Best way to hit Vermont between NYC and NH

[mariethefoxy]

Next month I'm heading up from the NYC Metro Area to Nashua and I've never been to Vermont before. (I'm trying to visit all 50 states at least once, I have 22 out of the 50)

Whats the best way of briefly stopping into Vermont en route to Nashua without going too far out of the way.

On the map theres NH 9 to Keene then NH 101 and 101A the rest of the way but how is that with speed limits and traps. It looks like its going to be a slow ride.

[hotdogPi]

Another option is I-91 to VT/NH/MA 119 to MA 113 to MA/NH 111.

[Dougtone]

NH 9 between Vermont and Keene moves fine, but the cops around Chesterfield like to set up radar and nab speeders. It's been a while since I've taken NH 101 snd NH 101A east of Keene, but it's a pleasant drive that isn't too slow. There are some towns to deal with, though.

SCH-I545

[froggie]

If your destination is Nashua and you want to hit at least part of Vermont, your best bet is taking NH 9/NH 101/NH 101A out of Brattleboro.  Shorter than "1"'s suggestion with more in the way of bypasses (namely around Milford).

[empirestate]

Yeah, that's the way. And you're right, you'll want to obey speed limits in the NH towns; Dublin is one that has a low limit about which they're fairly serious.

For a more relaxing drive overall, though longer, use the Taconic Parkway out of NYC Metro, then run across Vermont via NY 22 and NY 7/VT 9. Or as a compromise, use Taconic-MassPike-91 to Brattleboro. This lets you avoid traffic in CT, which may be desirable in terms of both congestion and behavior.


iPhone

[mariethefoxy]

I don't like the Taconic, it gets kinda hairy the further up you go. I drove up to Poughkeepsie a few times and it starts to get really narrow and twisty once you pass a certain point in Westchester.

[Dougtone]

I don't like the Taconic, it gets kinda hairy the further up you go. I drove up to Poughkeepsie a few times and it starts to get really narrow and twisty once you pass a certain point in Westchester.

That's really only on the stretch of the Taconic through the mountains between US 6 and I-84 where the road becomes challenging. Occasionally, I'll take US 9 or I-684 as an alternative to the Taconic within that stretch. On the flip side, the congestion that you may come across betwixt NYC and Hartford/Springfield may be just as nerve wracking.

[mariethefoxy]

the time i would be going it shouldn't be too bad, I drove up that way on 15 and I-91 many many many times. If you get there in the middle of the day unless theres some unpredictable major accident, its fine.

Having said that if I know ahead of time of issues, 684 to 84 is my backup way.

I wonder if its worth it to take 91 to Brattleboro, go back down 91 the other way towards Greenfield and then take Route 2 to 290 to 495 to 3 to get to Nashua instead of trying to go through the small towns of rural Southern New Hampshire.

[Pete from Boston]

I wonder if its worth it to take 91 to Brattleboro, go back down 91 the other way towards Greenfield and then take Route 2 to 290 to 495 to 3 to get to Nashua instead of trying to go through the small towns of rural Southern New Hampshire.

No 290 in that route, FYI.

You add miles going south then north, then still have to deal with the small-town, narrow Route 2 from Greenfield to Athol or so.  Not worth the trouble, in my opinion.  Just relax and enjoy the scenery and mind the limit.  It's a nice drive.

[empirestate]

I don't like the Taconic, it gets kinda hairy the further up you go. I drove up to Poughkeepsie a few times and it starts to get really narrow and twisty once you pass a certain point in Westchester.

That's really only on the stretch of the Taconic through the mountains between US 6 and I-84 where the road becomes challenging. Occasionally, I'll take US 9 or I-684 as an alternative to the Taconic within that stretch. On the flip side, the congestion that you may come across betwixt NYC and Hartford/Springfield may be just as nerve wracking.

Yeah, it gets less hairy again as you go through Dutchess into Columbia County. In any case, I find it less disagreeable than Connecticut overall, but to each his own.

I wonder if its worth it to take 91 to Brattleboro, go back down 91 the other way towards Greenfield and then take Route 2 to 290 to 495 to 3 to get to Nashua instead of trying to go through the small towns of rural Southern New Hampshire.

Not to me, but if something concerns you about the small towns of rural southern New Hampshire, you may find it so.

[mariethefoxy]

I don't like the Taconic, it gets kinda hairy the further up you go. I drove up to Poughkeepsie a few times and it starts to get really narrow and twisty once you pass a certain point in Westchester.

That's really only on the stretch of the Taconic through the mountains between US 6 and I-84 where the road becomes challenging. Occasionally, I'll take US 9 or I-684 as an alternative to the Taconic within that stretch. On the flip side, the congestion that you may come across betwixt NYC and Hartford/Springfield may be just as nerve wracking.

Yeah, it gets less hairy again as you go through Dutchess into Columbia County. In any case, I find it less disagreeable than Connecticut overall, but to each his own.

I wonder if its worth it to take 91 to Brattleboro, go back down 91 the other way towards Greenfield and then take Route 2 to 290 to 495 to 3 to get to Nashua instead of trying to go through the small towns of rural Southern New Hampshire.

Not to me, but if something concerns you about the small towns of rural southern New Hampshire, you may find it so.

Yea getting a speeding ticket from their small town cops. Im used to fast paced Long Island driving.

[Pete from Boston]

I don't like the Taconic, it gets kinda hairy the further up you go. I drove up to Poughkeepsie a few times and it starts to get really narrow and twisty once you pass a certain point in Westchester.

That's really only on the stretch of the Taconic through the mountains between US 6 and I-84 where the road becomes challenging. Occasionally, I'll take US 9 or I-684 as an alternative to the Taconic within that stretch. On the flip side, the congestion that you may come across betwixt NYC and Hartford/Springfield may be just as nerve wracking.

Yeah, it gets less hairy again as you go through Dutchess into Columbia County. In any case, I find it less disagreeable than Connecticut overall, but to each his own.

I wonder if its worth it to take 91 to Brattleboro, go back down 91 the other way towards Greenfield and then take Route 2 to 290 to 495 to 3 to get to Nashua instead of trying to go through the small towns of rural Southern New Hampshire.

Not to me, but if something concerns you about the small towns of rural southern New Hampshire, you may find it so.

Yea getting a speeding ticket from their small town cops. Im used to fast paced Long Island driving.

Route 2 can be a fast and fun road, but be very mindful of the cops who know this, both on the expressway portion (cops east of 495 to Concord are especially bad) and in the "sudden 25" zones in small towns like Erving, and even in the aforementioned Concord.

[Rothman]

Route 2 can be a fast and fun road, but be very mindful of the cops who know this, both on the expressway portion (cops east of 495 to Concord are especially bad) and in the "sudden 25" zones in small towns like Erving, and even in the aforementioned Concord.

An infamous speed trap is actually about a mile west of the Concord Rotary.  Acton puts a cop on the north side of the road.

[froggie]

I wonder if its worth it to take 91 to Brattleboro, go back down 91 the other way towards Greenfield and then take Route 2 to 495 to 3 to get to Nashua

(FTFY, as Pete noted)

In short, no.  You're adding 60 miles and 45 minutes to your trip if you loop back down to Route 2.  Unless you really don't mind adding on that much time and distance, you're far better off just going through the "small towns".

Which, on that note, NH 9 and NH 101 usually have enough traffic to where your speed will be kept in check and you shouldn't have to worry about speeding tickets.  If you're the type that gets frustrated sitting behind other cars, you won't like it.  But it's still much less time/distance than detouring down to Route 2 (which has a lengthy 2-lane segment of its own from Greenfield to past Athol).

[Rothman]

Yea getting a speeding ticket from their small town cops. Im used to fast paced Long Island driving.

Given the PHD on the LIE (highest in the state -- I know the guy who gets the numbers together), I snicker at the idea of "fast-paced" Long Island driving.

[Rothman]

I do have to say that the fastest way to Boston from where I lived in Hampshire County was to take US 202 to MA 2 to Alewife Station or all the way in (as opposed to taking the Pike). 

[Pete from Boston]

Route 2 can be a fast and fun road, but be very mindful of the cops who know this, both on the expressway portion (cops east of 495 to Concord are especially bad) and in the "sudden 25" zones in small towns like Erving, and even in the aforementioned Concord.

An infamous speed trap is actually about a mile west of the Concord Rotary.  Acton puts a cop on the north side of the road.

I've heard that Bolton, thanks to lots of lucrative through traffic on 2 and 117, has one of the highest ticketing rates in the Commonwealth.

[empirestate]

I don't like the Taconic, it gets kinda hairy the further up you go. I drove up to Poughkeepsie a few times and it starts to get really narrow and twisty once you pass a certain point in Westchester.

That's really only on the stretch of the Taconic through the mountains between US 6 and I-84 where the road becomes challenging. Occasionally, I'll take US 9 or I-684 as an alternative to the Taconic within that stretch. On the flip side, the congestion that you may come across betwixt NYC and Hartford/Springfield may be just as nerve wracking.

Yeah, it gets less hairy again as you go through Dutchess into Columbia County. In any case, I find it less disagreeable than Connecticut overall, but to each his own.

I wonder if its worth it to take 91 to Brattleboro, go back down 91 the other way towards Greenfield and then take Route 2 to 290 to 495 to 3 to get to Nashua instead of trying to go through the small towns of rural Southern New Hampshire.

Not to me, but if something concerns you about the small towns of rural southern New Hampshire, you may find it so.

Yea getting a speeding ticket from their small town cops. Im used to fast paced Long Island driving.

Well, you could always just not speed; that would seem an easier and less time-consuming way than backtracking to Route 2 (especially since that doesn't fully mitigate your concern).

That does also explain why you seem to prefer the CT route. You'll fit in better there. :-)


iPhone

[vdeane]

Given the PHD on the LIE (highest in the state -- I know the guy who gets the numbers together), I snicker at the idea of "fast-paced" Long Island driving.

I tried to search for what "PHD" stands for in this instance and all I got was the degree...

[mariethefoxy]

I don't like the Taconic, it gets kinda hairy the further up you go. I drove up to Poughkeepsie a few times and it starts to get really narrow and twisty once you pass a certain point in Westchester.

That's really only on the stretch of the Taconic through the mountains between US 6 and I-84 where the road becomes challenging. Occasionally, I'll take US 9 or I-684 as an alternative to the Taconic within that stretch. On the flip side, the congestion that you may come across betwixt NYC and Hartford/Springfield may be just as nerve wracking.

Yeah, it gets less hairy again as you go through Dutchess into Columbia County. In any case, I find it less disagreeable than Connecticut overall, but to each his own.

I wonder if its worth it to take 91 to Brattleboro, go back down 91 the other way towards Greenfield and then take Route 2 to 290 to 495 to 3 to get to Nashua instead of trying to go through the small towns of rural Southern New Hampshire.

Not to me, but if something concerns you about the small towns of rural southern New Hampshire, you may find it so.

Yea getting a speeding ticket from their small town cops. Im used to fast paced Long Island driving.

Well, you could always just not speed; that would seem an easier and less time-consuming way than backtracking to Route 2 (especially since that doesn't fully mitigate your concern).

That does also explain why you seem to prefer the CT route. You'll fit in better there. :-)


iPhone

91 is the best in CT, 65mph limit and keeping up with traffic is well over 75.

[Rothman]

Given the PHD on the LIE (highest in the state -- I know the guy who gets the numbers together), I snicker at the idea of "fast-paced" Long Island driving.

I tried to search for what "PHD" stands for in this instance and all I got was the degree...

Person-Hours of Delay

[mariethefoxy]

I will say this the LIE seems to be getting more and more congested lately than I remember 5+ years ago. Even during the afternoon hours when I head out its got high volume but at least the traffic is moving.

[Alps]

Comment on speeding in NH: 9-101 is a well used route, so you will have limited opportunities to speed even if you lack self-control. But it keeps moving at 45 MPH or so (on weekends, with slow vacationers and locals) which is still faster than going back down to MA 2. Not to mention you could still get nabbed speeding on 2.

[mariethefoxy]

I'm back from that trip, it was quite a slow and seemingly endless ride across NH to finally get to Vermont compared to I-84, the Mass Pike, and I-495 (Massachusetts one, however I was on two I-495's that day) which I used to get up there.

Some things I observed:

For some reason I-95 in New Hampshire (went to Maine one of the days) was completely backed up at 9pm on a Sunday! I ended up taking NH 101 to Everett Tpke to get back instead of waiting in endless traffic to get to I-495.

Why does the Mass Pike put the EZPass Lanes on the Right, most places put them on the left, since they move faster. Also it seems every toll booth on the Mass Pike theres a free for all of people trying to get to various toll booths and then on the other end trying to get to the correct ramp where they need to go.

I-91 in the Springfield area needs work, especially down towards CT.

[Rothman]

I-91 in the Springfield area needs work, especially down towards CT.

HA!  They spent a mint fiddling around with the ramps in Springfield "recently." You should tell them to put everything back the way it was!

Unfortunately, there can be little done about the Forest Park Curve due to...Forest Park and other constraints.