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I am planning a trip to see the fall foliage in new England and I have never been to those states. The trip around the states would be about three weeks plus so we have plenty of time to see all the sights.
We would love to see coastal towns, light houses and covered bridges along with really quaint fishing towns along the way. This is a spur of the moment trip for sis and me and we would love to really do it right so any help would be nice of what to see and do.
I am researching as much as I can but if anyone has done this trip and give us pointers I would be grateful.
If this is a spur of the moment thing, be warned that it may be difficult to come by accommodation at this point, especially in popular tourist towns and on peak weekends (notably Columbus Day weekend).
What date are you leaving? The colors really depend on timing and location. The mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire usually reach peak during the first week of October. The lower elevation valleys in Vermont, the Lakes Region and Monadock Regions of New Hampshire, and the northern Maine coast (e.g. Acadia National Park) typically reach peak by the end of the second week in October. Parts of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts as well.
The southern Maine coast, and much of interior southern New England (MA, CT, RI) usually peaks around the third week in October. Coastal areas in southern New England don't peak until the last week in October, with some areas of Boston still at peak in early November.
Of course, this varies from year to year based on a number of factors. Lots of wind or rain can put an abrupt halt to peak foliage. Warmer and wetter weather during the past two years has produced some dismal colors. I really have my fingers crossed for an improvement this year, but we'll see.
I'm guessing you'll be flying into Boston? It might make most sense to start off by heading northwest from Boston into Vermont. From Vermont, you can cross over to the White Mountains and Lakes Region of NH before heading east to Acadia National Park in Maine. From Acadia, you can head down the Maine coast, stopping in a number of different coastal towns along the way. If you have extra time, you could explore the North Shore of Massachusetts, Concord/Lexington, Newport RI, Boston, or a number of other places in southern New England.
The largest concentration of covered bridges is in Vermont and western New Hampshire. If you buy a regional atlas (such as the DeLorme state atlases), it should include covered bridge icons. The longest covered bridge in New England is the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, which crosses the Connecticut River between Cornish, NH and Windsor, VT. In fact, Cornish has the most covered bridges of any town in New Hampshire (5 I believe). There are a lot of nice bridges in New England, so it's hard to make recommendations. Another favorite of mine is the Foster Bridge in Cabot, VT (also home to the Cabot Creamery) - the bridge is no longer crossed by a road (it's in the middle of a field), but there's a good view of the Green Mountains, and the White Mountains can be seen from the cemetery across the street.
Hard to pick just a few lighthouses as well. Pemaquid Point in Bristol, ME has a lighthouse as well as some very cool rock formations. Portland Head Light is beautiful and very often photographed. Lots of others to choose from.
Some typical "quaint" New England towns that you might considering passing through/staying in on your route (not an exhaustive list by any means), as well as some possible scenic drives & tourist attractions:
Hancock, NH
Harrisville, NH
Route 123 in southwest NH
Keene, NH
Grafton, VT
Route 7 in southern VT
Manchester, VT
Woodstock, VT
Route 100 in VT
Stowe, VT
Stowe Hollow Road
Peacham, VT
Sugar Hill, NH
Franconia Notch State Park
Kancamagus Highway
Bear Notch Road
Crawford Notch State Park
Mt. Washington Auto Road
Tamworth, NH
Sandwich, NH
Castle in the Clouds
Wolfeboro, NH
Acadia National Park
Camden, ME
Friendship, ME (fishing village)
Monhegan, ME (island)
Damariscotta, ME
Wiscasset, ME
Portsmouth, NH
Newburyport, MA
Ipswich, MA
Rockport, MA
Salem, MA
Marblehead, MA
Of course, these recommendations are largely contingent upon a trip during the first 3 weeks of October. If you're leaving later in the month, I would have to move the center of gravity further south, spending more time in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
Thank you for the information, sister is a pilot with her own plane so when we travel it is very gypsy like because weather effects our plans. I like to plan things out more but with points of interest, scenic routes and festivals dates we can work around most anything.
Mel's:
Thanks for the site link, lots of resources there.
Yeah my sis and I are both turning 49 and 39 this year and it is a dream trip that we both wanted.
So we are letting our hair down and just taking the trip as an adventure. Thank you for the links and yes the plane ride will be fun, hopefully the weather will help us.
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Many good recommendations here. I have done the trip about everyother yr for 30 yrs. I fly to Manchester and rent a priceline car ~$12.day(usually), tho have driven my own and brought my bikes too.
Be flexible and advised as to colormaps / weather.
Rain, wind and snow can change your routing, but stuff is 'close' so you have options.
Do the coast on crummy days, and do the mtns on nice days (If you are not lucky enough to have all NICE days).
I stay in private guest homes ($10/night) and have had VERY nice New England stays (Often in a cottage on large estate) or on a working farm. Hospitality exchange - Wikitravel
Sounds like a wonderful trip; my wife and I did something similar back in 2000.
If you can shoehorn it in (this would be around the end of your trip, based on your posted list of towns), I recommend a lunch or dinner stop in Essex, MA, at a place called Woodman's. They have fantastic fresh New England seafood, and apparently they also have a credible claim to be the originators of that great Yankee staple, fried clams. Woodman's seems to have quite a reputation, so I imagine that you can probably find your way there just by asking for directions from anywhere in the area.
Do it, definitely! It would be easiest to get around by car so try and bring one. Boston is as good a place to start as any. I'd recommend going north from there into New Hampshire and Vermont, and then south to Connecticut and Rhode Island, before finishing off at Cape Cod. Everywhere's beautiful.
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