ih

We are planning a week long road trip during the period September 15th-Sept 22nd of 2015 to see the Fall Colors.
We will have a rental car and use the following route

1.Boston-Lake Massawipi(2 nights)- honey manor or ripple cove inn

2.lake Massawipi-Vermont-2 nights( stay at woodstock or Rabbithill inn)

3,Camden Maine( 2 nights)

4.Kenny Bunk port-1 night

We will keep 1 night open.

I have a couple of queries.

Any suggestions on the lodging options?

Timing-are we early to see the change ?

Any suggestion on alternative routes?

dfrostnh

Yes, your dates are too early. Foliage festivals in the central part of VT and NH are usually held Columbus Day weekend. Color differs depending on location, type of tree and temperatures. We thought color was early this year but one year I was in Stowe, northern VT, the third weekend in September and there was no color at all. I would move dates forward at least a week but first week of October would be even safer.

It looks like Lake Massawipi is in Canada. Can you take your rental car into Canada?

If you want a popular tourist area Woodstock and Kennebunkport are fine. Last summer I stayed at the Norwich Inn which is on the NH border a bit north of Woodstock and loved it. Food at the Inn was good and the restaurant right across the street was very good. The Saturday farmers market in Norwich is wonderful. Some crafts, baked goods as well as fresh vegetables. Fresh apples and cheese would make fine snacks.

When you have to drive a lot of miles from one hotel to the next, people generally use interstate highways. I89 is actually quite nice (mostly trees and a few views). If you continue to Concord NH and then East on Rt 4 (you can bypass commercial area by taking I89 to I93 north to I393), you will have a fairly scenic drive to the seacoast but the nicest part is near the end from Dover Point over the Great Bay bridges and then the connection to I95 north. If it's a weekend, Rt 1 will be congested. We stayed at the Elmwood Resort in Wells last September - an older motel changed over to condos which I liked very much because of kitchen facilities.

If you want to take a slower route from VT over to Maine you might plot a route that takes you to Lake Winnipesaukee from Meredith to Center Sandwich thru Tamworth then north on Rt 16 to where you can pick up to route over to Portland ME. I think that puts you about 30 minutes north of Kennebunkport/Wells area via I95. Much slower if you go route 1.

From VT, Portsmouth route would give you great options for lunch. You could take a foliage cruise on inland rivers route. The back roads from Kittery to York were nice (Rt 1 is very commercial).

Unless you have great reasons for going to Canada, I think you should spend more time in New England since there is so much to see.

Ackislander

Agree with above (as usual). This is too early. You will see the odd bright maple, but you won't see the glory.

What strikes me is that many of the places you list are a whole day apart, so you may have 2 nights in Masswipi but only one day, ditto Woodstock, ditto Camden, ditto Kennebunk if you do anything except drive straight through. And you should.

Camden is wonderful. The Coast between Camden and Brunswick is wonderful, but you have to drive along narrow roads at fairly low speeds to see it. If you blast through to make time, you might as well go to Ohio for all that you see. Plus, the Coast is warmer than inland so it gets less color, later in the season.

I have further thought if you are coming from outside the US.

ih

Thanks for all the inputs.Will check on taking the car into Canada.
Do u think a week later will make a significant difference ?
I will stick to Vermont and Maine.

nytraveler

No - IMHO a week later is not enough. To be safe you need to be at the beginning of Oct when you start - since that is typically the beginning of substantial color - unless you go all the way to Canada.

Caveat: weather will change this every year and you need to follow the leaf peeping web sites in August and early Sept to see where the colors are best.

china_cat

I agree with above, later is better, and you should cut down the locations.

If you do decide to go into Canada, Hovey Manor is beautiful, and we loved staying there. It's a very relaxing place no matter the time of year. I actually think we were there in late Sept/early October and there was some nice color that far north. Not spectacular yet, but enough red and gold to be pretty.

aussie_10

Taking notes for our trip in Oct 2015.

dfrostnh

The best chance for color a week later will be in NH's White Mountains so you could plot a route from VT over the Kancamagus Hwy to the Conway NH area and then over to Maine. Earliest color will be in red swamp maples that you might see as you travel around - boggy areas near the road, edges of swamps and brooks.

There are many wonderful places to see and things to do in New England that don't depend on October timing. You might find lower rates at lodgings and definitely a lot less crowded on hwys and in restaurants. Also, the real Maine lobster shacks will still be open weekends in September. Usually close Columbus Day weekend although some close in early September. Plenty of places to get lobster any time of the year but it's fun if the weather is warm and you can sit outside by the water.

The Common Ground Fair in Unity ME is the third weekend in September. We had trouble finding a hotel room for that weekend (went to the fair) in the Lincolnville ME area (just north of Camden). Unity is a very tiny rural town so fairgoers have to find lodging on the coast or Waterville area although fairgoers probably look for the least expensive rooms. Camden is always pretty busy because its a popular weekend getaway place.

djkbooks

I've found this predictor to be very accurate over the years

http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peak-foliage-forecast-map/

J62

Agree with the above posters - to view fall foliage it is best to go in early fall, not summer.

ih

After looking at all options my schedule is as follows(3rd Oct-10th Oct).Please let me know if this itinerary needs to be tweaked.The main reason for our visit is to see the Fall foliage and enjoy New England.

We will hire a rental car from Boston/Burlington

As of the now the following places are booked

3rd&4th October-Newport(cliff haven farm b&b)-plan to visit Lake Massawippi. Hertz Rental is ok with taking car into Canada.

5th-Rabbithill Inn

6th-Middlebury-visit lake champlain

7th-Chesterfield Inn

I have kept 8th&9th free.I will definitely go to Kancamagus Highway and White mountain area.

From New York the flights to Burlington look reasonable hence wanted to know if we need to get into boston and drive from there.

Please suggest any changes/alternatives.

dfrostnh

Unless it's cheaper to fly into Boston (including car rental costs), skip it.

Looks like Chesterfield Inn is over by Keene NH/Brattleboro VT. You have choice of two main routes to get to the White Mountains. Rt 101 to Peterborough (a lovely artsy town, good place to find lunch) which takes you over/near Mt. Monadnock. I have not been to Pack Monadnock which is one of the hawk watch centers. Or from Keene, head to Concord NH via Rt 202/9 which will be very rural. Rather than connect with I89 which a gps would probably recommend, in Hopkinton, take Rt 127 to Contoocook. Then follow Rt 103 to Hopkinton. Make slight detour to Gould Hill Orchard for local apples and view (see their website). You would have to check a good map to wind your way via back roads to Carter Hill Orchard for a different hawk watch. You have a chance of seeing hawk migration.

Use good map or gps to get over to Shaker Village/Canterbury NH. It's so beautiful there. You might want to take a tour. From there you can connect with I93 north to the White Mountains. Even though it's an interstate, the scenery will be nice that far north. Then you can take the Kancamagus. Be warned that the Conway/North Conway area is very congested that time of year.

The Lake Champlain area of VT will give you a good view of rolling hills/farmland which is a big contrast to craggy White Mountains. If you get a Delorme Atlas for Vt and NH (available many places in grocery stores, gas stations, etc) they will give you detailed road maps and locations of things like waterfalls and covered bridges.

ih

Started planning this trip from December 2014. The trip was all about colours.
I would like to thank all the forum members for their suggestions and all the leaf peeping team at the various websites for the forecasts and regular updates. The drought/heat was a concern and most people felt that colours would change early and that it would be in patches. Any way set off from Bangkok on with a connection in Dubai and Jfk and landed at Burlington at 2pm.
Picked up the rental car and drove to Lake placid for 2 nights.
30th sept-2nd Oct
Stayed at the Placid Bay Inn. Nice place with a lake view room. The next day was forecast to be clear and we decided to start with a drive to White Face mountain. Its very cold and windy at the top and there was a lot of ice on the road. Good view of Lake Placid from the top. After coming down we started driving thru the road next to the toll booth to Bloomingdale. The colours were very strong on this stretch and around the lake.
We proceeded to Tupper Lake and after a brief stop at Wild centre proceeded to Horshoe lake . Nice place for photography under a bridge where there was a water fall. Went to Saranac Lake and finished the day by visiting the ski jump.Again good colours all around. Both days we ate at Dack Shack -nice food
After checking out we drove to Cascade Lakes.One of the most impressive sights on this trip.Stopped at Westport to check out the foliage and then on to the ferry for the drive to Stowe. Visited the Stowe Information centre. Extremely helpful team.
not much colour in Stowe. Visited the Glen Moss falls and stayed the Northern Lights Lodge. Very nice setting.
3rd&4th Newport(VT)-Stayed at Cliff Haven.
On the 3rd we drove to smugglers Notch, Nebraska Valley and Gregg Hil. Then we took the route thru Wolcott to NH. Very strong colours along the way and the fisher covered bridge is a good place to stop. Our next stop was at at Stark Hill to take some photos on the classic new england shot.A church,covered bridge,inn and some good foliage all around.
On the 4th drove to Colebrooke and went o the Beaver falls. After that we went to Dixville national park. Along the way the GPS guided us thru some class 4 roads(unmaintained).We were warned not to follow the GPS blindly.We got to see some brilliant colours along the way to the park by default.
The notch was nice and then we drove to Berlin via Eroll along the andrescoggin river.Nice colours all thru.
5th-Drove to Big Falls and then took Rt 91 to Lyndonville and St Johnsbury. Very strong colours along the highway. Went to Burke mountain and then on to Peacham.Nice shots of the church and stopped at a scenic point in Danville and proceeded to Rabbit Hill Inn at lower waterford. Unbelievable inn.
6th-Had booked the Cog and proceeded to white mountains. Zealand Valley colours were one of the best we saw on the trip. The Cog was nice and then we went to Jackson via crawford notch. Lot of people at the cascade falls. Probably the best notch.
Stayed the Riverwood Inn for 2 nights. Extremely warm hosts.
7th-Drove the Kanc.. Lot of colour and then drove to waterville valley. On the return stopped at swift river covered bridge.
8th Departed Jackson for Gorham and then on to Franconia where the the colours were very strong.
Stopped at the Basin and then to Flume Gorge which was ok .
Long drive to woodtsock(vt) to photograph the famous Jenne farm since it was expected to rain on 9th.
Stayed for 2nights at courtyard middle bury.
9th-rain whole day but its a different experience.Took Rt 145(gorgeous colours) and then Rt100 to
Stowe. Took photos of the famous church and then drove to Jeffersonville and Hyde park .
The colours in 1 week had come along much stringer hence it was nice to end the trip on a high.

Peak or close to peak did not make a difference as we thought we got see some nice foliage, meet very friendly people all over New England. We drove a lot but then managed to see a lot.
The colours were delayed in Vermont but strong in Northern NH. Lake Placid was a surprise.

dfrostnh

Thanks for report back. You did drive a lot of miles! I could barely follow your zigzagging thru VT and NH. Glad you found some nice color esp since you came from so far away.