Fall foliage over Columbus Day weekend
 

Hi,
My husband and I (late 20s / early 30s) are planning a 3 day New England 'fall colors' driving trip from NYC, over the Columbus Day weekend. We have not done such a trip before, and would like to know what parts of New England we should go to. We are ok to take a train out of NYC to some place, and then drive, if needed...

Any thoughts on specific routes / places to stay would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

If you go to Vermont, you'll want to stick to the southern half. The first thing you need to do is book your lodging reservations ASAP. That is the busiest weekend of the year for tourism in the foliage states.

love:

don't know if the peak in New England would be Columbus Day weekend. I know in the Laurel Highlands of PA (SW PA) October 9-10 even through the 15th sometimes is their peak. You may want to consider the Poconos of PA.

Somewhere near the Massachusetts/Vermont border. It is of course hard to predict exactly, but you should be within a 30 minute drive of peak colors (in some direction) from there.

Book your reservations now.

I have noticed that Hadley, MA, has built 3-4 new hotels in the past couple years. They are just mass-produced chain hotels on a commercial strip, nothing special, but it would be a good base for driving or bicycling. The nearest train station would be in Amherst.

You could have a marvelous drive from NYC if you are able to avoid traffic and that will be very hard to do. I would suggest a flight to MHT Manchester NH and a hotel wherever you can find at this late date. One of the reasons for suggesting MHT is that if it's a typical year colors are going to be wonderful in central VT and NH. If colors are early you can simply drive a loop further south (thru Peterborough NH toward Keene). You can also be in VT in a short time via Rt 89. BUT, southbound Rt 89 and 93 on Sunday afternoon is going to be clogged in this area. You can easily avoid this traffic by taking a secondary highway instead of the interstate. Manchester has some great restaurants but it is a city. Kind in mind that last year we had unusual but serious rain and flooding that weekend with major tragedies in Alstead NH near the VT border. Usually the weather has been great. With light traffic the drive should be about 5 hours depending on if you're right in the city. A friend just took the train from Boston to NYC and raved about it. That's an option too. A lot of people will be heading to the mountains which would be an easy day trip from Manchester. Hope you have a great time.

I agree this is a busy time of year upstate and traffic is usually terrible. Here's a page with lots of info on foliage trips
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/foliage/index.php

Here's just one previous thread on fall foliage trips. If you do a text search for fall foliage from NYC there should be many more.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34532718

TTT
Thanks a lot for all the information!
Is Northampton in MA a good idea? Will the foliage be at its peek in that area around Columbus day?

Thanks!!

Here: http://www.mass-vacation.com/jsp/fal...p;org_id=empty
is a good map showing peak foilage times. Looks like you might be on the cusp for Northampton, but the Berkshires would be good and are so, so beautiful any time of year.

Have fun!

Joanne
(http://www.vacationing-with-kids.com)

Stop in Northampton to eat and walk around a bit, the drive there is surrounded by foliage.

TTT

Will it be a good idea to spend one night in Lenox and may be a couple in Williamstown? (May be we can drive to Vermont, if that is a good idea)
Please let us know if we will be able to enjoy the foligae better if we stay somewhere else.

Thanks for all ur help!!

If you go to Lenox check out The Birchwood Inn..we loved this place. Also know that many things close Columbus Day weekend(many of the mansions). If you can include it on your travels, consider visiting the Clark Museum in Williams,MA.

Whoops..I meant Williamstown(Williams is the college).

Hi PamSF,

Thanks a lot for the information. Will foliage be at its peak at Lenox (and the Berkshires, in general) during the Columbus day weekend?

Thanks!!

I would suggest staying at the Four Columns Inn in Newfane, VT and driving around there. The inn is really lovely and the restaurant there is FANTASTIC.

P.S. -- website is www.fourcolumnsinn.com

TTT
Thanks Michelle...
Will the drive from NYC to Newfane turn out to be a long one (5-6 hours) because of the long weekend? Are we better off staying in MA and then driving around from there?

I must admit that the inn looks beautiful!!

Thanks!!

Here's the thing about foliage..one never knows. Generally, the 2nd-3rd week in Ocotber should be peak in the Berkshires. We booked for that period last year and it rained a great deal of the time. Nonetheless, we had a very good time.

If you are in the Lenox area, consider a dinner at the Old Inn on the Green(google it). This is a very small and lovely inn in a small town near Great Barrington.

Could near 5 hours but unlikely unless there is a major problem. I usually do at least two trips there every year -- one in the fall and the other in the winter to x-country ski.

If you do the MA thing, drive up through the northeast corner of Connecticut (Route 7, I believe). Lovely - should be good foliage that time of year.

Also the Norman Rockwell museum in Stockbridge is a fun stop, if you like Norman. Should be open Columbus Day weekend, but check their schedule.