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What’s the best driving route from Charlotte to Washington, D.C.?

Heading from Charlotte to D.C. to return some old books I borrowed from my alma mater’s library back in 2013—what’s the best driving route from Charlotte to Washington, D.C.?

avatar
Jason Tushinski · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Considering you’ll owe some hefty library fines, we here at Jerry have determined the best (and fastest) driving route from Charlotte,
North Carolina
to Washington, D.C. will be along I-85 N and I-95 N in 6 hours, 10 minutes, covering 400 miles.
Even though you are in a rush, you’ll want to see some of the sights along the way, right? We’re pretty confident you’ll be able to afford the extra few cents in library fines, though the head librarian’s stern lecture that you’ll receive might not be as comfortably absorbed.
Here are the highlights on a Charlotte—D.C. road trip:
  • Leave
    Charlotte
    and stop in Lake Norman, North Carolina’s largest man-made lake and a great spot to picnic
  • Scurry out of Lake Norman, but stop at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, featuring antique engines, vehicles, and other transport paraphernalia
  • Pause your charge up I-85 N in Salem, the state capital and home to the Old Salem Museums & Garden Administrative Offices, where you can stroll through gardens and an 18th century restored town with costumed staff, who will no doubt excoriate you for your library delinquency
  • Stop in
    Greensboro
    , and visit the Greensboro Science Center, featuring a 12 acre zoo, aquarium, museum and theater
  • Your final NC stop is in
    Chapel Hill
    , home to UNC and the North Carolina Botanical Garden—take another walk and go over your excuses for taking a decade to return your books
  • Merge onto I-95 N just south of Richmond,
    Virginia
    , and enjoy one of the country’s oldest big cities, full of history and thriving cultural & food scenes
  • Flee Richmond and momentarily visit Mount Vernon, President George Washington’s estate
  • Make your way into
    Washington, D.C.
    , return your library books, and pay your fine. Then, take in some sites, from the Smithsonian to the Library of Congress—but if you borrow anything, return it on time!
Protect your car on your library book-repatriation trip (or any road trip, for that matter), with a robust
car insurance
policy by using
Jerry
! The average Jerry users saves more than $800 per year on car insurance!
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