Driving Atlanta GA to New York City end May 2019 - 6 days?

The  Hudson Valley, just north of New York City, has beautiful scenery and many places for hiking and camping. Bear Mountain State Park is close to the city. Further north is Minnewaska State Park, and on the east side of the Hudson is Breakneck Ridge and Harriman State Park. The Appalachian Trail also cuts through this region. Lots of charming little towns and villages with good restaurants all over.

Most importantly, you need to get an EZ pass for toll roads, I drove from NC and stopped in Maryland, following signs to the building from the highway and bought one. This allows you to drive on toll roads, and when traffic is backed up you will be so happy you are in the EZ pass lanes. Especially in DC.  So if you're in ATL, get one before your journey. If you have friends in ATL get them to look into for you, they might have to get if for you since you are out of the country. Maybe not. Who knows?  MAKE SURE it works along the way, not a Peach Pass in GA!!!!
I look up Roadside America and search my cities and stop at weird attractions, that might be fun. I also have an old fashion GPS that I use because you can search while driving for restaurants and play GPS Roulette and stop at random restaurants along the way. 
When I drove I spent the night in Virginia and New Jersey/Pennsylvania area. It was a blast, I will do it again.
Put the Yelp app on your phone, it is good to search for food, coffee, wine close by, I love that feature. And also it's good for open now, be sure to hit open now if you're trying to eat lunch at 3p.
My favorite sites to look at when I am visting a city besides Trippy is Eater and for NY trips, I scour Time Out New York. 

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is beautiful, it has national parks overlapping into three states, the small city has historic sites and is beautiful. It is also only slightly out of your way, if you were to drive directly to NY.
Enjoy!

From Atlanta Drive I-75E to I-16 to Savannah,Georgia. Spend the 1st night in Savannah. I visit the 8th Army Air Corps Museum when l am there. Take I95 N to Hwy 17 East to Charleston, SC. I would go to the Slave Market and the Rainbow Houses. Spend the 2nd night in Charleston. Day 3, I would drive to Myrtle Beach, SC and spend the night there. I rent bikes on the beach there. Day 4 continue on HWY 17 to I-40N to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Spend the night. I like to go out on the pier after 11pm and watch what they are catching. I take a boat tour in the Harbor. Day 5 I would drive to Ocean City, NJ and stay the night. Day 6 arrive in NYC.
For me this is the scenic route. I think the East Coast is majestic. Enjoy your travels. I have a Hotel Rewards card. If you stay in the same brand you should have a free night or discount rate. Ask for discount rate for Seniors, Veterans, Corporate. 

Letchworth state park is gorgeous indeed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMDDTWgkeBA
Vermont has some great scenery too.
On our few trips to Candada we liked French Canada more than English speaking Canada. The food in Montreal and Quebec City is just like in France and fabulous. It would be a little far to drive but Quebec City would be an easy choice if not for the distance. You are used to long drives so maybe not a deal killer for you. Quebec City feels like being in France and has a lot of outdoor attractions nearby. Photos are Quebec City

Hi Andrew! I'm orginially from VA and now live in NYC, so be prepared for a looooooooooooong response! lol. Firstly, I HIGHLY recommend you driving part of the way along the Blue Ridge Parkway, it runs through both NC and VA so you have lots of options! Also U.S. Route 11 is a fantastic drive, it runs from Louisiana to Maine, its chocked full of nostalgic Americana. There are all kinds of amazing towns along the route, someone mentioned Harpers Ferry and that's only about 30 mins away from that part of the route!  I think if you want to see our country then avoid avoid avoid interstate highways as much as possible. I can assure you that interstate 81 is an absolute nightmare to drive, especially in VA! Also interstate 95 (especially from DC to NYC) is also pretty nightmareish in terms of traffic. Hiking along this corridor is pretty great, check out Appalachian Trail!!!! This trail runs from GA to Maine and "doing the AT" becomes a rite of passage for many a teen growing up in rural east coast states. CAVERNS.......also along the moutains in the NC-PA area are tons and tons of underground caverns, Luray Caverns is usually high on people's list. Someone else mentioned Savannah, GA, totally gorgeous...so is Charleston..loads of beautiful homes and steeped in USA history. I don't know if you want to stop in District of Columbia as its worth a trip on its own...just know that there is TONS of wonderful things to do. If you want a day of fun there is Hersheypark in PA, its not a bad amusement park...also there is a Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey!  And finally......NYC! My home! I could write a book! Since it seems your the outdoorsy type I'll try and keep it to those types of activities: The Cloisters Museum and Gardens is AMAZING and most people don't visit the upper UPPER part of Manhattan... Fort Tryon Park is also great for hiking! There is now a walking/biking path that goes around the entire island of Manhattan....and tons of Citibike racks to rent a bike from and take a leisurely tour. I would recommend Citibike over the rentals you see around Central Park as the citibikes seem to be better maintained. Of course Central Park is the best! Another location in which you could spend an entire day hanging out! One of my most favorite eaterys is Pho Bang on Mott St.  Great food, fun historical neighborhood and also close to SoHo for great shopping! I could go on and on and on!!!! Please feel free to message me directly if I can help with anything else!!! Love that you guys are doing this trip!

My suggestions for your drive are based on the fact that my family is from the South and I am intimately familiar with the food of the South:
You won't want to miss Charleston, South Carolina on the Atlantic coast.  It is a fascinating city, and has terrific food, particularly seafood.  In fact, my suggestion to you is that from Atlanta, you drive over to the coast and take the coast highway all the way up to NYC.  You will find lots of great Southern cooking along the way, with beautiful beaches (although we have close friends from Perth and so I know you've got some beautiful beaches yourself!).  If you look at the map of the eastern US, you will notice that the coast is quite irregular, particularly around the perimeter of the Chesapeake Bay (home of the best crabs ever!).  These inlets contain charming small towns.  
Enjoy!

You're going to pass through New Jersey, a small state with a reputation for being a sort of wasteland between Philadelphia and New York. Is it worth stopping there? I think most people don't, because they think, "We're almost to NYC anyway -- let's just get there." But NJ has some things that are worth stopping for.
One is the Grounds For Sculpture, a 42-acre sculpture garden near Trenton, on what once were the NJ State Fairgrounds. There's a huge permanent collection displayed mostly outdoors, and there are rotating exhibits indoors. I wouldn't say the place has a big international reputation, but it should, and if you're the sort who likes to discover things a little off the beaten path -- and if you happen to get a nice sunny day to enjoy it -- the Grounds for Sculpture is worth a couple of hours.