roadtrip!

October 10, 2006 1:30 PM

driving from Boston to Chicago...

friend and i are driving to chicago for some socializing and bike racing. this will be a "one shot" drive, no rests for longer than what's necessary to get us to our destination....

- how long can we expect this drive to take?
- any suggested routes?
- anything unique/cool to take a break at?
- whatever insight you can offer

posted by whatitis to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)

When are you going? If it's anytime soon, take Route 2 west to Albany instead of 90-- the leaves are amazing near the Berkshires. I was just there last weekend for the express purpose of driving Route 2. Take a break at the natural bridge in North Adams-- a fun 30 minute sight to see.

If you want a straight shot I guess you could take 90 straight over to Chicago, and then 94 north.
posted by orangemiles at 1:36 PM on October 10, 2006

canada. go in around buffalo/niagra, and then come out in detroit or port huron. the border crossing isn't too hard yet, plus you get to drive in a foreign country. also cuts your distance down.

it also allows you to take advantage of michigan's 75 mph speed limit. also, less tolls.
posted by lester's sock puppet at 1:40 PM on October 10, 2006

oh, i've made it in about 19-20 hours.
posted by lester's sock puppet at 1:42 PM on October 10, 2006

- how long can we expect this drive to take?
BOS-MSP is about 24 hours of driving, at a normal pace. To Chicago, should be 17ish, depending on whether or not you're a bat outta hell or not.
- any suggested routes?
90 to 80/90 if you're staying US-side. There are tolls, somewhere around $15. wikipedia has a complete toll list.
- anything unique/cool to take a break at?
Heh. Meh. The leaves suggestion above is probably a good one though.
posted by whatzit at 1:43 PM on October 10, 2006

It's about a 12 hour drive from Boston to Cleveland down I90; add what, 5 or 6 hours for Cleveland to Chicago? It's certainly the simplest route [get on I90 in Boston and sit in the left lane for hundreds of miles, more or less], though you get hit by a bunch of seemingly random tolls in MA and NY. The autumn foliage should make the drive through the mountains fairly gorgeous, but other than that, I've never stopped for anything other than food/gas.
posted by ubersturm at 1:49 PM on October 10, 2006

if you go through ohio, you can see the rutherford b. hayes home. my sister and i stopped there once, driving from DC to chicago.

the piece of indiana you get stuck in, however, is awful: dirty, ugly and always bumper-to-bumper traffic.
posted by crush-onastick at 2:01 PM on October 10, 2006

If you go through Canada, you'll be stuck on 94 in Michigan, which has more than it's fair share of construction at the moment. I can't speak for 90 through Indiana, but I bet it's faster.

OTOH, you might save on tolls if you went through Canada and Niagara Falls (the falls themselves, not the city) are quite lovely
posted by Xalf at 2:07 PM on October 10, 2006

I did the drive from Boston to Cleveland in 10 hours a couple of weeks ago (without speeding much, but not stopping at all except for gas), and to Chicago is another 5.

90 the whole way is the quickest, but the most interesting thing you're going to see is the sign for Fangboner Road west of Cleveland.
posted by MarkAnd at 2:11 PM on October 10, 2006

I've done this drive twice (one to Boston, once from - but the point B was actually the east side of Iowa). I stopped overnight at least twice both times, but if I had really pushed it, it would've been do-able in about 18 hours.

I took I90 both times, and stopped at Niagra Falls on the most recent trip - it's only about a 20 minute drive out off the main highway, and the stop cost me $11 (ten of which was parking).
posted by ArsncHeart at 2:14 PM on October 10, 2006

I've done Boston to Chicago in about 13 or so hours of drive time, about 15 hours with stops. That's going 75-80. The rest stops on 90 in Ohio are the best on the trip. It's a pretty boring drive, though.
posted by JakeWalker at 2:23 PM on October 10, 2006

Oh, and I'd recommend leaving pretty early in the morning. Most of the traffic you're going to hit will be in MA around Worcester, the 84 exit, and Springfield. If you get on the road by 6:30, you should be able to zip through without much trouble. Leaving at 8, not so much... I always find it incredibly frustrating to sit in traffic at the beginning of a long trip.

Once you get out of MA, my experience is that you won't hit any traffic until you get to around Gary, IN.
posted by MarkAnd at 2:26 PM on October 10, 2006

I've done Boston to Chicago and back, as well as to Erie, and I can say for certain that I-90 through NY is faster than the alternatives along the NY/PA border (88-81-17-86). Regarding MarkAnd's coment about Boston/Worcester traffic, I'd worry more about when you plan to arrive in Chicago--anytime between about 1 and 8pm could add an hour in Chicago alone. Boston to Worcester isn't that traficky in the morning (but I would avoid it from 7:30 to 9:30 am and 4-7pm).

Sidenote that I used Google Maps Mobile to navigate Philly to Boston, and when it says traffic is "yellow", it was less than 20mph and "red" was less than 5mph.
posted by zachxman at 4:36 PM on October 10, 2006