Fall Foliage
 

Hello,
Planning a trip to Boston area and Rhode Island either the first week of Oct. or second week, my schedule is flexible.

Where can I see some nice fall foliage with out having to drive more than an hour and half from Boston or Providence?

Check out newengland.com for tips on seeing foliage. They've got recommended drives for every state. And keep in mind that the thing about foliage is that it is everywhere. Even driving up Rt 128 (major highway around Boston) you are going to see foliage. Get off the highways to see even more.

The first week in October is early for the Boston area. However, if you drive north on I-93 into the White Mountains of New Hampshire, or pickup I-89 in Concord New Hampshire and head towards the Sunapee area, you will see some spectacular foliage.

Boston to Concord NH is approx 1 hour. You could make a circuit over to Portsmouth via Rt 4 and then back to Boston but expect a lot of traffic if you are traveling on a weekend. But a nice short loop would be to take Rt 89 as Zootsi suggested from Concord to Sunapee. There's a very scenic view not far from Concord. I recently drove from Hillsboro to Jaffrey NH. It's very pretty and off the beaten path. You could then make a loop on secondary highways back to Boston. If you choose to go to Sunapee, take Rt 103 back to Concord and you will drive thru lovely small towns. Warner NH has a foliage festival over Columbus Day weekend so town will be blocked off during the parades. It's a fun event if you want to stop. Rt 89 feeds onto Rt 93 and there will be foliage traffic backed up because of the toll booth in Hookset. If you take Rt 3A south you will avoid the toll (this is popular with truckers) and you can stop for homemade ice cream at Merrivale's before Rt 3A brings you back to Rt 93 in Manchester. It runs along the Merrimack River.
Have fun!

Thanks a lot!