Itinerary Help - Fall Driving Tour, Round Trip from Boston

Hello LeslieC,

You might find it helpful to search the forums (try "New England", "foliage", by state and by the towns you mention, and also "lobster"). There are dozens of post on the topics you are interested in. I'll bet there are also many trip reports on similar itineraries.

Hope this helps you get started on your research.

lojo

If you want to see really good fall foliage at that time of year you probably want to go inland to northern/north central Vt. or New Hampshire. Of course the exact timing varies from year to year.
Here is information about the Vermont foliage season
http://www.foliage-vermont.com/
Seven towns in the Northeast Kingdom of Vt. have a good foliage festival at the end of Sept/early October but their schedule isn't posted yet.
You could spend one day/night along the north shore (above Boston) then go through the White Mts to Vermont

Hi Leslie,

Since you'll be there early in October, in order to see good fall foliage you'll need to head north into the mountains.

Are you staying in Boston on the 4th? If not, you should start off right away by taking I-93 North to Woodstock or Lincoln, New Hampshire (roughly 2 to 2.5 hour drive) and spending the night there. Littleton is another possibility. At either rate, I would recommend staying in this region through the night of the 6th.

Spend the 5th exploring the White Mountains. Franconia Notch State Park is full of sights, including the wonderful Flume Gorge. Beyond the notch, take Route 3 North to Route 302 East and enter Crawford Notch State Park. If the weather's clear, take Route 16 North towards the Mt. Washington Auto Road and drive to the summit -- probably the most impressive mountain scenery east of the Rockies. Retrace your route down Route 16. Continue into North Conway and drive to Cathedral Ledge for great views, then stop at Echo Lake. Finally, take Route 112 (the Kancamagus Highway) back to Lincoln/Woodstock.

Another option is Bear Notch Rd. between Route 302 in Bartlett and the Kancamagus (bypassing North Conway), which offers splendid foliage (and less traffic than North Conway).

On the 6th, head north I-93/Route 3 towards Lancaster, stopping at Weeks State Park / Prospect Mtn. Drive up and visit the fire tower for incredible views of the Great North Woods and the White Mountains. From Lancaster, head west on Route 2 towards St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Spend some time driving along the country roads in this area, exploring small villages like Peacham, Danville, or Lyndonville. Take I-93 South back into NH.

On the 7th, take Route 302 East towards Portland, ME.
Although the best of Maine is north of Portland, with your itinerary it would be difficult to explore much of the state. Walk around the old port and drive to the Portland Head Light at Cape Elizabeth. Continue down the coast, stopping in Ogunquit to walk along the Marginal Way. Head down to Cape Neddick to visit Nubble Light. Spend the night in York or down the road in Portsmouth, NH.

On the 8th, spend the morning exploring the streets of Portsmouth and the Strawberry Banke area. Drive through New Castle and then follow Route 1A down the coast into Massachusetts. Make a stop at Market Square in Newburyport. Admire the historical architecture as you drive through Ipswich. If you have time, consider heading out to Gloucester and Rockport. Otherwise, head on towards Salem (worth a short stop) and Boston.

Lexington and Concord are great in their own right, but you would probably be cutting it close with this itinerary if you decided to go there before returning to Boston.

This itinerary is busy but will certainly allow you time to relax and enjoy yourself in some lovely small New England towns. Of course, you could always spread things out a bit more, but generally I would stick with staying in the White Mountains to enjoy the best of the foliage, and then spending a night somewhere in the vicinity of York/Portsmouth on the 7th. You can find great lobster anywhere along the coast.

Thanks so much for your kind replies. We moved our flight into Boston so we have an overnight flight from LA that arrives early in the morning of the 4th, giving us five full days instead of 4. We would not plan to drive too far that first day since we will need to relax and get to bed early.

I had ruled out VT due to lack of time, hoping to see enough beautiful foliage in NH to satisfy. TerrMys: with the extra day, could we follow your itinerary and add in Lexington/Concord or possible Sturbridge, MA?

Although you'll probably see your best colors in the White Mountains, there's something about the Vermont countryside that you just can't find in New Hampshire. The rolling pastures, the picturesque barns, little villages visible for miles in the distance... I don't think you would regret making a trip into Vermont!

To be honest, I'm not sure I would sacrifice any time in NH and VT just to see Lexington and Concord. I would probably use the extra time to just enjoy the north country more. I mean, you can get your definite fix of colonial history in all the towns between Portsmouth and Salem, with the added bonus of the nearby Atlantic and less driving across the Boston metro area.

For the same reason, I would pass on Old Sturbridge village -- it would too much of a hassle to go out that way, especially when you can experience so many "real", well-preserved New England towns on your route. That's my opinion, anyway.

That said, given your new itinerary I think you should stay somewhere north of Franconia Notch -- i.e. Twin Mountain, Bethlehem, Franconia. When you arrive in Boston on the 4th, just take I-93 North straight to the notch and do your sightseeing in the park then. When you come out of the park, you can just head towards your hotel and call it a night.

On the 5th, take Route 115 North from Twin Mountain to Route 2 East. Then take Route 16 South and stop at the Mt. Washington Auto Road (if the weather's good). Afterwards, continue on Route 16 South (stop at Glen Ellis Falls?) and then Route 302 West. Turn left onto Bear Notch Rd. in Bartlett and follow to the Kancamagus Highway (112). Head west until you get to Lincoln, where you can take I-93 North back through Franconia Notch.

On the 6th, follow my previous suggestions for driving to Vermont; perhaps explore north of St. Johnsbury (Lake Willoughby?)

On the 7th, take Route 302 East through Crawford Notch State Park and North Conway on your way to Portland. In North Conway, make a short detour to Cathedral Ledge and Echo Lake.

I feel like this itinerary reduces the need to have to keep retracing your route across the mountains; on the other hand, the towns north of the notches don't have all that much in the way of restaurants, nightlife, etc... I guess it depends on your personal tastes.

The St. Johnsbury area mentioned by TerrMys is part of the Northeast Kingdom in Vt with the foliage festival I mentioned.

You will want to reserve early because places fill up quickly during foliage season in New England

If you really want to see Lexington and Concord, that is a nice area to visit in early to mid October. The foliage won't be at peak there and you will not see the spectacular red maples that are found farther north. Fruitlands in Harvard MA is another nearby beautiful historic spot. Depending on your route through New Hampshire you might want to visit the Canterbury Shaker Village

Sturbridge is a fascinating museum--it depends on what mix of scenery and history you want

I'd just like to second the suggestion to forget about Lexington, Concord and Sturbridge. Although they have the famous historic names, I don't think they qualify as quaint towns, and the foliage won't be the best there in early Oct. Salem and Marblehead are much more appealing for history and quaintness, but again, the foliage will not be the best.

That's a great itinerary by TerrMys. From Boston you can be in Concord NH in about 1.5 hrs, then another hour or so you'll be in the mountains. When you go north on Rt 93 you can take exit 19 in Northfield NH to the Dipsy Doodle, a tiny drive-in type restaurant that has great lobster rolls and fried clams. You will have to get directions to Rt 3 (not far) so you can get back on 93 at exit 20. (exit 19 doesn't have a northbound entrance). However, if you stay on Rt 3 you will go thru the lakes area. Meredith on Lake Winnipesaukee is very pretty. You also have the option of taking a lake cruise at Weirs Beach (south of Meredith). You can get back on Rt 93 at exit 23 in Meredith. The down town area would be a good place to stretch your legs after a long plane ride. You could drive a little further to Center Sandwich which is a real live historic town. (You'll wonder what they were doing settling that area so early in history.)
Don't miss VT. The scenery is quite different. More open farmland. Peacham is a popular place for photos. There's a great corn maze in Danville but you should figure 2-3 hours for the maze. It's fun and the view from the top is nice.
With Strawbery Banke historic area in Portsmouth so convenient to your route, I wouldn't waste the time to go to Sturbridge. Don't miss Rt 1B thru New Castle. It starts in the Strawbery Banke area and goes past the historic Wentworth hotel which is beautiful. At one point on the route you'll drive over a little causeway where you will see the Portsmouth Navy Prison on one side and in the distance, the Wentworth Hotel on the other. Lots of very old homes along this road. Also consider a harbor or inland rivers cruise from Portsmouth. I think I liked the rivers cruise better because it goes thru Great Bay. We have traveled by road many many times but never seen it from the water. Interesting narration and it's a beautiful area for fishing/birding, etc. Rt 1B and then Rt 1 makes an interesting drive. I would head back to the interstate once you get to Salem MA otherwise traffic can get pretty congested as you get closer to Boston but there's some beautiful country in the Newbury/Byfield area.
When you're heading south from York ME there's a route that heads to Kittery Point. Rt 1 in Kittery is lined with outlet malls but Kittery Point is a beautiful area. Some people like to get their lobster dinners at Chauncy Creek. I think it's a little pricey. You'll sit in the open so it's not good for a bad weather day.

bookmarking

Portsmouth, NH is a lovely place to explore with lots of great restaurants.

I guess I will be the third one to say skip Concord, Lexington and Sturbridge if you want the true New England fall experience. Strawberry Banke is great, and just north of there, on the Maine coast is the Black Pointe Inn in Scarborough, ME. For your lobster fix, try the Lobster Shack at Two Lights in Cape Elzabeth, not far from the inn.

From there you really should travel the mountain route through New Hampshire and head for northern Vermont (Northeast Kingdom) as previously suggested for the best foliage. Stowe is a great place to stay too, a lovely Vermont town in the Green Mountains.

Or, reverse the route and end up on the southern Maine coast on your way back to Boston.

Once you have decided on your route, please post it and we can all make more specific suggestions!

We finally booked our flights so the trip is on and I'm making great use of all these suggestions. I've accepted the advice to eliminate Concord/Lexington, MA. But, instead of only one night on the coast, I'd really like two, so we need to either give up the Kancamangus Hwy or the Northeast Kingdom of VT. Here is what I have so far:

Oct 2 - overnight flight from Los Angeles to Boston, arriving 7:15 am on Oct 3rd. Pick up rental car and drive north on the I-93 to Franconia Notch/Flume Gorge. Booked two nights 10/3 and 10/4 at the Adair Country Inn, in Bethlehem, NH.

Oct 4 - tour the circuit driving the 3 north to Lancaster, then Rte 2 west from Lancaster to St. Johnsbury, VT exploring and returning to Bethlehem, NH via the I-93 via Littleton.

Oct 5 - Drive Bethlehem, NH to Kennebunkport, ME via Rte 302 east through Crawford Notch, North Conway, Conway. Won't see much of Portland but would like to stop at the Lobster Shack at Cape Elizbeth. Overnight at The Beach House Inn in Kennebunkport. Dinner in Dock Square.

Oct 6 - Drive South to Portsmouth, NH. Visit Strawberry Banks. Overnight at Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle, NH.

Oct 7 - Continue south stopping in Marblehead and Salem, MA. Dinner with friends in Boston. Overnight at the Hyatt Harborside Hotel near Boston Logan Airport

Oct 8 - 8:55 am flight to New York LaGuardia for the New York portion of our trip.

Any comments? Should we instead skip VT and do the White Mountain circuit suggested above, returning to Bethlehem via the Kancamangus Hwy and Franconia?

I'm afraid my husband will get tired of all the driving!

Just to comment on the Maine portion of your trip - Bethleham to the Lobster Shack in Cape E is probably about a 3 hour drive. North Conway will be busy at that time of year but it is doable. I believe you said you're into history, so if the weather isn't cooperating you might want to spend more time in Portland. The Observatory is a great place to start - where they used to watch for incoming ships and put flags up to alert the city as to which ship was coming in. Beautiful views and knowledgeable guides. Cape E to K'port is maybe 90 minutes drive. I think you've chosen a good itenerary.

You are going to see the best of the White Mountains on your drive north via Rt 93. I would not drive as far north as Lancaster. That's more on the down side of the mountains. It gets much more rural, more open. I would suggest you use that day to go over to VT. Then, on the day you head to Maine head south on Rt 93, take the Kancamagus but then drive into North Conway (the view from the main street is wonderful) before heading to Maine. That would also put you on the Kanc early in the day before traffic got too heavy.

dfrostnh: So you are saying to go into VT on the I93 through Littleton, rather than the less direct route that had been advised (Rte 3 north to Lancaster and then 2 West)? That sounds good to me...

And then, instead of taking the 302 East through N. Conway, instead use the Kancamagus Hwy, with a brief detour from there up to N. Conway? That sounds good, too. I guess you are saying that the Kancamagus is more picturesque than the 302?

I'm glad not to get negative reactions to skipping the 16 up to White Mountain. We are just so short on time, I got convinced that a visit into VT would provide more variety than all mountainous areas.

All depending on the foliage season traffic this year, it would probably be best NOT to drive the Kancamagus on Sunday.

To drive over the Kancamagus on your way to Kennebunkport would add only a few minutes and a few miles, versus via 302.

My recommendation for Sunday would be to drive east on Route 302, north to Gorham (there are ways to avoid the Route 16 traffic), then west over Route 2 back to Bethlehem. reathtaking scenery - especially through the notches! Just under three hours driving with no stops. If that's too much driving, consider just driving across Route 2 to Gorham and back. The views are actually different in each direction...

I doubt you'll find Vermont provides "more variety than all mountainous areas". (I don't.)

For Dock Square dining, one of our favorite places on the planet is the Kennebunkport Inn. The dining rooms are beautiful, but we usually dine in the piano bar/cocktail lounge (also very nice). Wonderful pianists/vocalists there and fantastic food at reasonable prices.

I'm partial to Bishops ice cream and the diner in Littleton and the Miss Lyndonville diner in VT and the VT corn maze in Danville so that sways me for the route thru Littleton. Peacham is very pretty. The open farmland scenery in VT is over along Lake Champlain so the extra driving time is probably too much to consider for your trip. I keep forgetting how much time it takes to cross northern VT. Take djbooks advice on Sunday driving. We usually just completely avoid the mountains during peak foliage but figured early Sunday might be ok. My daily commute is on Rt 93/NH. You will see plenty of great foliage. Even between MHT and Concord you will see some glimpses of distant hills and then the further north you go, the mountains just get bigger and bigger. There's a local mountain I can see on my way home and I never tire of the view.
You can catch more discussion about foliage on Yankee Magazine's website. Lots of pictures. Here's a link to the foliage section http://www.yankeefoliage.com/ with detailed suggestions about the White Mountains. They like Rt 302, as well. Guess I'm outvoted.

We are also planning a fall trip, arriving in Boston on Sept. 29. We are staying in Tilton, NH that night. Then two nights in Barnet, Vermont because it is during the Northeast Kingdon Fall Folliage Festival. Then on the 3rd we were going to drive on Rte. 302 to Portland and then spend the next two nights in York, Maine. I heard it takes all day to travel on Rte. 302. Is there a better way to go? Should we take I-93 south and then east on Rte. 101? Thanks for your help!