Kittery/Portsmouth Area
 

This time next week (Oct 3) we'll be staying in Kittery, right across the river from Portsmouth. I'm wondering where we should go for the best foliage being this far south?
I have checked my Yankee magazine for Oct and no foliage information except for a spread in Rhode Island.
Also, I'm still looking for a local fair in the area.
Any leads appreciated!
Thanks,
Carol

Directions: From York, go North on Route 1 and take a left on Mountain Rd. Follow this for about 7 miles. Road to the top of MT.Agementicus will be on your right.Views to the White Mountains and foot hills to the north.To the east views the Isle of Shoals.
No near by aggie fairs.Further away will be the Fryeburg fair.

How long are you staying? Warner (just west of Concord NH on Rt 89) has a Fall Foliage Festival on Sat and Sun of Columbus Day weekend. (Oct 7 and 8). They have a website. The farmers market is very good, there's an indoor craft fair, tiny midway, food vendors, parades each day, some competitions like woodcutting. Warner is a lovely town with the option of driving up Mt Kearsarge or visiting the Kearsarge Indian Museum. A stop at Gould Hill Orchard in Hopkinton would also provide a nice view as well as a great variety of apples. During Columbus Day weekend, there's a small aggie fair in Center Sandwich NH just nw of Lake Winnipesaukee. Best way to get there might be to drive to Wolfeboro. I think Wolfeboro has scarecrows all over town. Center Sandwich is one of the most beautiful towns in NH, settled very early and some nice views toward the mountains. Color should be peaking in the Concord NH area. It seems like a little more color each day but there's still a lot of green. I wasn in Salem MA last weekend and saw very little color at all. The coast is warmer and doesn't turn quite as soon. Color is supposed to be at peak right now in the mountains. You might try Yankee Magazine's website for more personal foliage reports. This Sunday's newspapers will have events listed. Try the events or calendar listing on www.concordmonitor.com or the unionleader.com. The union leader has more statewide coverage. I hope you are considering a Portsmouth harbor cruise or inland rivers. We really liked the inland rivers since it goes up into Great Bay. You can walk to the dock from the public parking garage. The drive from Portsmouth to Concord is very plesant but the prettiest part is between Portsmouth and Durham. UNH campus is gorgeous in the fall.

A drive out to the Fryeburg Fair, out through the Sebago Lakes area and onward towards the White Mountains/Fryeburg Maine should be gorgeous.

Thanks for the good suggestions. We'll actually be staying in Kittery for 3 nights and then on to Stow for 4 nights.
Love the suggestions for great scenery and also for the fairs. We've been to the grand Fryeburg fair and will be looking for smaller local fairs this time around.
We've got an Anniversary on the 5th and we plan to find lobster rolls and eat our fill. Can't wait.

Hope I'm not too late to share...

The Deerfield (NH) Fair is under an hour from Kittery and is running this weekend. You would take Rt. 95 South to Rt. 101 and cut through Raymond or Candia to get out to the fair.

Also, the Warner Apple Festival runs around the sixth of Oct. That is off Rt. 89, not far from Concord, NH on your way to VT. http://www.wfff.org
You'll see lots of changing colors along Rt. 89

Hope this helps.

Oooops. Just noticed DFrost mentioned Warner yesterday. At least you got the info!
Oh - I concur, the Native American museum is worth a stop.

Where are you staying? I just stayed at the Portsmouth Harbor Inn & Spa in Kittery. It's a great place and the shops are neat! I had to drive to NH for business and it was beautiful with all of the lakes (alas, no change of color last week, but sure to be when you go!)

The Deerfield Fair is only on the weeked on the 29,30? That's a little before we'll arrive, but thanks for the info. Warner should hit us just right though!

PAMOM,
That's exactly where we have our reservations! So good to hear that you stayed there and enjoyed it. It looked like a great location. Did you spend some time in Portsmouth too? Do you use the spa at all? And where did you eat out? (It's our anniversary on the 5th - and hoping to find that special place, not a big touristy place, but something maybe where the locals go?) I'm also going to hit the Brookestone Outlet where I always find things I can't live without!

THere are so many great restaurants in Portsmouth, you won't have to look far.
The Ferry Landing is our favorite for seafood "in the rough." More upscale is Jumpin Jays Fish Cafe. Dunaways at Strawberry Bank is also excellent. Pizza and burgers at the Gaslight, but you have to decide which you want ahead of time and sit upstairs or downstairs accordingly. Muddy River Smokehouse and the Wellington Room are two that I have not tried yet, but get good reviews. Rachel Ray recently went to the Blue Mermaid on her show for Caribbean, so that might be fun.
For a real treat, go to Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, and try either the Oar House (casual, lobster, no fried foods), 98 Provence (country French), or MC Perkins Cove (upscale, new American, amazing views).

Brahmama,

I didn't see your response till now - how did you make out at the INN? I thought breakfast was heavenly! I didn't get there until 5:30ish and had to leave around 8:30 am (it was a business trip), so I didn't get to try out the spa,,,