[captain_hug99]

Route 8 is also nice going north up to Mass (it stops being a highway around Torrington IIRC) and then you can take 20 east to Northhampton.

[western mass and love it]

Originally Posted by captain_hug99

Route 8 is also nice going north up to Mass (it stops being a highway around Torrington IIRC) and then you can take 20 east to Northhampton.

US RT 20 does not go to Northampton,you would have to take RT 10/202 off of 2o to get into Northampton. Also the exit off of the pike for 91 north would be #4 in West Springfield, but you can get off at exit 3 in Westfield and take RT 202 into Northampton.

[jax12479]

If you REALLY want to waste time and take the scenic route, you can take US1 (Boston Post Road) for a good portion of the drive from NYC to New Haven (you can pick it up in the north Bronx near the Country Club Rd exit). You'll drive through the center of a lot of Westchester & Fairfield County towns. It's also an alternative route if 95 & the Merritt are parking lots, but everyone who lives in the area will know to do the same thing... basically, be prepared for lots of traffic

[nep321]

Originally Posted by jax12479

If you REALLY want to waste time and take the scenic route, you can take US1 (Boston Post Road) for a good portion of the drive from NYC to New Haven (you can pick it up in the north Bronx near the Country Club Rd exit). You'll drive through the center of a lot of Westchester & Fairfield County towns. It's also an alternative route if 95 & the Merritt are parking lots, but everyone who lives in the area will know to do the same thing... basically, be prepared for lots of traffic

U.S. 1 is a parking lot also lol.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by jax12479

If you REALLY want to waste time and take the scenic route, you can take US1 (Boston Post Road) for a good portion of the drive from NYC to New Haven (you can pick it up in the north Bronx near the Country Club Rd exit). You'll drive through the center of a lot of Westchester & Fairfield County towns. It's also an alternative route if 95 & the Merritt are parking lots, but everyone who lives in the area will know to do the same thing... basically, be prepared for lots of traffic

I agree with Nep - Route 1 is nasty during rush hour.

[jax12479]

Yup, as I said - be prepared for lots of traffic any way you go.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by nep321

The Merritt (Route 15) is great, but so is U.S. 7, because it goes up into the Litchfield hills, all the way up to the Berkshires. Then, you can hook onto I-90 (Mass Pike) east bound and take an exit to I-91 north in Westfield or Holyoke (i forgot which city exactly), and Northampton will be right up there. I know the Berkshires aren't in CT, but they are gorgeous IMO. The speed limit on U.S. 7 is often 50 mph, so it's not a slow road, either. Traffic probably won't be as bad as I-91 and Route 15, either.

Except US 7 won't take you to New Haven, you'd basically have to backtrack from New Haven to Norwalk and get on 7.

I'm sure there's lots of good suggestions for New Haven to Northampton, but NY to New Haven it's basically the Merritt for scenery. From the Merritt on south to the LI Sound Shore, the entire stretch from the state line to New Haven is quite developed and not terribly scenic for the most part, unless you find office buildings and strip malls to be scenic. There's no real direct route north of the Merritt to get to New Haven. Enjoy!