New York to Boston in Spring
 

We are a family with 2 teenage kids planning a first visit to USA at end of April. What would weather be like for a road trip from New York to Boston? Any tips? We are interested in music, food, adventure sports.

Much like the weather in the UK at the same time.

Most people would choose not to take this trip by car because of traffic, but once you are out of the two cities themselves, there is much to see that requires a car.

You have two possible routes, the coastal route along the Connecticut shore, and the inland route, taking in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts and Northwestern Connecticut.

Adventure sports will be a problem at that time of year. It is too early to go into the water and too late for skiing. On the Coastal route, you can see the shore, eat seafood, visit Mystic Seaport, Essex, and Groton in Connecticut and Providence and Newport (stately homes) in Rhode Island before going on to Boston. You can google these places for details.

For the inland route, take the Taconic Parkway to NY Highway 23, where you can go west to the city of Hudson or east to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a good base for touring this area. There is lots of hiking in this part of the state and just over the border in Connecticut, though lingering ice and mud could be an issue. The Shaker Village in Hancock, if it is open, is well worth a visit.

On your way east, you can stop in Old Sturbridge Village, collection of building brought together from the area to show life in the 19th century.

When you get to Boston, you will want to get rid of your car as quickly as possible. Driving is not as bad as it is reputed to be, but parking will cost you at least $40 per day. If you need a car after Boston, you will be better off doing a different rental.

If you read this itinerary to your teenagers, you may see their eyes glaze over. When our kids were teens, that would rather have just taken the train from NY to Boston so they can get down to the Good Stuff. The Good Stuff in Boston results from something like 250,000 students in the area and an economy attuned to their needs and tastes. But that's another question, though I will say that my children did very much enjoy the museums and historic buildings as well.

Agree with most of what Ack said.

You'll have to make a decision whether to take the coastal route or the less-direct western route, depending on what you want to see and do.

The weather for outdoor activities could be a little iffy that time of year, though the odds are you'll see some decent weather as we head into May, maybe around 60 degrees C.

We have hosted teens from several European countries - we live about 20 miles north of Boston. One of the things getting negative comments from all has been that since the drinking age is a strict 21 in all of the US, that limits the number of places even older teens can go - clubs with music, etc. Depending on exact dates end of April, keep in mind that Monday April 21 is Patriots Day - the day of the Boston Marathon, always an exciting day to be in Boston, but this year sure to be bittersweet and emotional after last years Marathon bombings.

April can be cold, wet and miserable or with the sun and promise of early Spring. Stay right in downtown Boston - and expect hotels to be expensive. I would take the train from NYC to Boston.

Very late April/early May is my favorite time in both Boston and New York. Flowering trees and flowers, usually great weather. But for adventure sports in New England it's kind of an in between time. Berkshire East Ski Area has skiing till the snow melts, and the zipline opens in spring but not sure of the dates (http://www.berkshireeast.com/zip_home). They are also opening a mile long mountain slide thing next spring but not sure of timing for that either. Zoar Outdoor also has a zip line plus white water rafting. (http://www.zoaroutdoor.com/) These are both in north central/western Massachusetts.

If your timing is not right for those and you aren't interested in the things Ack suggested (my kids liked living history museums like Sturbridge, Hancock and Mystic when they were teens) then you'd probably be better off taking the train.

I think vincenzo meant 60˚F.

60˚C = 140˚F (!)

Ack, Gail, Isabel, Vincenzo and Spielman: Thanks for all the useful comments. It is my first go at a Fodor's forum: it was wonderful to post my question, go away for a surfski paddle in False Bay, and return to find all these thoughtful tips.
I'm sure we'll have to ask more questions as the trip materialize.

Spring comes later to the US. At the end of April trees will just be beginning to leaf and you can get a lot of chilly rain at the northern end of the spectrum. You can walk on beaches - but you are months from being able to go in the water.

What type of outdoor activities are you looking for?

The northeast US has lots of outdoor activities. Most anything to do with water will not really start until later in May. Hiking is available all four seasons. Mountain biking is tough that time of year since it's mud season on any trail. Road biking will be in full swing.

Tell us what you are interested in for adventure sports and we can give you some recommendations.

Marathon weekend in Boston is one of the busiest times of the year with hotel availability scarce and prices high. Coming at the end of April will avoid that problem and coming before college graduations in May is also good. Trees will be beginning to bloom and the weather will be changeable from quite warm and sunny, to wet and damp.

Thanks for reminding me how busy Boston marathon time can be.
Thanks J62: anything exciting, from White water rafting to Hot Air Balooning..............

Not sure you will find either of those activities on the way from NYC to Boston. If you head for the mountains you might drum up rafting but I have never seen ballooning in the area.

Actually people hot air balloon all the time in Western Mass and I gave a link above to white water rafting (less than an hour detour from the fastest NY-Boston route).

Here's a link to whitewater rafting on the upper Hudson river. Among the best rafting conditions in the northeast.

http://www.northcreekrafting.com/adi...whitewater.php

April is icy water conditions & wetsuits required. There are sevearl other outfitters that run this stretch of the river.

bspielman: No, no. I mean C. Temps regularly hit 140 in the spring. Global warming.

(Thanks for the correction.)