We're planning a trip to New England in October. For scheduling reasons, we probably won't be able to get there till Oct 12. Will that be too late for fall colors? Where should be go first? Any places we must go or should avoid in the entire New England region? We'll be there about 2 weeks and are interested in things other than fall colors--history, nature in general, etc.

Now? On a weekend you'd better have a reservation.

Are you researching to write a travel article?

This forum works a lot better for answering specific questions like, "Will VT Rte 100 have pretty color?" (it will) than the kind of question you are asking.

Your specific question: Will the color be over by Oct 1? No, in many places it will only be beginning. It will be pretty far gone up by the Canadian border and at the higher elevations in the mountains.

As Gretchen says, the hardest thing will be to find lodging. I would bet that the quaint country inns of everyone's dream are all booked up, but it is always worth calling for a cancellation. The 12th is the day after Columbus Day, a big deal here in New England, so the situation may begin easing then.

The problem with exploring New England (except for the larger cities) is that several attractions and restaurants close after Columbus Day, not to reopen for the most part until Memorial Day (and in a few cases, until July). If you're spending two weeks in New England and want to stick to small towns, you'll have to rely heavily on experiencing outdoor related things (leaf peeping, hiking, beaches, and the like).

However, you'll find most all the attractions in Boston, Hartford, New Haven, Springfield, Worcester, Manchester (NH) and some things in Portland (ME) and Newport (RI) still open for business after Columbus Day. And New York City sits on New England's doorstep and can keep a sightseer occupied for weeks.

If your trip is starting after Columbus Day you should have less trouble finding a place to stay although I would start getting reservations right away. the dates you are there are probably the height of color in the areas around Boston - but past the peak in northern NE and the higher altitudes. To see the best color you should move from Mass south and along the coast - where you will still see full color. The Hudson valley is also good around mid October. By end of October color will be gone everywhere in the area except Central park - which is warmer than any of the surrounding areas.

From past exp. Manchester, VT area is at "high" on Columbus Day. After that ypu'll have to extrapolate toward the south.

If your trip doesn't start until Oct 12 and you are here for 2 weeks then you'll see a lot of bare tree limbs unless you are in southern New England for your last week. Columbus Day seems to be peak in the Concord NH area but it's a bit deceiving. Some trees are already in full color and losing leaves, many others are still green. Oaks and beeches don't turn as soon as maples and even maples vary depending on age, variety and who knows what. A swamp maple in our yard is already almost bare but one in a different location is still pretty colorful (red).
There's a lot of historical homes and villages in New England. You might check their events to see if there is something special you would like to do. The Keene NH Pumpkin festival can be fun and this might be its last year. If you like nature you might check for places where you can watch for migrating hawks - perhaps local Audubons would have the best info. Visit a local apple orchard/farmstand for the best apples. Honey Crisps are great in our area right now. Explore the many varieties of apples that some orchards grow. You'll never see them in a supermarket.
Insider's tip: check local newspapers for what's going on. The Free Hippo Press does a good job covering lots of different events in the Manchester/Nashua/Concord NH areas. If the weather is good we plan a visit to a neighboring farm to carve pumpkins. A few hundred people show up. The farm puts up a wonderful lit jack-0-lantern display for a couple of nights around Halloween. During the pumpkin carving one of the farm kids launches pumpkins with his homemade trebuchet. You will probably find a few similar events around New England or towns that display harvest people. Enjoy the aroma of cider making. Or visit Flag Hill Winery in Lee NH where they make General John Stark vodka from apples (not apple flavored) and learn the story of how a former dairy farm re-invented itself and became a new market for NH orchards.

I would avoid N Conway NH (too late in the season anyway). Get a really good road map (the DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer for each state shows every road plus the location of waterfalls and covered bridges). The interstates in some areas are actually a pretty drive but you miss some of the finer details at high speeds on limited access highways.

For that late in the season, consider taking the Essex steam train in CT. Go to essexsteamtrain.com for information. The tracks parallel the Connecticut river and in the fall they do a combination ride one way on the train the other on a boat down the river. Nice reflections of color in the river. Essex is an interesting small town for a short visit also.

Thanks for the info. No, not writing a travel article, just going for a vacation and we can't arrive any earlier because of commitments at home. I was wondering if we should go to northern VT and NH immediately and then possibly over to the Maine coast before we head south to MA and CT. If you can suggest a different route that would be great.

Is Plimoth Village worth seeing? I've read reviews both ways.

I did go to Plimouth Plantation a couple years ago and enjoyed it very much. The Native American and Pilgrim Colonist sections were both very informative and different from each other. A check at their website shows the place being open every day through November 29 this year.

Old Sturbridge Village is also very good, and it looks like they're open at least into December.

For historic houses and compounds of this kind, however, I would check their websites and/or call to see how late into the season they're open. Many, though not all, historic houses will have closed after Columbus Day or shortly after, especially those in smaller towns.

I can tell you that will be the case for the complex of buildings administered by the Old York Historical Society up in Maine, for example. It's also true for several of the less high-profile historic houses administered by Historic New England, including Beauport in Gloucester, the Winslow Crocker House in Yarmouth Port, and the Codman Estate in Lincoln. And that's also true for several historic houses in Portsmouth NH such as the Wentworth-Gardner House, Moffatt-Ladd House, John Paul Jones House, and Warner House.

Although I enjoy the grounds of plimouth plantation, I find the plantation homes to be pretty redundant after visiting the first couple of homes. I much prefer Sturbridge Village for that kind of thing. I also prefer the Berkshires to New Hampshire. But if you head to that area, beware the speed police on the MassPike! I'm south of Boston and the leaves are just beginning to turn, but this week has cool nights. I don't foresee a lot of bare branches, just try to start north and work your way south, or blow off the northern most places that interest you if it is really that far past peek.

I would suggest going to newport ri if you want history, the mansions are so beautiful. Take a drive on ocean drive, stroll the shop in dowtown. At night the zoo has a pumpkin lighting which is great or take a haunted hayride at the local farm. Boston you can to do the freedom trail. West Hartford Ct has some great shops and wonderful restuarants. In Kent CT you can stroll the small town and stop off at the local cofee shop for gourmet truffle and hot cocoa. The drive through Litchfield county Ct is picture perfect for the fall.

You'll have the remnants of color in northern NH. You could do a day trip up to the mountains and then loop thru Tamworth (we haven't been to the Remick Museum but it's located there) and over to Center Sandwich (settled late 1700s) and down to Lake Winnipesaukee. It depends on how much driving you want to do. Lincoln/Rt 93 area over the Kancamagus and back thru Center Sandwich takes a morning. It's a beautiful ride and if you want to read up on some history of the area, that's where sled dogs were trained for polar expeditions (Wonalancet Kennels) but except for road markers there's not much to see except beautiful scenery. Wolfeboro over to Portland ME is about an hour. If you are driving north on Rt 93, it's actually a nice drive once you get into NH (take the Rt 293 section which has a view across the river of the old mill buildings in Manchester NH. Now restaurants and offices but once the wool mill capital of the world and much of NH was sheep pasture). Rt 93 cuts right thru NH's White Mountains.

DH has visited Kent CT a couple of times to visit the Eric Sloane museum. I liked Sturbridge much better than Plimoth Plantation but why not do both.

The Sunday paper promoted the foliage cruises out of Portsmouth NH. If the weather is good it's a great trip although we did the inland rivers during the summer. Lots of history and the boat goes up into Great Bay, a very important estuary. It was a half day trip and we were back in town for lunch. Think the paper said it's a 2 1/2 hour trip. Great break from driving. We did the mail boat cruise around Portland's Casco Bay last June. Another nice trip but not much narration. It's somewhat of a commuter boat and seafaring school bus (takes island kids to high school in Portland). One fishing boat moored near one stop has an osprey nesting on it so they can't use the boat until the bird is done with the nest.
I've seen decent color in RI as late as Oct 23. Newport is a great suggestion.

Thanks for your suggestions. I have looked into Plimoth but not really looked at Sturbridge. I'll go do that and look more at Newport.

Is it worth trying to go up to Acadia National Park or is that going to be too much driving? We're from the midwest, so it's hard for me to realize how close together things are in New England--although I do realize Maine is pretty big.

I've got a NE map and am going to start marking locations of things we want to go see.

what airport are you flying in and out of? have you made a rental car reservation? If we know where your arriving and departing from, that may help with only 7 days to go before you land somewhere in New England.

You'll be here for the Pumpkin Festival in Keene the weekend of the 15th. It's in southwestern NH.

We thought about flying, but decided to drive, so transportation is not an issue.

Acadia National Park is indeed wonderful, a beautiful place well worth spending a couple days to explore. Whether you include it or not likely should depend on what your final itinerary is like.

Perhpas the Yankee Magazine foliage site might be helpful:
http://www.yankeefoliage.com/live-fall-foliage-map/