Raleigh NC to NY Thousand Islands - suggestions/advice
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Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,696
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From: Wake Forest, NC
Raleigh NC to NY Thousand Islands - suggestions/advice
My wife and I are leaving Saturday 7/15 with destination Clayton/Alexandria Bay NY. We have 9 days. Below is itinerary with some blanks to fill in. We plan to ride 300 miles/day and 8 hours/day max and avoid Interstate as much as possible.
Saturday July 15 -
Leave Wake Forest NC, take US15 to Leesburg VA and stay with friends. This day is pretty well mapped out, we've done it a few times before.
Sunday -
Leesburg VA -> Binghamton NY to parents house. Plan to take US15 to north of Harrisburg PA, then route 220 north to Waverly, then 17 east to Binghamton. We probably have ~ 2 hours of diversion we can add, Gettysburg? Other stops along the route? Natural, historic or food attractions? Construction areas to avoid?
Monday - Binghamton to Sandy Pond on Lake Ontario. (in-laws have a cabin here) Would like to avoid Syracuse/I-81. Go east through Norwich/Rome east of Oneida Lake then west ? Better route? Places to stop/look/eat?
Tuesday/Wed - Clayton/Alex Bay boat tour, winery tour etc. Other things to see/do? Not in a big hurry
Thursday - Sandy Pond to Binghamton. Route suggestions and attractions/food/scenery? Also not in a big hurry
Friday - Finger lakes area with my parents, they will probably plan this day out for us.
Sat/Sun - Return from Binghamton to Wake Forest (Raleigh) open itinerary here. We will stay at hotel Sat night. Go east of DC down DelMarVa peninsula into Norfolk VA? Or will traffic be a disaster? I know it's beach season. Go west through PA/VA/WVa? Route/attractions/lodging/food? Looking for any suggestions on this one.
Thanks in advance.
Saturday July 15 -
Leave Wake Forest NC, take US15 to Leesburg VA and stay with friends. This day is pretty well mapped out, we've done it a few times before.
Sunday -
Leesburg VA -> Binghamton NY to parents house. Plan to take US15 to north of Harrisburg PA, then route 220 north to Waverly, then 17 east to Binghamton. We probably have ~ 2 hours of diversion we can add, Gettysburg? Other stops along the route? Natural, historic or food attractions? Construction areas to avoid?
Monday - Binghamton to Sandy Pond on Lake Ontario. (in-laws have a cabin here) Would like to avoid Syracuse/I-81. Go east through Norwich/Rome east of Oneida Lake then west ? Better route? Places to stop/look/eat?
Tuesday/Wed - Clayton/Alex Bay boat tour, winery tour etc. Other things to see/do? Not in a big hurry
Thursday - Sandy Pond to Binghamton. Route suggestions and attractions/food/scenery? Also not in a big hurry
Friday - Finger lakes area with my parents, they will probably plan this day out for us.
Sat/Sun - Return from Binghamton to Wake Forest (Raleigh) open itinerary here. We will stay at hotel Sat night. Go east of DC down DelMarVa peninsula into Norfolk VA? Or will traffic be a disaster? I know it's beach season. Go west through PA/VA/WVa? Route/attractions/lodging/food? Looking for any suggestions on this one.
Thanks in advance.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 17,548
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From: Oxford, Nc
I rode to York, PA (from Oxford, NC,) and chose the Norfolk / DelMarVa route to get north.
Once south of Delaware, DelMarVa is a wide open, casual ride all the way to the Bridge. (And Rt 58 home is always easy as well.)
Enjoy the trip!
Once south of Delaware, DelMarVa is a wide open, casual ride all the way to the Bridge. (And Rt 58 home is always easy as well.)
Enjoy the trip!
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2018
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From: upstate NY
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 10,858
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From: My own little slice of heaven
I would definitely spend some time at Gettysburg. Nothing else like it in the country.
you could come out of Gettysburg on route 30 and ride some of Amish country if that fits
you could come out of Gettysburg on route 30 and ride some of Amish country if that fits
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 9,978
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From: Michigan
NY state (unlike NYC) has some beautiful scenery,
The "downside" (IMO) is the toll roads and that you MUST leave your "hardware" at home.
The "downside" (IMO) is the toll roads and that you MUST leave your "hardware" at home.
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Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,696
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From: Wake Forest, NC
Just got back tonight. 9 days, 1900 miles. We had a great time. Condensed version. From Wake Forest (Raleigh), we went up US15 to Harrisburg, then up I-81 to thousand islands. Clayton NY took boat tour and also wooden boat museum. Coming home we went down east side of Syracuse, back roads down to Binghamton. West to Elmira area then down US220 to West VA. Stayed in Mingo WVa near Snowshoe ski area. Then travelled southeast back to Wake Forest. Many sights and attractions and friends and family along the way. Leesburgh VA, Gettysburg (need to spend another 2 days there) Finger Lakes, 1000 Islands, Endless mountains in PA, West Va and Va small towns. And getting through the mountains from WVa to Staunton VA is no joke. 15-30mph curves every hundred yards. Takes 3 hours to go 100 miles. We got worried about beach and urban traffic along the DelMarVa peninsula, so we took the western route home. But DelMarVa will be a future trip. I'll try to get a trip report together this week with details and pics.
