Driving from SC to Maine next summer - need help! - RV-Dreams Community Forum

ausc59 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Driving from SC to Maine next summer - need help!

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Try Waynesboro area instead. There is also a Passport America park to the north in Stanardsville, but I know nothing about it. Sometimes you can't get a campground close to where you want and have to drive. We have been up to 40 miles away from where we want to be. Remember, be flexible.

Jo and Ben · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are camped at Misty Mountain Campground which is about 15-20 minutes west of Charlottesville and 7 miles east of the Blue Ridge Parkway & Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive. It is a private campground, very popular, nice but the sites are a bit close together. Plenty of sites long enough for big rigs. Great proximity to Charlottesville as well as the mountains. Beautiful local scenery. The others that we checked out are:
Waynesboro North 340 (located about 15 miles further west in Waynesboro VA, also private, pretty nice)
Small Country Campground (located east of Charlottesville and a ways off the beaten path, decent but not as nice as other two)

There is a KOA south of Charlottesville as well. Not much in the way of public campgrounds, although there is a national park cg in Shenandoah but not sure if that would be convenient for you and also don't know about their capacity for big RV's.

Feel free to pm me if you have more questions. We are here for 3 months while my husband completes a nurse contract assignment at UVA Medical Center in Charlottesville.

Jo

ausc59 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks to you both for such speedy replies! Bill - I had looked at Waynesboro as well but will check it out further as Jo suggested a spot there too there that I had pulled up - and need see how that falls on the actual driving route - (which I am not in charge of!) - at this point our intent is to get to Maine rather quickly so that we will be able to spend most of our time there, then head back home but I was thinking we might could squeeze two nights in in VA if it worked out - don't mind driving some from where we are parked but might not be in the mood to do too much at this point in the trip.....
Jo - I had looked at the Misty Mountain Campground and wondered about it but was having a bit of trouble finding many reviews of it so thanks so much for the first-hand report! We will be in a 40' Prevost bus with no slides and a tow....may be back in touch!
Becky

A-S Travelers · RV-Dreams Family Member

I know you didn't ask about routing, but don't drive through DC, Baltimore, NYC, etc. Unless you plan to spend time there. Work your way over to I-81, follow it to Scranton, PA and pickup I-84 to Mass, then I-90 to I-495 around Boston.

ausc59 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks - I do think that is the way my husband is planning - any suggestions on where to stop around the Scranton area?

FastEagle · RV-Dreams Family Member

Where is your departure point in SC?

We often make that trip. We live in the upstate and go right up to I81, then to I78, then PA33 to Stroudsburg and connect up with US209 up along the Delaware river valley. Great ride along US209 with a couple of RV parks along the way. Then we ziggy on I84 until we find Foxwood. From the Indian casinos it's an easy trip to the belt around Boston to I95.

Have a great time.

FastEagle

-- Edited by FastEagle on Wednesday 15th of October 2014 06:53:51 PM

Diana and Jim · RV-Dreams Family Member

If you make it to Scranton, definitely take in Steamtown. This is a National Historic site devoted to steam railroads. We both loved it. They have a working roundhouse with several steam locomotives in various stages of restoration. It's run by the National Park Service, so it is a high quality place. Worth spending a few hours at, for sure!

Whenever I see the name "Scranton", I think back to the old Harry Chapin song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas", a true story where a trucker with a load of bananas lost his brakes and came into town at 90 MPH, where he crashed and lost his life. Definitely want to do a rig walk around before you get there.

Jim (and Diana)

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

A problem I see is that one person is planning the route and another is in charge of finding campgrounds. We have had to reroute due to campground choices, so both the routing and campground planning are done by one person in our household.

ausc59 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Fasteagle - we are coming from the Augusta/Columbia area so will be starting off up I-20 till we pick up the road to Charlotte NC in Columbia.
Bill & Diana - Thanks for the info on Steamtown - we are big fans of the NPS as well - will try to figure that in - sounds really interesting! As does the H Chapin song - my husband had a college roommate that listened to HC all the time - but I haven't heard of that one....may check it out just to annoy Joe!! (and see if he has heard it either)
Bill - Yes I can see where this division of responsibilities is fraught with potential speedbumps but at least it gives us something to talk about over supper (besides what Vanna's dress looks like tonight!) - I try to get him to set the route first so I know where to confine my research but sometimes I find a place I really want to try and then he has been (so far) pretty gracious to make it work out - keep in mind we do all this wwaaayyyy before we ever get on the road so it isn't like he has the bus heading one direction while I mention that our evening plans include something 60 miles the opposite way! Since we are still confined by his work/vacation schedule we aren't able to hit the road with an open-ended plan or we would end up halfway to Alaska the day he was supposed to be back at work! ha!

Diana and Jim · RV-Dreams Family Member

A Harry Chapin concert was our first date! :)

CJSX2fromCT · RV-Dreams Family Member

Cheri and I live east of Hartford, Ct. 1 mile off I-384 a spur from I-84 and I-91 If the house hasn't sold by then, we offer (free) a place to stay with full hook-ups. We are on ("Boondockerswelcome.com) under same screen name CJSX2FROMCT. Safe travels. Chris.

-- Edited by CJSX2fromCT on Sunday 19th of October 2014 03:14:07 AM

ausc59 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Chris - Thanks for the kind offer - we will certainly keep that in mind - but I do hope your house has sold by then - as I am sure you do!!

Will check back next spring!

Jim and Diana - our first date was a gymnastics meet - Joe was practicing his photo skills and asked if I wanted to tag along. I've been 'tagging along' ever since! (and even hold a lens or two on occasion!)