Camping in New England foliage Oct 8-19
Jan 12th, 2016, 05:34 PM
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Camping in New England foliage Oct 8-19
Hi, we are planning on doing a 11 day strip starting in New York where we pick up a rental camper and then from there we would like to spend the next 11 days covering New England hopefully places in each state ( focus on foliage and history) and back on the last day to drop the rental. We do not want to make reservations if at all possible. I promised my husband that we would not have an itinerary. We would like to stay at campgrounds or anywhere we could a small camper.
If this is not a reasonable way to see New England we could rent a car, however from what I understand lodging would be very difficult without reservations.
whatever advice would be greatly appreciated .
If this is not a reasonable way to see New England we could rent a car, however from what I understand lodging would be very difficult without reservations.
whatever advice would be greatly appreciated .
Jan 12th, 2016, 07:04 PM
#2
I would hope that you could find a better place to rent a camper than New York City.
Whatever vehicle you rent, see the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire. http://www.kancamagushighway.com/
There are 6 campgrounds along the Highway.
Whatever vehicle you rent, see the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire. http://www.kancamagushighway.com/
There are 6 campgrounds along the Highway.
Jan 12th, 2016, 07:16 PM
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Hi, well it looks all is changing . I think we will rent a car and make reservations .Oct.8-19 . I found this itinerary on a website that is a two week New England Drive. So maybe with suggestions and modifying the following. Could we get suggestions on where to stay keeping the drive at no more than three hours one way before moving lodging locations. Lodging we are not particular just clean and comfortable. Thank You for the assistance
Boston (airport)
Kennebunk
Cape Porpoise
Gonham NH
St Johnsbury VT
Cornish NH
Londonderry VT
North Adams MA
Torrington CT
Putnam CT
Wickford RI
Little Compton RI
Sandwich MA
Boston (airport)
Kennebunk
Cape Porpoise
Gonham NH
St Johnsbury VT
Cornish NH
Londonderry VT
North Adams MA
Torrington CT
Putnam CT
Wickford RI
Little Compton RI
Sandwich MA
Jan 13th, 2016, 01:47 AM
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Aim for southern locations for your second week which will be post peak in the north. Do some research on Yankee Magazine's website.
Southern Maine will be fun if you want to see some seacoast but don't expect a lot of foliage. Portsmouth NH has historic Strawbery Banke, interesting foliage boat trip up inland rivers. If you don't do this boat trip, you might go as far as Portlsnd ME for the mailboat trip around Casco Bay.
Portland to Conway NH (south of Gorham) is about an hour but expect extremely heavy traffic on weekends. Or you could go Portland to Concord NH/visit Canterbury Shaker Village, then head north on I93 to NH's White Mountains.
If you're interested in history, you might want to go over to Shelburne VT to Shelburne Museum south of Burlington. I like the drive south on that side of the state but it tends to be a lot of farmland. From Shelburne you can cut across the Green Mountains. Cornish is nice if you want to visit St. Gaudens and see the nearby covered bridge, otherwise you might continue south to western MA. If you didn't get to Canterbury Shaker Village yet, take I89 south. Despite being an interstate, the foliage will be nice.
If you get off I89 in New London NH you can take a slight detour over to Wilmot and the State Park on that side of Mt Kearsarge. It's not a big mountain but has nice switchbacks and nice observation area at the top.
I let somebody else do recommendations for western MA, CT and RI.
Southern Maine will be fun if you want to see some seacoast but don't expect a lot of foliage. Portsmouth NH has historic Strawbery Banke, interesting foliage boat trip up inland rivers. If you don't do this boat trip, you might go as far as Portlsnd ME for the mailboat trip around Casco Bay.
Portland to Conway NH (south of Gorham) is about an hour but expect extremely heavy traffic on weekends. Or you could go Portland to Concord NH/visit Canterbury Shaker Village, then head north on I93 to NH's White Mountains.
If you're interested in history, you might want to go over to Shelburne VT to Shelburne Museum south of Burlington. I like the drive south on that side of the state but it tends to be a lot of farmland. From Shelburne you can cut across the Green Mountains. Cornish is nice if you want to visit St. Gaudens and see the nearby covered bridge, otherwise you might continue south to western MA. If you didn't get to Canterbury Shaker Village yet, take I89 south. Despite being an interstate, the foliage will be nice.
If you get off I89 in New London NH you can take a slight detour over to Wilmot and the State Park on that side of Mt Kearsarge. It's not a big mountain but has nice switchbacks and nice observation area at the top.
I let somebody else do recommendations for western MA, CT and RI.
Feb 4th, 2016, 12:10 PM
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Perhaps someone can clarify, but in my neck of the woods during leaf peeping season, even campgrounds (those that take reservations at least) fill up weeks and even months in advance. I have no idea whether that's true out east as well, but if I were you, I'd want to make sure that it's possible to just drop into these places during prime season.
Feb 5th, 2016, 02:15 PM
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Are you starting in Boston now? Where will you end?
Beware that many/most accommodations during foliage season will require a minimum stay of two, sometimes three nights.
Color move from the northeast southwest, and arrive late near water (Kennebunk, Rhode Island, Sandwich...) so it's best to visit places in that direction.
Highly recommend referring to a New England tour guide, such as Fodor's New England: with the Best Fall Foliage Drives & Scenic Road Trips.
In many places, the best thing(s) to see and do during foliage season are scenic drives.
And the best way to enjoy the foliage and scenery is by driving all over, so you wouldn't necessary want your overnight destinations to be only three hours apart or change locations every night.
For example, Gorham is a splendid base for exploring the White Mountains (and one of the more economical for lodging). Spectacular scenic drives include Routes 2, 302, 16, etc. And, they are dramatically different in each direction.
After a couple of nights there, you could head for St. Johnsbury, then North Adams. From there, the better bet may be to enjoy Route 9 through Vermont then Southern NH or across the Mohawk trail in MA and on to the coast of Maine.
Personally, I'd skip Connecticut and Rhode Island only because the most dramatic scenery is in the mountains, along with much more foliage.
~ the 18th on should be just about right for the Kennebunk area. (It was beautiful when we were there this past October 20-22, though many leaves had dropped.)
Keep in mind, too, that sunset will be around 6 PM and you should know where you'll have dinner. In some places, it will be a real challenge to find dinner after 7 or 8 PM, especially in the areas with no chains.
If this is more a scenic road trip, unless you have some compelling reason for each of the places you've listed, you may want to rethink your overnight destinations and routing.
Beware that many/most accommodations during foliage season will require a minimum stay of two, sometimes three nights.
Color move from the northeast southwest, and arrive late near water (Kennebunk, Rhode Island, Sandwich...) so it's best to visit places in that direction.
Highly recommend referring to a New England tour guide, such as Fodor's New England: with the Best Fall Foliage Drives & Scenic Road Trips.
In many places, the best thing(s) to see and do during foliage season are scenic drives.
And the best way to enjoy the foliage and scenery is by driving all over, so you wouldn't necessary want your overnight destinations to be only three hours apart or change locations every night.
For example, Gorham is a splendid base for exploring the White Mountains (and one of the more economical for lodging). Spectacular scenic drives include Routes 2, 302, 16, etc. And, they are dramatically different in each direction.
After a couple of nights there, you could head for St. Johnsbury, then North Adams. From there, the better bet may be to enjoy Route 9 through Vermont then Southern NH or across the Mohawk trail in MA and on to the coast of Maine.
Personally, I'd skip Connecticut and Rhode Island only because the most dramatic scenery is in the mountains, along with much more foliage.
~ the 18th on should be just about right for the Kennebunk area. (It was beautiful when we were there this past October 20-22, though many leaves had dropped.)
Keep in mind, too, that sunset will be around 6 PM and you should know where you'll have dinner. In some places, it will be a real challenge to find dinner after 7 or 8 PM, especially in the areas with no chains.
If this is more a scenic road trip, unless you have some compelling reason for each of the places you've listed, you may want to rethink your overnight destinations and routing.
