We are travelling by car to NYC for the week before July 4th. We are trying to decide if we should leave NYC July 3rd late in the day or July 4th mid day to head to somewhere north east for July 4th activities. Just wondering about traffic patterns around those times. Any ideas???

We are from Canada and so have never enjoyed July 4th celebrations!

Why not stay in NYC and enjoy the spectacular 4th of July fireworks over the East River? It is quite a huge show. If you like fireworks, you won't find any better.

Deb

Thanks Deb, we had thought about this, but were thinking of finding a small coastal city or town to spend the 4th of July in.

You're likely to encounter a lot more traffic on the evening of the 3rd. Actually, it should be fairly quiet on the roads during the day on the 4th.

I agree that staying in the city for the 4th would be so much fun. There are celebrations in Central Park, Street Fairs (Wall St area, on Water from Fulton St to the South St. Ferry), concerts in Battery Park and the Fireworks are the best in the US, something NOT TO MISS.

I always do the street fair on the 4th, have food in the area around the South St. Seaport and then watch the fireworks from there. You can see all 3 barges from there and it's a bit less crowded than midtown.

One thing do NOT TRY AND DRIVE in the city around the 4th, all the tourists are here, and traffic into the city is crazy.

If you know of a particular town that has an outstanding celebration, that's one thing. I don't. I can't imagine leaving NYC without seeing the fireworks. This year it's on the Hudson River. I also agree traffic will be far worse getting out of Manhattan on the 3rd which is a Fri. this year than on Sat. Most people will be coming in to NYC on the 4th.

To be clear, the fireworks will NOT be visible from South Street Seaport this year. The barges will be on the Hudson river between 25th and 50th Streets.

Celebrating the 4th in a small town can be fun - but unless you know the details in advance it can also be difficult to find and get to. My B and SIL live in a town on LI with a great local celebration - but you cant park nearby if you're a stranger (you need to either walk from a distance away (after you find the small local park) or be able to park in the driveway of friends.

So - if you can organize that in advance find - other wise I would stay in the city. The traffic will definitely be worse on the 3rd and lighter in the am of the 4th. After about 3 pm on the 4th they will start closing streets (including main ones) in Manhattan to make space for the million plus people who will watch from the shore.

Thanks everyone - we will leave on the 4th or stay for the celebrations - we were thinking of driving up to Ogunquit Maine to stay for the 4th, thinking it would be a lot more relaxing that a sea of millions in NYC.

We have been lucky to see great fireworks for our July 1st holiday in both Ottawa and Vancouver over the last 2 years, so a small time celebration might do this year.

I don't think anyone can accurately predict the traffic. With July 4th on a Saturday this year, Friday the 3rd will be a paid holiday, so traffic may more likely be very light that day, but heavy the day/evening before, with people traveling for a three-day weekend.

If you're heading for the Coast of Maine that weekend and planning an overnight, reservations for accomodations would be essential, and you may run into two/three night minimum stay requirements.