Let me first just say if you want to head straight to Letchworth this thread isn’t for you. Yes, we’re going quite a ways out of the way. And Yes, it’s going to be long. But this route isn’t solid and we may change it even en-route to the park.
We’re going to do things a bit different this time but we’re not doing this with the intent to drive like assholes on unfamiliar twisty roads. Rather we’re going to take a fall tour of the area using roads-less-traveled. And it’s not going to be for everyone (obviously) but for those who are looking for a fun driving experience in addition to the BBQ.
A few of us hit some of these roads in the spring on our way back from Watkins Glen and it was a great time… and it was even raining! That crew will remember some of these areas and I’ve mapped out several more:
A) This is where we’ll be meeting up and leaving at 9am Sunday morning - Garden Place Hotel - Since it’s right near the highway, it’s a central location and easy to find because it’s obnoxious:
B) The first part of our route will take us to a convenient store & gas station so that people can fill up, grab snacks, etc. before we start off on the backroads sections.
C) to K) These way points are totally variable, but I chose them because they maximize the fun roads. Hitting them will depend on time, people’s gas levels, etc. and there are several points we can eliminate to adjust the route as necessary.
L) This is our BBQ location in Letchworth State Park.
I know some of you guys have have experience on some of these roads (MPD47) so chime in if you see something that doesn’t work or something I missed. :tup:
I drove it last weekend (in a GTI) to Victor for the Stratmosphere open house and we hit some really bad patches. I saw XwalkerX in his 911 and some others there, so you could hit them up on how rough it felt. Definitely scope it out first.
i’m not from buffalo and might not even be going so idk if anyone wants to tell me to stfu thats fine.
but why go the thruway. i’ve been driving a lot on the backroads this year and last year just to enjoy it, taking longer ways to point b. i sure don’t take 390 south or 90. maybe its just me but i wouldn’t do this just for that 45mins of shitty driving. i would think more people would do this not taking any highway.
Sure, 45min of highway. But then we’re doing 4 hours of back roads on top of it, lol.
I mapped the fastest route to point B because after that is where the fun starts. This is going to be a good amount of driving so I didn’t want it to be ALL back roads.
Zoom in on some of the roads past point B and you’ll see what I mean.
Drove the route with EVOLUTION VIII MR this morning :tup:
A few things:
Google says this route is 5 hours… we did it in 3 to 3.5 with a few stops. I bet I can get it down to a 2.5 to 3 hour drive easy with some editing. We’ll have no problem leaving at 9am to get there for lunch at 1pm! :tup:
Some of the roads are mixed surfaces (packed dirt, packed stone) but we’ll leave the choice up to those driving if they want to take these roads. There are several easy ways around them. For reference, they were not bad at all and I kept moving at the speed limit (55) like I was on pavement. And Mike said he’d definitely drive his car on them despite it being lowered. Some do get tricky steep!
I’m going to modify the route slightly for fun-factor, but the section from B) to I) is beautiful driving and scenery. Definitely worth the trip!
There are several gas stations and stops along the way if needed.
Yikes…just saw this…I’m all for the drive, but this will be my first day off in a while, and I got a few things to take care of before I get to the meet…
I’ll just meet you guys there, haha.
---------- Post added at 02:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------
Also, will be driving there in my Esprit, and a friend will be following me in his Esprit as well…
So am looking at this thinking what the hell kind of route is that… then I see it and I must say I felt stupid for a second, but it made the lol much harder.
Alright, I’ve modified the original route and cut a LOT of time off.
We’ll now be leaving later at 9am and unless we take a ton of stops, we should be at Letchworth about 12:30pm.
The sections from I) to J) is just going to be main roads unless we’re so far ahead of schedule that people decide they want to do some more roads.
Here is a picture of the road conditions I mentioned earlier that I found on the web. This is actually from one of the roads on my map, but like I said taking them will depend in what people think when we meet up in the morning. It’s only a short portion anyway:
Obviously it’s wet (and snowing) in the picture but it gives you an idea.
---------- Post added at 08:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:50 AM ----------
Oh, and thruway construction wasn’t anything bad. I doubt there will be any workers on a Sunday either.
