Average Cost Per Day biking part of the Atlantic Coast

[Bicinauta]

Hello fellow cyclists,

I'm planning a self-supported ride from Boston to DC with detours and stops in NYC, Philly and Baltimore. The plan is to go slow, since the purpose of this ride is to raise awareness against torture and I'll have couple of speaking engagements along the way, so I'm giving myself up to four weeks to reach DC. This will be my first time touring in the US and I was wondering if any of you could offer an estimate of what I should expect the average cost per day will be.

I'll be camping and cooking as much as possible and using warmshowers.org when needed. When in big cities I will be staying with friends so accommodation there won't be an issue. I'm riding solo and thus I'm not sure I'll be brave enough to do wild camping (yes, I admitted I'm terrified of bears ).

Any info, advice and/or tips would be more than welcome. Please feel free to comment on where to camp, long stretches without services, weather (I'm setting off at the end of May), etc. As I said any advice would be more than welcome, I don't know this route and anything I can learn from you would be greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

Kind regards,

Ari

[BrianW]

I've camped all my life in the NE region, and have seen a bear twice. Both were in remote areas while backpacking. I wouldn't worry much about running into a bear on the route you are taking.

Campgrounds aren't very plentiful in this corridor, and when they do occur are usually commercial campgrounds that aren't terribly cheap. If you are on a budget definitely look into Warmshowers, Couchsurfing, and even wild camping.

[DaveB]

The bears in the Eastern US are Black Bears, which are typically shy and go out of their way to avoid people.  The bears that are a serious potential danger (Grizzly,  Brown and Kodiak, which are geographic variations of the same animal) are confined to the West, Western Canada and Alaska.  You will not ever come across one in the East.

Black Bears have been seen in some pretty urban and suburban areas in recent years but attacks by them have been pretty much non-existant.  If you are wild or park camping, always store your food out of your tent and either hang it high from a tree limb or in a bear locker that campgrounds provide.   Black Bears aren't likely to attack you but will do a lot of damage to your tent get to food they can smell. 

[Bicinauta]

Thanks guys, I'm actually Canadian and I know that my fear of bears is irrational but is reassuring to hear from experienced cyclists that bears don't represent a real danger. I know the basics of camping in bear country, so I never bring food inside my tent...but I'm a tiny woman, nearly 120 pounds and 5'3" hence the fear of coming face to face with such animals. I also wonder how safe it is to wild camp as solo female cyclist, any thoughts?

[indyfabz]

The only stretch where you might see a bear is in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Worthington State Forest, in New Jersey of all places. While I have never had the pleasure of seeing on during the numerous times I have ridden up there, sightings are relatively frequent. As noted, they usually try to avoid human interaction.

South of Port Jervis, NY camp at the campground at Worthington State Forest. $25/night for non-residents of NJ. At least one of the group sites has a bear locker. Use it if you stay there. The place is nice and along the river. Flush toilets and showers.

There are not any services along the route from Port Jervis to Delaware Water Gap, PA except for water and bathrooms at Old Millbrook Village. When you get to Worthington, you can set up camp and make the relatively easy ride to DWG for supplies and then return to camp. There is no grocery store there, but there is a diner and a convenience store at a gas station. There are also a couple of other places to eat.

South of DWG there is not much in the way of camping except in/around Portland, PA, which is not that far from DWG. The next logical place to camp is Dogwood Haven in Upper Black Eddy, PA, slightly off route from Milford, NJ. The place is a bit dated but the owner is a very nice guy, and it's pretty quiet and surrounded by wood. At least through last year he was offering a discounted rate of $15 for cyclists. That's cheap when you consider that Driftstone on the Delaware, a bit south of Portland, charges some $35. Haven't been there this year so I don't know what he's charging.

I am extremely familiar with this part of the route down to Philly. Send me a private message if you would like more information that you will ever need. 

[John Nelson]

I'd say that you should plan $40 a day, not counting gear or travel expenses to the start or home from the finish. You can certainly get under that if you try, but this budget will allow you to relax a bit and the flexibility to deal with a few setbacks.

[indyfabz]

$40/day average might be doable if campgrounds are chosen carefully. Camping can be relatively expensive in the northeast. As I mentioned, NJ state parks are a flat $25 for non-residents. The KOA in Cuddebackville, NY, a bit north of Port Jervis, wants $40/night for a non-hookup site. The Jellystone place near New Paltz, NY is $44. A few years ago I stayed at this place, which is on route. They charge $30 but the owner gave me a deal since the place was only half open when I stayed there:

http://rockviewvalley.com/

There is a place off route on the NJ side of the river south of Portland, PA that charges $45/night. When I came down from Maine I was shocked to pay nearly $30/night at a place on route near Caanan, CT. That was in '99. They now charge between $40 and $45/night. At that price, I made sure I spent a lot of time in the hot tub.

Then again, the state park a bit north of Poughkeepsie, NY is only $15/night. South of Philadelphia, things can get expensive in places like Lancaster County, but there may be some relative bargains to be had. Unfortunately, I don't have the map for that section.

OP: If the route goes through or near French Creek State Park in PA, I recommend it. IIRC, it's a bit over $20/night. There is not much around in the way of food, but I can show you a grocery source that might be useful.

[John Nelson]

Good points Indy. My $40 a night was built on the assumption that one would be paying to sleep only about half the time. The other half the time staying with hosts, or camping someplace free, perhaps a park, forest, field or church. So maybe about $20-$25 a day for someplace to sleep, and $15-$20 a day for food (assuming cooking and perhaps free food when hosted). A lot depends on how hard you try to save money. E.g., are you willing to ask if you can sleep at the church, or would you rather just take the motel next door? So $40 is really $10 on some days and $100 on others.