Foliage in the Lakes region and White Mountains will be past peak by Oct 13 but it will still be a scenic drive. It's been a very dry summer and we are already seeing hints of color in the Concord NH area, an hour south of the mountains. You've chosen some nice areas to visit. Fresh apples are a great treat so be sure to stop at an orchard. Best would be one that offers antique varieties that you've never heard of. In the Moultonborough area you aren't that far from one of the prettiest small towns in NH, Center Sandwich. If you like ice cream, try to find the Sandwich Creamery. (share a pint) Twice we have seen black bears close to the road in the Sandwich area. The inland rivers boat trip out of Portsmouth is very interesting and scenic any time of the year. If you have time, drive out Rt 1B thru Newcastle. At one point on a narrow causeway you can see the old Navy prison in one direction and in the other direction, the fabulous renovated Wentworth by the Sea. Expect heavy traffic Sunday afternoon. Plan extra time to get back to the airport but Rt 101 shouldn't be too bad. Southbound Rt 93 and 95 will be heavy traffic as people return from the weekend. Nubble Light in York ME is a popular choice and easy to see.

Good trip plan, given the amount of ground you want to cover. Be aware that there may well be snow at higher elevations at that time of year. If so, it will be spectacular, and you might want to revise some of your "doing it" plans into "viewing it" plans when you are actually there.

Thanks so much. Hopefully we will be able to see some leaf color in the southern part of our NH trip and maybe in Vermont too. Haven't thought about apples, but that would be a treat. Which orchards would be in the areas we are traveling?
We will definitely put the Sandwich Creamery on the list of things to do.
Haven't really thought about snow. Being from the deep South, we hardly ever get to see any. That would be nice though---just don't want to have to drive in it.

LittleLamb,

Nice choice on Peterborough, it's a wonderful example of classic New England charm and has several nice restaurants to choose from for dinner plus a great walkable downtown with unique shopping. A drive to the top of Pack Monadnock (Miller State Park) will offer you some great views of the surrounding countryside and perhaps the migrating hawks.

I don't know what route you plan to take from Peterborough to Waitsfield, VT but if you want covered bridges, cheese, and apple picking, here is a suggestion. Drive west from Peterborough towards Keene. From Keene, you can either drive the covered brige tour in Swanzey (just south of Keene) http://www.southwestnh.com/outdoors/bridges.html.

From Keene, head north on Route 12. You will pass by the very cute town of Walpole (you have to turn off at the "downtown Walpole" sign) which has:
an excellent ice creamery (www.walpolecreamery.com) and
famous LA Burdicks chocolate shop (www.burdickchocolate.com/).

In Walpole (along Rt 12) is Alyson's Orchard (www.alysonsorchard.com/alyson-orchards/)...nice place to apple pick with great views of the Connecticut River Valley.

There is also the Boggy Meadow Cheese Farm (www.boggymeadowfarm.com/) just off Rt 12 in Walpole.

Farther along Route 12 continuing north, you will drive through Charlestown and up to Cornish. The Cornish-Windsor bridge spans the Connecticut River and is the longest two span covered bridge in the world! (www.nh.gov/nhdhr/bridges/p39.html)

You can learn about all the NH covered bridges at www.nh.gov/nhdhr/bridges/index.

Cornish is also the home to Augustus St Gauden's National Historic Site. St Gauden is generally recognized as America's greatest sculptor and this is the site of his home and work studios. This is a wonderful spot, you learn about St Gauden, walk the grounds of his large property with its sweeping views of the CT River Valley.

From Cornish you can head north on Rt 12 towards Claremontlooking for an entrance on to the interstate (I-91). You are just a short drive up to Quechee. Quechee has a Cabot Cheese store, glass making factor, micro brewery, and a scenic gorge to hike. Find out more details about Quechee at www.quecheegorge.com. Also in that area is Simon Pearce Glass (www.simonpearce.com) and Harpoon Brewery (www.harpoonbrewery.com).

There is no way you can stop at all these places and do them all justice and get to your inn in Waitsfield at a reasonable hour but it should give you some ideas to pick from and get yourself started.

Cheers,
Rob

Thanks Rob
This information is great! We will pick and choose from the places you suggested. I wish we could see it all. I'm so excited about our trip and appreciate so much all of the help from everyone while planning it.

Peterborough is a delightful town. It has wonderful scenery and is SO New Englandy. It's a mecca for artists and there are some very nice boutique shops with locally made, and very nice, jewelry, paintings, textiles, etc. There are some really nice restaurants too. Not sure how long you will stay there the next day after arriving, but hopefully you have a few hours to poke around.