Vermont.
 

Does anyone know anything about Eden Lake in Vermont and if the surrounding area would be good for hiking and sightseeing. We are thinking of renting a property on the lakeside for seven days. Your comments would be appreciated as this is our first time in Vermont and New England. Our other stops are on the coast in Maine (nine days 12th September - 21st Sept) and Whitefiled area of New Hampshire (eight days21st Sept - 29th Sept.), so we are just looking for somewhere in Vermont (29th Sept - 5th Oct) to complete our tour. Thank you.

Well, it is in a pretty area of the Northeast Kingdom, the least populated part of Vermont. It is right off VT 100, one of the most scenic highways in the state, it is west of Craftsbury Common, an iconic village, and you can easily make a day trip to Quebec, the White Mountains or pretty much anywhere in VT.

The rental houses are generally very simple, and it would not be a good place to go if you need action or lots of shopping.

Expect morning frost and good color. Do not expect to be able to swim.

Thank you for your reply. We are four seniors and really like to be off the beaten track, enjoying the scenery, walking and maybe kyaking. The odd visit to a town to pick up groceries and indulge in a bit of retail therapy is also good for a day out.

You didn't ask but I think 8 days in the Whitefield NH area is too long. It's not that far from Eden Lake. The timing might be good for color but there might not be enough for you to do unless you want to do a lot of hiking/walking. I think you are going to miss a lot of the best parts of VT and NH if you stay so far north for two weeks. We had a nice camping trip to VT once, splitting the week between north of Burlington and then down near Brandon. We visited the Shelburne Museum on the day we changed campgrounds.

This has been an unusually wet summer and rivers in NH are at springtime levels making them too fast and too deep for safety. One local kayak rental place has suspended trips on the Merrimack River until it's safer. Kayaking on ponds and lakes would be ok and who knows, the rivers might go down a lot by September. Also, if you aren't familiar with this part of the country, be careful about the weather and dress appropriately for hiking. We can have some wonderful weather in late September

You might have fun with the wine, cheese, or ice cream trail maps that each state has. Some farms are open for visits and it's a good way to get off the beaten track.

Thank you very much for your responses. We are happy to walk, hike everyday and prefer mountain scenery to rolling hills. The kayaking we enjoy is fairly tame, on ponds and lakes so, we will keep away from any whitewater. As long as there are plenty of walking trails we are happy.

In that case I think it would be the perfect spot, really beautiful and peaceful.