Neelam salmen

will be driving for 4-5 days end sept to beg. Oct. thru vermont, new hampshire and southern maine. we have a flexible itenary. andy suggestions of beautiful backroads or byways with spectacular scenery, or any special craft places or b& bs (not very very expensive). Any good info will be apreciated. thanks ns

Ben

The most important thing to do RIGHT NOW is to make lodging reservations. If you don't, you may end up sleeping in your car! During fall foliage season any type of lodging establishment will most likely have no vacancies.
If you are driving on Route 2 in Vermont, Cabot and Peacham are great side trips. Cabot is home to Cabot Cheese, and you can tour the factory there. Peacham is a scenic town that will give you spectacular views of New Hampshire's White Mountains. Lake Willoughby is also worth a side trip. It's north of St. Johnsbury.
Hope you have a wonderful time, and don't forget to make your lodging reservations!

Jn

Don't miss the area around Woodstock, Vermont. Beautiful, scenic route and the town is lovely. Many of the building are on the National Register of historic places. I understand it's very busy in the fall. We found all of Vermont to be beautiful.
Enjoy your trip.

Donna

Foliage peaks around Oct 12 in the Concord NH area so will be beautiful before and after and further north. Find a pick your own apples place and walk thru the orchard - the smell is lucious and you can probably buy some apple pie as well as fresh apples. Gould Hill in Hopkinton NH (outside Concord) has many varieties and is in a pretty area. Concord and other NH cities has a League of NH Arts & Crafts shop which are nice but tend to contemporary crafts. Find primitive stuff in Concord at the Den of Antiquity or Berries in the Meadow. Take a lake or ocean cruise on Lake Winnepasaukee or Sunapee or Portsmouth harbor. Anytime of the year is lovely. I prefer narrated cruises. You might find a dinner cruise on weekends, but not sure if they run after labor day (the help goes back to school).Haven't been to Deerfield NH fair in years but it is usually the last weekend in Sept and is supposed to be the best country fair in NH - you can watch 4H events, horse pulling, and eat great food of all types. (We prefer 4H chicken bbq. Shaker Village in Canterbury near Concord is an interesting stop, they were very inventive and the lunches are wonderful. Rt 4 from Concord to the seacoast will be pretty and will take you past Valley Artisans in Epsom for crafts and many antique shops. Portsmouth is a great walking city with lots of interesting shops and places to eat. You will find contemporary crafts there, too. Make sure to get the local newspapers to find out what is going on.Events are usually listed in Sunday and Thurs papers. Also look for the free papers in the grocery stores - there's one for the Lake Winnepesaukee area for example. Have fun. Watch carefully for wild turkeys and other wildlife! Turkeys feed in corn fields etc. You can also rent canoes in the Concord NH area for scenic river views.

JoAnn

Try these two sites on the web. I have found a bunch of info on New England. We are going next spring. I was in NH two years ago and my sister took me to the coast north of Maine: Freeport & Kittery (tons of outlet malls--LLBean for one), Wells, Kennebunkport. Went to the White Mts. and North Conway-beautiful drives. We are also planning on taking a ferry to Nova Scotia and spending a few days there too. That is supposed to be beautiful.
www.newengland.com
www.miningco.com

Midori

I, too, will be driving into the New England area end of September and I am hoping to once again see the beautiful foliage. Last time I was in Boston, it was Sept 29 and the leaves already had that gorgeous, orange and yellow hues. Just breathtaking! Good luck. Hope you have a great time!

Mid

Midori

I was told that driving I-95 from NY to Boston/Vermont is "scenic." Would anyone offer more tips so we can take "scenic" routes at the end of Sept. for my trip please? Thank you.

Email if you like!

Mid

Donna

I think route numbers got mixed. I95 goes thru the industrial section of MA then up thru the coast or NH and ME, but not near the water. From NYC get to Hartford CT on I84 then it's I91 that goes thru Western MA and up thru VT. Yes it's a nice drive but it will also be congested since every road in New England is congested during foliage. There are a lot of colleges in MA in that area so that adds to congestion. Avoid heavy traffice times and get off onto secondary hwys when you can. Traveled from MD to VT on Thanksgiving Sunday once-never again. We spent hours trying to get over Tapanzee bridge and thru CT.

Midori

Not clear on what highway to take from NY to begin with..do I take I95 then jump on I81 on to Boston? If so, at what point on I95 in NY do I get on the other highway and what are the names and/or #'s of the secondary highways..I am unable to locate them via all my research online and via Triple A.

thank you so much! Please e-mail!

[email protected]

tice

End of Sep is no good for foliage in CT, MA, or S VE, NH, ME. Instead take one of the S/N highways in
NY state, and head for Burlington VT, which is a nice pocket city. Then you can take Rte 89 SE, and
if you like to hike try Camel's Hump for a nice 1/2
day hike (fairly rugged), or break back towards Rte
7 South for a nice drive, or better yet, head towards NH, Rte 89 will get you there fastest, but,
you'll have to head back North or NE again to get
to nice foliage, Kancagamangus Highway is lovely, but do NOT go there on Sat/Sun unless it's very early in the morning, Rte 302 is decent alternative.
On the way South - get off at Sugar Hill, and try and get lost for a few hours in that area - the
foliage should be just getting interesting. Head home on 93S/3S/495/84 (just don't do that on Sunday
later afternoon). You might find rooms in Burlington
VT or Concord NH, but all the B&B, resorts are likely full up (and any that are not should be avoided).

Cira

I've been to Boston every year from 9/23 to October 1st and I've seen the most beautiful hues of orange and yellow I've ever seen. I think it would be a good time to go.

Sanjay Krishnan

Since nobody else said anything about Western Mass, I will!! Western Mass, near Amherst, Orange, Mt.Tom area till the Berkshires are fabulous in fall(early Oct). I was in Bennington, VT last fall during the fall foliage season and I had a fabulous time. There are some covered bridges.Dine at the restaurant on top of Mt.Equinox near Manchester,VT. Drive up to Burlington, VT. If possible, take the ferry across Lake Champlain (from Burlington) to Port Kent(?), NY. Shop at the Church St.Mall in Burlington or outlet stores in Manchester, VT(?). I am sure you will love the whole experience. I know I did.

Kate

If possible, get to Acadia National Park/Bar Harbor area of Maine. Absolutely the most stunning foliage and views on the East Coast. I haven't been there in 5 years, but can remember the sights and colors of that area vividly. It truly is amazing.