Robert

My family and I will be traveling by car through part of Connecticut. We will remain closest to Hartford, then travel towards Providence, Rhode Island. Are there any waterfalls along the way that we could enjoy?

tweedy

Gee that's a good question, but since it is so close to the ocean, would kind of doubt a waterfall, but maybe some rapids on some of the rivers, and there are many in the area.

Does the ocean count? Lots of water there, only we call it waves, (just kidding). Hope you have a wonderful trip.

tweedy

Rachel

There is Kent Falls State Park but that is due west of Hartford near the NY state line on Route 7.

Robert

Thank you for the information. In their Getaway Guide there are photos of waterfalls that appear to be in the middle of either parks or woods or something to that effect. I will look into Kent Falls State Park.

howard

Where will you be coming from before Hartford? Knowing this, we can pass along a possible route.
The area of Kent Falls State Park in NW Connecticut is beautiful and worth your time.
(By the way, a previous poster misinformed you: The Hartford area is not near the ocean.)

Robert

Thanks Howard. My family and I will possibly be driving from NYC. The other alternative is flying right into Hartford if they have a major airport. What would the route be from NYC?

C.L.

Robert, you need to get a firmer grip on the distances and geographic relationships here. New England is a compact area -- I don't know where you're from, but all six states could fit into any one of the western states.

Driving from NYC to Hartford will take you under 2 hrs. and you could spend that amount of time just getting to an airport and checking in. (Hartford does have an airport, but it's close enough to the Mass. border to be used by the Springfield area as well.) Conceivably, you could drive due north from NYC to the falls and then head east toward Hartford. But I strongly recommend getting a good set of maps and paying attention to the scale so you understand how close everything is to everything else. The only thing that takes up time is the fact that the roads wind and go up and down hill, particularly in the western part of the state.

howard

Robert, it's hard to give you specific advice unless I know what your destination is, how much time you have, etc. For example, do you have a specific reason for going to Hartford?
First, Bradley Airport serves the Harford/Springfield area and is located between the two cities. So, obviously, that would be the most logical place to fly into, if Hartford is your destination.
However, if you also want to see some of the "sights" in this part of the country, then you might want to fly to one of the NYC airports or perhaps consider the Westchester Airport. Arriving at the latter, you could then drive up the beautiful Hudson Valley and cut over at some point either going directly to Hartford, or driving farther north into the Berkshires in Massachusetts and cutting back southeast to Hartford.
As I said, it all depends on how much time you have and how much you want to see.

elaine

Robert,

My husband and I drove to Providence this past weekend. While we were coming from Philadelphia, PA vs. NY, if driving you may want to travel 'off hours'. For example, it took us 7+ hr. to drive to Providence on Friday (via I-95)(traffic was horrid on I-95 starting at Greenwich to New Haven exits) vs. 5 1/2 hr. on return trip yesterday.
Howard is more knowledgeable as I believe he lives in New York.
C.L. gave you good advice. I believe it took approx. 2 hr. in 'off hour' traffic between TappanZee Bridge and Hartford exit (but not on Friday).

tweedy

My earlier post I mentioned Hartford being "near" the ocean, and I meant it in the scheme of things, it is about an hour drive to the ocean, but there are no real mountains from Hartford east.

The drive up to Hartford is pretty easy except on the Friday evening, try I95 to New Haven and then straight up to Hartford (which I could remember the route number). Total time should be under 3 hours even with some traffic.

The earlier post of getting a good map or get one online and print it off and take it with you so you have a good idea of routes and directions. Sometimes the roads can be very bad here, so having a map for alternate directions is necessary.

Again, hope you have a great time here.

tweedy

elaine

Not to discredit Tweedy...we were in horrible traffic after crossing TappanZee bridge at 2:30pm on Friday. As soon as we reached CT (a mere 30 miles) approaching Greenwich, the traffic was at a stand still beyond New Haven exit. While we knew traffic patterns in advance, would be a pity for Robert to assume traffic occurs only Friday evening. Think it is heavy on I-95 (North) from noon on (at week's end).
Since Robert mentioned Providence in his original post, am attempting to assit regarding driving from NY to Providence area.

howard

Fisrt of all, Elaine is correct, bad traffic on I95 isn't restricted to Friday evenings, especially in the summer.
And sorry, Tweedy, but I95 is not the best route to Hartford. I84 is definitely the better route. It not only saves a half hour to Hartford in normal driving situations, but traffic is usually not as congested as I95.
(PS: You can have waterfalls even where there are not mountains!)
Robert, are you still with us?

Dawn

I don't know how fast you people are driving but it takes me 2 hours to JFK from Cheshire. Hartford is 20-30 minutes from my house and that is the border of Hartford. Don't forget it takes longer to get to JFK then just going in to Manhattan. That being said I am wondering Robert if you have a particular reason for staying in Hartford? There are many nicer places to stay in CT. As for water falls there are the ones mentioned in Kent, as well as Chapman Falls in Devil's Hopyard State park on CT 156 in East Haddam, Wadsworth Falls state park on CT 157 in Middlefield, Southford Falls on CT 188 in Southbury-Oxford. If you need suggestions of other places besides Hartford let us know!

howard

Dawn, you're partially right about driving times. It's pushing it quite a bit to make Hartford from NYC in two hours. It takes nearly two hours from the Tappan Zee Bridge area in Westchester County.
And Dawn, thanks for the verification that there are indeed waterfalls in Connecticut!

Robert

Hello everybody. Thank you all for all the educational feedback. We're gleaning much from it. We are becoming concerned about the traffic situation everyone is talking about. We just want to have a beautiful drive from NYC through any cities or towns in Connecticut on our way to our final destination of Boston. Is there an alternate route to I95? I'll be getting some maps from AAA and I should be able to get a better idea exactly WHERE in Connecticut we'd drive through or stop at. We wanted to head over to a city in Rhode Isle, no particular preference. Since it will be October, we wanted to enjoy the foliage and possibly stay overnight in either state.

CMcDaniel

By all means, if you are going to RI, you must go to Newport!! You'll be able to tour the summer "cottages" of the rich and famous (Vanderbilt etc) of a bygone era. "Cottage" is a misnomer, however. These mansions, which line a cliff overlooking the Atlantic, are spectacular.

howard

Newport is as excellent choice. And there's a new mansion to add to the must see list--Rough Point, Doris Duke's mansion. (You can check it out on Fodor's News & Features section this week on this website.)
If you decide to go to Newport, then the Hartford area is way out of your way. For driving you have the option of take I95 all the way to Rhode Island or taking the Hutchinson River Parkway (NY)/Merritt Parkway (CT) combination to to Milford, CT where you can cut over to the I95 (Connecticut Turnpike).
Bear in mind, however, that you're not going to the best area for foliage. You'd be much better off, perhaps, digressing a bit and going up to NW Connecticut or SW Massachusetts in the Berkshires for the foliage. That area can be spectacular in October!
I would strongly suggest you get those maps ASAP so you have a much better idea of where you want to go!

Chloe

Robert,
There is a better way from NYC to Boston than taking I 95. I'm not sure of the exact route #'s but I can tell you I took 684 from the tappan zee to I 84. From there, I don't remember the route. Howard....maybe you know? Anyway, I got the directions from AAA as a "best route" to Boston and it was! After years of doing the I 95 thing to Boston (what a nightmare), this was a real pleasure! Also, listen to Howard...he knows what he is talking about. I 84 is the quickest route to Hartford.

howard

YOu're right Chloe, it is 684 to 84. But, if you're coming from NYC, you don't go near the Tappan Zee Bridge. If Robert reponds with more specifics, we can give more specific directions.
(P.S.: Chloe, thanks for the vote of confidence!)

Robert

Howard, the specifics are basically this: we'll be driving from NYC to Boston. ON THE WAY there, we'd like to exit and see some parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island, no preference (at this point - LOL) on what cities or towns, just as long as they are MORE OR LESS on the way to Boston and we don't have to get too far off the beaten path. If we can take 684 to 84 from NYC, what cities or towns worth seeing would we encounter and not have to get too far from whatever route we need to ultimately take to Boston? Thanks. If you need more specifics, let us know please.