Wayne

I'll be taking my first trip through New England in late May-early June of this year. I have a rough route planned and would like to have any advice regarding special things to see or do along this route. Here's the route:
Starting at Stamford, Conn, head east along the Conn shore and spend the night around Westport.
From Westport, continue along the shore to west of New London, then north past Norwich toward Worcester, then on toward Boston but stop overnight in Lexington as a base. Visit Boston over 2 days.
From Boston, go north along the shore to the vicinity of Portland, Maine and spend 2-3 nights.
From Maine, go west and spend a night in the mountains of New Hampshire.
From NH, continue west to Vermont and spend a night or two on Lake Champlain.
From there, head south and cross into New York, spending a couple of nights in the Catskill mountains.
From there, go to JFK and catch a plane back home.

I don't expect any long and detailed advice unless you have the time. Just any notes regarding special places would help a lot. Thanks for your time.

gc

Points of interest in and around Worcester:
Sturbridge Village
Higgins Armory
Blackstone Valley National Historic Corridor
Points of interest in NH:
Stay in the Eastern Whites and, weather permitting, take a ride (train or taxi) to the top of Mt. Washington.
Points of interest in and around Lake Champlain:
Shelburne Museum
Ben & Jerry's, Church St. Marketplace

Take the ferry to Port Kent, go south and visit Ft. Ticonderoga. You'll be amazed at how dumb the Brits were...

cw

Hi,
Your itinerary sounds good, you'll see a good selection of different parts of NE.

The only thing I would suggest is that you consider an overnight in Newport, RI, on your way from Connecticut to Boston. Skip driving inland and stay on the coast.

Enjoy!

Mazey

I also recommend adding Newport, RI to your route.

Wayne

Thanks for the inputs. I'll add Newport since it really isn't so much out of the way.

Anonymous

I agree -- go to Boston via RI/Newport rather than via Worcester. (But if you do go to Worcester, don't miss the Higgins Armory.)

zootsi

A few suggestions: The Conn. shore in parts is pretty urbanized and industrial, although there are some very nice upscale towns. I wouldn't put too many expectations for 'quaint scenic, New England' for much of southern Conn.
Newport is definitely more attractive than Worcester, although early June is not really beach weather in New England. Your drive from Boston to Portland will should include some of the very scenic and interesting towns along the way : Portsmouth NH, Kennebunk Maine, etc,etc. There are countless places you could explore in this area. Stop at the Maine visitor's center right on I-95 a few minutes after you approach from NH. It's a very worthwhile place to gather all kinds of info on Maine. Crossing from Portland to the White Mountains of New Hampshire takes longer than it looks on the map. Allow for some windy mountain roads, and some very rural countryside. You may want to linger in New Hampshire , and espcially Vermont - there are lots of scenic villages and back roads in these parts. One thing to be aware of: late May thru early July is black fly season in the woods of Northern New England, so it can be challenging doing any outdoor activities such as walking thru the woods, fishing, etc.

dfrostnh

If you don't have specific reasons for visiting the Catskills, I would omit the nights spent there and add nights to the other parts of your trip. You could, for example, spend the entire day in Portsmouth NH between Boston and Portland. Last summer we enjoyed an inland river cruise on the Heritage which starts from Portsmouth. You could also visit Strawbery Banke historical area, enjoy the shops, pick a great restaurant for lunch, and then drive out Rt 1B thru Newcastle and then over to Rye (the mansions along the coast are privately owned however)then get back to Rt 95 to head north. Our favorite part of Maine is mid-coast so we don't usually get off Rt 95 until the exit for Brunswick. I would definitely go at least as far north as Camden because it's probably one of the most beautiful views in New England (take a picnic lunch to the top of Mt Battie via auto road and enjoy the view of the harbor).