New England to the Midwest: what's awesome near I-90?
June 26, 2011 7:14 AM   Subscribe

We are moving cross-country and would like to plan the best route to get from New England to the Midwest, specifically to Minnesota. We were thinking of stopping at Niagara Falls and in Chicago along the way (to try Rick Bayless' restaurant!). I-90 looks pretty painfully dead along most of the way and we would like to know anything cool near I-90 along this route such as nice places to walk/parks/monuments and things to see, or great places to eat, keeping in mind that we are pescatarians so steakhouses and burger joints are not our bag. Also is there any merit to the idea of taking Route 401 through Canada rather than continuing I-90 through the USA, that would outweigh the negatives of not being able to use our smartphones while outside the States? Any ideas? Thank you for helping us entertain ourselves on a long long drive.
posted by treehorn+bunny to Travel & Transportation (22 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Just off I-90 near Erie is Crowleys restaurant. It's worth the ten-minute detour off the interstate for some decent food in a beautiful setting.
posted by essexjan at 7:19 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]


FYI, I-80/90 across northern Indiana is a toll road, if you're trying to avoid such things along the way.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:24 AM on June 26, 2011


In Cleveland, Great Lakes Brewing Co is really good. There's also the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

If you have time (and you should make time), swing up to Ann Arbor and check out Zingerman's Deli (a former employer of mine, and one of the food shops in the world.

Stop in South Bend and see the College Football Hall of Fame, Notre Dame University, and get great Middle Eastern food at Elia's.

(I drove this route at least once a year for ten years, so PM me if you want other suggestions.)
posted by gauche at 7:24 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Jamie Jensen suggests dipping into US 20, and he has some suggestions for the Niagara-Chicago stretch, including Indiana's northern Amish country.
posted by holgate at 7:33 AM on June 26, 2011


Beautiful Madison, WI awaits with fine culinary pleasures of all kinds!
posted by Madamina at 7:55 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]


You mean get onto 401 from Niagara? I wouldn't bother. The stretch of the QEW from NF to St. Catharines or maybe Grimsby is scenic enough -- you're driving along the Niagara Escarpment so it's like there's a big mesa.

But after that, you're looking at just more boring flatness but with signs in km and a lower speed limit, at least to London (I always took 402 from there).
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:55 AM on June 26, 2011


I did this trip in the opposite direction. I'd avoid the US side of Niagara Falls. It and the area around it were mostly pretty depressing.
posted by ignignokt at 7:58 AM on June 26, 2011


Best answer: Keep in mind that you will spend more on gas if you go over the Great Lakes rather than underneath them. I was unpleasantly surprised when I made that choice, although I do love driving in Canada.
posted by letahl at 8:15 AM on June 26, 2011


Rather than specific routes or destinations, I suggest a strategy for road trips we've been using for 30 years. We keep a full paper atlas of the US in our vehicles and we only drive blue highways (or as near possible). That is, we avoid all interstates and turnpikes, sometimes opting for longer mileages in order to do so. It turns most of our road trips into adventures filled with new discoveries, great local foods and often great new friends and acquaintances. Read "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon (I think I got the name correct) for inspiration. Leave plenty of time for stopping to investigate fun and interesting stops along the way. Have fun!
posted by txmon at 8:50 AM on June 26, 2011 [2 favorites]


I have driven from Buffalo to Chicago several times using both the Canada route and the US route. I actually thought the Canada route was faster and better, but that could be because of the novelty of it. I also made the mistake at the border coming back into the states of telling the guard that I was going to the Grateful Dead concert at soldier field. Pro tip: Don't mention the Grateful Dead to a border agent.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:13 AM on June 26, 2011 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Over the course of a few decades traveling from the midwest to the east coast, I've found the Canada route offers less stressful driving: the roads are in better condition, the traffic lighter, and the drivers a bit more polite than on the American side. I also have the impression that it's a bit shorter mileage-wise to go north rather than south around the lakes.

One more tip about crossing the border, whether at Sarnia or Windsor: Sunday afternoons and evenings are crazy busy during the summer. Lots of Americans have summer cottages in Ontario, and they all head home as the weekend ends, so there's often a long wait to cross.
posted by philokalia at 9:20 AM on June 26, 2011


Best answer: Presque Isle in Erie offers beaches and some nice trails.
posted by booth at 10:36 AM on June 26, 2011


If you're taking I-90, House on the Rock?
posted by marsha56 at 10:50 AM on June 26, 2011


I moved home from college along this route maybe 8-9 years ago, and we did a short stretch through Canada. The only bad part I can remember was me stressing out as we pulled up to each border crossing, wondering if I was going to have to pull all my worldly possessions out of the van for a search if I said something wrong. Luckily that didn't happen, but I still don't know the rules on when they would search the vehicle. Might be worth checking into since you're moving.
posted by vytae at 11:45 AM on June 26, 2011


I did this trip about a year ago. Where in New England? Where in Minnesota?

We just blasted on I-90 the whole way. We wanted to get it over with as fast as possible. We left W Mass at 5AM. Hit Cleveland in the height of midafternoon heat. Got to Chicago by the time we were too tired to think. The next day was shorter but also rough. But hey, at least we made it out here in only two days. We had a big moving truck and it basically cost like a gallon of gas every time we had to accelerate the fucker, so we tried to be as efficient as possible.
posted by entropone at 12:54 PM on June 26, 2011


Are you particularly set on I-90?
I drove across country(from Boston to Oregon) on US-20 a couple of years ago, and it more or less parallels I-90, at least until you get to Chicago.

It's much more scenic than I-90. Niagra falls is doable with a slight detour (I did it) and you'll need to turn north at Chicago anyway.
posted by madajb at 1:18 PM on June 26, 2011


Best answer: Definitely 20 rather than 80/90 if you stay in the states--90 is toll not just in Indiana, but most of Ohio and (nearly) all of NY as well, and I believe Ohio charges extra if you pay cash--- but if everyone has passports, cutting through Ontario will be shorter and faster than either.
posted by FlyingMonkey at 2:37 PM on June 26, 2011


Have you considered going through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan or north over Lake Superior along route 17 through Ontario? In my opinion both routes make for a better road trip than the traffic, tolls, and flat, boring expanses that I-90 has to offer.
posted by tr0ubley at 5:04 PM on June 26, 2011


If you've got the time and money to take the scenic route, I second txmon's blue highway suggestion, including the book.

We've driven from Boston to Detroit every xmas for the past 20 years or so, and while the Canada route from Niagara to Windsor or Sarnia is about an hour less driving time, you will likely use up that time waiting to get thru Customs into the US. It's been getting worse every year. We don't even bother going that way any more.

I-90 and the NY Thruway, and OH turnpike are all toll roads. Rest areas are generally every 30-40 miles or so, but food choices are dismal at them, and gas prices inflated.

Blue roads are not for the hurried traveler, to be sure, but are definitely more entertaining. Likely the trip will cost more because you'll be overnighting more often. Friends have driven from Boston to Chicago non-stop, but we're too old for that crap any more.
posted by qurlyjoe at 5:28 PM on June 26, 2011


Response by poster: Thank you everyone, these are very very helpful suggestions. For anyone else looking at this and doing a similar trip, you must click on that Jamie Jensen link for the Oregon Trail road trip. WOW! Awesome site, thank you holgate!

If eating in Erie, I Yelped Crowley's and the reviews aren't impressive. I found this local Dominican place has rave reviews. Elia's and Zingerman's look like excellent stops and well vouched-for, although Zingerman's would be just under a 2 hour roundtrip detour off of the trail and that's probably too far for us.

We are only planning to take 3 days to get there so we don't have time to do major detours, but the suggestions for US-20 are good ones that we will look into for at least portions of the trip, and thanks for the tips on cross-border concerns.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 7:59 AM on June 27, 2011


Hit the Wisconsin Dells? The Circus Museum on Baraboo?

Don't go through Canada. I did thi sonce and Ontario was so dull and flat and straight that I fell asleep driving...and woke up again, still in my lane at full freeway speed.

Consider getting an E-Z Pass now and returning it when you get to MN. Many of the toll roads you'll use participate, and you get a break on the toll. You can return the unit itself for (I think) a full refund. (I researched this for a possible RI-to-MN drive last summer.)
posted by wenestvedt at 12:00 PM on June 27, 2011


Response by poster: Thanks wenestvedt, we do have an EZ Pass - we love it and would not want to return it - we enjoy laughing at the poor slobs waiting in the cash lanes too much. Scary story about the Canadian highway... I think we'll be taking the US side.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 3:45 AM on June 28, 2011


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