I-77 or I-75 route - looking for feedback from people that have driven both routes

[DonaldDC]

I've read many different threads on the best way to travel down and both the I75 route or I77 route sound interesting. We're going to be driving down for the first time in March, with DW, DS-5, DT-2, DM. I will be doing the strong majority of the driving. I'm a little concerned about the weather through the mountains if we drove the I-77 route but want to get there as quickly as possible. So I'm looking for some feedback from people that have driven both routes - which did you prefer and why, what month did you go, leaving at 3am where where would/did you stop over for the first night, how many hours did you have to drive on the second day? We're from Cambridge, so right between Toronto and London.

TIA
Don

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

If your worried about snow I would go I-75. Otherwise go I-77. It is 20 hrs from hamilton via I-79 I-77 and 20 hrs from windsor via I-75. Cambridge is what 3 hrs from Windsor and 1 hr from Hamilton. Just a guess. I have only done the trip of I-75 once. Pretty boring. That drive along the 401 is terrable especially in the winter months. I would have both planned and see how the weather forcasts are just before your trip.

 

[hockey mom]

We have done both and really not alot of time difference between the 2.

In bad weather I would take 75 - straight driving and alot more places to stop along the way.

The other route if far more scenic but the fog can get really bad in places.

 

[Ham Ham]

Here's our preferred route to Florida.
QEW/I-190/I-90/I-79/US-19/I-77/I-26/I-95/I-4


Some people avoid QEW/I-190/I-90/I-79/US-19/I-77/I-26/I-95/I-4 route during the winter because of the mountains. I-75 can be just as treacherous.

When traveling during the winter it's imperative to see what the forecast is.

I don't care if its the mountains of WV, the flatness of Ohio or the Smokey Mountains in KY & TN during a whiteout, you don't want to be traveling during a bad winter storm.


When on US-19 approaching Summersville, WV obey the speed limits.

Also don't forget a real map if the GPS goes on the fritz.

Click on map for more info

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

We have done both and I prefer I-77-79 route, especially in the summer/fall.

However, we were caught once driving 77/79 during a really bad rain/ice storm and we couldn't find a place to stop. This is the problem with 77/79 as there are fewer "stops" along the way when you are going through the mountains. Even in the spring/summer we had difficulty getting a hotel if we weren't pre-booked. Same goes for gas and restaurants.

Didn't mind I-75 as I enjoyed following along Dave Hunters "Along I-75" book. We actually had some time going down and stopped at a few of the attractions along the way such as Newport Aquarium (just over the bridge from Cinncinati), KFC museum in Corbin KY, and Mayfair Dairy in Tennesee.

Hamham is correct:

When traveling during the winter it's imperative to see what the forecast is.

Once you know, then pick your route.

 

[Csaks]

Both times we have driven we have taken Ham Ham's route. It is much shorter for us. Would tack on four more hours the other way, not going to happen for me, enough driving already. That being said we hit snow storms both times on the way home (mid Dec) in the mountains. It didn't bother me, I'm use to driving in the snow (part of my job) but if it unnerves you maybe the 75 route would be better. Has anyone hit snow in March?

 

[michellev]

We use both routes. Definitely I-75 if the weather is iffy. We also try to avoid the I-90 route if we will hit the mountains late at night. The mountains on this route are a lot windier/steeper than on the 75 route. It's definitely the more picturesque of the two though!

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

If you go the I-90 route when you get on US-19 DO NOT SPEED the whole length of it. Canadians are targets for speed traps. Set the cruise control at least 2 mph under do not go with the flow if it is over. They will pick out the out of state plates and pull them over. Seen it first hand. Do not speed not even 1 mph over odds are you will get pulled over and the fines are big. This is not to scare you it's just a warning. We always go this route without problems. Knock on wood. Seen many out of state and canadian plates pulled over. One of the smoothest and well taken care of hwy.

 

[OntFamily]

I drove the I-79-77 route in March of this year. I saw a little snow (on US-19 between I-79 and 77, but not much accumulation (plus, it was at 2:00am when I was on this road, so very little traffic as well).

 

[DonaldDC]

Thanks for the responses. I'm quite comfortable driving in the snow/winter - commuted from Cambridge to Richmond Hill for 5 years, and still commute now, just to Burlington.

I just wonder if it's any different driving through the mountains and whether there's even any snow during March????

Still looking for recommended cities to stop on the way down -either route 75 or 77. At this point I'd say I'm leaning toward I-77.

 

[michellev]

I grew up in the snow belt, so driving in the snow isn't as much an issue for me as traffic in the snow. We drove once in April and got caught in a wicked snowstorm in NY/PA and it took forever to get through it. The 75 route doesn't seem to get hit as hard with snow as the 79 route. I'm not sure why. Also I *think* you hit the mountains further south so you are less likely to encounter snow on mountain roads.

Where we stop depends on when we leave home. This last trip we left home at 4:30am and made it to GA before we stopped for the night. We try to drive a miniumum of 12 hours on our first day. I believe we've stopped at Beckley WV a few times.

On the 75 route we always make it to northern GA before we stop. We stop somewhere around Marietta.

 

[mamajojo]

I am sorry, I hope you don't mind but I have a few questions about this route as well. How much are the toll roads and do they close down the roads often due to bad storms/hurricanes. We are driving down in September and trying to decide which way to go. We drove I75 last year and it was great but I keep reading that it takes less time to drive I77. We are really torn as to which one to take

 

[michellev]

If you cross the border at Buffalo, you will hit some tolls in the Buffalo area. There are also a couple of small tolls further south. By small, I mean .25 at one of them. I don't find the tolls on that route to be significant.

It's a very busy route, it would be very rare for the road to be closed due to weather. I would just be sure to check the forecast right before you leave, so you will know what you will encounter along the way.

 

[cslittle999]

The total for tolls is less than $5 and almost all of that is I90.

When we drove down in December 2005 the worst stretch of road was I90. Bad lake effect snow. The road was totally snow covers and I never did see a plow on our side of the road. Once we were about an hour south of the lake everything cleared up.

I75 get its fair share of bad weather too only it is freezing rain instead of snow. In the end the 79/77 route is only in the mountains for about five hours. Once your in NC it's clear driving. Just make sure that you're driving through the mountains in the daytime and that you have some alternate stopping points.

 

[mommytodarlings]

Hey, fellow Cambridge resident.

We drove down I-75 on a December 2007 trip. We left a few hours earlier than scheduled due to a big storm that was coming in. The drive down wasn't too bad, partly because we were so excited for our trip. The drive back was exhausting, We had rain from the Ga/Fl border right into Ohio.

We are leaving in 2.5 weeks for another drive and will be taking I-75 again on the way down. We are planning to spend some time in Myrtle Beach after our WDW trip, so we will be traveling the other route on the way back.

Dh & I share the driving, basically swapping every stop, so neither of us gets really exhausted and we drive straight through.

 

[DonaldDC]

Hey Mommytodarlings,

Some people find as much as a 4 hour difference b/w the routes. What would you say is the difference in hours leaving from Cambridge?

Thanks again to everyone for the comments!

Hey, fellow Cambridge resident.

We drove down I-75 on a December 2007 trip. We left a few hours earlier than scheduled due to a big storm that was coming in. The drive down wasn't too bad, partly because we were so excited for our trip. The drive back was exhausting, We had rain from the Ga/Fl border right into Ohio.

We are leaving in 2.5 weeks for another drive and will be taking I-75 again on the way down. We are planning to spend some time in Myrtle Beach after our WDW trip, so we will be traveling the other route on the way back.

Dh & I share the driving, basically swapping every stop, so neither of us gets really exhausted and we drive straight through.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Hey Mommytodarlings,

Some people find as much as a 4 hour difference b/w the routes. What would you say is the difference in hours leaving from Cambridge?

Thanks again to everyone for the comments!

Ok the difference would be in how long it would take to get from Cambridge to The bridge in windsor or Cambridge to the 403 Qew split in Burlington. From Windsor to Disney is approx 20 hrs and from Burlington split to disney is about 20 hrs.

 

[Ham Ham]

From Cambridge it is about 30 minutes more via 401/I-75 than I-79/77.

 

[mommytodarlings]

I've heard there's been as much as 4 hr difference.

It usually takes us about 45 minutes to Burlington and we make it to Windsor in just under 3 hours. As PP said, if you compare that would be roughly a 2 hr. difference.

When we drove I75 in December '07, we left our house at 10am on friday and arrived at our rental house at about 11:30am saturday. We made regular gas/bathroom stops (which end up being longer than planned with 4 kids), stopped for 3 meals and made a stop at the FL visitor centre, so our time wasn't too bad.

Our drive home on I75, we left our house at 2am and arrived at our house in Cambridge at 2 am the next day. We made a few meal stops and stopped at the Mayfield Dairy in TN for the "world's best ice cream" as Dave Hunter recommends in his book, lol.

I'll let you know how our drive goes on our upcoming trip in 2 weeks.

 

[DonaldDC]

I've heard there's been as much as 4 hr difference.

It usually takes us about 45 minutes to Burlington and we make it to Windsor in just under 3 hours. As PP said, if you compare that would be roughly a 2 hr. difference.

When we drove I75 in December '07, we left our house at 10am on friday and arrived at our rental house at about 11:30am saturday. We made regular gas/bathroom stops (which end up being longer than planned with 4 kids), stopped for 3 meals and made a stop at the FL visitor centre, so our time wasn't too bad.

Our drive home on I75, we left our house at 2am and arrived at our house in Cambridge at 2 am the next day. We made a few meal stops and stopped at the Mayfield Dairy in TN for the "world's best ice cream" as Dave Hunter recommends in his book, lol.

I'll let you know how our drive goes on our upcoming trip in 2 weeks.

Thanks for the response. We're big ice cream fanatics in this household, we may have to take I75 just for the ice cream stop..lol

Enjoy your trip, I look forward to hearing how your travels go.

Don