We will be heading to New England the 20th of September then driving to New brunswick and PEI. We were thinking we would make last minute hotel reservations so that we could just travel at our leisure and not have to hurry if we want to spend extra time somewhere along the way. I just don't want to end up without a hotel room, are rooms hard to find if you don't book in advance?

How long is the period between "the 20th of September" and the "then driving to New Brunswick?"

Are you planning to visit every state you tagged this post with or not?

The peak for foliage is often sad to be around Columbus Day but it obviously varies by region.

When we last did it we made sure to incorporate Vt Rte 100 into our drive. Personally I would not do it without reservations BUT I suspect a lot depends on which routes you actually use.

If the weather predictions are for exceptional weather, then Saturday you'd probably want to book on the Thursday previous to be sure that you'll have something for that night. Otherwise you should be fine, as long as you're not too fussed about where to stay....But Oct 1-15 all bets are off....book now.

Agree with Debbie, have reservations for the weekend. We traditionally do a third weekend in September getaway and book months ahead. Every weekend in certain areas like the southern Maine coast are popular. Last year we attended the Common Ground Fair in Unity ME which is a tiny town so hotels/motels for miles around are booked up. The time before when we went we stayed in Lincolnville, north of Camden ME and it was hard to find a vacancy.

Last year we did a weekend in VT thinking no problem for late summer but there was a music festival near Middlebury that made finding a hotel room at the last minute very difficult.

Dukey or others- Is there any particular part of Rt 100 that you recommend ? We will be driving from Montreal about the end of Sept, so I assume we would be better off at higher elevations ?

In late September, you are more likely to see color in NH's White Mountains. Do you plan on a leisurely route to New Brunswick making a loop thru VT?

I'm gonna let all the EXPERTS here tell you exactly where all that color WILL be.