Any Colors yet?
 

Leaving for Bangor the 27th..where should we start to see color?

sumreknot, have you read the threads titled, "Welcome to Fodor's"? or "Constructive Criticism"?

It's very difficult to answer your question because you did not mention
A) your starting point
B) your route

Sorry..we are not all as "smart" as you...

smart-sumreknot says "leaving FOR Bangor the 27th." That would make Bangor his starting point. so you are not so smart after all.

I do not want to get involved in an arguement but if the title to the thead was more descriptive of the question I believe that sumreknot would receive more answers to the question. I only clicked on this tread out of curiosity because I had no idea as to what the question referred to.

Best wishes to you sumreknot with your autumn trip.

Based on prior research, Maine's colors were said to peak around the end of Sept, therefore we purchased airline tickets for Sept 27...flying from Michigan to Bangor. We are renting a car and have a week to travel. However, it looks like the color season is later...I was hoping that someone out there could give us some tips on where to find some early color...thanks hereandthere...I retired so as not to have to contend with so much negativity but there's no escaping it! Good to have people like you out there!

You can try these sites for updates:

http://usparks.about.com/cs/natlpark...colorstate.htm

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/links/Autumn.htm

I must agree, including only the destination (Bangor), which turns out to be your sarting point, did make it difficult to answer the question -- perhaps you were driving down from Quebec??

Anyway, there are several online sites that provide up-to-date foliage reports, and others that provide annual averages, for long-range planning purposes. My two favorites are at Yankee Magazine:

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/foliage/map/

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/foliage/findcolor.php

You will probably want to head northwest into New Hampshire, since their foliage is generally more lush than Maine's.

Since you haven't planned your itinerary yet, I should also warn you that any area that's having peak foliage will be crowded and you might have trouble finding a place to stay. Some places get booked up a year in advance.

<i>&quot;Based on prior research, Maine's colors were said to peak around the end of Sept.&quot;</i>

Sorry to say, it looks like your research was flawed. Based upon the information under the tab &quot;When &amp; Where To Visit&quot;, (link follows) out of the last ten years, 1998 was the only autumn that saw some peak colors in September.

Here is a good website for you:

http://www.state.me.us/doc/foliage/

Don't fret though, that you may miss absolute peak colors -- many leaves on many trees will have reached full saturation, and the fall atmosphere will not be lessened if every tree is not ablaze. Sometimes bright colors in contrast with green make it more dramatic.

sumreknot, not sure what this says about me, but i understood your question the first time. i live just west of bangor. the site nimrod suggested is very good. there is a site just like it for new hampshire www.foliage.visitnh.gov
if you are going to stay in maine you will want to go north somehow. from bangor you can take I95 north and plan side trips along the way (perhaps into baxter state park). rte 11 goes north right next to I95 and may be a more enjoyable ride (get on at medway). or you can head west on rte 15 and try the greenville area. you should find color by driving north thru greenville to rockwood, then jackman. then head south on rte 201 to bingham. and back east on rte 16 to abbott.
or go up east side of moosehead lake to kokajo, ripongenus dam, get on the golden road to millinocket.
if you decide to head for new hampshire take I95 south to newport and get on rte 2 west. not the most scenic road but is good and fastest, most direct way to nh and vermont. bangor to nh should be about 4 hours. as soon as you get into nh you will be in the white mtn nat'l forest. rtes 16, 302, and especially 112 are very beautiful drives and should have color according to the nh site. good luck. enjoy your visit to maine.

Some of the best early season colors close to you are in the White Mtns. of New Hampshire and are typically near peak right at the very beginning of October. Around No.Conway to Mt. Washington, and the Franconia Notch area. The Kankamagus Highway running east from the Franconia Notch area is one of the most spectacular foliage drives anywhere.

Well, hereandthere, let's try it again:

&quot;I live in Michigan. I'm leaving for Bangor the 27th.&quot;

Michigan is CLEARLY the starting point.

What part of this is so difficult?

I even have a third viewpoint. I thought the poster meant that he/she was going to Bangor and where along the way was he/she going to start to see color? If the starting point was waayyy down South, there would be a long drive before that happened.
So I will go along with MaxwellSmart..Where are you coming from and what route are you taking?

I would like to respectfully add:

Oh, for criminy! Can't we all just get along?

I feel better now. I hope you got the information you need and have a great trip.