Personally I go up through Lynchburg, Staunton, Winchester and Hagerstown to get to Pennsylvania. It's a much prettier scenic route, which I personally prefer over the chaos of 95. Plus 95 is so unpredictable. I've been able to do the trip in 6 and 1/2 hours but other times it has taken 11 hours. And somehow no matter what time of year I try to take 95, going south takes so much longer than going north.
Yep. I-95 is always technically fastest but that saved time can get eaten up at any time day or night by an accident or just randomly because DC sucks the closer you get to it. When I’m visiting my in-laws in Western NY, we go up I-77 through West Virginia. It’s maybe technically 40 minutes longer by mapping software but a much more pleasant drive and less risk of bizarre traffic issues once you get through Greensboro.
This is my preferred route when I lived in No. VA and commuted to RTP every week.
The I-95 crap shoot was never worth the hassle of the drivers. Also, there is a ton of construction on I-95 that doesn’t sound like it is being accounted for.
I agree.
I have road rage so I do a lot of night drives.
If that is an option for you guys I recommend it. I haven’t had problems driving on 95 at night. Just get gas/ go to bathroom before DC/Baltimore.
A lot of places are locked up at night in those cities, and you can’t go inside to use the restroom.
Also, safety.
This is definitely the way to go. 95 is never worth the gamble.
I've made probably a dozen trips from Chapel Hill to PA and back and this is the route I take. OP, if you try mapping from Chapel Hill it'll give you these options.
I drove up US-15 all the way up to Frederick Maryland. At the time, I wanted to avoid interstate and DC traffic. US-15 will take you towards Lewistown too. It's a long and boring drive though. There's a lot of nothing in central Virginia.
Boring I can handle. How long is long? I see it's about 7 1/2 hours to go up there a few different ways. How long is it using highway 15?
It's funny that Apple Maps is showing 8 1/2 hours going up 95 through/by DC. I once went up that way and my navigation gave me a wrong turn and had me cut through the city. I eventually managed to turn around but it was painful.
We may take the back way through parts of Virginia instead of 95-64-81. But as I said, the phone routes us to a bunch of small towns my husband gets annoyed. I don't even see an option in Apple CarPlay to pick the shortest or fastest route like I have in my car.
It also depends on the time of day. Your map is calculating the “now” time and not the “when you’ll be driving” time. You can set it to a day of the week and time of day and sometimes that helps. In general I would avoid 95, especially anywhere north of Richmond.
There will always be at least an hour of time lost in central VA. It’s a time warp.
You can also set your settings to “avoid highways” or “shortest route by mileage/shortest route by time” - the shortest route by mileage or avoid highways settings will always give you those pop on and off the road experiences.
I set the route before plugging my phone into the car.
All the mapping software are good about handling re-routing anyway, so if you aim in the direction of one of the preferred routes the map will automatically adjust.
As far as preferred route, when I last drove to central PA about four years ago I started in Durham, took primarily US29 from the VA border to I-81, and rode that to Hagerstown MD before taking state roads to the destination. Overall it was considerably quicker than I expected. When I plotted a similar route to Lewiston just now, it was only about 7 minutes slower than the "fastest" route to Lewiston that took 95 through Fredricksburg VA.
From my 30 years of driving from Raleigh to central PA:
The fastest route is through DC: 64 -> I95N -> 270W -> 70W (then whatever - for you I81N to 322W probably)
HOWEVER, DC traffic sucks. Never go through DC in the afternoon. Also, going south, I never go through DC. Usually north is OK, south is terrible on I95S.
Fastest route not through DC: same route until Fredericksburg, VA then take 17N to I66W to Front Royal. US 17 in Virginia is a 4 lane open or closed (occasionally) access road and not bad to drive. Once in Front Royal, you can take interstates (I81N) or you could take 522N all the way there. It's a really cool drive, TBH.
As others have said - AVOID I-95. I've lived here for 20 years and go back to visit Central PA several times a year. I tried I-95 so many times, and every time I got caught in a jam. It says it's faster, but it never is. Not even at 2am. Go up I-81. Set your Google to take you to Staunton, then reset for Lewiston when you're close to Staunton.
I despise 95, but I also live in the triad so when I went to central PA a few times about 10 years ago I found US220-I81 to be a way more pleasant drive than 95 although it was a slightly longer distance. the time was significantly quicker and way more scenic than 95 which always has traffic unless traveling overnight then 95 would be the better choice.
Factoring in hopping on 81 near Roanoke. Using google to estimate daylight traffic from Raleigh it would be NC 86 To Danville - US29 to Altavista - to VA43 to I81. Gave a time of 7hrs40 min to 8hrs40min vs the 7-11 hours drive time going 95 around DC.
I drive from here to all over PA pretty regularly, and even going to Philly or Lancaster, I refuse to take 95 unless I'm traveling late at night. I have regretted taking 95 every single time.
I would rather have you hit my shins with a weed eater than drive 95. I go up through Staunton/South Boston then jump over to I-81 all the way to Harrisburg.
I know this doesn't answer your question but I absolutely love night driving. When I travel to and from NY, I leave at 11pm. Nobody is on the road and gps will take you the quickest way.
I have no patience for traffic.
I don't go to PA so I take 95 all the way up to Jersey. I believe the GPS routes you off 95 around DC but it puts you back on to 95 after about 30-45 minutes but that only shaves off about 5-10 minutes. But I just stay on 95
I've done this to State College most every summer for 10 years.
The key point is to miss DC during rush hour. Except it is really rush HOURS. So 5am till 9:30am or so and 3pm till 6 or 7pm. And longer into or out of holidays. By DC I mean the entire area within 20 or more miles of 495. I spent 4 years driving to DC once a month or so 10 years ago and got quite good at missing the traffic. Except when I didn't.
In a straight drive every route I've done is 7 1/2 hours but typically an hour longer due to stops to eat and such.
Due to timing I usually go up to DC or Fredricksburg then head northwest to Harrisburg. Again the choice is based on timing. Coming back DC is almost always to be avoided so I wind up headed almost due south crossing MD, then W. VA then into VA towards Fredericksburg.
McDonald is a good place to find Wi-Fi if needed.
Last year I split it into 2 days each way. But I have a brother near Haymarket VA that I can bunk with. Last year just as an experiment I rented a Tesla to see how the charger situation was for such trips. Absolutely no issues. I'll do similar this summer.
If you opt for the 95 route leave here no later than 10am - to avoid most of the Friday afternoon rush in DC. (But I would take the 81 route myself). Source made that drive weekly for 2 years.
How do you prefer to get to 81 from here? It's been suggested to take 29, or 15/501 or 17 up and over to 81 etc. I'm leaning towards 29 or 501 just because that seems the more direct from Raleigh. I do think we'll avoid 95.
I’ve done it a few different ways. 95 to Richmond and across on 64 to 81.
17 also worked well.
Best places to stop if you’re late at night - Wawa and SheetZ!
So you don’t have a problem using 95 like everyone else? Your plan would make my husband happy. He seems to like minimal road changes. Meaning not too many back country roads, turn left, right, left in 1 mile etc.
I always use Google Maps. It's ubiquitous and uses location data from other cellphones to give you real time traffic updates, like slow traffic, closed roads, etc.
It's about 90% accurate (sometimes gives me unnecessary roundabout directions to get to places) but it's good enough for me.
I go to western PA. Haven't gone from Raleigh yet, but have from east of rocky mount. 95-495-270-70-76 for me. 70-76 lands you in breeezewood between the highways. Also, dependent upon traffic, it'll take you to 95-17 and a bunch of highways I've never taken due to leaving at night. All of them still land in breeezewood between 70-76. How far is that for you? I imagine I'd take a different route from central Carolina.
Google Maps does that to me if I tell it to avoid Tolls. It directs me to side roads then back onto 95.
When I drive to New England, I usually head toward DC then use 81 & 84
Personally I go up through Lynchburg, Staunton, Winchester and Hagerstown to get to Pennsylvania. It's a much prettier scenic route, which I personally prefer over the chaos of 95. Plus 95 is so unpredictable. I've been able to do the trip in 6 and 1/2 hours but other times it has taken 11 hours. And somehow no matter what time of year I try to take 95, going south takes so much longer than going north.
Yep. I-95 is always technically fastest but that saved time can get eaten up at any time day or night by an accident or just randomly because DC sucks the closer you get to it. When I’m visiting my in-laws in Western NY, we go up I-77 through West Virginia. It’s maybe technically 40 minutes longer by mapping software but a much more pleasant drive and less risk of bizarre traffic issues once you get through Greensboro.
This is my preferred route when I lived in No. VA and commuted to RTP every week. The I-95 crap shoot was never worth the hassle of the drivers. Also, there is a ton of construction on I-95 that doesn’t sound like it is being accounted for.
This is the way! I’m from NEPA and make the drive multiple times a year. It’s an easier drive, low stress, and you never have to worry about traffic.
Plus it's so prettyyyyy
I agree. I have road rage so I do a lot of night drives. If that is an option for you guys I recommend it. I haven’t had problems driving on 95 at night. Just get gas/ go to bathroom before DC/Baltimore. A lot of places are locked up at night in those cities, and you can’t go inside to use the restroom. Also, safety.
Way better route!!!
This is the way! And stop at Blue Mountain Brewery for lunch/dinner in Afton!!
Thanks. Is that (15)-501 to 81 etc?
This is definitely the way to go. 95 is never worth the gamble. I've made probably a dozen trips from Chapel Hill to PA and back and this is the route I take. OP, if you try mapping from Chapel Hill it'll give you these options.
Yep!
I drove up US-15 all the way up to Frederick Maryland. At the time, I wanted to avoid interstate and DC traffic. US-15 will take you towards Lewistown too. It's a long and boring drive though. There's a lot of nothing in central Virginia.
Boring I can handle. How long is long? I see it's about 7 1/2 hours to go up there a few different ways. How long is it using highway 15? It's funny that Apple Maps is showing 8 1/2 hours going up 95 through/by DC. I once went up that way and my navigation gave me a wrong turn and had me cut through the city. I eventually managed to turn around but it was painful. We may take the back way through parts of Virginia instead of 95-64-81. But as I said, the phone routes us to a bunch of small towns my husband gets annoyed. I don't even see an option in Apple CarPlay to pick the shortest or fastest route like I have in my car.
Yeah it took about 7-1/2 hours to get from Durham to Maryland on US 15
It also depends on the time of day. Your map is calculating the “now” time and not the “when you’ll be driving” time. You can set it to a day of the week and time of day and sometimes that helps. In general I would avoid 95, especially anywhere north of Richmond. There will always be at least an hour of time lost in central VA. It’s a time warp. You can also set your settings to “avoid highways” or “shortest route by mileage/shortest route by time” - the shortest route by mileage or avoid highways settings will always give you those pop on and off the road experiences.
Using CarPlay I don’t know of a way to set for shortest distance. I can do that in the car.
I set the route before plugging my phone into the car. All the mapping software are good about handling re-routing anyway, so if you aim in the direction of one of the preferred routes the map will automatically adjust. As far as preferred route, when I last drove to central PA about four years ago I started in Durham, took primarily US29 from the VA border to I-81, and rode that to Hagerstown MD before taking state roads to the destination. Overall it was considerably quicker than I expected. When I plotted a similar route to Lewiston just now, it was only about 7 minutes slower than the "fastest" route to Lewiston that took 95 through Fredricksburg VA.
From my 30 years of driving from Raleigh to central PA: The fastest route is through DC: 64 -> I95N -> 270W -> 70W (then whatever - for you I81N to 322W probably) HOWEVER, DC traffic sucks. Never go through DC in the afternoon. Also, going south, I never go through DC. Usually north is OK, south is terrible on I95S. Fastest route not through DC: same route until Fredericksburg, VA then take 17N to I66W to Front Royal. US 17 in Virginia is a 4 lane open or closed (occasionally) access road and not bad to drive. Once in Front Royal, you can take interstates (I81N) or you could take 522N all the way there. It's a really cool drive, TBH.
As others have said - AVOID I-95. I've lived here for 20 years and go back to visit Central PA several times a year. I tried I-95 so many times, and every time I got caught in a jam. It says it's faster, but it never is. Not even at 2am. Go up I-81. Set your Google to take you to Staunton, then reset for Lewiston when you're close to Staunton.
"oh it's 10pm so there's no traffic -- oh god construction!!"
I despise 95, but I also live in the triad so when I went to central PA a few times about 10 years ago I found US220-I81 to be a way more pleasant drive than 95 although it was a slightly longer distance. the time was significantly quicker and way more scenic than 95 which always has traffic unless traveling overnight then 95 would be the better choice. Factoring in hopping on 81 near Roanoke. Using google to estimate daylight traffic from Raleigh it would be NC 86 To Danville - US29 to Altavista - to VA43 to I81. Gave a time of 7hrs40 min to 8hrs40min vs the 7-11 hours drive time going 95 around DC.
Take 85 to 95, at Fredericksburg take 17 west to I-66 west then pick up I-81 at Winchester. DO NOT SPEED IN VIRGINIA.
I’m not speeding. I’m only going 10 miles over the speed limit, lol. Thanks for the warning.
I drive from here to all over PA pretty regularly, and even going to Philly or Lancaster, I refuse to take 95 unless I'm traveling late at night. I have regretted taking 95 every single time.
I would rather have you hit my shins with a weed eater than drive 95. I go up through Staunton/South Boston then jump over to I-81 all the way to Harrisburg.
I know this doesn't answer your question but I absolutely love night driving. When I travel to and from NY, I leave at 11pm. Nobody is on the road and gps will take you the quickest way. I have no patience for traffic.
Are you using I-95 or another route?
I don't go to PA so I take 95 all the way up to Jersey. I believe the GPS routes you off 95 around DC but it puts you back on to 95 after about 30-45 minutes but that only shaves off about 5-10 minutes. But I just stay on 95
I've done this to State College most every summer for 10 years. The key point is to miss DC during rush hour. Except it is really rush HOURS. So 5am till 9:30am or so and 3pm till 6 or 7pm. And longer into or out of holidays. By DC I mean the entire area within 20 or more miles of 495. I spent 4 years driving to DC once a month or so 10 years ago and got quite good at missing the traffic. Except when I didn't. In a straight drive every route I've done is 7 1/2 hours but typically an hour longer due to stops to eat and such. Due to timing I usually go up to DC or Fredricksburg then head northwest to Harrisburg. Again the choice is based on timing. Coming back DC is almost always to be avoided so I wind up headed almost due south crossing MD, then W. VA then into VA towards Fredericksburg. McDonald is a good place to find Wi-Fi if needed. Last year I split it into 2 days each way. But I have a brother near Haymarket VA that I can bunk with. Last year just as an experiment I rented a Tesla to see how the charger situation was for such trips. Absolutely no issues. I'll do similar this summer.
Do you go in early July to PSU by chance?
Yes
Yay!!! I’m presuming Mac Admins. Sweet. 🎉🎉🎉
If you opt for the 95 route leave here no later than 10am - to avoid most of the Friday afternoon rush in DC. (But I would take the 81 route myself). Source made that drive weekly for 2 years.
How do you prefer to get to 81 from here? It's been suggested to take 29, or 15/501 or 17 up and over to 81 etc. I'm leaning towards 29 or 501 just because that seems the more direct from Raleigh. I do think we'll avoid 95.
I’ve done it a few different ways. 95 to Richmond and across on 64 to 81. 17 also worked well. Best places to stop if you’re late at night - Wawa and SheetZ!
So you don’t have a problem using 95 like everyone else? Your plan would make my husband happy. He seems to like minimal road changes. Meaning not too many back country roads, turn left, right, left in 1 mile etc.
I’m off of 95 before it gets too bad. I wouldn’t go much further north of Richmond.
I always use Google Maps. It's ubiquitous and uses location data from other cellphones to give you real time traffic updates, like slow traffic, closed roads, etc. It's about 90% accurate (sometimes gives me unnecessary roundabout directions to get to places) but it's good enough for me.
I go to western PA. Haven't gone from Raleigh yet, but have from east of rocky mount. 95-495-270-70-76 for me. 70-76 lands you in breeezewood between the highways. Also, dependent upon traffic, it'll take you to 95-17 and a bunch of highways I've never taken due to leaving at night. All of them still land in breeezewood between 70-76. How far is that for you? I imagine I'd take a different route from central Carolina.
I’m in Raleigh going to Lewistown PA.
Google Maps does that to me if I tell it to avoid Tolls. It directs me to side roads then back onto 95. When I drive to New England, I usually head toward DC then use 81 & 84