Road trip from Toronto to Washington, DC... Any tips?

[thepixelsedge]

My wife and I are gonna take the civic on a road trip in 3 weeks. We will be driving from Newmarket (just north of Toronto) to Washington, DC. We've never been to DC so we're just going to do the touristy thing and check out all there is to see. We plan to take a longer route back through Pittsburgh.

Any of you Americans have any recommendations for good places to stop/see/eat/whatever along our way? Most of our trip will be down the US-219 through NewYork State and Pensylvania.

I'll be keeping track of my MPG during the trip as well as some other stuff using my newly purchased OBD-II reader and the dash command app for iOS.

I'll write up a "report" on the car after putting close to 3000km (approx 1900miles) on the odometer in 5 days.

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[xjoshuax89]

As a person who lives in MD, I have had tons of relatives from outside the U.S. come visit me that wanted the whole D.C. tour experience. In my opinion, do not take your car into D.C. If you are staying in D.C. for a couple days, I would find a hotel on the outside of D.C. and take the metro in. Saves you a ton of headache and money.

If you plan on doing a mere drive-by around the areas then that is a different story. Word of advice though is that any of the big places you want to visit, museums, monuments, etc... are a huge pain to find parking unless you get there super early in the day and park. When I mean super early I mean 6am-7am early. Or you will end up paying crazy amount of money in parking and spots can be very hard to find.

As for a food place to visit/eat I would certainly recommend Georgetown Cupcakes if you are in D.C. They make some AMAZING cupcakes with tons of unique flavors.

Now on your way down to D.C. or on the way back up to Canada, when you go through PA if you want to see one of the most crucial/critical Civil War battlegrounds in the U.S. you can visit Gettysburg,PA . As an American I thought it was a pretty cool place to visit.

Or if you are into the whole nature thing, perhaps Luray Caverns which is in Virginia but it is a bit ways off from D.C.

 

[GoPackGo]

You definitely want to park your car and take the metro. It's so easy and convenient. You can get anywhere in a few minutes. D.C. wasn't designed/built for cars. I don't know where you're staying but I like to stay in Crystal City, VA. Good, affordable hotel options and right on the metro line.

 

[Billy4202]

As a person who lives in MD, I have had tons of relatives from outside the U.S. come visit me that wanted the whole D.C. tour experience. In my opinion, do not take your car into D.C. If you are staying in D.C. for a couple days, I would find a hotel on the outside of D.C. and take the metro in. Saves you a ton of headache and money.

If you plan on doing a mere drive-by around the areas then that is a different story. Word of advice though is that any of the big places you want to visit, museums, monuments, etc... are a huge pain to find parking unless you get there super early in the day and park. When I mean super early I mean 6am-7am early. Or you will end up paying crazy amount of money in parking and spots can be very hard to find.

As for a food place to visit/eat I would certainly recommend Georgetown Cupcakes if you are in D.C. They make some AMAZING cupcakes with tons of unique flavors.

Now on your way down to D.C. or on the way back up to Canada, when you go through PA if you want to see one of the most crucial/critical Civil War battlegrounds in the U.S. you can visit Gettysburg,PA . As an American I thought it was a pretty cool place to visit.

Or if you are into the whole nature thing, perhaps Luray Caverns which is in Virginia but it is a bit ways off from D.C.

As someone from DC/MD, now living in WV, I second this. I may add more info when I get home from work.

Oddly, I'm planning on doing the reverse and heading to Toronto for vacation this summer

 

[thepixelsedge]

Thanks for the tips. I'll pass that on to my wife. I let her organize where we're staying. She's been looking at hotels that are closest to the White House, smithsonian, etc and I was planning on just parking my car at the hotel for the three nights we're there and just either hoofing it around or taking public transit to whatever we're seeing.

I think the only time I'll use the car while we're there is to go to the Olive Gardeb which picked up and left Canada about 20 yrs ago. Any time we're down there, a trip to Olive Garden is a must.

 

[GoPackGo]

What's nice is that everything is free. The monuments, all of the Smithsonian buildings, Arlington cemetery (highly recommend Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), White House, capitol building. I don't know how long you'll actually be in D.C. but you won't see everything. With the White House you can only go inside if you have secured passes well in advance (they do a background check, etc...) Same with the Pentagon (one of the best tours we took).

 

[thepixelsedge]

Yes definitely liking the free aspect. We looked into pentagon and White House tours but didn't even apply. We're already past the cut off to get applications in for the White House and the pentagon doesn't do tours on weekends. Plus, my wife is Ukrainian background and her father served his mandatory time in the USSR military back during the Cold War so I dunno if she'd even be allowed, lol.

 

[farmboy11]

Driving in the city is definitely a challenge, especially during rush hour. And parking can be a nightmare, and expensive. Crystal City is probably as good a choice as any for convenient Metro access in a non-sketchy suburb. Besides the obvious sites in the city, I would highly recommend visiting Mount Vernon, both to tour the property and also because it's a pleasant drive along the Potomac on the GW Parkway (though not free admission like the Smithsonian museums). Either going to or returning from Mt. Vernon, a short stop in Alexandria's Old Town neighborhood will give you a sense of what existed here in the 18th-century, before the capital was located here. Same goes for Georgetown. Those were the two historic ports on the Potomac before Washington was built.

 

[farmboy11]

One more thought, if you're going through Hancock, MD, as I suspect you will be, a short 10 minutes' detour from I-70 will take you to the very charming town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia--aka "America's First Spa"--with natural springs that the young George Washington liked to take a dip in.

 

[sebtko_civic]

try to pre-program your gps so you dont have to enter it in the morning before

 

[thepixelsedge]

Thanks for all the tips guys. My wife is getting too excited googling all the places you recommended and planning our schedule. I think it's gonna be a very busy few days for me.

 

[djasonw]

Everyone who chimed in about the parking is correct. Anytime I go to DC I park the car at the hotel and take the Metro. Some great hotel deals can be had over weekends. Check the usual hotel sites for the best rates. Try finding a hotel close to Georgetown. The restaurants are plentiful and most are good. As for the cupcakes someone mentioned, THANKS!!! I love a good cupcake. Enjoy your trip and please give us a detailed report on how your car made the trip so much better.

 

[CRX]

Make sure you visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museam and the Steven F. Udvar Center... at least thats what I plan to do when I make a similar trip this summer.

 

[Billy4202]

One more thought, if you're going through Hancock, MD, as I suspect you will be, a short 10 minutes' detour from I-70 will take you to the very charming town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia--aka "America's First Spa"--with natural springs that the young George Washington liked to take a dip in.

I second the detour to Berkeley Springs. It's a small town with some unique shops and great scenery nearby.

As everyone else has said, driving around DC, especially during the weekdays and rush hour, will be a headache. And if you head into MD/VA, try to avoid Interstate 495. Metro or Uber will be your best bets if you're making a quick jaunt around town.

And for any more ideas to fill up your time - https://washington.org/

You'll find plenty of dining options of literally any type you want on Yelp, too.

As a side note: It's crazy for me to see how in the past 20 years since I was a kid how much DC has transformed into such a cultural wonder. You'll be sure to enjoy your trip

 

[ZacksWorld]

Only tip I have for DC is: look at the trees - they're beautiful!

(I'm not a nature-loving kind of person, but I find the trees to be remarkable, hence the remark.)

And definitely go to Monuments Park if you enjoy a nice walk with your wife. Great scenery and walkways.

Have fun.

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