indu8621

Hello,
I am from California. We are family of 3 (a 3 yr old kid) and planning for a Eastcost trip starting from New Hampshire to Tennessee (smoky mountains) road trip covering all the major attractions in end of Aug 2023 or 1st week of Sep 2023.
Looking for itineraries suggestions covering major points.
Please help!

Thanks in advance.

Moderator1

Welcome to Fodors. We moved your thread from Travel Tips to the United States Forum

dfrostnh

Where in NH are you starting and how long do you have? And why end in TN?
we once made a camping trip from NH south but only got as far as NC in a out 3 weeks. We wanted to travel the Skyline Drive. luray Caverns was a highlight but that might not appeal to your family. A young child was startled when the lights were turned off and grabbed the nearest leg which turned out to be our young teen son's.

the end of August/first week of September is beginning of agricultural fair season. Again, maybe not great for a three yo. Scenic boat rides give the driver a break. We like Portsmouth NH scenic boat rides. In NH we like Squam Lakes Science Center which would give your family a nice view of wild animals in natural habitat. The Squam Lakes boat cruise also offered s a large pontoon boat. It's not too long so might not be boring for your child. If you head west to Norwich VT the Montshire Museum and water play might be too advanced for your child. Good old digging in the sand at a NH state park might be best. Weirs Beach is very popular. There are quieter lakes however. Also you might prefer ocean beach.

what are your interests? Classic car cruise nights are popular in NH and probably other states. A favorite farm event in late August is Musterfield Farm in North Sutton Old Time Farm Days. There's a tractor parade inmthe afternoon, when we exhibited our antique John Deere tractor we let chidren sit on the seat. Young 4H working steer club usually does demonstrations. It is also close to a lake where some play in sand and water would be nice.

when our son and his family did cross country trips they would look for public playgrounds. There are also fun stops like getting ice cream at Beech Hill Farm in Hopkinton NH where they have some farm,animals to visit, a corn maze and a giant sand pile and toy trucks to play with.

others will add comments for the other states you might travel thru. We usually avoid CT and NYC area.

PrairieHikerI

Do you want to go to cities such as Boston, New York and Washington and how much time will you have?

indu8621

Thank you for the response guys.
We are thinking of 2 weeks ~
Niagara and New York City are must
Can avoid MA, CA and other non important places.

tomfuller

CA? CA is the abbreviation for California (where you are from). My plan since you want to see Niagara Falls would be to fly to Buffalo New York and go to see the Niagara Falls. Some say the view from the Canadian side is better if you all have passports. After seeing the falls, take the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited east to Syracuse or maybe Albany and rent a car there. Drive east from Albany into Vermont and into New Hampshire. See what you want to see in those 2 states and then return the car where you rented it and take the Lake Shore Limited train on into New York City. You do not need or want a rental car in NYC IMO.
When you are done seeing NYC, take an Amtrak train south out of New York Penn station through Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. Rent a car somewhere in North Carolina near an Amtrak station to go to eastern Tennessee to see the Great Smoky Mountains. Return the car where you rented it and then fly home (Charlotte?)

dfrostnh

sorry, don't understand why you are flying o to NH. It will take 7-8 hours to Niagra, then more time for NYC before heading to TN. It will take more time to get to Niagra if you want to see anything in NH and/or VT. Almost 7 hours from Niagra to NYC. You didn't say why you wanted to go to TN or what your interests are. It's not a trip I would make with a three year old.

indu8621

It was a typo. I mean CT not CA.