How to Get to Northampton MA

Travel Day Trips presents Driving Tips

I have written on why I love the city of Northampton MA and why I often take travel day trips there. Part of my blog will be how to get to a destination and what to look out for on the way there. I like to get to Northampton from Southern Connecticut as quickly as possible in order to spend more time exploring the city. The city is off of I91N so I take the Merritt Parkway North and then pick up I91N heading for Hartford. A good pit stop on the way is just at the hand off from the Merritt. Its safe and pretty clean at least in the day time. I continue up through Hartford staying in the middle lane. There can be a delay in the right lane for the I84 exit so I try to avoid having to stop dead in the wrong lane and stay in the middle until I pass that exit. I continue on I91N to the Connecticut border and when I see the Welcome to Massachusetts sign I try to get in the far left lane to drive through Springfield MA. I find this part of the drive very stressful since a lot of fast traffic will come up from ramps on the right. After exit 12 the traffic calms down and the drive becomes pleasurable. The exit for Northampton is Exit 18. Go to the end of the ramp and take a left onto Rt 9W. Continue straight and get into the left lane before you get to the intersection because you are going to take a left onto Rt 5 which will take you into the heart of downtown Northampton. Northampton has municipal parking lots a block or two from the center and of course there is vertical parking downtown but usually that is full. I like to park over on State Street which is a right off of Rt. 5. It is metered parking and if there is no spot I usually park a couple of blocks down on State Street.

I know, details, details but I thought posting some driving tips for new travel day trip explorers would be of use. Learn from my experiences and I hope you too will come to love Northampton the way I do.
Travel Day Trips