Travel highlights

Driving to D.C.

There are many ways to get to Washington D.C. from Quebec, and each one has its fair share of attractions.

For starters, there are two major highways from the Quebec border and New York City: Interstates 87 and 91.

Interstate 87 is the western route, linking Lacolle, Quebec, with Albany, New York. It crosses northern New York State through the Adirondack Mountains and its vast Adirondack Park, a favourite among outdoor enthusiasts.

A worthwhile detour to take is toward Saranac Lake and Lake Placid (which twice hosted the Olympic Games) via routes 3 and 86. Two more stops you’ll be glad you made are: Lake George, a famous resort town on the edge of the lake that the French baptised Saint-Sacrement (it is also the source of Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River); and Saratoga Springs, popular for its hot springs and spas, National Museum of Racing, golf courses, horse races and classical-music concerts. Why not leave the highway for a few miles and take winding route 9 until New Russia and Elizabethtown, oh so quiet with their white homes and mature trees? Albany, the state capital on the Hudson River, was once the site of the first military installation, Fort Orange, built in 1624 by the Dutch in the middle of what they named New Netherland (Nieuw Nederland). In the Capital District it forms with Troy and Schenectady, you’ll find a concentration of hotels and motels that will satisfy any taste and budget. Between Albany and the Big Apple, Interstate 87 becomes a toll road, the New York Thruway, with rest and service areas.

But off the beaten path, a little to the east, between Interstate 90 (which leads to Boston) and the northern limits of greater NYC, you’ll find a well-guarded secret, the Taconic State Parkway, whose construction was begun in 1923. Then considered as the Bronx Parkway Extension, it provided access to the rolling surrounding area of Westchester County and the Catskills. Today it is four lanes wide with well-preserved historic relics all along the way. It is one of the most agreeable ways to enjoy the natural beauty of the Hudson Valley.

The eastern route, Interstate 91, threads its way through the Green Mountains. You don’t have to drive for very long before falling under the spell of Vermont and its bucolic countryside. No matter where you stop, you’ll discover that this state is a very different space from the rest of the US. Here are a few suggestions:

Newport, at the extreme southern end of Lake Memphremagog, is a small town with a marina. It’s on the road that the stagecoaches of the 19th century took between Montreal and Boston. Additional steamboat ferries chugged across the lake between Newport and Knowlton Landing in Quebec. From 1936 to 1963, Newport’s International Club, with a capacity of 2,000, was the largest dance hall in all New England. Louis Armstrong, the Dorsey Brothers, Cab Calloway, Stan Kenton and many other popular musicians of the day played there. St. Johnsbury bills itself as the maple syrup capital among our neighbours to the south. Are you tempted to compare? In its series “Where To Live and Play,” the National Geographic Adventure TV show named it “The Best Small Town” in 2006. And while you’re there, why not seize the moment to climb Mount Washington, the highest peak in the Appalachians, about one hour away? Instead of following Interstate 91 right into New York City, take a detour on Long Island. A ferry service links Long Island (Port Jefferson and Orient Point) with Connecticut (Bridgeport and New London) across Long Island sound, making for a nice little cruise. But to continue on toward Washington, you’d have to drive right through New York City (but do it outside of rush hour, of course). You’ll find your visit on the island – through the Hamptons, for its beaches, Sag Harbor, an old whaling port, and Montauk Point, with its lighthouse – quite worthwhile. Between NYC and Washington, you have three options: the Philadelphia-Baltimore route, the New Jersey circuit and the big loop through Pennsylvania. Several highways, such as Interstate 95 (free) and the Garden State Parkway (toll) link New York and Washington by going through Philadelphia and Baltimore. The traffic is heavy almost all the time, and along the way you get the impression you’re driving through one, long city. It’s easy to understand what the geographers meant when they designated this area a “megalopolis.” “Philly,” as it’s affectionately called, is a major centre for history, culture, the arts and sports. Its downtown abounds with museums, theatres, monuments, public spaces and good restaurants. The architecture of its city hall was inspired by the Paris Louvre, and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway resembles the Champs-Élysées. The New Jersey Turnpike (toll) follows the Atlantic coast, serving beaches such as Atlantic City and Wildwood, down to Cape May. It’s a pleasant ride through the Garden State. From Cape May, there’s a ferry crossing Delaware Bay to Lewes, Delaware, and a series of bridges up around Annapolis, Maryland, takes you to the outskirts of D.C. So close to the big cities, the Maryland countryside is like a verdant oasis of calm. Several public markets and stands along the way sell fresh produce and homemade goods. • In Pennsylvania to the west, Interstates 78 (ending in Harrisburg) and 81 let you avoid a good part of the densely populated areas around NYC, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Though this route does add a few more hours and miles to the trip, the mountainous approaches to the Appalachians make it worth the detour.

Original article by Normand Cazelais
Translated by John Woolfrey

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