HunyBadger

From what I've read here, Labor Day/after is the best time to visit Maine (Acadia Nat'l Pk is what we are eyeing) BUT...we're behind the 8 ball and only planning this now. We'd be driving from Philly and have 7-9 days total for our 'round trip. It's just the 2 of us (30-40 yr old) and 2 corgis. We want hiking and some water time, don't need shopping or whale watching (lived in HI)...mostly this is a relax ands get away type vacation for us but we're really active ppl so there will be 1 day that we sit watching the view and then we will be stir-crazy if we don't get physical.

Is it still going to be really crowded over Labor Day weekend...even just to get there? Should we take our time through NH and VT instead to beat ME crowds over the weekend? Should we just bag the Labor Day weekend thing totally and plan a few weeks later? We're pretty spontaneous and don't mind if we don't have scheduled places to stay every night (we've done this in Europe) as long as we find something but with the dogs we are more limited....add to the fact that we're looking at only 3 weeks from now, are we crazy to think anything in ME will be available? Should we bag ME altogether and head for someplace closer/less crowded/less booked in NH/NY lakes regions?

dfrostnh

If you are planning on driving up on Friday, yes, the traffic is going to be heavy. It's always heavy on Fridays. Last summer when we went over to the Wiscasset area on a Friday we didn't have any trouble but we were there by noon. Friends who traveled the same route later in the day ran into traffic all the way from NH/Portsmouth up to Boothbay where they were staying.
Given the number of hours to get to Acadia I would suggest an overnight both coming and going. Even Camden is a long drive but you've got a Mt Battie hike or drive for a reward. Or the Rockland area where you can take the short hike out to Owls Head Light and down to the rocky beach.
Since we live in the Concord NH area the route we take to the PA area goes thru Hartford but then we head north on I91 to VT, getting off in Brattleboro to Keene then 9/202 to Rt 89. Brattleboro to Rt 89 is going to be 50 mph road but you won't hit much traffic until 89. Then you can take Rt 89, connect to Rt 93N and then Rt 4 to Portsmouth. There will be heavy traffic on Rt 4 and 93N on Fridays from about 4:00pm on. If you can get to Portsmouth by lunch time you should miss a lot of the traffic on this section. I don't like the Mass pike at all and then there is heavy traffic on Rt 495 to Rt 95 with a backup at the toll booth in NH. I've seen heavy traffic on Fridays fairly early in the afternoon heading to Rt 95 even in June. You have regular commuters, people heading out for the weekend, etc.
We've enjoyed Maine at various times of the year and have not had trouble with crowds even during 4th of July week. BUT we stay away from places like Boothbay Harbor on the weekend and downtown Camden.
There's going to be a lot of Labor Day weekend traffic in NH's Lakes Region. There's a big fair in Hopkinton NH which might cause some traffic on Rt 89 but probably not on Friday.
You'll probably be able to find some place to stay on Mt Desert. If you can just avoid the Friday afternoon traffic you'll probably be fine although Sat am will probably be very heavy, too on Rt 95.

Lord_Mesron

I have done the drive 3 times from the Philly area to Bar Harbor (Acadia NP is located there), but never over Labor Day weekend. I would imagine that there would be a lot of traffic on Friday, though.

My one suggestion for the drive would be to avoid I-95 through NYC and CT. If you follow AAA or any of the other Internet Maping programs, they seem to want to take you through NYC and then I-95 along the coast of CT to I-91. This will just be backed up with traffic. My suggestion would be to take the NJ turnpike to I-287 and follow that to I-684 and then to I-84. This will take you to I-91. This way you will avoid going through NYC.

Other than that, enjoy your trip. The drive is especially beautiful once you get into Maine, and the Bar Harbor area is great too. The drive is anywhere from 10 - 12 hours depending on traffic and stops. We have done this in one day, though we had 2 - 3 drivers, depending on the trip.

HunyBadger

your replies are great...so what if we decide to leave on Thurs instead?...sounds like we'll still hit heavy commuter traffic. yes? And I'm still not clear if Labor Day weekend itself is a good time to be visiting Acadia. Should we try to shoot for a few days afterward like tue Sept 4 or will it be bust regardless and we should just grin aand bear it?

nytraveler

The Labort Day weekend is VERY high season - Maine will be mobbed. Don;t know if you have looked at hotels - but it's likely you will have trouble finding andydecent lodging at this point (and yes - the high rate last throgh the first week or two of September).

Getting there on Thursday wouldn't be bad if you left early. Friday traffic will be awful everyhere.

But as I said - have a look at hotels now (we tried to do Labor Day weekend one year - reserving in June - and couldn;t get the place we wanted).

sam

If you can wait a day or 2 after Labor Day, the traffic should drop dramatically. Schools are in session and most families have gone home. The weather is still gorgeous that time of year, and the water is the warmest of the summer.

Lord_Mesron

My apologies, but I left a step out of my earlier post in the directions. It should have read:

My suggestion would be to take the NJ turnpike (I-95) to the Garden State Parkway (into NY State) to I-287 and follow that to I-684 and then to I-84. This will take you to I-91. This way you will avoid going through NYC.

escargot

You can do it on Friday, but if I had to do that I would leave at 5am at the latest - I agree with making it an over night - but that's me, I can't stand arriving exhausted and I hate being stuck in holiday traffic- leaving Thursday would be marvelous to avoid some traffic and have a nice overnight in one of the many spots previously mentioned.

If you can wait until after Labor Day - even better - everyone as said , for the most part, is back to school or work.

I'd inquire about some reservations first, as that might make the decision for you.

tracys2cents

I would travel on Sat afternoon & evening. Starting Monday(Labor Day)...the room situation will open up dramatically and you can fly by the seat of your pants all week and into the weekend. On Sat Night and Sun Night of Labor Day weekend it might be tougher and you might want to book something in advance. But even Bar Harbor is showing plenty of openings for Sat & Sun and there are certainly less touristy places to stay that are bound to have vacancies too. So no, it is NOT too late to get up there, and YES, September weather is often glorious.
Hanscomsmotel.com is one pet-friendly place near Bar Harbor that I know of, they are showing avail for Sun but not Sat night right now. You also might check tidewatchcabins and flandersbaycabins.

HunyBadger

thank you all for your replies! I've got a much better idea now of what to do. I think we'll travel through to ME on Sat, perhaps stopping in NH or VT overnight arriving on Sun or even perhaps Mon. Sounds like it will clear out after that so the rest of the week will be good.

cindyj

If you're goal is Acadia, VT is not on the way. Traffic will be bad on friday, but much better Saturday. Most Maine schools start before Labor Day, so we have found the Bar Harbor area to be relatively quiet then. As with anywhere, if you can get off the beaten path you're fine in Acadia, even high season. Rather than head up the coastal Route 1 first, go straight up 95 to Bangor and then down to Ellsworth. Then make your coastal stops on the way home when its much less busy. Other than Acadia, try Belfast for a nice lunch stop and walk around, Camden for a nice town and Camden Hills State Park hiking, Ogunquit for the beach, etc.

HunyBadger

cindyj - yeah, I know VT is not on the way. I mentioned it b/c I figured we could "mosey" to ME by way of VT/NH, arriving in ME on Monday Sep 3 with the hope that the crowds would be vacating ME at that point. Does it make more sense to do it that way (mosey through VT/NH arriving in ME from the west via Laconia or North Conway) or is it better to do as you suggest and "go straight up 95 to Bangor and then down to Ellsworth." Either way, we'd be making our "coastal stops on the way home when its much less busy.", as you suggest.

We have alot of leeway in the route we take and scenic driving is fine with us...as long as we can get out an do something part of the day.

dfrostnh

Follow Lord Mesron's directions to avoid NYC. As I previously stated, going north on I91 to Brattleboro VT is a quicker way to get to Concord NH than going the Mass Pike or Rt 95. From there, it's less than an hour to the coast via Rt 4 (state hwy, some portions only 35 mph but most at 50mph). Mapquest will tell you to take Rt 101 from Manchester but that is a boring route and only a little bit faster(mostly because it is a limited access hwy with a 65mph speed limit/lots of people doing 75). Both will end up connecting with Rt 95 in Portsmouth ABOVE the Seabrook tollbooth which is one of the causes of huge traffic backups. There's a huge amount of traffic heading to the beaches on the NH/northern MA coast.
The North Conway area is about an hour from Portland ME but I think you would hit traffic around the Laconia/Meredith area. When I do travel north from PA or CT, it's usually a Sunday evening or Friday afternoon. Once we get thru Hartford, traffic is usually very light. OTH I always expect heavy traffic on Rt 495 and one time coming home from the Newbury MA thought traffic was very heavy on Rt 495/213 and Rt 93 until I got north of Manchester. At times we were just crawling at 20 mph and it was only June.
A really scenic route would be up thru the Delaware Gap, up to Albany, and across VT from Bennington but that would add a couple of hours.
The question is really which east/west route you should take. PA is very west of New England. If you choose to go north to VT before going east, the stretch from Brattleboro VT to Concord or Manchester NH is state hwys with 50 mph speed limit. But if Rt 495 is crawling along which is almost anytime after 3:00 pm, it can be very slow.
Our best times from the Tannersville PA area to Concord NH is about 7 hours. I think you would have a more enjoyable trip if you didn't try to drive all the way to Bar Harbor in one day. A stop in the White Mountains for some hiking would be nice. There's a paved walk a long the coast from Odiorne Point near Portsmouth NH. Hope you have a great trip!

HunyBadger

ah, dfrostnh you made me realize that I wasn't very clear when I said "mosey". I meant that we would take a few days to get to ME. Thank you for your route info this helps quite a bit.


So at this point I am thinking:
Day 1 - Depart PA drive to VT
Day 2 - explore VT, overnight in VT or NH
Day 3(Mon Sep 3) - head toward ME from either VT or NH, overnight in ME if possible
Day 4 - spend in ME
Day 5 - spend in ME
Day 6 - spend in ME
Day 7 - spend in ME
Day 8 (sat) - dep for PA, overnighting in between if we want
Day 9 (sun) - arrive home in PA

Of course this needs serious fleshing out but it gives me an idea of how long we have. Does that give the Labor Day Weekend enough room to avoid the worst of the crowds?

carolsc

My 2 cents...
Go to Acadia the week after labor day. Stay at 'Rosecliff Cottages' for the week (right up the road from the Park entrance and quiet, not to mention on the water). Bring bikes or rent them for the week. Bring kayaks/canoe or rent. Nice hikes with fabulous views. Have lobster stew at the Jordan Pond House. You will not be bored (unless it rains the whole time).