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I've been to Boston, NYC, DC- separately and via plane.
So what is the drive between and within the "BosWash" corridor like?, as it is such a largely urbanized stretch..Is it truly nonstop urban development along just a main interstate or are there pockets of rural areas along the drive? How long is the drive from Boston to DC on the main route?
Is there a noticeable change of pace as you get further north?
there are rural pockets. mostly between Boston and Hartford (if you're taking that route). and Wilmington, DE to B'more (if you take that route)
i think taking the amtrak is a cooler experience. i took it from New Haven to Philly and i saw quite the urban landscape. with the NYC stop being the motherload
if you like graffiti and run down buildings - it an even bigger bonus
Yeah, rural pockets or patches, but mostly suburbs, cities and small cities most of the way. What may seem surprising is that, while you may see nothing but trees alongside the roadways in many areas, you're actually passing through some pretty densely populated areas. Case in point, the southern end of the NJ Turnpike passes within a handful of miles of Philadelphia, yet all you see along the road is trees. But if you take I-295 nearby instead, you see more "stuff" and more still if you take I-95 through Philly, but most people traveling long-distance through that region (from NYC to DC for example) will take the Turnpike and not even know Philadelphia was there.
As john_starks mentioned, you'd find some rural patches between Worcester and Hartford, if you take Route 84 out of Boston, but then Route 91 between Hartford and New Haven is pretty well-developed. If you stick to Route 95, it's urban-ish through Providence, but gets pretty rural (occasional small cities) from about E. Greenwich, RI until you get to New Haven, CT.
Since I went to school in South Carolina, I made that drive dozens of times. It isn't 100% urban all the way down from Boston to DC, but it's relatively close. As mentioned before, there are areas between Boston and New York which are relatively rural, but you're often not too far away from one of the Connecticut cities.
Once you reach New York City, it's relatively urban all the way through Philadelphia and almost all the way to DC, with a few rural pockets in between Philly and DC.
The drive doesn't take all that long...without a ridiculous amount of traffic you can make it in 8 hours. However, it's virtually impossible to make it through the Cross-Bronx Expressway unscathed...trust me haha. Whether it's 4pm or 4am, you're stopping.
there are rural pockets. mostly between Boston and Hartford (if you're taking that route). and Wilmington, DE to B'more (if you take that route)
i think taking the amtrak is a cooler experience. i took it from New Haven to Philly and i saw quite the urban landscape. with the NYC stop being the motherload
if you like graffiti and run down buildings - it an even bigger bonus
Agree; most of the rural sections are in new England, but even here , they are not that extensive. ( If you wanted to see the best of rural New England, go further north to VT, NH, and ME).
If you're riding on Amtrak, you'll see quite a bit of urban blight, especially when passing through North Philly and Baltimore. Further north, you'll see a fair bit of Queens, but little of midtown NYC, as you'll be underground most of the time.
Traffic, traffic, traffic. Depending on what day of the week you leave and what time of day will SIGNIFICANTLY alter your travel time.
You will run into traffic in Providence or Hartford (depending on your route), New Haven/Bridgeport, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and between Baltimore and DC.
No matter what day or time you travel you will run into at least some congestion. However, starting out at 2PM on a weekday would be the worst.
The are a few rural stretches, especially between Wilmington and Baltimore. All in all, the trip should take about 7-8 hours.
I've driven almost this exact route in its entirety (DC <---> suburban Boston) a handful of times, but -- as others have noted -- there are definitely rural areas along the way, although certainly not for very long portions of it. I've found the least amount of developed area along the NE Corridor to be between Wilmington, DE and Baltimore (I-95) as well as Hartford to the Boston Area (I-84).
Nevertheless, as it does have the reputation for being the most urbanized stretch in country, it is kind of cool (traffic notwithstanding) to be able to traverse through so many cities in such a relatively short amount of time.
Agree; most of the rural sections are in new England, but even here , they are not that extensive. ( If you wanted to see the best of rural New England, go further north to VT, NH, and ME).
If you're riding on Amtrak, you'll see quite a bit of urban blight, especially when passing through North Philly and Baltimore. Further north, you'll see a fair bit of Queens, but little of midtown NYC, as you'll be underground most of the time.
yeah, Bridgeport has a good bit of urban grit as well. but i don't think
amtrak passes the sketchier side of Newark though. can't recall.
Quote:
The drive doesn't take all that long...without a ridiculous amount of traffic you can make it in 8 hours. However, it's virtually impossible to make it through the Cross-Bronx Expressway unscathed...trust me haha.
i've vowed to never take it ever again in my life
Last edited by john_starks; 11-20-2009 at 11:42 AM..
I've made that drive many times, and the thing to keep in mind is that the best route veers away from the urban corridor at a few sections. That is to say, you don't want to take I-95 the entire way: 90 to 84 to 15 to 91 to 95 to NJTP to 295 to 95 to 895 to 50. You will hit some quasi-rural areas following the route I've listed because it skirts the edges in many instances, although much of what looks rural is actually pretty dense. To get the maximized super urban trip you want to take 95 the entire way.
You'd see the whole gamut from rural to urban scenery and everything in between. Take 95 instead of the NJ Turnpike if you want to go through Philly. In NYC, I-278 offers good views of the Manhattan skyline.
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