Fastest route from Boston

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sugahjohn

sugahjohn

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Hi!

I just wanted to check on your opinions on the fastest way(s) from Boston (I live just to the north of Boston, in Revere) to:

1.) Pinkham Notch

2.) Crawford Notch

3.) Randolph (Appalachia) & Gorham

According to the map, Route 16 seems to be the most direct way, albeit relatively slow in terms of speed limit and therefore time. I'm wondering if it's actually quicker to come in from the West by first taking I93N. (I once met a fellow from Peabody, MA who, I believe, opted for I93N eventhough he lived near I95.

Thanks for your input!
John
 
over the years, I have beat this to death and I think I have it down. I actually think its all about the same give or take.

Pinkham is the toughest to get to - b/c either you have to thru the conways and then its still at least 30 min from there! or thru twin mt and over thru gorham. I have yet to be able to trim that less then 3.5 (i am about 45 minutes south of you)

for randolph and crawford, I would have to say 93/3 thru twin mt and down 302. (115 for randolph) But some may differ in opinion.

another way for pinkham is thru meredith, etc.. exit 24 maybe off 93? But this can be slow too with the lakes traffic.

Personally I avoid 16 like the plague. but I know some folks from the north shore, - and it is better for them. so its a toss up.
 
I have an evil suspicion that you can't win; it's all the same no matter which way you go.

giggy said:
another way for pinkham is thru meredith, etc.. exit 24 maybe off 93? But this can be slow too with the lakes traffic.
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23. I like this way, but if your timing is wrong, you still have to get through Conway traffic. N. Conway traffic is easily avoided if you know how to work either the Westside Road or North South Road go-rounds.

Sometimes I take 93 to the Kanc to Bear Notch Road, but I always seem to get stuck behind the world's largest, slowest RV.
 
From where you are, I would say 93 is probably best for all. I strongly recommend that Route 115 is part of your route to Appalachia via 93, as you may already know.

Because I live right off 95 in Boxford, I take 16 from my house to Pinkham and Crawford. I also always take the West Side Drive shortcut from Center Conway to Glen, thus avoiding the North Conway traffic. You need a good map or Atlas to do this or you will likely get lost, IMHO.

Marty
 
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having lived down near the foxboro area i have found the 93N option to be the best based on experience and what i've heard from others. So much nicer traveling on the highway without traffic lights and what not. Plus depending on what time of day you travel up there (for me 4-5 AM) there is no traffic at all :D
 
I have also beaten this into the ground over the years. I live right off I-95 in Peabody, but I generally look at Crawford Notch as my cut off as to what way I drive.

Pinkham, 19 Mile, Great Gulf, Signal RIdge, Davis Path, etc I would take 16.
Just about anything else I take i-93 - even Appalacia. 93 to 3 to 115 to 2 took me about 2:30 yesterday morning (leaving at 3:45 am helps!) I do not care for 16, but it is probably best for Pinkham area.

As stated - Westside Road and North South Road are your friends - there is no reason for a non shopper to have to deal with North Conway traffic.
 
I've done some mapwork on this problem (ain't digital maps and mapping software great?). Starting from the junction of 93 and 128 (95, if you must...):

* The break-even point for the Pinkham area is about at Wildcat Ski area. Since traffic is a much greater problem approaching Pinkham from the south, 93N, 115NE, 2E, (Dolly Cop/Pinkham B Rd SE, if open), 16S is the best route. Taking traffic into account, the break even point would likely be south of Pinkham, unless you go very early...

* The break-even point for Rte 302 (Crawford Notch area) is somewhere near the Dry River Campground. 93N, 3E, 302SE. (Don't recall if I considered the Kanc-Bear Notch Rd route--I may have been winter planning. The Kanc and BNR are also slow.) The same traffic issues as above apply.

* No contest for Randolf and Gorham, based upon the Pinkham analysis. 93N, 115NE, 2E.

Doug
 
DougPaul said:
I've done some mapwork on this problem (ain't digital maps and mapping software great?). Starting from the junction of 93 and 128 (95, if you must...):

* The break-even point for the Pinkham area is about at Wildcat Ski area. Since traffic is a much greater problem approaching Pinkham from the south, 93N, 115NE, 2E, (Dolly Cop/Pinkham B Rd SE, if open), 16S is the best route. Taking traffic into account, the break even point would likely be south of Pinkham, unless you go very early...

* The break-even point for Rte 302 (Crawford Notch area) is somewhere near the Dry River Campground. 93N, 3E, 302SE. (Don't recall if I considered the Kanc-Bear Notch Rd route--I may have been winter planning. The Kanc and BNR are also slow.) The same traffic issues as above apply.

* No contest for Randolf and Gorham, based upon the Pinkham analysis. 93N, 115NE, 2E.

Doug
Click to expand...

Thanks for the analysis! Very well done! In the past I've done 16 or 93, depending upon whether I'd be in the western or eastern regions. However, I've often preferred 93. You see, your analysis & anwer come as pretty good news for me since there's an all-night Honey Dew Donuts on 1A on the way to the Sumner Tunnel that has fresh, warm donuts early in the morning just when I start out. Mmmmm, donuts.
 
Well, It All Depends....

...on the time of day you travel and which day and which season. I find in the summer, coming back down I-93 on a Sunday afternoon, there's a huge bottleneck when you get towards Windham/Salem due to you losing a lane. Though 16 is slower I haven't found it too crowded except, of course, around the Conways. I also find 16 a bit more interesting though you have to be very careful about speeding through those small towns...

Having said that, unless my destination is way over on the east of the Whites, I'll take I-93 north if it's 5am just so I can get on the trail as soon as I can.

Whichever way you go, watch out for those moose and the Bears (the ones with the radar guns). :)
 
Orsonab said:
...on the time of day you travel and which day and which season. I find in the summer, coming back down I-93 on a Sunday afternoon, there's a huge bottleneck when you get towards Windham/Salem due to you losing a lane. Though 16 is slower I haven't found it too crowded except, of course, around the Conways. I also find 16 a bit more interesting though you have to be very careful about speeding through those small towns...
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I personally am generally more concerned with the times for the drive to the Hills--I usually end up coming home late enough that traffic is rarely a problem (if the sun is still up when I get back to the car, I didn't hike far enough... :) ), although Sunday evening ski traffic can be heavy. I usually stop for dinner on the way home too, which affects time and can affect the route.

There is also a lesser known route from the Boston area to the east side of the Whites: from the junction of 93 and 128: 93N, 495E, 125N, 16N. 125 is lots of 2 lane highway--best time for this route is early morning or late evening.

Doug
 
It wasn't a speed record by any means, but I went to the Nineteen Mile Brook Trailhead via 93-->3-->115-->2-->16S on Saturday morning and it took me only 3 hours and 18 minutes. (Appalachia was about 3:00.) I can deal with that. Granted, I left at about 3:45 but didn't really exceed 75mph. Since I live near 1A, it's relatively easy for me to make it over to 93N, so I think I've found my way . . . until I'm bored with it. Thanks everyone for your help.
 
sugahjohn said:
It wasn't a speed record by any means, but I went to the Nineteen Mile Brook Trailhead via 93-->3-->115-->2-->16S on Saturday morning and it took me only 3 hours and 18 minutes. (Appalachia was about 3:00.) I can deal with that. Granted, I left at about 3:45 but didn't really exceed 75mph. Since I live near 1A, it's relatively easy for me to make it over to 93N, so I think I've found my way . . . until I'm bored with it. Thanks everyone for your help.
Click to expand...

Going up via NH 16 from Lawrence to Pinkham Notch Camp (on a typical Friday morning) takes me about 2 hrs. 35 minutes.
 
jfb said:
Going up via NH 16 from Lawrence to Pinkham Notch Camp (on a typical Friday morning) takes me about 2 hrs. 35 minutes.
Click to expand...
See, this kills me! When I go up 16, I often get stuck behind some early morning dump truck and it knocks my speed/time waaaay down. Moreover, getting from Revere to I95N takes a lot more time than it should. I am a bit wimpy as of late about speeding: I'm getting very close to my insurance step "normalizing", and so I'm driving fairly conservatively. Even under the best of circumstances, the auto insurance rate in my city's outrageous. I gotta move north of 128/95.
 
sugahjohn said:
By the way, what's your time going via I93N?
Click to expand...

If I don't head up NH 16, I'll turn off I-495 at Chelmsford and take US-3 through Nashua and Manchester. If you estimate that Chelmsford to Manchester is about the same driving time as Lawrence to Manchester, then getting to Pinkham would be about 3 hours from Lawrence. The difference between your times and mine is probably getting from Revere to Lawrence (I-93 and I-495 junction). Taking Bear Notch Road between Lincoln and Bartlett would save about 5 minutes. Going up NH 16, I try to get through Conway before noon and then turn onto Westside Road.
 
Coming down from Pinkham Notch on Rte 16 yesterday (Sunday) at about 5pm there was a huge tailback from the junction with rte 25 at West Ossipee and then a lesser tailback around Rochester. I think the answer, in summer, is to hit the backroads around the trouble spots - saw lovely scenic downtown Rochester yesterday!

Yet another reason to like winter hiking....
 
The biggest key to me is an early start and I try to avoid heading north on Friday nights, or heading south on Sunday afternoons. Coming home on Saturday afternoons or evenings is almost never a problem with traffic.

Another option that can get you out of traffic on the 16 side is to take 153 south out of Conway - this will eventually bring you back to 16 in Wakefield, nicely bypassing all of the Ossipee region. I might add that it is pretty scenic as well - a few real nice lakes and farms.
 
jfb--I realize that there's about a 30 minute differntial between Lawrence and Revere, but even so I'm amazed at the time that you're able to make on 16N. It just seems to take a long time for me on that road. I do like the road itself, however. We used to camp up at White Lake for a couple of weeks each summer when I was a kid. Climbed the seeming-Matterhorn that is Mount Chocorua, and hung out and swam at Chocorua Lake. (Heck, I like to stop off a Chocorua Lake even now to swim around with the dog after a hike.) Maybe it's my tendency to reminisce when I'm on 16 that makes it seem so long. Shoot, when I was a kid, it seemed to take forever to get to White Lake.

sapblatt--I just might try coming back 153S one of these times. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
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