Taking a trip from Houston to maryland, TIPS please ! (Baltimore: car rental, rental)

[Winnersave]

I'm 18 years old taking a trip from Houston all the way to Maryland, one thing i need to know is suggested routes i would need to be taken, does it snow up there or is there any other states i need to be worried about as far as snow?, and would it better for me to take a train or drive my mustang up there ?

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Winnersave

I'm 18 years old taking a trip from Houston all the way to Maryland, one thing i need to know is suggested routes i would need to be taken, does it snow up there or is there any other states i need to be worried about as far as snow?, and would it better for me to take a train or drive my mustang up there ?

Yes there will probably be snow on the ground. Whether you need a car depends on where you are going and why. Washington DC suburbs have very good public transportation, Baltimore also has some public transit, but the rest of Maryland is car-dependant.

Google maps shows the most direct route using I-10 to I-85 to I-81 to I-70. http://goo.gl/maps/DJwnK
There may be snow in the mountain stretch of I-81, but on the whole I think that is better than the more eastern alternative of I-95. I-95 is undergoing horrendous construction through Virginia now, and I suggest avoiding it if possible. BTW, your Mustang may have trouble if you are trying to drive in snow for the first time. If you do encounter snow, I suggest stopping until the roads are cleared. It is a 21 hour trip, and I hope you take it easy if you drive.

[Winnersave]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

Yes there will probably be snow on the ground. Whether you need a car depends on where you are going and why. Washington DC suburbs have very good public transportation, Baltimore also has some public transit, but the rest of Maryland is car-dependant.

Google maps shows the most direct route using I-10 to I-85 to I-81 to I-70. [url]http://goo.gl/maps/DJwnK[/url]
There may be snow in the mountain stretch of I-81, but on the whole I think that is better than the more eastern alternative of I-95. I-95 is undergoing horrendous construction through Virginia now, and I suggest avoiding it if possible. BTW, your Mustang may have trouble if you are trying to drive in snow for the first time. If you do encounter snow, I suggest stopping until the roads are cleared. It is a 21 hour trip, and I hope you take it easy if you drive.

Thank you for the information, i might take the mustang but i'm really considering the train. The simple fact why i wanna take my mustang is for transportation needs unless i can rent a car up their then that would be great !

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by Winnersave

I'm 18 years old taking a trip from Houston all the way to Maryland, one thing i need to know is suggested routes i would need to be taken, does it snow up there or is there any other states i need to be worried about as far as snow?, and would it better for me to take a train or drive my mustang up there ?

Google is your friend.
Use google maps for routes then do a search for amtrak and greyhound to get their prices, dates, times etc. and compare to see what is the best way for you to travel.

Does it snow in Maryland? Weather Underground is also your friend.

PS ~~ Some car rental companies require that you be 21 years old.

[Winnersave]

Originally Posted by CSD610

Google is your friend.
Use google maps for routes then do a search for amtrak and greyhound to get their prices, dates, times etc. and compare to see what is the best way for you to travel.

Does it snow in Maryland? Weather Underground is also your friend.

PS ~~ Some car rental companies require that you be 21 years old.

Thanks, Mustang it is lol.

[MidValleyDad]

This time of year you could encounter snow anywhere north of the Alabama/Georgia state line. (and possibly south of there) Ice is probably as much of a problem as snow. Your mustang will be terrible in snow (I know, my son has a 2001 Mustang) take your time be gentle on the gas, don't me afraid to pull off and let the highway crews take care of the roads. There is also the chance you will have no encounters with snow at all.

There are a couple routes that look good. Depending on where in MD you want to end up I would strogly lean to coming up I-81 to I-70 in Western Maryland to avoid the nightmare of I-95 and the DC area. Getting from Houston to I-81 has several options all seem to start east on I-10. Then north to Birmingham and Chatanooga (US11-I59-175-I81) or Atlanta (I65-I85-I77-I81)

I remember it being 21 long hours from MD to Biloxi MS when I did it Straight thru a long while back and about 10 hours from Houston to Biloxi on I-10 (that was BORING) so I would think 36 hours would be a good planning number.

Is there a train that will get you from Houston to Maryland (I assume either to Washington DC or Baltimore)? I would think flying would be the alternate (Baltimore is a Southwest Hub)

Good Luck

[wisvishr0]

As for climate, I'd watch out for these things: By the way, I'm talking about the immediate DC suburbs and to a certain extent the Baltimore area. If you are in Western Maryland, the climate is colder, and in Southern/Eastern Maryland, the climate is hotter and wetter.

We do get snow, and usually a moderate amount (about as much as Philadelphia), but there's a REALLY slim possibility of seeing snow at any given time -- I know the Christmas movies exaggerate the amount of snow the Northeast gets, but usually 80% of the time, there's no snow on the ground. When there is snow, usually it's cleared within 1-2 days on major roads. I would personally drive up to DC, because the drive up I-81 is beautiful with the mountains (and, again, there's usually no snow). If you are going to Western Maryland (usually west of Allegheny County), you have about a 50% chance of experiencing snow in the winter, and in Southern Maryland, there's a VERY slim chance of snow -- it's usually rain down there.

When you're driving up there, bring the following in case you ARE stuck in snow:

A torch (UK English for flashlight).
An ice scraper
A bag of kitty litter or sand in case you're stuck in snow
A charged cell phone -- most of I-81 has cell phone service, and you need it in case you're stuck.

Also, if you are going to the Eastern Shore, I'd take I-95 N and I-64 E to Norfolk and take US-13 N up to the Eastern Shore.

Maryland is a big place (not as big as Texas, but big enough to matter), and it's hard to give you any more guidance without knowing where you're going.

[westsideboy]

If you want to avoid snow, go up the valley (I-81.) Avoid driving through Garrett and Allegany (no 'h') counties, as that is where you are likely to hit snow. I have a saying, "even when it isn't snowing in Garrett County, it is snowing." It doesn't make much sense on the surface, but I have lost count of how many times the weather radar shows no precip falling.........as I drive through snow storms on those high ridges.

[Isk8ingcoach]

There is snow on the ground there right now all the way into Southern Maryland. I think my daughter is getting tired of digging out!

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by Isk8ingcoach

There is snow on the ground there right now all the way into Southern Maryland. I think my daughter is getting tired of digging out!

On the grass and maybe in some small piles in parking lots. None on the roads that would cause any driving problems. We don't want to scare our Southern neighbors away