An Important Note
Be sure NOT to use MapQuest to
get to the camp!!!! For starters, the camp is located within the
borders of Thetford (if you want to get really specific, in the
village of Post Mills). But if you put the camp's street address and
either "Thetford" or "Post Mills" into MapQuest, you'll be told the
location doesn't exist. Even worse, if you look on MapQuest and are
able to figure out the nearest intersection, MapQuest will give you
directions that take you there by a nearly impassable dirt road (and
if you find an address on the Ohana website, don't use that either.
It'll work in MapQuest, but it won't get you to the camp! They post
the address for the central offices of the organization that owns
Ohana and several other camps in the area, and they're located about
6 miles from Ohana.).
This is more than a little ironic, since the founder of the
company that developed the software on which MapQuest is based lives
in the Upper Valley, and Joanna's mom runs into him occasionally in
the grocery store (they used to serve on a board together). And,
furthermore, Jo's mom works in the same office park where the
map-software company is headquarted. And she still hasn't been able
to do anything about this egregious oversight. So if you get lost
while you're in the Upper Valley, you'll know who to blame!
So just put "Thetford" and "VT" as your destination into MapQuest; that will give you directions that will get you to Route
113, whence you can continue with the
downloadable directions. In addition, Jo's parents would be glad
to give anyone personalized directions from whatever your staring
location is. So don't hesitate to contact them.
(One more caution: We suggest you not use the directions to Ohana
that are posted on the Aloha Foundation website, as several of the
mileages they give are incorrect.)
Car
Here are driving times to the Upper Valley from some nearby cities
(these times all assume normal weather/traffic conditions, a
reasonable speed, and a normal number of pit stops):
- Boston: 2.5-3 hours
- Providence, R.I.: 3-3.5 hours
- Albany, N.Y.: 3-3.5 hours
- New York City: 5-5.5 hours
- Syracuse, N.Y.: 6-6.5 hours
- Philadelphia: 7-7.5 hours
- Washington, D.C.: 9-10 hours
- Cleveland, Ohio: 12-13 hours
Although MapQuest won't get you to the camp, as explained above,
it works fine to get you to most destinations in the Upper Valley from outside the
region, as well as to and from most street addresses within the Upper Valley
(such as the hotels on the Lodging page or the car rental sites below). But if
you'd like to either get Dan and Dana Grossman's recommendations of the best route
to the area, or want to confirm the best way to get around once you're
there, don't hesitate to contact them.
Plane
Unfortunately, there are no major airports nearby. Here are the best
bets if you're planning to fly:
- Boston's Logan Airport (BOS) is about two and a half hours
away and is served by all the major airlines, including Jet Blue
(but not Southwest).
- Manchester, N.H. (MHT), is about an hour and a half away and
is served by many major airlines, including Southwest (but not
Jet Blue).
- Burlington, Vt. (BTV), is about a hour and forty-five
minutes away and is served by many major airlines, including Jet
Blue (but not Southwest).
There's also a tiny (and we're talking one gate here, folks)
airport in Lebanon, N.H. (LEB), which is about 20-25 minutes from
Thetford. There are only four flights a day into Lebanon, all on
20-seat puddle-jumpers, but if driving is less to your liking than
little planes, it's worth checking out. The
Lebanon Airport (hmmm …
should an airport that small even be capitalized?) is served only by Colgan
Air, a regional airline of US Airways.
If you fly into Burlington, you'll need to rent a car to drive to
the Upper Valley—there's no bus service from there. However,
Manchester and Boston both have very convenient bus service to the
Upper Valley (see details in the Bus section), though we highly
recommend renting a car to get around once you get here (see below
for car rental options).
Bus
Vermont Transit offers connections from Boston, New York, and
other cities in the Northeast. Most buses also make a stop right at
the Manchester, N.H., Airport, if you'd rather not drive to the
Upper Valley from there. The station that serves the Upper Valley is
White River Junction, Vt., which is about 15-20 minutes from
Thetford.
Dartmouth Coach provides direct service from Boston's Logan
Airport or downtown Boston's South Station. They offer free pretzels
and water and free movies, and the buses make only one stop between
Boston and the Upper Valley. You can get off either at their
terminal in Lebanon, N.H., or at the Hanover Inn in Hanover, N.H.
(It's much easier to get a cab at the Hanover Inn. Be warned,
however, that getting around by cab in the Upper Valley is very
difficult. Taking a cab to one of the car rental places below should
be feasible, however. See below for cab options.)
Train
Amtrak has
service to White River Junction, Vt., though the number is trains is
somewhat limited. The station code for White River Junction is WRJ.
Cab
You might get lucky and actually find a cab waiting at the Lebanon
Airport or the local bus or train stations. If not, these are the
two options:
Big Yellow Taxi: 802-281-8294 or 603-643-8294
P&P's Twin State Taxi: 802-295-7878
Car
Rental
Finally, here are the options for renting a car in the
Upper Valley:
Avis (avis.com or 800-831-2847; the local number is 603-298-7753) is
based at Lebanon Airport (5 Airpark Road, Lebanon).
Hertz (hertz.com or 800-654-3131; the local number is 603-298-8254)
is also based at Lebanon Airport.
Thrifty (thrifty.com or 800-847-4389) is located in White River
Junction, Vt. (93 Beswick Drive; the local number is 802-295-6611).
This is an easy walk from the White River Junction Bus Station.
Enterprise (enterprise.com or 800-325-8007) has facilities in both
West Lebanon, N.H. (1 Glen Road; the local number is 603-298-0218),
and White River Junction, Vt. (60 Jasmin Lane; the local number is
802-280-9953).
