An idiot takes a moto camping tour of Northern New England

NY, MA, VT, NH, NY, ME and ON (maybe)

I'm setting out to explore my own neck of the woods. I'm from and live in PA... and I've been to all of the states listed for one reason or another but I've never really been "in" any of them except upstate NY. I aim's to reckon that. I've got four days... maybe five... six if I want to destroy the tentative truce I have with Mrs Huckleberry over this whole thing in the first place. This is a camping only trip - no motels, hotels or friends homes. Rain or shine. I am not anal enough to actually schedule anything - so, stealing a Bourdain title, there will be No Reservations. At 4PM every day I'll find some wifi and google campgrounds if you guys haven't given me a good list to work from by then. Or I'll pitch a tent somewhere and hope for the best. When it's done I'm riding south a few hundred miles to meet my family at the beach in S Jersey where Mrs Huckleberry and the Huckleberry offspring will give me E36 M3 for taking my own vacation during theirs. You shiny happy people are going to help me make sure that I'm the one smugly grinning at that meeting by providing your input to make this the best hijack of a family vacation ever.

This is the current proposed route: Interactive Route on Furqot

The must do list so far:
- Kanamangus Highway between Lincoln and Clinton
- Route 100 in VT
- Mount Washington Auto Road
- Route 2 thru Lake Champlain
- Ripping up the road between Stowe and Smuggler's Notch. I've skied both but that is a motorcycle road if ever there was one.
- Whatever you asshats think I should hit up.

Fire away.

I expected your route to be more wang-shaped.

Hemmings museum is in the area. Personally I would stay closer to the coast and spend minimal time in DPRNY. Mystic seaport is supposed to be nice, never been there myself.

AngryCorvair wrote: I expected your route to be more wang-shaped.

I will add a loop somewhere that resembles the male reproductive organ. Perhaps... using islands I can even appear to have violated Lake Winnepesaukee?

Thank you for pointing out my oversight.

TRoglodyte wrote: Hemmings museum is in the area. Personally I would stay closer to the coast and spend minimal time in DPRNY. Mystic seaport is supposed to be nice, never been there myself.

Mystic is a really cool little town. I might cross into ME and or ON but I'm avoiding the MA/RI/CT and coastal ME because there is a NOVA trip in my future that will loop those areas. This one is a mountain camping ride - Catskills, Green, White and 'dacks. I have no budget for swanky beach hotels or waterfront campgrounds during their short "in season" price jacking because the rest of my berries are squandering that on posh digs at the shore during the same time.

I'll add a waypoint for Hemmings in Bennington. Thanks for the tip!

If you are going to the Lake Winnipesaukee area and like old school video arcade games, you have to go to Funspot. It's in Laconia and it RULES. They house the American Classic Arcade Museum there.

http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

Looks like a fantastic trip. You might spend an hour at Fort Ticonderoga since you're going right by it. The indoor/outdoor/hands-on Shelburne Museum just south of Burlington is also near your path, and features a lot of things to see and do.

My family is from Lake George, so that's one place in that area that I would always visit, but you're not bound by those types of obligations :)

If you get to Bennington do the Revolutionary War Memorial up the road from Hemmings museum. General Stark was a badazz. Ride the elevator.

It looks like you have Franconia Notch and the Kancamagus Highway on there. I was there yesterday. There is a really nice campground in the Notch and another at the start of the Kanc around Woodville. They're only about 20 minutes apart. Stay in the Notch if you can. There's a great brewpub in Woodstock, the Woodstock Inn. I just opened a fresh growler of Pig's Ear Brown Ale a few hours ago.

If you're going to make it down to Hemmings, you absolutely must pay the toll and ride to the top of Mt. Equinox. They have a vintage hillclimb there in June. Just beware of walking monks on blind corners. And make sure you have good brake pads for the ride down.

In reply to Woody:

Woodstock Inn added, do you recall if Lafayette Place Campground was the mane of the place in the Franconia Notch?

I fully expect to see lots of pictures and some words from you at the end of the trip.

In reply to Toyman01:

I bought one of those Nikon AW120 cameras that you recommended on ebay so if I don't have any good pics I'm going to blame you :)

Have a good time, nice area.

Huckleberry wrote: In reply to Toyman01: I bought one of those Nikon AW120 cameras that you recommended on ebay so if I don't have any good pics I'm going to blame you :)

That is still my favorite camera for day to day shooting. Small enough to fit in a pocket, durable enough to not worry about, and shoots very good pictures to boot.

914Driver wrote: Have a good time, nice area.

What he said^

Huckleberry wrote: In reply to Woody: Woodstock Inn added, do you recall if Lafayette Place Campground was the mane of the place in the Franconia Notch?

Yup, that's the one. You want to stay there. It's pretty much where Old Man of the Mountain landed. Also, it's about ten minutes from the Woodstock Inn.

Absurdly jealous. Enjoy the hairpin on Rt. 2 halfway between North Adams and Florida, MA. You'll know exactly the one I mean when you get there if you haven't been already.

Swing a little further north in VT and go to Hill Farmstead Brewery for post-ride provisions.

Can't help with camping but I look forward to a detailed report so I can steal your ideas.

In no apparent order-

VT-100 through waturbury is worth the stop- go to Prohibition Pig for excellent barbecue and craft beer, then ben & Jerry's factory for dessert.

I actually live pretty damn close to exactly on your route in NH, so if you have any issues/needs, let me know!

It would add a good bit of mielage to your trip, but Route 16 North of Berlin through Errol to Route 26 West, down route 3, to 105, then 114 south through Burke, VT is a hell of a high-speed, curvy but not intestinal cruiser route. I love all of those roads. Very scenic too.

You will essentially be in craft beer Mecca throughout your trip through NH and VT. If you are into that, I would highly recommend a few places along the way.

Queechee gorge is worth the peek over the railing, and the hike too, especially after a heavy rainfall.

If Lafayette is full (literally it is every Thursday-Monday), there is a small campground on the Kanc, about 5 miles from the Lincoln end called hancock Camping area. Bear left on the campground, and there is a big parking area. Grab your crap and walk downhill to access what I believe are the nicest rivers edge campsites that I've ever stayed on. Lafayette is super popular, but I prefer hancock personally.

Have fun!

golfduke wrote: Bear left on the campground, and there is a big parking area. Grab your crap and walk downhill to access what I believe are the nicest rivers edge campsites that I've ever stayed on. Lafayette is super popular, but I prefer hancock personally.

Are they pack in/out only type sites or can I just ride down the trail to the campsite? I prefer not to leave the bike too far away since the panniers are pretty tough to carry around (and contain all my neatly organized camping gear).

You could totally get an ADV or sport-ish bike down there. We're only talking maybe 75' or so. Long and low cruisers might get entertaining though, haha. Worst case scenario is that you go right at the campground fork, and there's tons of nice, secluded drive-in sites on that side.

If you haven't left for your trip yet and like twisties and hills, I recommend trying Bear Notch Road from Bartlett, NH to the Kanc, or from the Kanc to Bartlett and then back trackto the Kanc. Very nice curves and was paved just a few years ago. Also in VT while coming down RT 100 take some of the passes over the Green Mountains. I used to run from Burlington area on RT 17 from the west side of the mountains to RT 100, then down 100 to RT 125 and cross over to Middlebury, then down RT 7 to RT 73 and go back over to RT 100. You will love going through the Adirondack Park area, miles of roads with hardly ANY cars, make sure you fill you before you enter the area, it can be 30-40 miles between towns/civilization. Good luck with you trip, sounds awesome.

Just got back... @imgon:

Bear Notch was great, so was 100 and 112 west of the Kanc but the winner was 16 north of Berlin up to Errol. Full-tilt boogie all the way up and back. Awesome.

I'll probably put up a ride report on ADV in the Day Trippin' forum because of the ease of integration with pics and the generally larger audience for this sort of thing over there but thanks everyone for the suggestions. I actually used almost every single one except the campgrounds. They were all full but we managed to find some grass to lay up on anyhow.

Here is some proof we atleast got the beer part right:

Post a link for the ADV page for us.

Woodstock! Was the Pinzgauer still across the street? There's also a Reliant Robin around the corner.