wasabe

My wife, daughter and I have two weeks to spend in early July, while our son attends a pre-college summer program in RI. We have not been north of NYC. Interested in a circular route that takes us through coastal MA, up through NH to Acadia, ME, then swinging to the White Mountains area in NH, extending to Lake Champlain, VT and finally making our way back to RI. Suggestions for interesting towns to base and explore appreciated. We are not looking to spend time on a beach. Small hikes, lazy strolls through towns, scenic areas more in our line.

dfrostnh

You can do a search on New England and each of the states for a lot of previous suggestions. If early July includes 4th of July, you might want to head to a place that does a big celebration. Last year we went to the Bath ME 4th of July parade/Bath Heritage Days. Both Brandon and Bristol VT have nice parades and the year we visited, the parades were on different days. I kind of liked Bristol's better. This year I was looking at a parade that includes the Bread and Circus puppets which I haven't seen before.

If you go to Bath, it's not far from the Harpswells area of Maine (east of Brunswick). It's a great area to explore. Pick up a map of the conservation areas that are open to the public. One is a short, easy trail along the water, sort of a mini version of Oguinquit's Marginal Way. We liked the lobster place at Cundy's Harbor.

If you went to Brandon/Bristol, there's a road out of Bristol heading east that I think is called the Lincoln Pass. Not far out of town there's a local "swimming hole" and great place to picnic. We found it because we were curious about the number of cars parked along the road. When we were there, the river in one section was shallow enough to walk across (if you were wearing protective footwear because it's very rocky) but up stream there's a little waterfall and a deep pool. Brave teenagers were jumping off the ledges into the pool. We just went back another day with a picnic lunch, sat in the shade and just enjoyed watching. Further north in VT, there's Pizza on Earth which is sold only on certain days in a farm yard's little shop. Get really good directions. It's in the middle of nowhere somewhere in Charlotte VT. There's a couple of tables so you can eat outside but I think most people do take out.

Burlington VT has a great pedestrian shopping area/Church St. To the north, there's an area where Gardener's Supply is located. Interesting garden display area, bike paths, kayaking, etc. You can drive almost to Canada and then take the route down thru the Champlain Islands and finish up back in Burlington.

Check out farmers markets. You can get a list from the state Dept of Agriculture. Brattleboro VT (southern VT) has a very festive market with ethnic food vendors. Great place for lunch. If it's not market day, there's a food truck parked in the downtown Harmony Parkling Lot (Humble Food Truck?) that serves interesting things like bahn mi sandwiches. There's some tables for outdoor dining. We didn't have time to do much exploring but it looks like a fun town, very "granola".

In Maine we liked the Bath market and also the one in Brunswick.

You can get cheese trail, wine trail and ice cream trail maps for each state if you want to have some destinations that are a little off the beaten path. You'll probably need at least 2 days in Portland ME to explore the Old Port area, take a food tour, go on a mailboat cruise. We did not get off on Peak's Island but a friend who visits there often said we would like it.

And Portsmouth NH is a great walk around city. You could stop there for lunch and wandering before continuing north.

I'm starting to repeat myself (same replies to other posters). You might check out Yankee Magazine's website for events and suggested scenic routes. DH would highly recommend a visit to the Owls Head Transportation Museum near Rockland but I prefered the Farnsworth Art Museum in downtown Rockland. The Owls Head has events almost every weekend and I will admit seeing some antique airplanes flying was interesting.

Get a real good road map and ignore your gps gadget.

Ackislander

There are so many posts on this topic that I am burned out -- I am not as nice as dfrost -- writing the same answers over and over again.

If you need more than she has given you, I'll be happy to help as I can. If you click on my name, you can find my posts, and you might find my NH and Vermont report from last fall to be helpful. Note that I prefer Mom and Pop motels and diners to luxury resorts.

rizzo0904

In Providence, be sure to see Water Fire one evening.

On your way out of RI, you can visit Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA.

In Mass, stay near Salem. Visit the Peabody Essex Museum, House of 7 Gables, Rockport, Gloucester.

In southern Maine, maybe stay in Portland which is a great city.

Give yourself at least 3 days in Mount Desert Island to explore Acadia.

Providence to Acadia is just under 6 hours FYI.

From Acadia it's about 7 hours over to Burlington.

On the way you can stay in North Conway which has lots of shopping. Check out the White Mts. Take a scenic train ride. The "hike" to Diana's Baths is very easy.

On the way across VT do a Ben and Jerrys tour and a Cabot Cheese tour.

Spend a few nights in Burlington. Visit Shelburne Farm.

Not sure which route you want to take back to RI, but it'll be about 4.5 hours. You can spend some time in the Peterborough/Keene are of NH. Visit LA Burdick chocolates in Walpole NH.

If you travel thru Manchester NH you could visit the Currier Museum of Art.

A nice side trip is to Pickity Place in Mason for lunch.

Cranachin

If you have passports or passport cards (or "enhanced" drivers' licenses) you could visit Montreal. It's less than 2 hours from Burlington, VT.

wasabe

Thanks to all for the great suggestions.