Is this too much?? My BF insists on a stop at Niagara Falls.

Arrive Eve sleep in DC
Day 1--DC
Day 2--DC
3--DC north to Westpoint/Woodstock/Albany
4--Albany up route 30 to Blue Mountain Lake
5--Blue Mountain Lake to Montreal
6--Montreal
7--Montreal to Charleston Lake for camping
8--Charleston Lake to Niagara Falls
9--Explore Finger Lakes area
10--NYC
11--NYC
Fly home 5PM

I have been to NYC many times before, but this will be first visit to DC and to Montreal. Trip is last week of Sept and first week of October-- Fly days not counted in 12 day total.

Did you figure out how much time you will be spending driving in between theese cities? NYC to Montreal is 7 to 8 hours, Montreal to Niagara Falls is about 12 to 14 hours. I don't know where is Finger Lakes or Charleston Lake. They must be in between if you decided to stop there.

Hope you have a nice trip

Lucie

Just curious, why you selected that order of destinations.

DC to Montreal back to NYC. It doesn't make sense unless you had restricted airline tickets and you just had to see these three cities.

Yes the trip is not linear because I am flying in and out of DC due to restricted flight. I did not think a two week road trip DC-Montreal and back would be too exhausting--but stretching out to fit Niagara into the trip makes it more of a big circle. Aloopy trip for a "road trip" vacation.....

I realize it is 8-10 hours between DC and Montreal, but am leaving myself two full days to make the trip so I can make some side trips on the way.

Charleston Lake is between Montreal and Niagara and the finger lakes are between Niagara and NYC.

I tried to limit all driving days to less than 6 hours of driving interspersed with days without any driving. And I have three days off work after I get home--I can sleep when I return--and the foliage should make for nice scenic drives even if it is 8 hours on road.

Whew! DC to Albany is about 8 hours with no stops, no traffic, no construction. Might make more sense to overnight in Westpoint or Woodstock or elsewhere along the way, rather than Albany to better break up the driving. Or, leave DC after dinner, get a few hours driving out of the way and spent that night along the way to Westpoint. Albany to Blue Mountain lake about 2 hours. BML to Montreal just over 3 hours. Montreal to Charleston Lake about 3 hours. Charleston Lake to Niagara (Ontario) about 5-1/2 hours (much of it with Lake Ontario in view). Niagara to Finger Lakes around 2-1/2 hours. Finger Lakes to NYC about 5 hours (all depending upon where you stay in the area). NYC to DC around 4 hours (this with optimal traffic and no construction), so you'd want to allow plenty of time. If you and your BF want to go to all those places, why not! Other than that you won't have too much time to explore the Finger Lakes Area, looks okay.

PS You may want to consider moving one of your DC days to the end of your trip. If it were me, I'd just want to be safely back there a day ahead of time. Or, is that where you're staying night 12? If so, smart choice.

Thanks Donna this is just the kind of input I needed. I was thinking of camping in the woodstock area (we will be camping a few days on the trip) and now knowing its only a couple hours between Albany and Blue Mountain I will probably adjust that leg of the trip as I do not really need to be at BML at a specific time as I have nothing planned that day except a scenic drive and I plan to camp that night by the lake. Just trying to enjoy the scenery. Fingers lake day is also just a slow drive to NYC. I do think we will also leave NY early to sleep close to or in DC. Our flight is late afternoon

DC/Montreal/Niagara Falls/
NYC/DC driving direct is around 1650 miles.

DC/NIagara FAlls/MOntreal/NYC/DC is about 1480 miles.

YOu might consider the shorter rout.

About DC: findout what the current exhibits are at National , Smithsonian...check out the new International Spy Museum. The Zoo is great and close to Adams Morgan, if you'd like a variety of ethnic food. For a great view of the White House and surrounding area go to the terrace bar at the Hotel Washington...great place to unwind!