Fall Foliage in New England
 

My wife and I are coming to the US in late September (about the 28th but flexible) to see fall foliage in the New England region. Our plan is to fly into Boston, recover from the flight from Australia for a couple of nights and then head to either Bar Harbor or Portland for three nights, then across to Hamilton for three night and then to either Stowe or Bennington for three nights.
From there we will head to West Point, Harrisburg, Monticello finishing up in Maryland visiting friends.

Do we have a reasonable plan to catch fall colour?
Any recommendations on towns to stay in?
Any things we should see along the way

Congratulations on being the first poster in 2014 to ask about Fall foliage in New England!

It isn't too early. Your timing is right on the visit. in general, it is an excellent plan.

But you don't tell us how long the entire trip will be.

So, I would skip Bar Harbor in favor of Portland as a place to explore the Maine Coast. Alternatively, you could go on to Camden or Rockland. In order to see the coast itself, you need to drive in and out of lots of little indentations and/or take a round trip on the mail boat from Portland.

I don't know "Hamilton" but driving to Stowe from the coast, you should be sure to drive though the White Mountains and then on the back roads into Vermont. These back road will be like B roads in the UK but generally wider. The best of these is Vermont 100, which runs south from Stowe into Massachusetts through beautiful scenery.

Bennington is too far south for the best color.

Harrisburg is an outlier, I am assuming just a waypoint on your journey. From West Point to Pennsylvania try to drive through the scenic Delaware Water Gap. I think it is US 202, but again, the side roads are your friends.

Monticello is worth visiting, and the surrounding area is very attractive. You will have a great trip!

LOL Ackislander! I agree with most of this advice. Bar Harbor is wonderful but I think it involves too much driving for a short trip with a good portion north of Camden to be inland and not very scenic. I think the view from the top of Mt Battie in Camden is better than the one from Cadillac. Yankee Magazine claimed Camden to be one of the best places to see foliage but I don't think given your dates that you will see much color until you get to NH's White Mountains. But you do need to spend a day in Portland ME and do a boat trip, maybe a morning mailboat cruise or the one to see the lighthouses. Also visit the park in South Portland for a close up look at Portland Lighthouse. If Bite Into Maine food truck is still there and the day is warm, you can get a lobster roll and enjoy the view of Casco Bay.

Sorry, I should just say agree with Ackislander on the mailboat cruise. Explore the Old Port Area and get French fries at Duckfat. You can take a food tour of Portland but I didn't think it was as good as either of the ones in Boston: North End (Italian neighborhood) or Chinatown (with dim sum lunch).

I would not spend three nights in Stowe. I have spent two nights in Stowe and that was enough. There's a parade that was kind of fun but in general it's not my favorite VT town.

Get a map of wine and or cheese trails for each of the states. If you visit some of these places it should get you a little off the beaten track. The winery in Rockland is nice. For Cellar Door Winery near Camden I would go to their vineyard in Lincolnville instead of the store on Rt 1.

Haven't been to the Great Vermont Corn Maze in Danville VT just across the border from Littleton NH. I thought it was fun even though we couldn't find our way out and had to take the emergency exit. It's strenuous walking on a side hill.

My choice for VT is the western route from Burlington thru farming country along Lake Champlain. If you like historic museums, Shelburne Museum would be a great spot and will take most of the day. I would spent the night in Middlebury, a nice college town or you could cross over to Rt 100. Brandon is also a very pretty town.

Also agree with drive thru Delaware Gap. Monticello will give you a nice drive thru the countryside and is an interesting place to visit.

This fall I hope to see IRL the Community Bridge in Frederick MD. Although years ago I saw a slide show presentation about this bridge, googling the story about painting trompe l'oeil and the community involvement provides a lot of information that one should know before seeing the bridge.

Agree totally with VT Rte 100...great scenery and color potential for sure. At that time of year don't expect to see much color in either Maryland or Virginia...simply too early.

I think you are a week or so too early for the besou t color. As would imagine the color starts both in the far north (but NOT near the coast which is slightly warmer) and at higher altitudes. Then spreads south, to lower elevations and then down the coast.

For lower Hudson you will get color in mid to late Oct and in NYC not until end Oct of early Nov.

Adn, of course, the timing is slightly different each year depending on rain over the summer, overall temps and when the first killing frost happens.

So - I would watch projections on timing starting in July or so - but probably do start a week later for best color in most areas.

I agree; historically a week or so too early for the best color, though there's no predicting year to year. I like dfrost's advice.

I also thought it is a little early. Although coastal Maine might change a little sooner than inland Maine. If you decide to go to Bar Harbor please make time for Acadia National Park. In all my travels this park is at the top of my favorites. Also the balcony view room we had at the Atlantic Eerie Lodge is one of the prettiest views I've ever had from a hotel room.

Coastal usually is slower to change due to being warmer although Bar Harbor will be sooner than Camden. There should be color in the White Mountains. I've been in Stowe 3rd weekend in Sept and not seen any color at all one year but I've heard other years there is color that soon. Even if it looks like there's no color, keep your eyes open. If you drive past a swampy area, chances are red swamp maples will be red. They color very early.

Thanks everyone for the great tips, I'll refine our itinerary and post it for further commnet.