The dates for 2026's event will be the weekend of June 6 & 7. We will update the following throughout the year, as more  plans get solidified

As usual we will be kicking off in Seabrook, NH and cruising backroads to Boothbay Harbor, ME. We will kickoff in the same location as the last few years (Seabrook Commons), as there are plenty of places to get gas and grab a quick breakfast if people needed to, before hitting the road.  

There will be at least one restroom/fuel stop planned along the way. Hopefully we will have some interesting surprises and stops planned as kickoff gets closer

Our  most important stop of the day, will be to visit our friends at the Boothbay Craft Brewery and Tavern ( https://www.boothbaycraftbrewery.com/  ), for some food and drink, along with some fundraising fun. 

They have been big supporters of NERR, for a solid decade now. As it is now a large part of our B.I.T. event, 2026 will mark the 4th year for the now annual, Pint-wood derby, hosted by the brewery. There will also hopefully be live music on their new outdoor stage area during our visit, as long as the weather cooperates.

We are planning an afternoon (time TBD at a later date) arrival at Boothbay Craft Brewery. After eating there will be the Pint-wood derby contest. For a small entry fee, you can enter your car and get a free drink coupon. 100% of the money raised will go to our charity (the Lymphoma Research Foundation). There are no   rules limiting the  competition.   There will be assorted prizes for different classes and winners, so get your car ready!

 Saturday night, when the weather allows it, a lot of the crew loves sitting by the water's edge, on the Inn's property, taking in the beautiful sunsets and enjoying their gas firepit. 

 With our host property being located right next to the harbor's historic footbridge, all the activities around the harbor are less than a ten minute walk away!  

 As it has now become a regular feature to this event, Sunday morning will consist of a short scenic drive of the surrounding area, that will leave plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day for dining, shopping, boat cruises, etc.

 Usually for lunch a lot of the crowd will head over to  at Brady's Restaurant (  

 ) at the end of the harbor to see the Saltwater Hillbilly perform for an entartaining afternoon of singing tunes and dancing. If you've been with us here before, you know he   definitely gets the crowd going. If you haven't been, you're in for a fun treat, if he is there that weekend. 

2026 Bay Invasion Tour Routes & Info

 2024 will be our longest run ever and has us going to areas that we have never visited before with NERR. People are going to want to make sure their rides are up to the task this time, because there is a leg with some serious highway time....  compared to normal  NERR standards and for the majority of participants, this will be about 10 or 12 hours away from home

Kickoff location: Mt Wachusett, Princeton, MA

We are returning to our most often used kickoff location, for 2024's event and we will be cruising though the Berkshires of Massachusetts and the northwest corner of  Connecticut before we reach our destination

This day's route is all about the drive with just one planned stop for gas/restroom about 2 hours in. We will pick a second spot later in the day, to stop just to stretch our legs 

We will have a little more than  five hours of seat time this day, as we cover  just over 200 miles

At #7 directions say, turn left toward South St. The street  sign actually says Hubbardston Rd

At #8 directions say "slight left".  You will actually just be continuing on, while merging with other street. WE WILL BE MERGING ONTO MAIN ROAD. THERE  IS NO MERGE OR STOP SIGN, AS OTHER TRAFFIC HAS RIGHT OF WAY. BE CAREFUL!!!!

Between #15 and #16 there is a "confusing " point in road (you'll know it when you see it). Our route will stay to the right   

Immediately  after #76 (left onto Sharon) we will be making an added rest/gas stop

This  route will be traveling through Pennsylvania as we end the day at our hotel and the one museum stop ( 

Hershey Antique Auto Museum | AACA Museum | Hershey, PA

 ) of the day. Lots of time  driving today, so road snacks will be important

We are breaking it down into two legs (for ease of mapping), with the first leg being  about 96 miles   and just under 2 1/2 hours behind the wheel,  with one gas/restroom stop  in there

The second leg is a longer one, clocking in at almost 150 miles and over 3 1/2 hours behind the wheel, with one gas/restroom stop, before arriving at the day's  final destination

 This one is pretty straight forward. Only thing is that our final mapped destination of this leg, is NOT a destination. We basically just set it as a way point, so..... When we get to that point, WE WILL NOT BE STOPPING. We will just be getting in the lefthand lane and taking a left at the lights (onto Milford Rd), before continuing onto leg 2

#1 will be ignored, because we will have already turned onto Milford Rd at the end of the last leg.

#12 after this step, need to get in the left-hand lane IMMEDIATELY, as there are 3 lanes, but only one allows traffic to go left.

Once we reach our  final destination for the day, our hotel and the museum  parking lots are basically beside each other, so people can tour the museum at their own pace & not worry about being left behind.

This will be  a big highway day for us, which is not normally a NERR thing, but we knew we'd need one of these days, to accomplish a trip like this.  The payoff is that  it enables us to have a couple/few real cool stops along the way and it sets us up for arguably some of the best driving NERR has ever had, the following day.  This is the leg that is going to test your ride, like it's never been tested before during a NERR cruise, as it takes us through PA, MD, WV and VA.   It is also the leg that is going to take most participants the furthest away from home, then they've ever been  during a NERR event.  We should be having two point of interest stops this day Our first point of interest stop (and end of our first leg) will be Cooter's Place, from the Dukes of Hazzard ( 

 ) and that will end our first leg, but this will need to be a short one, so we can get to our bigger stops of the day.

Our second leg has our second (and third) point of interest stops will be Luray Caverns ( 

 ) along with their Car & Caravan museum, located on the same property. This stop is just a short distance from the hotels that people have booked at, so everyone can take their time and leave on their own and not worry about being left behind

If there is enough time and people are still interested in doing more, just a couple miles after the hotels are the 

Bear Mountain Ziplines – Find Adventure in the Shenandoah Valley (bearmountainadventure.com)

#22 says "sharp left" and it is SHARP! It's basically a reverse direction across traffic

#26 is our gas stop. After fueling, we can  drive right between the station and restaurant next door and then take a right directly onto Route 30. That would replace steps  27 &28

#38 turns left onto Gaston Rd. This is turning across traffic on a large curve . BE CAREFUL 

Nothing special here for a very short drive

This  day's driving  is the entire reason why 2024's event headed in this direction. The route will take us through VA, MD and PA. We will spend a lot of this day driving through  Shenandoh National Park ($30 entrance fee), along Skyline  Drive. This is a B-E-A-utiful road. This day's route could possibly end up being  one the  best routes NERR has ever had. Our resort for this night has one or two firepits on-site and we know that goes over big with this crowd.  

#26 (route 643) might actually say Howellsville Rd on whatever you are using for a GPS service 

#35, #36 & #37 will be ignored because  we are just using Harpers Ferry as a way point. It's not an actual destination stop  for us. 

NERR 2024 Routes & Itineraries 

SATURDAY & SUNDAY NIGHT (June 6 & 7) HOST HOTEL INFO:

 As has become tradition both Saturday & Sunday night, we will be staying at the Boothbay Harbor Inn, with it's waterfront property and great views of the harbor, along with their lounge (which is not always open early season when we stay), the large indoor gathering space (that saved us with all the rain in 2023 and 2024) and a nice outdoor gas firepit. 

This is the ONLY property on the harbor, that has grassy sitting areas. The hotel is also right next to the footbridge, that takes you to the other side of the harbor, so you don't have to worry about finding parking on the "busy side" when you want to do something. Anyone that has joined us in the past, knows that the sunsets there are something you plan your nighttime activities around.

We have a "group" of rooms set aside, because they don't do room blocks anymore (which means we get no guaranteed availability).

When you call, you need to mention the Northeast Rod Run group when booking & that will get you 10% off their regular rates. If you book online, I don't think you  receive the discount. As of right now, their system is open for booking into 2026, but they can't enter the discount yet, so that will we entered later on

Also..... BBHI closes for the season  at the end of the week, as it is now their off-season (they are  currently closing their office a 6PM.

After that point in time, when you call, you will be forwarded to one of their other properties (Tugboat Inn), so be sure to tell them which property you are booking for. They will be open until around 8PM for the rest of the year and then they close for the season, but they will have regular 9 to 5 businnes hours for booking after that,  until they open for the 2026 season

If you are new to NERR, it's always worth mentioning that you should book ASAP, because most years this property sells out months in advance.

2026 Bay Invasion Tour Hotel Info

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