Hitashi

Me and Husband will be driving from NYC and will be flying out of Boston.

We are both in our early 30's and will be accompanied by our infant who is 6 months. I know its best to track foliage, colors and it's peak through online resources in late September to identify the best areas/drives.

We are looking to spend 2.5 days and 2 nights on a slower pace to enjoy fall colors and New England countryside. We are not coming with the intention of doing every single drive or attraction. Looking for recommendations for a town where we could stay for 2 nights and be able to go and see stuff in 1-2 hour radius. We would love to be staying in not more than 3-4 hour away from Boston, so we dont spend a lot of time getting back. Goal for the trip is to have a relaxed time and soak in some colors.

Here is the Itinerary sketch:
Wed, Oct 4 Drive from NYC and stay in Stamford, CT with family
Thur, Oct 5 Leave Stamford 9 AM and drive to Point X
Fri, Oct 6 Stay in Point X
Sat, Oct 7 Leave late afternoon from X to reach Boston by 6-7 PM
Sun Oct 8 Spend the day and fly in afternoon to SFO

Give options for X between (not literally) NYC and Boston. with a great mix of scenic drives and countryside.

dfrostnh

keep in mind that Saturday Oct 7 you will probably be traveling south to Boston and so will a lot of other leaf peepers who went north for a day trip. Major interstates will have very heavy traffic by 3 pm. You could avoid some of this traffic by having an alternate route. It's Columbus Day weekend, a BIG foliage getaway weekend.

I'll nominate Warner NH Foliage Festival. It's a small town that I think would be the right size for you - but you'll miss the grand parade on Sunday. There's a craft fair, farmers market, small midway, entertainment. I think some of the entertainment will be in the community park behind Main Street BookEnds, a hillside where people can spread blankets and lawn chairs. You could also hike small Mt. Kearsarge on the Warner side. If you go to the Wilmot side there's an auto roads and picnic area near the top with great views (toll road). I have not hiked to the top from the parking area.

There are several orchards in the area. Gould Hill is between Warner and Concord and has a pretty nice view from store. I89 from Concord to Warner is actually very scenic but if you take the state route starting from Pleasant Street in Concord and driving thru Hopkinton and Contoocook, you can avoid the highway traffic. Some orchards offer hayrides.

From Concord you can also drive to the seacoast in less than an hour but take Rt 4 to Rt 16 instead of Rt 101 which is a boring limited access highway. Or go north to the big mountains and big lake (Winnipesaukee) but that is were most of the tourists will be heading.

You could also drive west to VT, a little more than an hour to Norwich/Quechee/Woodstock area.

But from Concord it's an easy drive to beautiful Canterbury NH. You might not want to tour Canterbury Shaker Village but it's beautiful to drive past and the gift shop is fun to explore. The drive past Warner to New London is also country roads. New London is a college town with some nice views and the option of driving around Lake Sunapee, perhaps a boat cruise. You could also take a longer cruise of Lake Winnipesaukee if you go north.

Or instead of driving straight back to Boston via I93, head east to Portsmouth for a boat trip and seafood lunch (inland rivers is best for foliage). Then south to Boston via I95. Looks like inland river/foliage cruises are at noon.

tchoiniere

One thing to watch out for is minimum night stays at hotels being a holiday weekend. It may be a 3 night minimum.

Hitashi

We are thinking to stay 2 nights in Northern Vermont area (Burlington/Stowe). Any suggestions on routes and things to do in area.