Please help me plan my trip to Lake Placid, NY

[GH85Carrera]

This summer we are driving the 911 to Lake Placid, NY

Through Columbus OH, then on to the falls. After a day or several hours at the falls, on to Lake Placid. We will spend a week in Lake Placid, and then cannonball home. It will be pretty much 1,600 miles each way.

We mostly want to get to the falls, in a two day trip from Oklahoma City. Spend time at the falls, and then on to Lake Placid. There are several routes to to Lake Placid.

Should we take the Highway 28 or use the interstates most of the way? Are there any cool places to visit or a good restaurant to hit along Rt 28?

It looks like about 6 hours from the falls to Lake Placid, however we go. If the traffic is not horrible on 28, that seems the logical way to go.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

This summer we are driving the 911 to Lake Placid, NY

Through Columbus OH, then on to the falls. After a day or several hours at the falls, on to Lake Placid. We will spend a week in Lake Placid, and then cannonball home. It will be pretty much 1,600 miles each way.

We mostly want to get to the falls, in a two day trip from Oklahoma City. Spend time at the falls, and then on to Lake Placid. There are several routes to to Lake Placid.

Should we take the Highway 28 or use the interstates most of the way? Are there any cool places to visit or a good restaurant to hit along Rt 28?

It looks like about 6 hours from the falls to Lake Placid, however we go. If the traffic is not horrible on 28, that seems the logical way to go.

Probably best to take 81 to Watertown and then 3 east to Saranac lake then 86 SE to Placid, this takes you N of the high peaks, beautiful country!

but you could take 90E to Utica, 90 sucks, then 12 to 28 or 12 to 8 these take you to 30 then 3 as above. All the mountain routes are scenic and the roads decent

don't take 90 to Albany then 87 N

[TimT]

don't take 90 to Albany then 87 N

This..

Another route, a bit longer would be 90 to Rochester, then work your way down to the 5/20 which goes through a number of neat little towns on the north end of the finger lakes. If you want to spend a little more time you could drive dawn Seneca Lake to Watkins Glen for some motorsports history, You might find a club has a DE and you could turn a few laps at one of the best tracks in the country..

There are numerous Inns and B&B's around all the finger lakes..

Then make you way to Utica and head north into the Adirondacks.. Some of the Northwest Adirondacks are really desolate.. plan accordingly, cell phone service will be spotty

The High peaks, and the Fingerlakes make for an awesome road trip....

Also The Erie canal parallels 90 and 5/20 roughly in spots, there are abandoned sectionss and sections where there still is boat traffic


These signs used to be on the Northway (I87)

[matthewb0051]

I spent 3 wonderful years living in Watertown NY.

I recommend hitting some of the small towns on the Lake Ontario / Saint Lawrence River shore in addition to Lake Placid.

Clayton has a wooden boat museum that is incredible:
https://www.abm.org/

The original Thousand Island Dressing is from Clayton as well:

Thousand Island Dressing – Buy the ‘Original’ Salad Dressing, originated in the 1000 Islands, in Clayton, New York in the early 1900s. – Purchase the Original Thousand Island Salad Dressing

Nice boat tour of part of the Thousand Islands:
https://claytonislandtours.com/

Boldt Castle is in the Thousand Islands



You can also take a very small ferry to Wolfe Island then on to Kingston Ontario from Cape Vincent. The ferry holds about 7 cars and will make you behind pucker but it is cool.

https://visit1000islands.com/listing/hornes-ferry-to-canada-usa/

[matthewb0051]

Antique Boat Museum

[Googam]

81 to Watertown & then Route 3 is the best way. I made that trip every month for 18 months in my M3 when we redeveloped the old Will Rogers Hospital in Saranac Lake. Some great stretches of road. Maybe you have plans for Lake Placid, but you can see & do everything in a couple days. Consider Mathews advice on the return trip. Lots to see & do along the Lake.

[GH85Carrera]

Will an EZ Pass be helpful in that area?

[Googam]

No need. Interstate 90 is the only toll road in that area. You can avoid 90 by taking Rt 20 out of Buffalo to Rt 81 north. Rt 20 is also a great road. You get to drive through some nice towns & by all the Finger Lakes.

[TimT]

Will an EZ Pass be helpful

If you have one and use I90 great, if not the license plate scanners will see you and send you a bill

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by TimT

If you have one and use I90 great, if not the license plate scanners will see you and send you a bill

Cool, so no more toll booths to stop at?

[trials935]

If you're are going up I71 between Cincinnati and Columbus, Werners Smokehouse BBQ at exit 65 is an excellent restaurant.

[ramonesfreak]

Im in Rochester. If you break down around here, you want your car towed to Eckstens Autoworks.
https://www.ekstens.com/. Message me for assistance if needed.

EZ-Pass will help on 90 - if you dont have it, you will have a ticket waiting for you at home for the tolls…there are no more toll booths here. I do not recall 81 having any tolls

When we were in Niagara Falls last year, if I remember right, the EZ-Pass helped going over the bridges into and out of Canada. You definitely want to go to the Canadian side….didnt need passport but if I recall, we needed Enhanced License…check the regs before you go for getting into Canada….and as I noted on another thread, we would never usually go to a Hard Rock Cafe and expect decent food but our lunch was excellent and both agreed it was one of the best burgers ever….maybe we were just starving from all the walking. Also, do not skimp out on the boat ride to the falls…it’s a few bucks, a short line and it’s over in about 30 minutes but worth it. All the times I have been there, I never did it until last year and Im glad I did. Do not talk yourself out of this…..you came a loooong way! My wife forced me to go on that giant Ferris wheel…I hated that. Nice views but it felt like it was going to fall apart….I will leave this up to you.

As for getting off 90 and onto 5/20 to pass along the Finger Lakes….I think it’s best to have a definite plan well in advance. The Finger Lakes are beautiful but this is a very large area and you are not just going to putt around the Finger Lakes because it will takes days and days….. 5/20 is a nice road for a drive thats for sure but I am not sure how much of the Finger Lakes you will see (not much) but you will pass through a few of the typical rural NYS small towns which I do love….you can see on the map below that on route 5/20 you are just skimming the north end of the lakes…there will be traffic lights and this will slow you down…not sure how worth it is to add the extra time rather than just staying on 90 at 65 MPH and no lights on 90.

What I would do is stay on 90, past Rochester towards Syracuse and head north towards Watertown on 81 like stated above. Get to your destination asap.

Then on the way home, take your time and drive down either side of Seneca Lake (I prefer the West side) down to Watkins Glen and see the falls at Watkins Glen, maybe see the race track if there is an event, take in the views of the lake and head west back home out of Watkins Glen…many places to stay in Watkins Glen places to eat….

OR, instead of Seneca, head South down the West Side of Cayuga Lake and stop at Taughannock Falls and then onward to Ithaca to either get food and supplies or stay the night before heading back West….Ithaca is a nice little city.

https://parks.ny.gov/visit/state-parks/taughannock-falls-state-park

We have basically 4 attractions in NY state (not including NYC)….Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, Adirondack Mountains, Catskills Mountains. Trying to fully experience more than 1 of these things in just a couple days is challenging.

I will put in a vote for the thousand Islands….been many times and its a beautiful area to stay a few days…do a boat tour and relax.

See that little town right below VVVV this sentence on the edge of Lake Ontario called Webster? Thats were I grew up. I currently am a couple miles West, still on the edge of Lake Ontario…the town called Fairport on the East Side of Rochester is where world famous Rick Beato is from

[TimT]

"Ithaca is Gorges"



That and the Cornell campus is beautiful...


There are no tollbooths to stop at..... every few exits on I90/I87 you will drive beneath an overhead gantry bristling with cameras and scanners that take pictures of you plates, or scan an EZ pass if you have one..


I used to have a pic of Mr Bean on my sun visor that I would flip down when I approached the toll gantries

[Bill Verburg]

While the Finger lakes are indeed gorgeous they are way out of the way

AFAIK 90 is the only toll road, 81 wasn't last I drove it

phone service and any other service is indeed spotty in the mountains

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Bill Verburg

While the Finger lakes are indeed gorgeous they are way out of the way

AFAIK 90 is the only toll road, 81 wasn't last I drove it

phone service and any other service is indeed spotty in the mountains

Out of the way but this:

https://bullyhillvineyards.com/

is worth a day.

[Alan A]

Take the highway. Watch out for cops - they love 90. You already said you want to get there and get back, so do so as efficiently as possible.

If you weren’t in a rush, Letchworth is pretty, Ithaca is cool, the Cornell museum in Elmira is worth a stop and Watkins Glen is meh unless it’s a race weekend or you want to do the gorge trail. If you really had time stop and get a grape pie in Naples - and try a winery or two.

[thingmon]

The Corning Glass museum and Cooperstown arent too far off the path.
https://makemydrivefun.com/
I-d advocate for I86 out of Erie, PA over 90.

[GH85Carrera]

We will likely take three days on the way up to Lake Placid with the stop at the falls. A week in Lake Placid, and tow or three days home. Two weeks is enough time away, and lots of time in the car. We will likely be 3,500 to 4,000 miles total in my 85 911.

We will mostly be eating sea food, or sea food or maybe sea food while in that part of the world. No chance of Mexican food, BBQ, or Cajun food in that part of the world for us, we have those here.

I don't think Mrs Carrera want to stop much out of the way. Since we will be going through Buffalo anyway, it would be crazy not to go to the falls. Sorta like going to Flagstaff, AZ and not going to the Grand Canyon.

[Por_sha911]

Going up the Nprthway (I87) a really beautiful place to stop is Saratoga Springs. There is also a lot to do at Glens Falls in the summer. If you don't mind the detour, there is always Watkins Glen

[Bill Douglas]

OMG, what a road trip. It's so beautiful.