blackmons

Due to the closing of the National Parks, we now have to redo all our plans for a road trip, which had previously included Acadia National Park. We have two weddings to attend, a week apart. The first wedding is in Philadelphia and the second wedding is in Whitefield, NH. We leave Oct. 12. Our new thought is to drive from Philadelphia to State College, PA, where my husband and I lived 26 years ago, just for old times sake. Our interest is in possible fall foliage (although I know we'll be somewhat late for that), scenic drives and moderate hiking. We will spend a couple of days hiking around that area and then drive to NH. Along the way I was thinking of possibly following a "cheese trail" in Vermont and driving the scenic route 100. I love rural areas, but dislike touristy towns loaded with gift shops and fudge stores. I have no idea what there is to see on the long drive between State College to the start of the cheese trail, which looks to be in Plymouth, VT. I usually spend a lot of time doing research for our trips, which I had done for the Acadia trip, and now I'm a little stressed having to throw a new road trip together, find hotels, etc. at the last minute. Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated!!
Thanks,
Laurie

zootsi

Both NH and Vermont are quite rural and very scenic. I've never been to Whitefield, but I can guarantee you that this is a very rural area, not many tacky gift shops in this part a biof the world. However it will be the tail end of foliage season, so there might be more traffic than usual. New Hampshire's White Mountians are rugged and impressive, with hundreds of miles of hiking and walking trails. There's an interesting mix of wilderness areas sprinkled with 'touristy' attractions. If the weather is ok, don't miss driving up the Mt. Washington Auto road. Vermont is somewhat more bucolic, with dozens of tiny villages. deep woods and hill farms. There aren't many big hotels in the area, but many motels, b&b's and farm inns. If you are driving rte 100, check out the Round Barn Inn in Waitsfield - a very beautiful place to stay.

Christina

My sister lives in Vermont so I've been there several times, and it is generally not full of tourist shops, there isn't hardly any city in the state. Brattleboro is one of the biggest towns, and it's not even that big. But at least it has a few things of interest in it. I don't think there is any start to the cheese trail, that's just a name the state Cheese Council gave to a bunch of cheesemakers who are around the state. They are all over, there are several down near Brattleboro, in fact, which you can tour if that's the goal. But there are others farther south near Route 100 than in Plymouth. But you must have seen the map if you know about it. http://www.vtcheese.com/cheesetrail.htm

tomfuller

Coming east from State College use PA route 45 through Millheim, Woodward and Mifflinburg to get to US 15 in Lewisburg.
I used to live in Mifflinburg and worked in the beautiful Bald Eagle State Forest which you will be driving through even if you travel on I-80.
Mifflinburg's prime tourist attraction is the Buggy Museum on Green Street.
If you want to see more of the Pennsylvania forests, head north on PA Rt. 287 from (US 220?) up to Wellsboro. Near Wellsboro you can drive out to Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon (Pine Creek Gorge).
You can drive east on US Rt. 6 to the Delaware Water Gap and perhaps see Grey Towers which was a home of Zane Grey.

amer_can

If you are in Lewisburg on market day hit the sausage stall..Yum!! Links, fried onions and all the works. Worth the trip alone..also Lewisburg is a charming town and Bucknell is a pretty campus. Rural roads are interesting and the farms of the Amish create scenic, bucolic and peaceful vistas.

Vttraveler

Sorry about the late change in your plans and the need to scramble.

Obviously you realize State College is out of the way if you want to get to Vt and NH, but it sounds as though there are good reasons for you to want to visit.

Heading to VT from State College, there are quite a few good options. I recommend taking I 80 east and then heading up I 87 in NY. The Hudson River Valley which is very scenic and has many interesting places to see. Storm King Art Center and Olana are two of our favorites. From there you could head to the Berkshires in western MA or continue farther north to various locations in western VT. Part of the cheese trail is in the Burlington area along Lake Champlain

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com...ail-road-trip/

Vttraveler

I meant to add that there are scenic drives in VT other than Rte 100 that you might want to consider
http://www.vermontvacation.com/scenicdrives.aspx

isabel

Only Acadia National Park itself is closed. The ENTIRE REST OF THE MAINE COAST IS OPEN. Of all the National Park closures this should be the least disruptive. In fact you can still go out to Mt Desert Island, just can't drive the official loop road that is national park. Bar Harbor the town will be open (although if you don't like fudge shops you probably won't want to spend much time there).

I might even skip the Mt Desert Island area completely and focus on the mid coast. Camden, Rockport, all the way down to Portland (and even south of Portland - Kennepunkport, Ogunquit, etc.). Go look at light houses, explore all the peninsulas that jut out from the coast around here. The whole coast of Maine is beautiful at this time of year. You will be just past Columbus Day weekend when the crowds thin out and some summery places close but most is still open (restaurants, etc.) and hotel prices drop. The foliage is peak along the coast whereas it will be past peak in Vermont. I live in Western Massachusetts and most years plan a trip to the Maine Coast at exactly this time of year (right after Columbus Day). And I almost never go to Acadia (which is a wonderful place, but it's just one little piece of the Maine Coast).

My photos are here, the first few are Acadia but as you'll see there is lots more to the coast of Maine than the one tiny area that is a national park. www.pbase.com/annforcier/new_england

blackmons

I can't thank you enough for all your wonderful, helpful advice. We are thinking if spending our last night in Shelburne, VT, before heading to NH for the wedding. State College to Shelburne looks to be about an 8 hour drive. Can anyone recommend a good midway point to spend the night? It doesn't have to be exact.
Thanks,
Laurie

bm

Did you find accommodations in Shelburne? This weekend is the busiest of the year and many places get booked months in advance. It may be quite difficult to find something and if you do they may require a 2-3 night minimum stay.

zootsi

Shelburne is ok, but may not meet your expectations of rural Vermont, it's more of a suburb of Burlington.

blackmons

I did find a hotel in Burlington but I haven't committed to anything yet. I thought Shelburne Farm and Museum looked interesting. No?

zootsi

Burlington is a medium sized, beautiful city on lake Champlain. Shelburne Farm is a very, very scenic historic farm. Shelburne museum is a large complex of art and historical buildings, can take the good part of a day to see. Shelburne itself is a busy commercial strip just south of Burlington, however it's still quite nice.

Vttraveler

Shelburne Farm and Shelburne museum are both worth visiting. The Farm is a very beautiful spot with good cheese and some nice short walks. The Inn there is very nice, right on the lake, but I think it is closed for the season.

You can do some drives through more rural areas.

Vttraveler

The Inn is open until October 20 so you could consider a meal there
http://www.shelburnefarms.org/staydine

blackmons

Thanks for all your help. We are booked in a B and B for 2 nights near State College. We will take all your scenic driving suggestions up to Burlington VT where I have booked a hotel for one night. We will hopefully find a hotel half way between those 2 points. Maybe we will just wing it, something we never, ever do. We can stop at some cheese spots along the way and will make a reservation for dinner at Shelburne Inn. We will see as much of the museum and farm as we have time for before making our way to NH, a 2 hour drive. Unfortunately we lost a lot of deposit money on our Acadia trip but I just didn't want to miss the loop drive and Jordan pond so we will just have to go back another year. The colors should be better on this trip and I'm looking forward to visiting our old stomping grounds in State College, although I'm sure a lot has changed. Thanks again for all your help. If you have any other suggestions en route that would be most welcome.
Laurie

Vttraveler

When our younger son was at UPenn, my husband and I spent quite a few nights right off the highway south of Albany on our way to PA but mostly have just chosen fairly inexpensive chain hotels with refrigerators (we were usually traveling with food). None that I would especially recommend, all o.k. There are quite a few options if you decide to wing it.

emalloy

If you are still checking here, I might suggest that you take I 80 to Stroudsburg, PA and then 209 north through the Delaware Water Gap, it is NP land but should be open as 209 is a state road, very scenic and if you can stop and walk out to one of the waterfalls, like Dingman's it would be a nice break. If you are still winging it for lodging there are several motels near where 209 joins i 84.