Driving from Maine

[manemagic]

We are planning to drive from Maine with our 5th wheel next March...anyone else come from that far? Where do you stay? Is stoppingat Walmart safe? How long will it take...we have plenty of time...about 5 days coming down staying a week and 5 days home...any one have any favorite routes or campgrounds? I'm sure I'll have many more ?, but would love to hear from someone else who has done this...Nancy

 

[campingcorgi]

Sorry, no help here. That's waaaaay too far North for me! But anyway, when you get to FW you'll have a great time!

83 days to go

 

[camper]

Hi manemagic,
My family has driven to Ft. Wilderness twice, hauling our 23 ft camper. We are always in a hurrry to get there so we pretty much drive straight through. Plus we have children and find it is easier to drive while they sleep. It probably takes us 30 hours.
We go out around Boston, NY City , and Wash, DC. Once we get past DC. It is I95 all the way to Fla. If you go to AAA they will help you plan the trip( we went to the one in Augusta).
We did stop in S Carolina to stay at a state park once and enjoyed that. We haven't tried the Walmart parking lot yet, but many do. Sometimes we will stop at a truck stop for a nap but it makes me nervous and I don't get much sleep at all. I would love to take the time to camp more along the way some day.
Have lots of fun planning your trip. You will love Fort Wilderness!
camper

 

[manemagic]

camper,
Thanks for the reply, we are just now in the planning stages and really appreciate all the info we can get...we camp all over the state of Maine, but this is a first for us!! In fact driving to Florida is a first!!! As you know, after driving on the tame roads of Maine, it must be an experience getting out there!!! Hope to talk to you again soon. Nancy

 

[jstmee]

Hi, we live in Madawaska, Maine............so we are really far up here. When we go south we actually head west through montreal, than south through NY 81 I think then 77......you'd have to look on a map (I'm not sure of the route numbers), but I don't like going 95, too much traffic for me. If I go through Maine, we head toward CT and pick up 84West to get to the middle of the state to go through Hazleton, PA and South.............We stop in Charlotte/Pineville, NC...........

We go pretty much straight through also, we have a conversion van but don't have a trailer. The hills through Virginia might be a bit taxing on the 5th wheeler. But, it's the most beautiful countryside. You'd love the scenery.

 

[Hawk]

My family just returned to St. Albans, VT. on 03/11 from Ft. Wilderness. We drove down, 7 of us, with a Ford Expedition and 27 foot camper. We picked up I-95 after I-87 in New Jersey. Took us 30 hours down and 28 hours back. Stopped about 8 times each way for gas, meals, stretch, etc. No problems that we couldn't easily handle. You can e-mail with specific questions.

Good luck and good camping.

Tim.

 

[Spinning]

Hi, My mom and Step dad have a motor home and have stayed on Walmart's parking lots many times. They make sure they are super walmarts and have security. I also know they have stayed over night in some of the rest areas along I95 which allow it and have security too. If you go to walmart you can buy a map book that has all of the walmarts in it and that allow you to park over night.
They also stop at Gas stations called, Flying J you can sign up for some type of free card and then stay over night in a special area. Lot of truckers stop there. But they always felt comfortable. I know there are several off of 95.

 

[Kaitysmom]

Just got back Sunday - we drive pretty much straight thru too. We have a 29 ft trailer and live in Concord, NH. We drive pretty hard the first day and stop at rest areas for the night. There are always a lot of trucks there - can be noisy - but we only stop for 6-7 hours and we're off again. We plan on taking two days to get there but usually get there before noon the second day. Have fun!

 

[manemagic]

Thank you all for your replies...as you can imagine, we have been finding it to be a bit of a problem to locate a campground that is open anywhere north of PA...so we will probably go a little farther south before we stop...our problem is that we just don't know how far we can go until we poop out!!! This will be the first year we actually have more than a week to travel...have always flown and stayed at other resorts...will look for that map of Walmarts...folks stay at the one here in Brunswick, Me all the time...but things are pretty tame up here...any one have a favorite they use on the way down? And this Flying J.truckstop...I read somewhere that the truckers frown on us stopping there, is this true? Thanks for all the answers...how did people manage before the internet>>>Nance

 

[campingcorgi]

Flying J's are fine--we have stayed at all three in Georgia. They have separate truck and car parking areas (trucks in the back by the diesel pumps and cars and rv's up front by the gas pumps) and all the RV's and cars park up front. We just gas up when we get there, shop a little, and then crank up the generator, watch a movie and settle in for the night. We head off again about 5 a.m. and move on down the road!

65 days to go (64 till I overnight at the Flying J)

 

[manemagic]

That sounds pretty much what we want to do...since we don't know where we are going to stop on the way down...it would be a good place to look for...so they really welcome the campers, too? Plenty of room for both? We'll probably start looking for a campground in GA though as we have some extra time going down...

 

[jstmee]

Before living in Maine where my DH is from we lived in SC and know that the Flying J's are really nice. We didn't tow a trailer, but we always stopped for gas and bathroom breaks, etc.

There is plenty of room. Especially since you are from Maine you'll think that they are huge.

Have fun. Get away from this snow. hee hee

 

[manemagic]

Oh, we aren't going to get to go until next March, but I'm sure we'll be escaping the weather then, too...we haven't gotten very much this year, in fact this last storm was our worse!!!I'm a big gardener, so I'm hoping to get an early start!! Now that I've heard from a fellow Mainer about the Flying J's I'm reassured...sometimes we fell so naive, but I guess that's cause we are!!! one of the reasons we love Disney is we always feel so safe...we aren't very world wise up here in the woods!!! Nance

 

[Veigel_Family]

We have traveled over half this nation and them some with our five kids and often make a drive from DC to FLA. We take a few alternate routes here and there along I-95 depending on time of day, weather, etc. One thing I have found is a must to take on our trips is my Pampered Chef timer. Sometimes we feel tired and in need of a break, but still want to arrive to our destination as soon as possible. We stop off at a rest stop, set the timer, and snooze a bit. It doesn't have to be a Pampered Chef timer, anyone will do.

 

[jstmee]

Nance,

So true about being so nice and "naive" in the great northern Maine. I wouldn't have it any other way. That's why we moved back up here to rear our 4 children. It's so odd going into a city now after being up here. Our town has about 2000 people and across the border we go into the big city of Edmundston 35,000.

I thought you were going down this year? I sure wish I was....

But, food for thought we went down in September and our rate for the All Star Sports was $49 per night and our airfare was $150 per person. I don't think we could have driven for that price.

Take care and have a Disney Day. Wendy

 

[manemagic]

Wendy,
Wow, you got a great deal...bet it made the experience even more magical! We were going to go down this April, but had to spend some unexpected money on our house.....very depressing...I feel like I should be packing or something...but planning for next year will be fun. We stayed at ASMovies last year and year before...can't wait to see the campground!!! Peacocks instead of chickadees!?! Nance

 

[wildernessfamily]

I read in a Highways magazine about the Key Tunnel which is 95 south going through Baltimore. They do not allow propane, some people have went through fine, other campers got fined. I don't know if that will change with the new propane bottles being required to have the over fill valve, or if perhaps it has to do with 20lb bottles or 30lb bottles. We usually go 695 around Baltimore. But it is something you might want to look into, or at least ask about.