.
Tues Jul 1 - Day 2 in NH
Wed Jul 2- Jul 3 - Drive to Maine and (hopefully) camp at Acadia National Park (either State site or private campground) - BOOKED - Hadley point for 3 nights (Jul 2/3/4).
Sat Jul 4 - Acadia NP and Bar Harbour fireworks!
Sun Jul 5 - The loooooong drive home to Nova Scotia (potentially with a stopover at a provincial park overnight if we need it, should be able to grab something on the fly)

We've decided to avoid driving to Maine on Jul 3 due to anticipated holiday crowds, but that means we have to scrap the night we had planned in VT (which I'm not too upset about as there was a 2 night minimum at the campsite I was thinking). That means we have Jun 28-Jun 30 to get ourselves from Niagara Falls to New Hampshire. Any suggestions or advice on:

Route 104 (Seaway Trail) vs Route 20 (Finger Lakes)? -- Night 1
Route 3 (Tupper/Saranac Lakes) vs. Route 28 (Old Forge) vs ?? -- Night 2
Crossing into VT - Up to Plattsburg, or take the longer Fort Kent/Burlington ferry?

From VT, I think we're pretty solid on heading to Waterbury then making our way to Rte 302.
 
Crossing into VT - Up to Plattsburg, or take the longer Fort Kent/Burlington ferry?

I live in NW Vermont and would definitely go the Plattsburgh route. When you get off the ferry in Vt. the drive through the islands is pretty scenic, especially crossing over the sand bar. Plenty of little shops to stop and see.

Once you get to I-89, it is 45 minutes to an hour to Ben and Jerry’s in Waterbury.

Not sure in what the ferry is going to run you towing a trailer, when I went over for work in the work truck, @ 19 feet with one passenger it cost, I believe 22.00. They don’t charge by axle they charge by length and passengers.

If you decide against the ferry and head north to Champlain NY and cross into VT that way, it’s 5 -10 minutes longer than taking the ferry and of course more scenic taking route 2 instead of getting on the interstate.
 
I live in NW Vermont and would definitely go the Plattsburgh route. When you get off the ferry in Vt. the drive through the islands is pretty scenic, especially crossing over the sand bar. Plenty of little shops to stop and see.

Once you get to I-89, it is 45 minutes to an hour to Ben and Jerry’s in Waterbury.

Not sure in what the ferry is going to run you towing a trailer, when I went over for work in the work truck, @ 19 feet with one passenger it cost, I believe 22.00. They don’t charge by axle they charge by length and passengers.

If you decide against the ferry and head north to Champlain NY and cross into VT that way, it’s 5 -10 minutes longer than taking the ferry and of course more scenic taking route 2 instead of getting on the interstate.

Do you think the time savings would be worth the ferry cost? My rough napkin math says we'd be somewhere around $50-60 for the 15 minute crossing. Scenic is good, but we also need to get to NH at some point during the day lol. Decisions, decisions. If we stay at Cranberry Lake in NY, Google maps tells me going via Champlain is around 5.5 hours (so, tack another 1.5 hrs onto that easy when we're towing).

The other option per Google Maps would be to take Route 86/9N to Essex-Charlotte Ferry (again, debatable whether it's worth the $$$), then Rt 7/I-89 to Waterbury. That seems more direct in that it's left to right, but perhaps I'm missing something about how going as far north as Champlain is beneficial?
 
Looking at the ferry rates, at www.ferries.com, with your trailer and tow vehicle, guessing around 36 - 45 feet, just the vehicles and driver is 30.50, then add in 4.50 per passenger. If i had to do it i would take the ferry. Be advised though, and not to detour you from the ferry or anything, but you may have a little wait. Depending on a number of things, did it just leave as you where getting your ticket, how many large vehicles are waiting to get to get across. If you have to wait it is usually only 10 minutes. They run two ferries opposite of each other and coming in June they may have three running.

As for the Charlotte crossing, there is no easy way to get to the interstate, you would have to take 2 lane roads with little to no shoulder with hills and curves which would be about a 35 minute drive without towing to Williston Vt. I-89, or going up route 7 to I-189 to I-89 which is about 35 minutes also but with heavier traffic and a lot of lights.

So to answer your question, if i had planned for the extra expense for the opportunity to take the ferry, yes I would definitely take the one in Plattsburgh. That route again with out towing is about 38 minutes but you wouldn’t be back tracking like you would with the Charlotte crossing.

If you take the Plattsburgh, seems weird calling it that when we call it something else, when you get to I-89 again without towing you are 40 minutes from Ben and Jerry’s.

Let me know if you need some assistance or more explaining.

Vince
 
Just a question about the ferry. Down here i was going to do a ride across the cape may lewis one in NJ. My buddy said he took his TT over it and had a bad time due to the tides. They were low this caused the ramp to be at a greater incline making him bottem out. Are the diffrent up there because there lakes? Or has anyone else had this problem? Just asking, as its better to know then not. I decided to add the extra time to my drive rather then deal with this. It may be diffrent up there as its not an ocean inlet and may not be as greatly effected.
 
The only problems we have with the ferry up here depends on the water level. While the docks do move with the level of the water, if the lake is real low, maybe below 86 ft., not sure on the exact number that does make for a difficult load to where one might bottom out, and then again in the spring with the snow melt, if the lake is above 100 ft. There is a possibility of the trailer botttoming out. All and all it’s not to bad.
 
Looking at the ferry rates, at www.ferries.com, with your trailer and tow vehicle, guessing around 36 - 45 feet, just the vehicles and driver is 30.50, then add in 4.50 per passenger. If i had to do it i would take the ferry. Be advised though, and not to detour you from the ferry or anything, but you may have a little wait. Depending on a number of things, did it just leave as you where getting your ticket, how many large vehicles are waiting to get to get across. If you have to wait it is usually only 10 minutes. They run two ferries opposite of each other and coming in June they may have three running.

The wait doesn't bother me too badly, I actually thought it surprising there were so many runs! I'm used to the PEI ferry that runs once an hour.

As for the Charlotte crossing, there is no easy way to get to the interstate, you would have to take 2 lane roads with little to no shoulder with hills and curves which would be about a 35 minute drive without towing to Williston Vt. I-89, or going up route 7 to I-189 to I-89 which is about 35 minutes also but with heavier traffic and a lot of lights.


This is EXACTLY the kind of local information I've been looking for, so thank you very much for replying. I get it now.

So to answer your question, if i had planned for the extra expense for the opportunity to take the ferry, yes I would definitely take the one in Plattsburgh. That route again with out towing is about 38 minutes but you wouldn’t be back tracking like you would with the Charlotte crossing.

If you take the Plattsburgh, seems weird calling it that when we call it something else, when you get to I-89 again without towing you are 40 minutes from Ben and Jerry’s.
Now I'm curious, what DO you call it??

Just a question about the ferry. Down here i was going to do a ride across the cape may lewis one in NJ. My buddy said he took his TT over it and had a bad time due to the tides. They were low this caused the ramp to be at a greater incline making him bottem out. Are the diffrent up there because there lakes? Or has anyone else had this problem? Just asking, as its better to know then not. I decided to add the extra time to my drive rather then deal with this. It may be diffrent up there as its not an ocean inlet and may not be as greatly effected.

Take this with a tablespoon of salt, because I feel like all crossings are likely different. However, we took our TT over and back to Prince Edward Island in the summer and it was a piece of cake. This is an ocean crossing (Northumberland Strait). I think it probably has a lot to do with the size of the vessel as well - the PEI ferry is quite large. I did find it steep going in but they were very helpful about getting us aligned properly and we did not bottom out (though it was close).
 
The wait doesn't bother me too badly, I actually thought it surprising there were so many runs! I'm used to the PEI ferry that runs once an hour.

This ferry runs 24 - 7 365 days a year. One of the ferry’s is an ice breaker.
 

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