Best stopover between NYC and Chicago?
 

Hi all
I'm wondering where would be the best place to stop overnight between NYC and Chicago. Currently, I've booked a night in the Marriott TownePlace Suites, Middleburg Hts, Cleveland area, but now I'm wondering if that's too far, especially as we don't pick up our hire car until 9:00am in Manhattan and have to get out of the city! Also, I'm not sure that MH is the easiest place to get to when we are tired and probably cranky. Any suggestions?

Map Quest says this distance is 460 miles or approx 7 hours drive time. f you leave NYC at 9:30am then you should arrive around 5:00pm. What do you think? Unless weather proves to be a factor, the drive, once you leave Metro NY/NJ, is rather painless and quite pretty thru the hills of PA on I-80.
Last time I drove this stretch I made to Indiana in one day.

Thanks Joe. Yes, I knew the mileage, but, having not been there before, didn't know how good the timing might be (very worried about getting out of NY!) We're not fussed about what time we arrive and we are likely to stop every couple of hours or so, for a short break. I wonder if it might be wise to go even further - to Port Clinton, as there are some nice motels down by the water - it would be lovely to wake up to the sight of bobbing boats in the harbour!

I wouldn't worry about getting out of the city at 9:00 AM, everyone's coming in at that time, so you'll be going against traffic. If you're picking up your car in mid-town, you just zip over to the west side, through the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel and you'll be on Rt. 80 West before you know it.

To be honest, you don't zip anywhere in Manhattan after 8am. Even though the poster will be going against traffic by leaving when most people are coming out of the city, Midtown can be at a virtual standstill by 9am, depending on the day. But regardless, I think you can be out of the city before 10. Just realize that you may also get caught up in the tail end of hte rush hour in New Jersey.

We drive from the end of Long Island, NY to Detroit, MI to see family every year at Christmas. We leave at 4am so we can make it over the GW Bridge before traffic starts. When we do this we are in New Jersey in 90 minutes..from Southampton! If we left any later it would take three times that long. If avoiding traffic is important to you (it certainly is less stressful) I would suggest you pick your car up the night before you leave and get going early. The first time we traveled I didn't do any research. That was a mistake. Sleeping in a room off the freeway after a cranky day of driving is not fun. I have spent weeks planing our drives ever since. We have made it to Cleveland in one day-we stayed a beautiful old hotel downtown (www.renaissancecleveland.com) and walked over to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That was amazing. But it was a really, really long day. We have stopped early at The Clarion River Lodge (www.clarionriverlodge.com)and stayed in a River View Suite. That is nice (make sure their restaurant is open before you book). We have also stopped at Tara, A Country Inn (www.tara-inn.com) in Clark, PA. It's not the Mandarin Oriental but the costumed staff make us chuckle and their restaurant serves a good steak and the beer is cold. Driving to Detroit-without traffic-means two 7 hour days of driving. Two really boring days of driving (Rt. 80 is no fun) Chicago is another 4 hours beyond that (at least). If you don't want to stress yourself stop in Detroit and stay at the Marriott in the RenCen downtown. The view of the river from a Jr. suite is amazing and you can try out the casinos, if that is your thing. Then off to Chicago, all bright and chipper. On the way home we like to stop in Bellefonte, PA (we stay at the Reynolds Mansion (www.reynoldsmansion.com)). It is a cute town right off Rte 80 (last time a fellow diner told us to try State College for an overnight stay also). No matter what on the way out we always stop for breakfast at the first TA "truck stop" exit 232 Bloomsburg, PA: The Buckhorn Restaurant there has a stuffed mountain lion that people constantly have their picture taken under. If you've never had to make a drive like this a stuffed lion may seem like a silly trip highlight but if you have you'll know exactly where I am coming from. Good Luck.

There are plenty of motels in Youngstown, OH, right off I-80.

If you want to stop a little bit earlier, there used to be a Howard Johnson in Mercer, PA, overlooking I-80. I've stayed there and it was nice. But it's now called "Inn at Mercer" and recent comments on Tripadvisor aren't very nice.

Port Clinto should be no more than 1.5 hours from Cleveland.
I've never stayed in Port Clinton. Been through it. Its a pretty enough spot on Lake Erie and it bills itself as "The Walleye Capital of the World"
Also its near to Cedar Point Amusement Park which is still open on weekends in October.
I don't know how many bobbing boats would be left in the water this late in the season.

One thing that might help is the information at all the rest areas. You will find a local hotel/motel guide at all the rest stops that will give you info on hotels along the way, with phone numbers and even discount coupons or codes, so if you have a cel phone you can make a reservation from the car along the way. Also helpful to have if you decide that you want to stop earlier.

Have a lovely trip.

Hi guys - thanks for giving me lots of ideas! I loved the look of Tara, until I looked at the price ... a bit expensive just for an overnight. Anyway, I am still thinking! Bobbing boats in October - LOL! Sorry, I wasn't clear, we don't go until next June! I am way ahead of myself, but we have the plane tickets and I've booked most places already!

i can´t imagine driving from nyc to chicago and just stopping to sleep.

isn´t there anything you would like to see / experience on the way???

if not.. i would certainly fly and get your car at destination.

Hi
Well, of course there are places we might like to see/experience along the way - or what's the point in doing it? This will be our third road trip in the USA and we treat each day's driving as the holiday. The overnight's are just that - somewhere to sleep (unless it's for several days, and then we're more piccy). But it's a good idea to plan where to stop first - and then, once we know our mileage, we can study the map and stop accordingly. (Wouldn't dream of flying, we are going to drive the lot! :))