howman37

On Thursday June 9 we are flying to Reagan, renting a car and driving to Baltimore (Towson). Trying to figure out the best route. We should be on the road by about 4:30 pm. Is it better to cut into the DC area via the SW/SE Freeway, then to 295, then to the Beltway? Or is it easier to head west on the George Washington Parkway to the Beltway, then on to Baltimore from there?

Thanks ahead of time for your suggestions!

bardo1

All routes that time of day on a Thursday will be challenging, but by far your best bet is through DC (and Baltimore).

Specifically,

1) 395 to South Capitol St. exit

2) Right after you cross Anacostia river, take exit for 295 North

3) Stay on 295 north (keep left)

4) Beltway toward I-95

5) I-95 north to DOWNTOWN BALTIMORE, get on Pratt or E. Baltimore St. heading east. Pick up I-83 at it's southern terminus.

(the Baltimore Beltway between I-95 and I-795 is also horrid that time of day)

6) I-83 north to I-695

7) I-695 to Towson

You'll hit a few slow patches but nothing is worse than the inner loop of the DC beltway between Tyson Corner and College Park on a weekday afternoon.

My two cents.

Dukey1

you can also take the BW Parkway instead of 95 up to 695 and go to Towson from there.

Christina

It's rush hour, it will all be bad. I agree I'd go through DC. Going west and all the way around the beltway would just add on time. The beltway can be literally almost stopped for miles at that time of day (I know, I take it a lot going that direction). I drive to BWI from my home on the border of NE DC and am hardly ever on the beltway, you wouldn't have to be on it at all if you use the BW Parkway (295) the entire way. I often use it rather than the beltway or I95.

Going to Towson, you'd just go all the way past BWI and connect to I695 which is the Baltimore beltway.

this will be a horrible trip, so be prepared

gardendiva

Is there a reason that you have to drive from DC to Balitmore? Might I suggest taking the MARC train to Baltimore from DC and then renting a car in Baltimore if you need one. Take the METRO from the airport to Union Station. This train takes roughly 1 hour from Union Station to BWI where you can rent a car. Very easy. I once drove out of DC at 8:00 at night and have never been so scared in all my life. I cannot even imagine rush hour. I think the cost was $7.00.

GeorgeW

All the above posters have solid and wise instructions. Being experienced in the city, I would take the Memorial Bridge coming in to Washington, slide right onto Constitution near the Vietnam Memorial, and take a left onto 18th. Take 18th north to L Street and take a right. At 13th Street, take a left onto it and head north until you hit Logan Circle. A quarter around Logan gets you to Rhode Island Avenue, often the fastest way out of town(a little bad at the Metro stop sometimes). Take Rhode Island to the Mt. Rainier(where the events of "The Exorcist" really took place) border and take a right onto Eastern Avenue. Take Eastern to Bladensburg Road and take a left. Bladensburg Road leads you past the 1814 battlefield(no marker that I know of) where the British whipped us Americans on the way to burning the White House and Capitol and into Cheverly where the Spellman Baltimore-Washington Parkway can be taken north to Baltimore. Of course, my suggestion is too complex to be taken too seriously but it is the way I would take to avoid traffic jams.

PaulRabe

> Bladensburg Road leads you past the 1814 battlefield
> (no marker that I know of)
> where the British whipped us Americans

Although no nation likes to make monuments to its ignominious defeats, there IS a marker for this battle.

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=5068

GeorgeW

Is it Peace Cross, Mr. Rabe?

tomfuller

Can you rent a car elsewhere? Ride the METRO to Union Station and either rent your car there or ride Amtrak to the BWI Airport station which is very close to your destination.
I have rented cars in both locations. I have ridden the Metro to and from Reagan National.

flirtinfilly

Don't drive through downtown Baltimore- the main streets (Pratt/Lombard/Light/Conway are all under construction. If you decide to come that way instead of taking the 695 to 83 - take Martin Luther King to 83. Just follow the signs.

Christina

Actually, I don't think riding the metro to Union Station is going to make that much difference. I wouldn't bother myself, I don't think that will save much time. The metro isn't direct for one thing, so you'll have to transfer. And cars are very crowded in rush hour. Plus you'd have to lug all your luggage etc around on the metro. I just don't think the drive from Reagan to about Union Station is going to take any more time, on average. Now I did heard something about construction on that bridge going into DC, so if that is still going on and it reduces a lane, maybe. I still wouldn't bother myself, I'd rather pack up the car and sit there than go through all that. And if you took the metro to Union Station and then have to catch a train to Baltimore, again, this all takes time and I doubt if it will save any.

but that's just my opinion

PaulRabe

> Is it [the] Peace Cross, Mr. Rabe?

Not quite. That monument is for those of George County who died in World War One. If you click on the link I gave, you'll get a good description of a marker noting one of the few Americans who distinguished himself on that day. The marker does NOT mention that American forces out-numbered those of the British, but that the rout of the US militia was so complete that it was called, "The Bladensburg Races."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...burg#Aftermath

Not a place I'd recommend for a stop unless (like me) you have OCD about going to battle markers.

GeorgeW

Thanks for your information, Mr. Rabe. The actual marker for the battle is at Colmar Manor, across the Anacostia River from the town of Bladensburg. Peace Cross is as you state. As for the battle, the Americans greatly outnumbered the British but the militias of Maryland, Virginia and Georgetown ran almost at first engagement leaving American Commodore Joshua Barney and his marines to fight the British alone. After a fierce battle, the American marines were overwhelmed and Washington was theirs for the taking and burning.

howman37

Thank you for all your suggestions. Using the BW Parkway, then 695 to Towson, is this a doable trip that time of day in 2 hours or will it take longer?

Christina

2 hours? SOmetimes it takes me two hours to go home which is just about half way around the beltway (Falls Church VA to Silver Spring MD). Not that is on a bad day, of course, usually it takes me about an hour to 1.25 hr, I guess. When I take the BW Pkway to BWI from Silver Spring, it takes about an hour when traffic is very light.

I'd say chances are very slim that you going to drive from National Airport to Towson during rush hour in 2 hours. It's about 60 miles. I suppose if some cosmic event happened so the traffic was very light (which does happen randomly, I can never tell why), it is possible. I'd count on closer to 3 hrs myself.

bardo1

I agree - closer to 3 hours.

GeorgeW

The last time I was on the Baltimore Beltway last summer it was under heavy construction and the traffic was backed up. That might slow down the drive quite a bit.