floridapugmom

I am just starting to plan a long weekend trip for my husband and I so we can see some fall foliage this year. Since we live in Florida I have no idea where is the best state or time to do this. We will probably come up either the end of September or early October 2012 and want just to enjoy the fall beauty. We love staying at B & B's or Inns, no big hotels for us, so we need lots of help. I have gotten great help from Fodor's posters for our 2009 & 2010 trips to Ireland, which were WONDERFUL, so I am counting on you again. Please let me know your experiences and input. THANKS!

BlueMooseVacations

We are based in North Conway, NH so we are partial to the area. You can drive to the top of Mount Washington and see hundreds of miles worth of foliage, go the Fryeburg Fair, take a beautiful scenic railroad trip (through the town or up the mountain - if you are daring). You can stay in the beautiful village of Jackson (just north of North Conway) or the busier North Conway. There are a wide variety of B&B's and quiet inns in the area. In Jackson, you can walk to a few restaurants, golf, or be close to the National Forest for some hiking.

tomfuller

If you are just planning a long weekend trip I'm guessing you are flying to an airport in the North-east and renting a car from there. If you had more time, I would suggest riding the Amtrak Vermonter from Washington DC as far as Springfield MA and then renting a car.
Who knows what the gas prices and airfares will be by then.

Tomsd

Pikes Peak by Colorado Springs also has some georgeous fall scenery - and nearby Manitou Springs is a very cute, old Victorina style town with great hot springs. You can drive up to Pikes Peak - or even take the train.

http://www.manitousprings.org/

Tomsd

You can fly into Denver and rent a car and drive to Colorado Springs (an hour), and getting up to say the Summit - via the backway from C. Springs is also beautiful - couple hour drive) - close to Vail - or Aspen, and Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park - north of the cute college town of Boulder (Boulder is about 30 minutes from the airport) is also beautiful any time of year, but especially in the fall.

dfrostnh

I vote for early October in NH and hope color is better this year than last year. The Fryeburg Fair is one of the best country fairs in New England. Very nice museum area as well as the traditional animal shows, etc.

If you fly into MHT, drive north on I93. It goes right thru the mountains you'll have to cut across to Conway. What I like is how the scenery gets better and better as you head north.

If you stayed somewhere along I93, the Conway area could be a day trip. I would suggest getting out early if you intend to drive the Kancamangus over to Conway because it's probably the most popular route in NH. Coming back, go south on Rt 16 until you can go west thru Tamworth and Center Sandwich. We made that loop in a half day so we could have lunch in Moultonborough and only did a little shopping on Main St in North Conway.
By staying on the I93 side, you can also make a loop thru VT.

If you are returning to MHT on a Sunday BE AWARE southbound traffic in late afternoon will be at a crawl on I93 esp since I89 from VT feeds into I93 just below Concord. Have a good map and take alternate routes ... or better yet, go back on a Monday. Although Columbus Day weekend Monday late in the day will be bad, too.

The Lake Winnipesaukee area will be pretty, too, and that's just south of the mountains.

You could even stay in Manchester (great restaurants), make a day trip to the mountains and the next day go to the seacoast for a foliage cruise out of Portsmouth.

Ackislander

In late September or early October, you have to go pretty far north for reliable color. North Conway is about as far south as you could go in September, though Mt Chocorua was always a gorgeous hike by Columbus Day.

Columbus Day is a big deal in New England, and you may find availability somewhat limited. It is sort of summer's last blast, so a lot of people get away. The weather is almost always wonderful.

The ideal trip for a long weekend would be to fly into Burlington, VT, and head east though Stowe and Craftsbury Common into the gorgeous Connecticut River Valley, then up to Colebrook,NH, through Dixville Notch, over into Maine to Bethel, and back across NH and VT on US 2, detouring if possible to Pinkham Notch to see the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, which may well have snow.

It is a lot of driving, but it is far enough north to see color, if it is there.

Dixville Notch, NH, is home to the Balsams, one of the great old resort hotels, and the place where the polls open at midnight so its ten or twelve voters can be the first in the nation.

Vttraveler

Northern VT/NH is probably the best area to concentrate on during the late sept/early October time period you are considering. There is a nice foliage festival in Vt's Northeast Kingdom featuring meals and events in different towns.

emalloy

I'm with the folks who urge you to fly to Manchester, NH (MHT) rent a car and do a loop. The mountain scenery and fall foliage in Colorado is nice but can't compare to the color in northern NH/VT when you want to go.

floridapugmom

Thank you guys for these great suggestions! I am not sure where we will be flying into but will definitely check out MHT. I am thinking we may try to go after Columbus Day weekend to avoid all the crush and be able to see better color.

I really appreciate all of this input. Keep it Coming!!

isabel

First two weeks in October is your ONLY REALLY Reliable time. If it's a 'late' year then there may be nothing in September, if it's an "early" year then after Columbus day there may be very little. After Columbus Day will be less crowded but you'd be more likely to see more color along the coast (of Maine) or in Mass than NH and VT. But NH and VT generally have more trees and 'vistas'. Does it have to be a weekend?

Suggestions:
1.go mid week the second week of Oct and go to NH and/or Vermont

2. go mid week the third week of Oct but plan on Berkshires, Conn River Valley of Mass and/or Maine Coast. Or those areas the weekend after Columbus Day.

3. Go Columbus Day weekend but get your reservations really early (for lodging) and don't pick the most popular areas (e.g. not North Conway NH or Stowe Vt)

djkbooks

>

You'd probably be too late.

There's really not that much "crush".

It's really difficult to plan to see foliage if you only have a weekend...a few days can make a huge difference. Timing varies from one year to the next.

floridapugmom

isabel & djkbooks; Mid week is definitely possible. Will look into going week after Columbus Day weekend also. Thanks for the great insite. Stowe was one of the most suggested stops, since there is a real bad crush, as I am use to here in Florida, I will continue to keep North Conway and Stowe on the list.

Any more suggestions?

irishswampyankee

If you go after Columbus Day, you will probably need to be south of Stowe and North Conway, maybe even in the MA Berkshires. It's really a crap shoot bcs the timing and vibrancy of the colors is different every yr. But, it starts in the north and works its way south and can change quickly. Elevation matters too.

Vttraveler

After Columbus day is definitely late for north central Vt. Really peak in this area (including Stowe) is last week in Sept/early October.

There are foliage maps on the internet that show how the color progresses north to south and average timing for different areas.