Fall color tour in New England
 

Any suggestions? Going the first week of October this year!

Colors peak at different times in different places and it's different every year. So hard to predict where the best color will be 1st week of October. Personally I love Vermont!

As suze wrote, colors peak at different times in difference places. And further, each year seems to be different in terms of peak times compared to the previous year (or years).

The best advice I can give is to do a Google search of "fall foliage websites" (or similar wording) as the fall season gets closer.

Right now, no one can say for sure what the first week of October will be, foliage-wise.

I would include the Hudson Valley in New York along with New England in your search.

I'm going to vote for Norwich Inn in Norwich VT with a visit to King Arthur Flour and the Saturday farmers market (you can buy pastries and lunch there as well as fresh produce, jellies, pickles, etc. and it's very festive). Then, depending on the color you can go north or south. Since Norwich is on the VT/NH border, you could even make a day trip to the White Mountains but I would only advise that mid-week.

I tend to think about food too much. You can visit wineries, breweries, cheese farms and apple orchards. If you're more athletic, you can go hiking. Friends just did an anniversary hot air balloon ride in Quechee VT.

I suspect, however, that at this late date, you might have trouble finding lodging in Norwich.

Yes, you need to look for lodging this afternoon, hard as that may be to believe.

Norwich would be fine, though I am not as much a foodie as dfrost �� But really Anywhere roughly central (North to South) in VT or western NH will be fine because you can cover most of the state by day trip. Contained areas (Stowe, Woodstock) will be very crowded. They are fine to visit, especially later in the day, but if you start from these kinds of places, your first hour will be in traffic on two-lane roads.

Not only will you be competing with other leaf peepers but with college parents' weekends, football games, and homecomings.

Highway 100 is my road of choice as a spine from which to make side trips, if you give Stowe a wide berth.

My wife and I are taking a road trip to northern Vermont on August, and I will report on any not-to-be missed sites we turn up.