The Mid-Atlantic

Leg 2 · Late fall

The Mid-Atlantic

Skyline, bridge, and brick

Tap a pin to open that stop's first day · numbers follow the driving order

The megalopolis and its hinterland: New York City, the Hudson Valley and the state capitals, the Jersey Shore, Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Dutch country, Gettysburg, the du Pont estates and Delaware beaches, the Chesapeake at Baltimore and Annapolis, and the monuments of Washington, DC.

Late-fall brick and slate

Time it right

Roll south out of New England into New York City for a multi-week stay, then work down through New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland as fall deepens, closing in Washington, DC before the trip turns toward the warmer South.

Stops

Days

118

Things to do

States

Jump to a day

70Liberty, Ellis Island & Lower Manhattan 71Ground Zero & the new downtown 72Midtown Icons 73The Met & Central Park 74Free Day 75Broadway & late laughs 76The Village & the High Line 77Brooklyn 78Upper West Side 79Free Day 80Empire State & Herald Square 81Lower East Side & Chinatown 82Harlem & the Cloisters 83Free Day 84Out to the East End 85Montauk & the End 86The Hamptons & North Fork wine 87Back west & up the Hudson 88Hyde Park 89Storm King & the river 90West Point & Cold Spring 91Into the Catskills 92Woodstock & Kaaterskill Falls 93North to the capital 94The Capital 95South into New Jersey 96Princeton 97Trenton & Washington's Crossing 98Down the shore 99Atlantic City 100Cape May 101Across to Philadelphia 102Independence & Old City 103The Parkway museums 104Markets & the cheesesteak wars 105Penitentiary & science 106Free Day 107North to Scranton 108Steam & coal 109South to Amish country 110Amish Country 111Hershey & the Strasburg Rail Road 112To the capital 113The Capitol & the Civil War 114South to Gettysburg 115The Battlefield 116Little Round Top & the Address 117Into Delaware 118The du Pont estates 119Longwood & the riverfront 120South to Dover 121The First State's capital 122Rehoboth Beach 123Across the bay to Baltimore 124The Inner Harbor 125Fort McHenry & Fell's Point 126Art, oddity & crabs 127Down to Annapolis 128The Naval Academy & the State House 129On the Chesapeake 130Out to the ocean 131The Boardwalk 132Assateague's wild horses 133Northwest to Frederick 134Antietam & Frederick 135South to Mount Vernon 136Washington's Home 137The National Mall & Monuments 138Smithsonian I 139Smithsonian II 140Capitol Hill 141The White House & Ford's Theatre 142Free Day 143Arlington 144Georgetown & the Tidal Basin 145South into Virginia

Stops, in order

Stop 1New York CityNew York City, NYDays 70–84
The trip's marquee stay — two-plus weeks for the harbor icons, the museums, Broadway, the food, and all five boroughs. Take it at a city-dweller's pace, with real days off.
Stop 2Long Island: The Hamptons & MontaukLong Island: The Hamptons & Montauk, NYDays 85–87
The island's East End — surf and a historic lighthouse at Montauk, moneyed villages in the Hamptons, and wine country on the North Fork.
Stop 3The Hudson ValleyThe Hudson Valley, NYDays 88–91
Presidential estates, a legendary sculpture park, a mountaintop military academy, and the river that named a school of painting.
Stop 4The Catskills & WoodstockThe Catskills & Woodstock, NYDays 92–93
An arts-colony town synonymous with a generation, a spectacular waterfall, and the site of the 1969 festival nearby.
- 92Day 92 — Woodstock & Kaaterskill FallsFull day · 4h planned
- 93Day 93 — North to the capitalDrive day · 1h 10m drive
Stop 5AlbanyAlbany, NYDays 94–95
New York's capital — a grand 19th-century statehouse and a modernist plaza that looks like the future imagined in 1965.
- 94Day 94 — The CapitalFull day · 4h 30m planned
- 95Day 95 — South into New JerseyDrive day · 2h 45m drive
Stop 6Trenton & PrincetonTrenton & Princeton, NJDays 96–98
New Jersey's capital on the Delaware, the Revolutionary crossing, and one of the country's most beautiful university towns.
Stop 7Atlantic City & Cape MayAtlantic City & Cape May, NJDays 99–101
The original boardwalk and casino town, then Victorian Cape May — the oldest seaside resort in America — at the state's southern tip.
Stop 8PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PADays 102–107
The birthplace of the nation — where independence was declared and signed — plus a world-class art parkway, the country's best food market, and the cheesesteak wars.
Stop 9ScrantonScranton, PADays 108–109
The 'Electric City' of anthracite and railroads — a preserved steam yard and a real coal mine you can descend into (and, yes, the setting of a certain sitcom).
- 108Day 108 — Steam & coalFull day · 3h 30m planned
- 109Day 109 — South to Amish countryDrive day · 2h 30m drive
Stop 10Lancaster & Amish CountryLancaster & Amish Country, PADays 110–112
Pennsylvania Dutch farmland of buggies and covered bridges, an antique railroad, and the chocolate town next door.
Stop 11HarrisburgHarrisburg, PADays 113–114
Pennsylvania's capital on the Susquehanna — a capitol so grand Teddy Roosevelt called it the handsomest building he ever saw — and a superb Civil War museum.
- 113Day 113 — The Capitol & the Civil WarFull day · 4h planned
- 114Day 114 — South to GettysburgDrive day · 50m drive
Stop 12GettysburgGettysburg, PADays 115–117
The battlefield where the Civil War turned and Lincoln spoke — one of the most moving historical landscapes in America.
Stop 13Brandywine Valley & WilmingtonBrandywine Valley & Wilmington, DEDays 118–120
The du Pont dynasty's green corner of Delaware — grand estates, one of the world's great gardens, and Wyeth country along the Brandywine.
Stop 14Dover & Rehoboth BeachDover & Rehoboth Beach, DEDays 121–123
Delaware's colonial capital on The Green, then the state's genteel beach town — boardwalk, outlets, and Cape Henlopen.
Stop 15BaltimoreBaltimore, MDDays 124–127
Charm City on the Chesapeake — the harbor and the star fort where the national anthem was written, a top aquarium, cobblestoned Fell's Point, and steamed blue crabs.
Stop 16AnnapolisAnnapolis, MDDays 128–130
Maryland's capital and America's sailing capital — the Naval Academy, the oldest statehouse still in legislative use, and a colonial harbor town.
Stop 17Ocean City & AssateagueOcean City & Assateague, MDDays 131–133
Maryland's honky-tonk beach boardwalk, then the wild barrier island where feral horses roam the dunes.
Stop 18Frederick & AntietamFrederick & Antietam, MDDays 134–135
A handsome historic town beside the bloodiest single day in American history.
- 134Day 134 — Antietam & FrederickFull day · 5h planned
- 135Day 135 — South to Mount VernonDrive day · 1h 30m drive
Stop 19Mount VernonMount Vernon, VADay 136
George Washington's estate above the Potomac — the mansion, the tomb, and the working farm, just south of the capital.
- 136Day 136 — Washington's HomeFull day · 3h 30m planned
Stop 20Washington, DCWashington, DC, DCDays 137–145
The nation's capital — the monuments, the free Smithsonians, the Capitol, and Arlington — and the close of the East Coast leg. Plan on a full week-plus.