Best Route from Toledo, OH to the Outerbanks, NC
 

Mapquest recommends two routes: First is I-77S which would go through Akron, Stratsburg, etc. The second route is I-40E which would go through Columbus, OH. Which would be the best traveling route from Toledo, OH to the Outerbanks, NC?
Thanks all suggestions.

also check freetrip.com

I-40 East DOES NOT go through Columbus, Ohio

Are you going to the north end or the south end or are you staying around Nags Head? Makes a difference.

As a follow-on to the above:

the SHORTEST route, mileage-wise, would be to follow the Ohio Turnpike to the Pennsylvania Tpk then take I-70 and then I-270 to I-495 around Washington DC and then I-95 south to I-66 East to Norfolk and then state roads such as Rte 68 south from there.

If you use Mapquest that route will appear.

You would need to plan carefully the timing for getting around Washington, DC; some people go out of their way to avoid that entire segment. Since we do not know what your driving preferences are or your toleration for possible heavy traffic or whether or not you plan to drive straight through it is hard to give further advice unless we get some feedback from you.

Before you fall victim to all those people who tell you they would never go around Washington, DC, be aware that many people do just that and have little if any trouble because they plan accordingly.

I-77 through Charleston WV. Spend the night near Wytheville VA. Go nowhere near Pennsylvania or Washington DC.

Corrections to Dukey's post in bold:

<i>the SHORTEST route, mileage-wise, would be to follow the Ohio Turnpike to the Pennsylvania Tpk then take I-70 and then I-270 to I-495 around Washington DC and then I-95 south to I-<b>64</b> East to Norfolk,<b> VA-168 east to the NC border and US-158 east straight to the OBX. Once you get to Norfolk, there is pretty good signage. </b></i>

"Planning accordingly" in the DC area includes checking your smart phone maps for planned road works which can cause delays day or night. Saturday arriving and leaving the Outer Banks is the heaviest traffic day.

On a personal note, chills went up my spine when I saw the title of your post. We live in Columbus, Ohio and were on our way to the OB through DC in August 2003 when the big East Coast power outage hit. We spent 12 hours going from Maryland suburbs on I95/270 going south to get just past DC southern suburbs. It was a nightmare, people ran out of gas on the highway, etc.

NEVER, NEVER again going to drive through DC.

If I were you, I'd get an map of the US and get an overview of you each route you have outlined to see which is the most logical regardless of what towns they go through. As I'm sure you know, odd numbered interstate roads to north/south while even numbered ones go east/west. For example when you get to North Carolina, if you continued on I-77 you'd end up in South Carolina just after passing through Charlotte and nowhere near the coast. However, on I-40, you'd come through Morganton, Winston Salem, etc heading toward the OBX. Hopefully, that helps orient you a little.