Baltimore, Maine, Adirondak Mountains
 

Also posted in the Maine forum...

I'm new on here so please bear with me. On June 1 I will be arriving in Baltimore then driving into Maine, with a return trip thru the Adirondak mountains, arriving back in Baltimore on Thurs June 7. I realize this is a short time to cover a large area, but the two places we are focusing on are Maine and the Adirondaks. The rest of the area we will just be driving through. We want to get far enough up in Maine to make it to Acadia and then head to the mountains. Is this doable? Suggestions, please...

Baltimore to Acadia National Park is about 12 hours. So one of your 6 days will be a long one spent driving to Acadia. I'd say the drive from Acadia to New YOrk is about 9 hours. So that's a 2nd day for your trip leaving u 5 days. One day will be spent driving back to Baltimore leaving u 4 days to spend at your 2 destinations. Doesn't seem like near enough time. Maybe focus on one place or another.

If you have 2 or better yet, 3, drivers this is more doable. I LIKE to drive and there is no way I would be wiling to spend so many hours behind the wheel. (The day from Baltimore to Acadia will be 12 solid hours of driving - more if traffic - so 14 or so with stops for fuel, meals and to walk around a little. (IMHO driving for more than 2 or 3 hours straight without a stop to walk around is a really bad idea - just in terms of focus if noting else.) And you may not have allowed for how demanding some of the driving will be - esp from Baltimore up past NYC.

And this assumes you will be arriving about 7 am on the 1st and can get an early start. If you arrive later in the day you just won;t get that far - and will have only 1 full day in Acadia.

Are you going to see something IN Baltimore either at the beginning or the end of your trip?
If you are flying to BWI for some specific reason, why not ride Amtrak from the BWI station to Boston and rent a car from there?
There are many Northeast Regional trains every day.
The train may not be any faster but you don't end up making the tiring drive.

Thanks for all your replies. There will be two of us making the trip and driving is not a problem for either of us. We don't arrive in Baltimore until 1:00 so making the drive all the way is probably out, but plan to pick up the rent car and get as far as we can. I don't have to be back in Baltimore until Thursday night, June 7th. Can you suggest some "must see" places? Is coming back through upstate New York and the Adirondak mountains doable?

Thanks! Wendy

With the limited time u have, I would stick to the coast of Maine. Lots of scenic & interesting places to c on the way to Acadia. Ogunquit and kennebunkport are both lovely villages. I would stop in Portland for one night or even two. Portland is a terrific small town with great restaurants. From there u could go halfway up to Acadia or do the drive straight up to Acadia stopping along the way at whatever hits your eye. It shouldn't be too crowded in early June. Boothbay harbor is nice, Camden is pretty and Rockland is also nice. A bit off the beaten bath is the Bath area or the penisulas near there. Further up Belfast is a nice little town. Get a Maine guide book or google the various towns and choose ones that are appealing to you.

Thanks so much for your help.

Have you considered just flying into New England and getting a one-way rental back to Baltimore? Even if you have already committed to starting at BWI, AirTran has pretty inexpensive flights for say, Baltimore to Portland.

You may like driving, but the trip from Baltimore north is grueling. It's hard, fast, boring interstates with a lot of toll roads, and all it takes is one or two accidents or construction zones on the way to really throw the timeline off.

Thanks for your suggestion, but I have a meeting in Baltimore and the plane ticket was purchased a while back.

Thanks for your suggestion, but I have a meeting in Baltimore and the plane ticket was purchased a while back.

The Washington Post the other day showed alternative routes to popular destinations from DC. Here's the one for Northeastern US. this would avoid the dreadful I95 and Garde State Parkway -- u might consider it.

●Alternatives: Consider I-95 to I-695, just before Baltimore, to I-83 to York and Harrisburg, Pa., then I-81 to I-78. Options include staying on I-78 across New Jersey toward New York City, or taking a more northerly course, following Route 22 just before Allentown, Pa., to Route 33 to I-80 across the top of New Jersey.

You misunderstood my suggestion. I understood you needed to start in Baltimore, so fly from Baltimore to Portland -- and skip that 12-14 hour drive up.

Thanks, everyone!