PatW47

Spur of moment trip to New England.

Fly to Hartford CT Oct 6, rent car
Drive to Mystic for night
Oct 7 Drive north towards Montreal

Stay 3 nights 2 days Montreal

Drive back different route to Hartford by Oct 17
Drop car and bus to New York

Looking for routes to and from with prettiest foliage and sights.

Just wondering if you have suggestions. Also a central place to stay each route to do day tours. Have been to Boston so not necessary go this trip. Mainly CT, Vermont, west Mass, west Maine maybe.

Thanks for any help

dfrostnh

Yesterday, drove from MD thru PA, Hartford CT up I91 to Brattleboro VT then east via Rt 9 to Concord NH. We had driven south on Sunday and were surprised to see how much color had developed in the past couple of days. There was a lot of color along Rt 9. There were sections in PA that were quite colorful.

There was heavy rain Tuesday night with the possibility of a hurricane coming up the coast which might be bad news for leaf peepers depending on whether the storm goes out to sea or not. We had below 30 temp at night last Saturday causing a light frost in the Concord NH area low lying areas. Cold nights brings on color. But, it warmed up again.

Western Maine is not known for foliage, I don't think, because of the percentage of pine not hardwood. Should you consider going through NH, I would do I93 as the route to head toward Montreal. Color should be really good in the White Mountains right now but will be gone by Oct 17. I93 goes thru the White Mountains. Columbus Day weekend is the big foliage festival weekend in many areas plus expect heavy traffic in Conway area Oct 4-11 due to Fryeburg (ME) fair plus foliage traffic. Sandwich NH fair is Columbus Day weekend but it's a small fair near Lake Winnipesaukee.

Should be very good color on any route you choose thru VT when you head north but by Oct 17 it will be better in western MA. Since Mystic is so far south, I would do that at the end of your trip before heading to NYC instead of when you first arrive.

I think you are going to have to do a lot of research to find lodging for those dates in VT and NH. The area is not huge so no matter where you end up, good color and pretty scenery ought to be within a short drive. IF you decide to drive I93 north thru NH, I would suggest staying in Concord NH at the Marriott on Horseshoe Pond. It's a beautiful walking area even if it's next to the highway. It's also a short drive (less than 2 hours) to VT via I89 from Concord.

If you go up I91 in VT, Norwich Inn is a wonderful place to stay with good restaurant at the inn as well as across the street.

I believe foliage is later along the Lake Champlain, VT area than it is in NH. You would see a more open landscape with lots of farms if you traveled Rt 100 south on your return trip. Middlebury VT is a beautiful college town any time of the year. From there you could head toward I91 then south thru western MA.

Vttraveler

Foliage is late this year in VT and not yet peak in north central VT where I live. The rain may take leaves down before it is ever really spectacular this year.

You can check this link closer to your visit to see where the color is good https://www.vermontvacation.com/land...-three-sept-30

Vttraveler

There are different routes to/from Montreal from New England including going up I-91 and then west in Canada on Rte 10 or going up through VT on I-89 to QC or going through the VT Champlain Islands to NY state then north on I-87/15. So taking two different routes should not be hard.

dwdvagamundo

Vttraveler--thanks for info. Planning something like this next year.

Vttraveler

dwdvagamundo--you might also want to consider spending time in the Eastern Townships of Quebec if you have time next year. Very different from northern New England, and a trip to both would be interesting. There are some threads on this in the Canada forum.

dwdvagamundo

Thanks VT--a couple of years ago we spent a week in Quebec and really enjoyed it. Bit we did not see anything south of the St. Lawrence River.

We'll keep it in mind.