In this post I’ll be sharing a 10 day RV road trip itinerary from Maine to Kentucky, Ohio, and New York.
We’ll go over a breakdown of our costs of RVing for 10 days, tips for visiting Mammoth Cave and Cuyahoga Valley Parks, as well as Letchworth State Park, and what we wish we knew.
If you love national and state parks, this post is for you!
Did you know Kentucky has the longest cave system in the world?
Did you know Ohio has a national park?
Did you know there is a state park in New York with beautiful waterfalls and none of the crowds of Niagara?
Read More: A Guide for First Time RVers: What You Need to Know
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Why Road Trip Through Kentucky, Ohio, and New York?
I know what you’re thinking…this sounds like a random road trip route. You’re not wrong. But here’s why we think you should put it on your bucket list!
First, if you love scratching off every National Park, you’ll need to visit Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky and Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio.
Read More: 7 One-Week Itineraries for the US and Canada You’ll Love
But as a bonus, if you also love state parks, consider a stop over at Letchworth State Park in New York.
My husband and I are based in Maine so when we considered which National Parks we still needed to visit on the east coast, we quickly realized Mammoth Cave National Park was only 6 hours or so from Cuyahoga National Park.
Why not combine the two into one epic, 10-day long trip!?
And since we’ll have to make our way back to Maine, we decided to stay in one of New York’s best state Parks, Letchworth State Park.
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Road Trip Route and Itinerary through Kentucky, Ohio, and New York
In total we drove over 2500 miles!
Here’s how our 10-day trip broke down and our thoughts on what you can consider for your trip.
- Christmas Pines Campground, Auburn, Pennsylvania – 1 night
- Ashland / Huntington West KOA, Argillite, Kentucky – 1 night
- Nolin State Park, Bee Spring, Kentucky – 2 nights
- Streetsboro / Cleveland KOA, Sreetsboro, Ohio – 2 nights
- The Ridge Campground, Mt Morris, New York – 3 nights
Christmas Pines Campground, Auburn, Pennsylvania – 1 night
Since we were coming from Maine, we wanted to drive a good distance on the first day.
As usual there was a ton of traffic on our way through Massachusetts and Connecticut, so we were delighted to find a quiet and relaxing stay for the night.
We came across Christmas Pines Campground by chance and really enjoyed our visit. If you have a smaller RV like us, you can stay in the pond-side site which offers electric and water hookups.
The staff at Christmas Pines Campground were incredibly kind, the campground had immaculate landscaping, and was very family friendly.
The campground had many activities and events planned for families. For example, they were hosting a fishing derby for adults and kids and many families were participating.
It was also very affordable at only $42/night for our site. This was a fraction of the cost of surrounding campgrounds that were well into $70/night and higher.
Read More: 7 Best Tools for Your Next Thrilling RV Road Trip
Ashland / Huntington West KOA, Argillite, Kentucky – 1 night
The next day we stopped for the night at Ashland / Huntington West KOA.
The KOA itself needed a bit of TLC. The grounds, playgrounds, and facilities could use an update, but overall, nothing particularly bad stood out about this campground.
This campground must have been a stopover spot for four wheelers because there were many muddy neighbors.
What we loved about this campground was the quick walk over to the Kentucky Veterans Memorial Northeast.
This memorial offers visitors a chance to honor those who have served in Kentucky’s multiple military branches. The grounds were beautiful, and the monuments were beautifully maintained.
The memorial also detailed two sculptures that shared the heroic stories of two soldiers.
Our time was only enhanced by witnessing a local man visiting the graveside of what we could only imagine was his deceased loved one.
We were also told to visit the nearby Meathouse and Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. Sadly, we missed it, but the KOA staff highly recommend a visit as it’s only minutes down the road.
Old Frankfort Pike Road, Kentucky
As we left the next day, we researched stops to make along our drive and considered a few in Lexington.
We decided upon a classic Kentucky experience, driving through the horse farms that line Old Frankfort Pike Road.
This was one of the highlights in our time in Kentucky.
The views of the beautiful, landscaped lawns of the horse farms were so beautiful, not to mention the gorgeous horses that roamed the grassy fields.
Nolin State Park & Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
Located on the southwestern region of Kentucky lies the longest cave system in the world!
Mammoth Cave National Park gets only 500,000 visitors per year and is generally overlooked as a destination.
Most people think of bourbon and horse racing in Kentucky, but this region is well worth a visit if you love history and nature.
Located only 30 minutes from Mammoth Cave National Park lies Nolin State Park and Campground where we stayed during our visit to the area.
Nolin State Park
Nolin State Park was our favorite campground on the whole trip! The campsites were generously private and spacious offering a truly relaxing atmosphere.
And of course, it doesn’t hurt when the campground offers access to a water system. Nolin State Park visitors can hike or bike the 9 miles of trails or rent kayaks and explore the many cooks and crannies of Nolin Lake River.
The campground also offers an escape room (although we couldn’t figure out how to get in!).
You could also consider camping within Mammoth Cave National Park which offers 3 campgrounds offering both and tent sites.
You won’t need more than 2-3 nights in this area to truly experience the state and national park.
Be sure to go on one of the many tours within Mammoth Cave National Park. We thoroughly enjoyed the Grand Avenue Tour which offered 4 hours and over 1500 steps through he world’s longest cave system.
Mammoth Cave National Park
While the National Park system does allow you to tour a part of the cave by yourself, this option is restricted to a limited area and limited time of year.
If you’re considering whether or not to purchase a Mammoth Cave tour – do it!
We aren’t fans of large crowds so when we realized our Grand Avenue tour included 80 other participants, I was skeptical. But the large group didn’t interfere at all with our experience.
Grand Avenue Tour of Mammoth Cave National Park
There are so many Mammoth Cave options you may struggle to find the best option.
We settled on the Grand Avenue tour because we wanted a physical challenge and to fully experience the cave, while avoiding any chances of claustrophobia.
With over 1521 steps and 4 miles, it’s certainly a challenge but totally doable. There were young children and older adults who didn’t appear to struggle.
The national park had amazing guides who paced the tour perfectly allowing for multiple break opportunities throughout the 4-hour tour.
There are bathrooms along the tour as well, but you aren’t able to bring any snacks.
The temp was around 54℉ inside the cave and was comfortable with a light jacket.
Cuyahoga National Park
Located 30 minutes south of Cleveland, Ohio lives a National Park few know about. And while it’s a relatively small national park, we definitely think it’s worth a visit.
You really only need a day or so to experience this national park but it’s a great addition to any route if you’re passing through.
Those who are hoping for the awe-inspiring national park experience may not be that impressed with Cuyahoga National Park, but regardless, we still felt it was worth our time.
The park does have a $25 weeklong entrance fee, but when we visited in May the office was closed so we didn’t have to pay. Hopefully we weren’t supposed to and didn’t – don’t tell on us.;)
Here’s the caveat: there is only one RV park close by, Streetsboro/Cleveland SE KOA, and it’s not a great experience. We felt the staff weren’t very friendly and the sites needed a lot of attention.
So, if you’re planning to visit with your RV, we would advise camping for 1-3 nights in the area and spending the majority of your days exploring outside of the campground.
Be sure to walk around the town of Hudson which offers charming local restaurants and shops.
We also highly recommend a visit to the most delicious ice cream shop, Handel’s Icecream.
And if you’re looking for a local bakery, check out Awaken Bake Bakery for fresh breads, croissants, and scones. Their scones and puff pastry pinwheels were delicious!!
Letchworth State Park
To round up our weeklong trip through Kentucky, Ohio, and New York, we chose to spend a few days near Letworth State Park. This state park was once voted one of the best state parks in the United States.
And we can attest, Letchworth State Park is definitely worth the visit!
If you enjoy hiking and viewing waterfalls, you’ll love this area!
The state park itself is long and skinny, located about an hour south of Rochester, NY and an hour west of Watkins Glen State Park (another state park on our bucket list!).
We stayed in the nearby Ridge Campground in Mt. Morris. We found this to be a great location for exploring nearby towns like Dansville and Geneseo, NY.
Read More: A Week at New York Sheep and Wool Festival
We did multiple hikes while in Letchworth State Park and loved viewing the three waterfalls within the park (Lower, Middle, and Upper).
We spent 3 nights in this region and felt this was enough time to explore. But if you wanted to extend your trip you could visit nearby attractions like Niagara Falls State Park and Watkins Glen State Park.
There is a small entrance fee but note you won’t have to pay before 9am – yay for early birds!
Letchworth State Park is very accessible with multiple viewing points along the main road through the park, making it a great park for all abilities.
Read More: How to RV in the US for Less than $2500
What We Wish We Knew About Road Tripping Through Kentucky, Ohio, and New York
- Visiting Mammoth Cave National Park means you’ll be visiting a very rural region of Kentucky. And if you’re thinking of staying at Nolin State Park campground like we did, you’ll be hard pressed to find a decent grocery store nearby.
- We wish we stayed longer than two nights in Nolin State Park and Streetsboro KOA. For no other reason than it was a lot of driving and we realized we prefer to travel a bit slower.
- This RV road trip route offers a great many changes to go kayaking. We usually opt to take either our bikes or kayaks.
- One thing we noticed while traveling from Kentucky to Ohio was the difference in income levels. While in Kentucky we noticed the lack of grocery stores, banks, and other necessities. However once we reached Hudson and Streetsboro, Ohio, we quickly realized how affluent this area was. We’ve experienced many socioeconomic areas of the US before, but nothing stood out to us as much as the difference between these two regions located only 6 hours from each other.
Final Thoughts
I hope I’ve given you reason enough to put Mammoth Cave, Cuyahoga National Park, and Letchworth State Park on your radar. Whether you’re hoping to go hiking, experience breathtaking waterfalls, or go underground in Kentucky, you’ll definitely enjoy this itinerary!
