Raleigh to Pittsburgh road trip: Drive time, distance & best stops
The best road trip stops on the Raleigh to Pittsburgh drive are Richmond VA, Washington DC and the Antietam National Battlefield. The distance from Raleigh to Pittsburgh is 514 miles, with a 7h53m driving time.
Planning a Raleigh to Pittsburgh road trip itinerary
The Raleigh to Pittsburgh drive takes you from the capital of North Carolina to western Pennsylvania.
Raleigh is the biggest city in North Carolina. Major attractions include the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the thrill-packed Carowinds amusement park and the Billy Graham Library. Another popular option is the Sea Life aquarium.
For top Raleigh activities, try historical city tours by golf cart, Segway tours through the Uptown neighbourhood and after dark ghost tours.
Well-reviewed and central Raleigh accommodation options include the AC by Marriott and the Hyatt House.
Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania is a monstrously underrated city, with a series of stellar attractions. Get great views from the top of the Duquesne Incline, enjoy the globally-themed rooms at the unmissable Cathedral of Learning and become immersed in pop art at the Warhol Museum.
You can explore Pittsburgh with a hop-on, hop-off bus pass. Pittsburgh experiences include bike tours full of stories, guided whiskey-themed walks and craft beer sampling on a multi-brewery tour.
For Pittsburgh hotels with great reviews, try the Italian villa-style Priory Hotel or the often good value Drury Plaza Hotel Pittsburgh Downtown.
Raleigh to Pittsburgh distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Raleigh NC to Pittsburgh PA is 514 miles. That makes for a driving time of around seven hours and 53 minutes. The quickest route, somewhat counterintuitively, is via the I-85, I-95, I-270, I-70 and I-76.
The best stops to add to a Raleigh to Pittsburgh road trip itinerary are Richmond VA, Washington DC and the Antietam National Battlefield.
Raleigh to Pittsburgh road trip attractions: Richmond VA
Once the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond VA is not entirely weighed down by its history. The surprisingly wild James River runs through it, and the west end feels energetic and more of the North than the South.
The top attraction, though, is the huge American Civil War Museum at the historic Tredegar Ironworks. After that, walk the suspension bridge to Belle Isle in the middle of the James River, see the dubious Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue, or see the grandiose tombs of the Hollywood Cemetery.
Other good Richmond experiences include food tours of the Arts District or Church Hill, Segway tours of the city landmarks, nighttime ghost walks and guided hikes along the James River.
For Richmond accommodation, the Moxy Richmond Downtown brims with fun, youthful energy. The Residence Inn by Marriott, meanwhile, is a short walk from the lively Shockoe Bottom neighbourhood.
Best stops between Raleigh NC and Pittsburgh PA: Washington DC
Washington DC has an enormous range of tours, experiences and attractions available. You could happily spend weeks in the Smithsonian Museums alone. Top choices, however, include the nighttime monuments and memorials tour, small group guided visits to the Capitol and National Library of Congress and Lincoln assassination tours that visit Fords Theatre.
Memorable Washington DC accommodation options include the Willard, where Martin Luther King Jr wrote his I Have A Dream speech. There’s also the Watergate Hotel, a luxurious conversion of the offices from the Watergate scandal.
Raleigh to Pittsburgh drive: Antietam National Battlefield
The Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland, was the site of the bloodiest battle in the American Civil War. The Battle of Antietam repelled the first Confederate invasion of the North and led to Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Dunker Church and the National Cemetery are key highlights while wandering the site. But the visitor centre will give you more insight into how 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing on September 17, 1862.
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