NH/VT Itinerary for Oct '05
 

My fiance and I are honeymooning in New England next October. Here is the tentative itinerary...what do you think?

Oct 9 - Arrive in Stowe
Oct 10 - Stowe
Oct 11 - Drive to White Mtns (Jackson)
Oct 12-14 White Mtns
Oct 15 - Drive to Woodstock
Oct 16-18 Woodstock
Oct 19 - Drive home

Our mission is to see the foliage and hike. From what I hear, Stowe and the White Mtns should peak at around the same time (we may be a little late for the White Mtns). However, we should hit Woodstock on time.

Is there another town we should make as a base? Or does this sound good?

Sounds pretty good! Three full days in the Woodstock area might be a bit long. I'll try to describe what the area has to offer:

Woodstock is a tiny town, and it's easy to see its sights in a day. A {maybe an hour} hike up Mt. Tom {across the covered bridge, at the far end of a pretty park} will afford you the best foliage views. There are often posted events taking place in town, especially in foliage season. Bentley's is a good place for dinner, and the best ice cream in the area is across the street at the Creamery. Do book as early as you can, as lodging fills up quickly.

A short drive away is Quechee, where you can hike {short} down to the gorge and visit the Vt. Institute of Natural Science.

Continuing from Quechee, you will shortly arrive at interstate 89, where a short drive {exit 18, turn left, continue straight} will take you to downtown Hanover, NH, home of Dartmouth College. It's a fun town to stroll. The Hood Museum is an excellent free art museum. Darmouth bookstore is also here, and there are some good restaurants. You can also check to see if there are any performances going on at Hopkins Center {next to the museum}.

You are wise to begin your planning early. Congratulations on your marriage!

Molly...thank you for your suggestions!

I'll make the Woodstock stop 1.5 days. Is there another town worth spending a couple days, after Woodstock? Would probably need to be south, due to the foliage.

Thanks!

What about the Berkshires?

Hi again, Crossroadz, The Berkshires sounds like an excellent idea. I've never been, so hopefully someone more knowledgable will respond, or you can post on that topic seperately.

In Vermont, people seem to really like Manchester, though I don't care for its downtown {too many outlets}. The surrounding area is lovely, with some excellent hikes. People have commented that the Equinox Hotel is very good, and since it's up a high mountain, the foliage is probably magnificent at peak.From here you can visit Weston, a very picturesque tiny town on the banks of a river and its Vt. Country Store and restaurant. You can also visit Bennington, which has a museum and other attractions and isn't as touristy.

Good luck!

I think your stays in both Stowe and Woodstock are too long. Since you like to hike and you want to head south, I would go the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire, where you could climb Mt. Monadnock, and then head to the Berkshires for a short stay there as well.

Regarding Stowe, there is plenty of great hiking there. I think you've allotted the perfect amount of time. Same for Jackson.
Regarding Woodstock, I agree with the others. 3 days is too much time there. Which direction will you be heading when you head home? Maybe we can suggest another place to stop in that direction. The Berkshires are a great suggestion.

We live in Cleveland...so Oct 9 will be an all day drive...which means we'll only have 1 day in Stowe. Here's a modified itinerary...thoughts?

Oct 9 All day drive - arrive in Stowe
Oct 10 Stowe
Oct 11 Depart in afternoon & drive to White Mtns (Jackson)
Oct 12 White Mtns
Oct 13 White Mtns
Oct 14 White Mtns
Oct 15 Depart in afternoon & drive to Woodstock
Oct 16 Woodstock
Oct 17 Depart in the morning & drive to Berkshires
Oct 18 Berkshires
Oct 19 All day drive home

We celebrated our first anniversary just over two weeks ago with a long-weekend trip to Vermont. It was excellent! Agree that 3 days for Woodstock is too long. A day there is fine. We stayed at the Maple Leaf Inn in Barnard, about 20 minutes NW of Woodstock. This 7 room B&B was nothing short of fabulous and the personal attention (and breakfasts) offered by the owners unsurpassed. I highly recommend it.

Bentley's in Woodstock is decent, but for a really special meal head to the Simon Pearce restaurant in Quechee. It's attached to Simon Pearce Glassblowing. Pricey, but well worth it. Reserve early during fall foliage season.

For foliage, I suggest getting off the main roads, including the much acclaimed Route 100. Don't get me wrong, Route 100 itself has excellent foliage, but we found the best foliage on some of the unpaved forest roads that criss-cross the area.