# After PCD - Anyone else drive back to NJ/NYC metro area? - Questions on routes, traffic, etc.



## Shon528 (Oct 3, 2003)

We have done PCD 3X now and generally follow the same route which is mostly I95 back up to the Boston area. In 2017, my youngest wasn't even 1 yet so I understand your need for getting back sooner. You WILL be tired after your PCD day. We had planned for a longer 1st leg but I only made it ~4hrs up to Raleigh before the drowsiness was setting in and we had to call to switch hotels and stop there for the night. 8hr drive the next day to Times Sq, then 4hrs from NYC home. Our most recent trip earlier this year, my youngest was now 4 so we had a lil more time w/ the grandparents watching the kids. We only went up 2hrs to Charlotte, NC for the 1st leg. We arrived still feeling fresh and went out for a nice dinner. The next morning drove 7hrs to Baltimore. The following day drove 4hrs to Times Sq and stayed 2 nights. Then drove the last 4hrs home. Your wife sounds like mine, our hotel stays are generally all full service Marriott, Renaissance, W, or Westin.


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## Autoputzer (Mar 16, 2014)

If you have time, the Biltmore Estate in Ashville is worth seeing. They have it all decked out for Christmas, and there's a four-star hotel on the estate. 

*If the weather's good*, a nice route would be I-85 to I-26, through Ashville, to I-81 (Kingsport, TN) to I-78 (east of Harrisburg, PA), and then into NY/NJ.

BMW Performance Center to New York, NY - Google Maps

*If weather's not good*, a change-of-pace route would be I-85 to US-58 (South Hill, VA) to Virginia Beach, and then US-13 over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, up the Eastern Shore, and picking up the NJTP coming over the river from Wilmington DE, missing Philly. 

BMW Performance Center to New York - Google Maps

Both of these routes miss the DC-Baltimore-Philidelphia rush hour traffic mess.

On these "over the river, through the woods" scenic routes, avoid doing them at night. You can't see the scenery, and they're infested with deer. There's nothing a deer enjoys more than jumping on front of a brand new, $90k BMW.

The last time I checked (2005), the Grove Park Inn didn't take on-night reservations. It's more of a destination than a layover.

The weather would make the Blue Ridge Parkway risky this time of year... black ice.

Gas is cheap and convenient in South Hill, VA. That's about 300 miles from BMW Spartanburg. It'd be another 480 miles to NYC. With a 40i and the slow speeds on US-58 and US-13, you could get back home without having to refuel a second time. (I don't want those pump jockey morons in NJ touching my cars.). 

Gas is somewhat cheap and equally convenient in Emporia, VA (intersection of I-95 and US-58). That'd give you an additional 38-mile buffer on the second leg.


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## SpeedyATL (Jul 24, 2021)

I haven't read thru all of the responses, but if you don't take the Blue Ridge Parkway and then Skyline drive, YOU ARE CRAZY! The BRP is one of this country's greatest roads....I've ridden it top to bottom on my Beemer many times. The north end of Skyline Drive is in Front Royal VA, just west of DC.


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## Zeichen311 (Mar 31, 2011)

SpeedyATL said:


> I haven't read thru all of the responses, but if you don't take the Blue Ridge Parkway and then Skyline drive, YOU ARE CRAZY!


In warmer months I would agree but not at this time of year. Higher-elevation sections of the BRP and Skyline are already closed by snow and ice. More to the point, OP has indicated he's somewhat pressed for time on the trip, and driving the entire BRP plus Skyline Drive is a three-day affair.


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## SpeedyATL (Jul 24, 2021)

Not sure how you drive the BRP, but we easily go from Little Switzerland (MP335) to Waynesboro in 1 day. The top of Skyline is only 100 miles more from the end of the BRP.

Also, OP said they were able to extend the trip by a day.

Not sure what info you are looking at but the website (Road and Facility Closures - Blue Ridge Parkway (U.S. National Park Service)) is showing no weather related closures of the BRP as of today. The couple of construction closures are no big deal as there are good detours available.

I didn't check for any details pertaining to Skyline drive closures due to weather.


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## Zeichen311 (Mar 31, 2011)

SpeedyATL said:


> Not sure how you drive the BRP, but we easily go from Little Switzerland (MP335) to Waynesboro in 1 day. The top of Skyline is only 100 miles more from the end of the BRP.


True, you can cover the distance in a day--but at anything like the legal speed limits it's a 10-plus-hour non-stop drive. We have barely 10 hours of daylight, this time of year.  There's plenty to see and enjoy along the route; taking less than two full days would be a crime for someone who's never been.

I did forget OP had added a day. BRP/Skyline from at least Roanoke to Front Royal would be a nice detour, if the weather cooperates.



> Not sure what info you are looking at but the website (Road and Facility Closures - Blue Ridge Parkway (U.S. National Park Service)) is showing no weather related closures of the BRP as of today.


As of today (same source):

355.3Mount Mitchell State ParkClosed355.3 - 364.5NC highway 128 to South of Craggy Gardens Tunnel,
including Craggy Gardens Visitor CenterClosedIce at higher elevations364.5 - 367.6South of Craggy Gardens Tunnel to North of Craggy Gardens Picnic AreaClosedSnow and Ice367.6 - 375.7North of Craggy Gardens Picnic Area to Bull Gap (North of Elk Mountain/Ox Creek Road)ClosedSnow and Ice455.7 - 469.1Soco Gap (US Route 19) to US Route 441 thru Great Smoky Mtns. NPClosedIce on roadway



> I didn't check for any details pertaining to Skyline drive closures due to weather.


Shenandoah NP doesn't post much on the web anyway. Same-day calls to the park hotline are the only reliable source (even then, they often say "conditions may warrant closures at any time" or the like ).


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## SpeedyATL (Jul 24, 2021)

Yep, no reason to go that far south (wrong direction) on the BRP. Just hop on somewhere about the Little Switzerland (MP335) or Spruce Pine areas after seeing the Biltmore and the road (at least now) looks clear. But to Zeichen's point, check the link above before you go....For me, the BRP north of the VA state line is the best anyway. South of Asheville is more mountains and slower going and icy is seems.


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