Honeymoon Fall Foliage
 

Our anniversary is Oct. 15th, we live in Cleveland. Would love to plan a fall foliage trip in the Northeast. Think we would fly and then rent a car. Problem is that we would have to fly in afterwork on Friday and leave in the evening on Sunday. SO the questions are:
1) Where is the peak foliage that time of year?
2) Can we stay in one place and just make drives on Saturday and possible Sunday morning?

Only real requirement would be pretty foliage and a cute B&B or decent hotel, not ridiculously expensive, but not cheap.

Thanks!!

OOPS title should be ANNIVERSARY TRIP, although I'd like it to be our honeymoon.

Well, to me there is no question. I think that you want to head to Litchfield, CT around the middle of October to see the leaves at their brightest. There is a hotel in Kent, CT called the Fife and Drum which is absolutely wonderful. I am not sure of the best place to fly into but I would check a place like orbitz and see what is most afforable. I know they also do cars as well, you can get a good package deal. The town is wonderful, with a bakery, coffee shop and lots of small shops..and it is right along the appalation trail so you can hike the trails and observe the trees.

Can anyone comment on New Hampshire foliage for this particular weekend, Oct 15th?

Gee, I was thinking that in NJ the leaves are already well turned by mid October, and depending on the type of fall we have in the northeast, much of the higher elevations further north could be past peak by October 15th.

You'll have to do some research, but you might be better off a week earlier if flexibility permits.

Vermont & New Hampshire are beautiful, as is the Hudson River Valley in New York State. I'd recommend HRV/Dutchess County NY, as the CIA is in there with great restaurants, interesting historical drives & hikes, fall weekends have antique markets, etc. Nice place for a romantic weekend.

I'm guessing you're planning to fly into Manchester, NH?

My recommendation would be to celebrate your anniversary a week earlier to be on the safe side.

Often, there's little foliage left by 10/15, but you never know...sometimes fall is later or stays longer...

The White Mountains are under 2 hours driving from the Manchester airport.

Note, however, that many accomodations will require a three night minimum. www.visitnh.gov is a good place to start for accomodations.

If you really must travel 10/15, you may want to consider heading for the Berkshires in MA, a 2-3 hour drive depending upon where you plan to stay.

Whether you head for the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, the Berkshires, the best way to enjoy the fall foliage is by driving all over, and you can do that nicely no matter where you stay.

Actually, it's a bit late to be thinking about booking for this fall...so you'd best book forthwith.

It always seems like peak foliage in the Concord NH area is Columbus Day weekend which is when we have to be somewhere else every year. For the mountains, I would go the first weekend of October. If you stick to the 15th, the leaves should still be nice in southern NH. You could fly into MHT and head west. You could choose one place and easily do day trips. One year we spent the weekend of Oct 23 in Rhode Island and there was still some nice leaves but a little past peak. Sometimes a heavy rain will knock the leaves off early. MHT would also be a good airport if you were heading to the Massachusetts Berkshires. If you stayed near MHT you could be in the mountains in a little over an hour or head east to the Seacoast via Rt 4 from Concord (prettier than rt 101) in an hour. Southern VT is about an hour, Western MA maybe 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Check foliage reports just before arriving and head in the best direction. Every year is different.

Oct 15 will be past peak in the White Mountains, but the Monadnock and Sunapee areas will still be close to peak. There are some very nice villages in this part of the state, and some great hiking and bicycling opportunities, as well as apple picking.You can easily stay in a town like Sunapee or Peterborough and explore the area for your long weekend.

Based on some of the feedback you have gotten..may I offer an alternative?

That weekend is usually ideal color for Door County, Wisconsin. Fantastic places to stay, things to do, places to eat, etc. The fall scenery is fantastic! Usually has homey parades and craft shows, etc.

Check out www.fs.fed.us/news/fallscolors/. This site by the US Forest Service has a list of most states with links to state and national forests.

http://www.iloveinns.com/

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/foliage/findcolor.php

Interactive map showing when certain regions of NE peak. You probably would want to stick with Southern NE, and start trying for reservations soon.

Happy Anniversary Wendy and Cary!

Wow, fall foliage, guess that's coming up again soon.

I can't say about the Northeast, but here in Colorado it's pretty breath-taking. Any chance of heading west?

Rosemary-We spend a lot of time in Colorado...family in Denver and Vail, we consider ourselves very lucky to have a place to stay in that beautiful area. It is too long of a plane ride for just a weekend trip, but imagine we will be out there at some point in the next 6 months.

I really love that you misposted this as a honeymoon trip when it is actually an anniversary trip!

Oct. 15 will be a little late for most of northern New England. Bear in mind that foliage displays are altitude driven...the trees change earlier at higher elevations and later at lower elevations. Consider the Hudson Vally of New York. If the foliage isn't to your liking in the valley, you can head west into the Catskill mountains to seek the elevation that is displaying "peak" foliage.

The Hudoson Valley has a lot of scenery and historical interest as well. The FDR home anf Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park or perhaps an aerial dogfight with vintage aircraft at The Olde Rhinebeck Aerodrome...that's always a colorful event in October.
Wherever you go, try to set yourself up with easy access to multiple altitudes in easy driving distance but, as late as you're planning this in October, it will be southern New England Conn. Rhode Island< Mass) or the Hudson Valley of New York.