janiecbh

My husband and I are visiting the New England states the end of September to October 13. We have our first week planned starting at Cape Cod to Acadia. We would like some help on where to stay our last 9 days and what to see on our way through the White Mountains and down to fly out of Providence. We want to go to Vermont too. Where would be good places to stay? We don't mind moving around, 1 and 2 night stays are fine. We have been reading and have found lots of places that sound amazing but we have to found a route to follow. We have also read and realize this is a very popular time and need to make some reservations - soon. Please help us with suggestions on where we should be plan our stops. Thank you!!!

clarkgriswold

Please give us a little more information. Do you want to see the coastal villages? Lakes/fishing/foliage? The restaurants & museums of Portland Maine, the city and historic sites around Boston? What places sound amazing to you? Any budget to keep in mind?

http://www.fodors.com/search/results...=Maine+foliage

janiecbh

Sorry - I should have given more details. We will be doing Boston, Portsmouth and Portland during the first week on our way to Acadia. From Acadia, we are thinking of going to Littleton and drive into Vermont. Then, we would like to do some leaf peeping and work our way in NH, possibly going to Meredith (maybe) and going to Concord. We don't know what we should do from Concord to Providence. We like to site see, stopping at interesting places and eating at unique places. We like breweries and wineries. We just don't know how much time to allow along the way or where we should stay and make daytrips around the area. We appreciate any help!!!

dfrostnh

Meredith NH has a barrel tasting event in early October put together by Hermit Woods Winery. Check the date for the event. We went last year and it was fun to visit several different very small wineries.

Acadia to Littleton NH would be about 6 hours of driving or more. We just drove from the Blue Hill area (about an hour west of Acadia) across Maine (mostly Rt 2) to Franconia (and then headed south on I93. Littleton is north. It might make more sense to go Acadia to Meredith and then to Littleton. VT is right across the border from Littleton but it's north so peak color would be over by the second week of October.

Do you mean Concord NH or Concord MA?

Concord NH to Providence RI is about 2 hours of boring interstate. Concord MA to Providence is less time. But basically you don't have to do anything in between those two places. We have visited the winery near Concord MA (Nashoba?) and do not recommend going on a weekend because it is extremely crowded.

Between Portsmouth and Portland, you could schedule a cooking "class" at Stonewall Kitchen in Kittery ME (might be York ME). It's really a nicely run cooking demonstration where you are served and get copies of the recipes. See their website for a list of menus by date. You can take a foodie tour of Portland or a brewery tour of Portsmouth.

If you have a choice, I think it's more dramatic to approach the mountains from the south instead of north but we had some nice views coming from the east today.

The drive from VT to NH via I89 is nice has some good scenery and color should be good.

janiecbh

Please be patient with me. After reading your post, we are going to follow your advice and stay south.
How does this sound??
From Acadia, heading to rt #2 to Shelburne, NH (about 4 hours) and staying the night.
Next, driving and site seeing -- driving the Kancamagus Highway. Possibly coming down to Conway and then West. Staying the night near Franconia Notch SP or staying south at Woodstock, NH???
We now have 3 nights to spend before heading to Providence. We would like to drive to Vermont and do the Foliage Drive there.
Thinking we would drive to Bennington,VT 3hrs and stay the night.
We have 2 nights to use somewhere. Do we spend more time traveling through NH, do we go to the lake area and spend a night at Meredith before heading to VT - possibly going straight there instead of Woodstock and spending 2 nights. Or go into Massahusetts and drive through the Berkshires? Or - any other suggestions. As you can tell, we do like to drive and site see. We find places along the way and stop and enjoy. Everything we have read, we need to make our reservations- hate to miss something if we don't have enough time but also hate to be stuck somewhere!
Our last 2 night will be spent around Providence, maybe going to Diamond Hill Vineyard and possibly to Newport.
Any suggestions would be really appreciated.
Thank you!!!

dfrostnh

You can drive from I93 across Kancamagus Hwy to N Conway NH and then return on a more southern route thru Tamworth and Center Sandwich NH in half a day if you don't spend a lot of time in N Conway (scenic, some fun shops but very busy). I prefer the Center Sandwich route because there are more houses and open areas. This route is between the mountains and Lake Winnipesaukee. Very hilly but quaint. Some people have some terrific views from their backyards. Center Sandwich is very small and quaint. Nearby is Squam Lakes where On Golden Pond was filmed. Rather than stay in the Woodstock area, you are close enough to stay on Lake Winnipesaukee. Very beautiful. If you don't stay there, at least stop in Meredith for a look see.

The Norwich Inn in Norwich VT is very nice. It's a little north of Woodstock VT which is a busier and more popular town. There's not much in Norwich but the Inn has a very nice restaurant and there's another very nice restaurant across the street, Carpenter and Main. Quechee VT is close by with the famous Simon Pierce restaurant and glass blowers. You might want to explore the building even if you don't eat there. If you like to bake/cook, King Arthur Flour has a terrific shop and café.

If you drive further south to Brattleboro, a funky little town but nice, you can then drive west over Hogback Mountain. Pleasant drive with a lot of switchbacks but nothing difficult.

But you could also do a loop from Norwich (which is on the NH/VT border) over to Lake Champlain. There is more open farm land on that side of the state so the views are different but still pretty. Middlebury is a beautiful college town further south. I love Brandon. Just about anywhere you drive in VT is going to be scenic.

Yankee Magazine's website has some suggestions for scenic drives. Western MA is lovely with a lot of farmland. No where built up as it is closer to Boston. When we go south, we drive across NH to I91 (Brattleboro VT) and then south thru western MA. I would avoid taking the Mass Turnpike I90 to go across the state. It's a very limited access hwy and very boring.