shannan

We are planning a trip this fall (end of Sept first week in Oct) to New England. We are thinking of flying into perhaps albany NY. Would like to hit some places in New York, (Lake Placid perhaps, maybe Vermont and make our way to Nova Scotia. We are mostly interested in scenery, quaint towns and just a relaxing trip. Is this doable in 2 weeks? What would be a good route to see the "best" of the fall? We probably would fly out of Halifax to come back home. Is there anything we wouldn't want to miss? Does anyone have any suggestions for a good fall itinerary? Thanks

tovarich

We did the 6 N.England states in 2004.In your case I would probably take this itinerary:
Fly into Albany and follow a route through the Adirondacks.
Cross Lake Champlain to Burlington(try to visit the Shelburne museum)then West via Stowe to N.Hampshire.Take the Kancamagus highway and try to stay a few days in Jackson.You're in the center of the White mountains.Lots of beautiful scenery to explore close
by.Drive North to Rangeley lakes Maine.From there I would drive to Bar Harbor for a few days.Lots to do(Acadia nat.park-whale watching...You can take the CAT from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia.Greetings from Belgium.Paul

tovarich

For info about the Cat ferry see www.catferry.com

Vttraveler

Here is a link to a fall foliage festival in Vermont's "Northeast Kingdom" October 1st to 7th
http://www.nekchamber.com/pages/3952...tival_2007.htm

I think you would find this area more interesting and "quaint" than Stowe which is built up with lots of restaurants and inns. Lake Placid is also more a resort area. Both do have beautiful scenery.

I agree with the recommendation to visit Shelburne museum south of burlington.
Another interesting spot is Enfield, NH which had a Shaker community along Lake Mascoma
http://www.shakermuseum.org/

dfrostnh

This really depends on how much driving you want to do vs. visiting places like Shelburne Museum. Two weeks really isn't a long time but it's do-able. Tovarich's suggested route would be very nice. For the end of Sept/first week of Oct you should stick to the northern part of New England as you intend to do. A lot of Vermont is quaint, including the state capital. In NH, a lot of towns north of Concord are quaint. The problem with a quick trip might be too much time on the interstate which will have beautiful foliage but you'll miss some of the great details of an area. Do you want to take time to do some short hikes in the White Mountains. Even the Flume, a tourist mecca, is great. I would suggest visiting a foliage festival (Warner NH has a nice one) where there's a farmer's market, crafts and a small parade. The Kancamagus is a beautiful route thru the mountains but I would also recommend a loop that takes you to Lake Winnipesaukee and around Center Sandwich NH. You can see mountains from the lake so you might enjoy a boat cruise.
Yankee magazine's website has some good ideas, too.

shannan

You all were a big help. We like them all and it gave us a good start. I do have a couple more questions. 1. Do you think it would be safe to spend 1 week in the states and 1 week in Nova Scotia or how should we adjust the time. We actually have about 17 days in all. Also would you suggest starting in Nova Scotia and working our way down or starting in Albany and ending there. We thought that maybe starting north and then coming down would put us in New England more towards peak of foliage. We would like to rent a "small" motor camper. Any ideas about that. Thanks so much

shannan

One more thing. Everything I've read said book ahead but we want to take our time and not be on a "schedule" therefore we don't know where we will be. What are our chances of finding places to stay?

Vttraveler

I have never tried to see foliage in the Atlantic provinces so I am not sure about when things would peak there. In general your theory of staring north and going south makes sense.
Peak foliage in northern Vt is generally the first week in October. During foliage season Vt has a "foliage hotline" to check and see where the color is best.

It will be hard to find lodging without reservations at that time of year. I am not sure about campgrounds.

dfrostnh

First, check to see if you can take a rental to Nova Scotia. There seems to be problems driving a rental across the border. Very different than 10 years ago. RVs get lousy gas mileage. We have camped around Nova Scotia and PEI with a pull behind camper. There's plenty of wonderful campgrounds BUT I'm not familiar with Halifax. In general, campers making driving city streets difficult. You might also have problems parking it in small quaint towns. A local restaurant or gift shop, for example, might simply not have a large parking area. If you go without reservations, you might end up miles and a couple of hours away from where you really want to be. I would suggest having reservations for the weekends and Friday nights. Take along a good list of possible lodgings and have a cell phone with you. The trouble with quaint towns is they might not have any hotels/motels at all or other commercial development. There are places we have explored in New England where a large vehicle would be difficult. Also, keep in mind that overnighters tend to get the lousiest campsites (sometimes little more than a grassy parking lot). If you are willing to go without some of the conviences (electricity) you will have more options for camping since there are some beautiful state parks that do not have three-way hookups (elec/water/sewage). If you camp on battery power you will have gas for frig and stove and battery power for a few lights/water pump but you will have to find a place to dump gray water. Some campgrounds that do not have sewer hookups will have a dump station you can use at the end of your visit. Our camper can go three days on battery power but I hate making coffee on the gas stove. OTH it is wonderful to have your own bathroom (alth tiny) and able to cook your own food.