George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia

[ghhmtnboy]

We have a 12'7" high Class A Motor home.

Planning a trip to Washington DC, no towed vehicle.

Has anyone driven the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia?

If so, is it big rig friendly?

Any suggestions as to what else we might be able to do within another 200 miles?

Thanks

[dandrhill]

Personally, I don't find much of DC to be big Rig friendly. We live about 50 miles south and whenever we travel north we leave very early in the morning to avoid the traffic. The GW Parkway is mostly 4 lane divided but has overpasses that are built using stone arches that force you to crowd the center of the road when going under. I think they are all more than 13 ft, they just feel smaller. There is also a section a couple of miles long that is going through Old Town Alexandria. Many stoplight but no overpass there. Parking will be a problem. Many of the places you will want to visit are in town with limited parking. If it was me, I would rent a car or stay in a park and take a bus to the Metro. Cherry Hill Park is just outside the beltway (I495) on the north side of town. They often have a shuttle service to the closest metro.

To answer your second question, other things within 200 miles, Shenandoah National Park is less than 100 miles west and Colonial Williamsburg is about 150 miles south and east. These are among our favorites and are Big Rig friendly. There is ample info on the web for both these places.

Hope you enjoy the visit. The Cherry Blossoms are a little bit early this year because of our mild winter.

[ghhmtnboy]

Thank you for the response.

We plan to leave this weekend or early next week.

The coach has been at a Freightliner shop for 3 weeks.

Drive shaft and Parking brake problem, still under warranty, phew!

Will stay at the campground in Maryland.

So, getting back to the GW Parkway, we will not lose any air conditioners en route due to low clearance coach is 12'7"?

Thanks Again,

George

[dandrhill]

Sorry I didn't get back sooner. Hope the trip is going well. Make sure you get down to the tidal basin and check out the cherry blossoms. Thanks to the mild winter they are quite spectacular this year.

The 13 foot clearance on the bridge is the minimum clearance above the road bed. For an arched bridge, that is at the right hand edge of the right lane. The clearance increases from there until you reach the center of the arch. Above the center of the roadway, the clearance will be significantly more than the minimum. I haven't driven my coach through the GW parkway but expect that if you hug the center when going under the overpass you should not have any problem.