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Hi everyone! Thanks for taking the time to read this!
This fall I am taking my Mother on a special trip. She loves fall, anything to do with the harvest, Halloween, fall foliage, pumpkins, apple cider, etc.
Which cities and areas are best for the whole Fall experience? I am looking for a place that has crisp weather, pumpkins, gorgeous leaves, fall or harvest festivals, or just anything to do that is fun! Also, any old cemetary suggestions would be grand. We love to admire old headstones (I know it sounds creepy but it's not, I swear!). Any suggestions on dates would be great too. Is early October better or the middle of October?
I'm from southern California where there really aren't seasons, and I would love to be able to experience it all.
Both towns have a lot of beautiful scenic drives in the area. Keene is close to charming villages like Harrisville, Hancock, Jaffrey, Walpole, and Marlow. Sandwich is near Squam Lake (featured in the film "On Golden Pond") and Lake Winnipesaukee (great stops are Wolfeboro and the Castle in the Clouds). If you go sometime within the first two weeks of October, you will also catch extraordinary scenery in the White Mountains, particularly along the Kancamagus Highway and Bear Notch Road.
Any back road in Vermont is fabulous for autumn foliage. Two of my favorite little towns to visit are Woodstock and Grafton. Further north in the state, you'll find dramatic mountain scenery near towns like Stowe, and plenty of other beautiful villages like Danville and Peacham.
The foliage usually peaks in the more northern / mountainous areas of VT and NH by the end of the first week of October, and in the southern areas by the end of the second week. Columbus Day weekend is usually great for leaf-peeping but this is also one of the busiest tourism weekends in the region, so book early.
Oh, and it's hard *not* to find an old cemetery in New England. If you do some googling you'll come up with plenty of old cemeteries in the towns I mentioned, I'm sure.
New England is full of everything you want. foliage is good everywhere during the fall (although you want to make sure you're there at the right time. for example, Halloween is late for most of NH, and VT and trees with have lost a lot of leaves. Southern New England is better for this time. Different parts of New England peak at different times, although all probably in October.)
Salem is a lot of fun around Halloween. Lots of haunted houses since the witch trails have turned into a major novelty for the city.
Apple cider is everywhere in new england. I always went apple picking as a kid in late sept/early oct and then went to pick out pumpkins at the same time or a bit later (all in the Boston area, although a bit further out than where i live)
Syracuse NY has an Apple Festival just south of the city in the town of LaFayette. It's in the hills and the valleys with Route 20, which is also called the Apple Valley Turnpike being the road that has plenty of orchards along it or close by. There are pumpkins, hayrides and apple picking at many of these places. It is also close to the Onondaga Indian Nation Reservation too.
A major orchard that many people go to is Beak& Skiff, which is pretty big.
Great foliage and views as well.
There are other orchards throughout the area and if you want something "interesting" to check out, there is an area of Cedarvale Road called 13 Curves, where there is a legend where you see ghosts supposedly at night.
@TANaples, @TheWereRabbit, @Verseau and @ckhthankgod, thanks so much for your valuable input! I greatly appreciate it! I'm so excited now that I'm armed with all of this good info!
Also, any old cemetary suggestions would be grand. We love to admire old headstones (I know it sounds creepy but it's not, I swear!). Any suggestions on dates would be great too. Is early October better or the middle of October?
Not sure if you're planning on making it to Boston, but we have some fascinating old cemeteries dating back to the early 1600s. A number of historical figures are buried here (John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams). Visit the three oldest cemeteries in Boston
Definitely New England; anywhere from Connecticut to Maine will be great.
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