Help driving from Charleston WV to Bucks County pa (Philadelphia: live, cost)

[Heatherac2002]

Hi- driving from Charleston, WV back to the Philadelphia area and the ride down terrified me. I am looking for the flattest, lowest route back. Doesn’t have to be the quickest or cheapest at all, just the lowest to the ground possible!

[Wells5]

Good luck on your search for a level route back. It's not for nothing that WVa is known as the "mountain state."

[Heatherac2002]

I know. I’m just suffering from severe anxiety about this. Even considered shipping my car back and flying home.

[Gerania]

Which route did you take?

[Heatherac2002]

Pa turnpike

US220

I-68

I-79

Into Charleston

[E-Z-B]

Lol, flying back isn’t exactly “lowest to the ground.”

[Heatherac2002]

Ha! I know- but it’s not driving through the mountains!

[briantroutman]

Hi Heather-

The route you took heading there was just about the most logical route to take. Do you remember what part of the route was the most unnerving to you? Generally, elevation by itself isn’t too scary: It’s the steep drop-offs—particularly if the shoulders are narrow and weather conditions are unfavorable—that can make it seem like you’re in danger of running off the road.

The bottom line is that, since you’re now essentially on the other side of the Appalachian Mountains, there’s no way to avoid traveling through mountainous terrain altogether. And since that’s the case, I think it generally makes sense to drive the highest quality roads possible (i.e. the Interstates) since they have the shallowest inclines, gentlest curves, and widest shoulders. But then again, you mostly followed Interstates on the way there, and you clearly weren’t happy with that route.

You could also take I-77 north out of Charleston, which avoids going through the most mountainous parts of West Virginia. I-77 heads into Ohio and connects with I-70 near Cambridge, OH. There, you’d get on I-70 east, follow it to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and continue onward toward Philadelphia. This would add about 45 minutes onto the trip and would generally stay at a lower elevation. But you’d still have to cross the spine of the Appalachian Mountains on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, although at least on the Turnpike, you’d be going under the highest ridges via the tunnels.

Short of having your car shipped back (which, combined with a plane ticket from Charleston to Philadelphia would probably cost $1,000 or more) probably the closest you could come to avoiding the Appalachians would be to take I-77 north toward Cleveland, I-90 east past Erie into New York State where it becomes the New York Thruway, then follow the Thruway across the state to Albany where it turns southward toward NYC and becomes I-87. Then you’d take the Garden State Parkway to the NJ Turnpike, and that would get you back to the Philadelphia area. It’s a bit absurdly out and around and would take literally twice as long (14.5 hours vs. 7), but it would avoid most of the steepest terrain (you can see the terrain on the map below) and still probably be cheaper than shipping your car.

I hope this helps—good luck!

[Wells5]

Originally Posted by briantroutman

You could also take I-77 north out of Charleston, which avoids going through the most mountainous parts of West Virginia. I-77 heads into Ohio and connects with I-70 near Cambridge, OH. There, you’d get on I-70 east, follow it to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and continue onward toward Philadelphia. This would add about 45 minutes onto the trip and would generally stay at a lower elevation. But you’d still have to cross the spine of the Appalachian Mountains on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, although at least on the Turnpike, you’d be going under the highest ridges via the tunnels.

Long tunnels are very scary to some people, Brian. I believe that there are 5 (many over 1 mile long) on the stretch between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

[Pilot1]

They're not mountains. They are little hills. If you want mountains, go to Colorado.