Viewing the autumn colours (leaf peeping) in New England is often a bucket list item for many travellers – it certainly was for us and for three glorious weeks in September we got to do just that. Starting in the historic Massachucsetts city of Boston, heading out to Cape Cod, following the Connecticut shoreline to New Haven then cutting inland, north to the Berkshires, on to Vermont, into Canada via the Adirondaks, then all the way to Quebec City, back into Maine and then south down the coast returning to Boston – we covered a lot of ground and saw some gorgeous colours. Hiring a car and self driving  is probably the most popular option but there are many tours by coach, rail and even sea (links are at the end of the post).

Rembember: Fall foliage changes from north to south sometime between late September and late October – mid October is likely the best in the Boston area.

Here are the highlights followed by some links for useful information.

BOSTON – Boston itself is gorgeous in the autumn; for more information read the separate blog post on this city.

CAPE COD – Cape Cod is more synonymous with beaches, but if you get off the main road and visit some of the smaller towns along the way, there are also lots of gorgeous autumn sights.

RHODE ISLAND – The inland towns of Rhode island have loads of leaf peeping potential and the coastline is pretty at this time of year. Certainly, a visit to Newport, the state’s sailing capital is lovely in the fall – a day trip to the old mansions is alone worth the drive (check for opening hours at: http://www.newportmansions.org/)

CONNECTICUT COASTLINE – Probably better for coastal scenery but still worth including in your itinerary. A stop in Mystic was a highlight.

Mystic, CA

NEW HAVEN – The Yale campus is beautiful in the autumn, with plenty of colours on display. It is easy to wander around, have a coffee and enjoy the old buildings.

INLAND CONNECTICUT – once we were around the Hartford area, the autumn scenery abounded (obviously this is completely dependent on when you visit). We stayed the night in Farmington (not an overly picturesque town, but a convenient stopping point) before heading over to join Route 7 via the lovely towns of Litchfield and Washington (if you’re a Gilmore Girls fan – this is where it is set). Route 7 eventually winds its way from Connecticut, into Massachusetts, all the way north to Vermont, through pretty town after pretty town, past covered bridges, wooded laneways, village greens and picturesque lakes and all topped off by autumn colours. We stop for a couple of nights in Lenox, in the heart of the Berkshires, at Brookfarm Inn a beautiful, B&B.

THE BERKSHIRES (MASSACHUSETTS) – There are others, but most people would name Lenox, Stockbridge, Lee, Great Barrington and Williamstown as the most quaint and walkable towns. They all have antique and curios shops and plenty of restaurants and B&Bs.  http://www.berkshires.com/About.php

GREEN MOUNTAINS (VERMONT) – Moving on further north, we drive through Bennington with its civil war monument in the village green, to Arlington, the first town in the Green Mountains, it’s astoundingly quaint. Just along from here is our overnight accommodation at the Arcady on Sunderland (basic but very reasonable rates). It seems we are the only guests in this quirky motel but we enjoy it and can thoroughly recommend the breakfast. A little further up the road is the most perfect New England town I have yet seen. Mansions are immaculate, sidewalks are neat and green and everyone has pumpkins or other fall decorations…to top it all off there are geese by the river as we drive in…a scene from a movie for sure. This is a lovely area to explore. Don’t miss the scenic drive up to Equinox Mountain. http://www.vermont.com/green-mountains/

“Neat as a pin” – Manchester, VA

BURLINGTON & LAKE CHAMPLAIN (VERMONT) – Staying on Route 7, you will eventually reach Burlington, a functional city, tidy but not especially pretty, once again, a convenient stop. It is, however, a great base to explore this region. The Ben & Jerry’s factory is only a short drive away and you can do a lovely circuit out to Stowe and back through some gorgeous countryside. From here you could decide to head back east toward the White Mountains and New Hampshire (we didn’t get there on this trip but have heard good things about the area and its autumn offerings) instead, we chose to continue our westward route, crossing over Lake Champlain into upstate New York and the Adirondak Mountains.

ADIRONDAKS (NEW YORK) – Entering the Adirondak Mountains, it soon becomes clear that this is a special part of the world. Fall colours, mountains and fast flowing rocky streams abound. We find a great, bargain hotel (Lakeview Motel) in Lake Placid that has a balcony overlooking Mirror Lake. Lake Placid was the host town for the 1980 Winter Olympics and is a great place to base yourself. There are interesting shops, some great restaurants (go to Dancing Bears), the Olympic museum in the arena, High Falls Gorge, Whiteface Mountain (you can take a gondola to the top even out of season) and just pretty, pretty scenery. From the Adirondaks, depending on how much time you have, you could head north across the St Lawrence River into northern Ontario or Quebec or, do as we did and head west towards Toronto.

NIAGARA FALLS (NEW YORK & ONTARIO) & NIAGARA ON THE LAKE (ONTARIO) – this part of the trip deserves its own blog post even though, on this occasion it was only an overnight stop, so watch this space. Fall colours are nice here, especially in the town of Niagara on the Lake and there are wineries in this region too – look up the ice wine. We treated ourselves to a falls view room at the Marriott – worth the few extra dollars as the falls are lit up at night.

TORONTO AREA (ONTARIO) – Once again, a blog post all on its own is needed but some highlights are worth noting. The Dundas Valley (near Hamilton) – home to many, many waterfalls and lovely short hikes. Driving along the lake (Lake Ontario) in Toronto and a visit to the CN Tower. The township of Gananoque (about a 3 hour drive north east around the edge of the lake from Toronto), this town is the gateway to the Thousand Islands – absolutely beautiful in the autumn. Not much is open at this time of year but you can still take a boat cruise and climb the observation tower.

The spectacular Dundas Valley

OTTAWA, MONTREAL & QUEBEC CITY – obviously not in the New England region any more but all worthy places to visit (they’ll have their own posts too, eventually). The lake in Ottawa, the Parc du Mont Royal in Montreal and the whole of downtown Quebec City are all spectacular in the autumn.

MAINE – from Quebec City we took Route 73 to the US border where it joins Route 201 in Maine. Just over the border we came to the small town of Moose River, followed closely by the little town of Jackman; we decided to turn off here towards Greenville to try and get closer to the many lakes in the area. Arriving in Greenville, we noted the seaplanes everywhere and, as we had been driving in heavily forested country and unable to see much in the way of scenery, we decided to take a scenic flight. The whole region is a patchwork quilt of colour, almost glowing at times, interspersed with a scattering of lakes – breathtaking really – we flew out past Mt Katahdin and back. Totally worth the detour. Back on Route 201, we passed through Skowhegan and then Bangor (Stephen King country) before arriving in Bar Harbor.

BAR HARBOR – A very beautiful, seaside town and also very popular with tourists – it reminds me of Noosa on the Atlantic – lots of shops, restaurants and of course, Acadia National Park – stunning scenery and an easy drive or hiking if you prefer. We take a sunset kayak trip to really soak up the beauty of this place. Stopping at a lobster shack is also a must – you choose ém live and they cook them while you wait.

The sunset kayak trip in Bar Harbor

SOUTH TO MASSACHUSETTS – From Bar Harbor we take Route 1 on the coast, via Camden Harbour and Rockland, for as long as we can before rejoining Route 95, there are many possible places to stop along this route (we take a detour to the flagship LL Bean store in Freeport) it all depends on your time limits. Fall colours are probably better inland and this is another route to get into the White Mountains. Back in Massachusetts, we made a beeline for the coastal towns of Gloucester and Rockport, only an hour or so out of Boston but a world away from big city life.

A famous Maine lobster

ROCKPORT – A place not to miss; made famous in the movie The Proposal (where it serves as Sitka, Alaska), Rockport is part seaside village, part tourist town and just very pretty. There are souvenir and curio shops and plenty of restaurants out on Bearskin Neck, which is also a great place to sit and watch the sunset over the harbour. Not so many fall colours but the drive back to Boston will cover that if you take the side road through the gorgeous town of Manchester by the Sea. Another town out this way worth a visit, is Gloucester, a seafaring community that has a sobering monument to all the fisherman lost over the years (the movie A Perfect Storm is set here and based on true events).

CONCORD (MASSACHUSETTS) – Our final stop before returning to Boston proper is the town of Concord. Of much historical significance, the road between Lexington and Concord is the route of the ride of Paul Revere (it is also glorious in the autumn), the Battle Road Trail, as it’s known, finishes at the Minuteman Historical Park and monument where volunteers dress in traditional garb and regale visitors with stories from the Revolution. Walden Pond is also near Concord – a tranquil place surrounded by forest – it is an easy place to while away the hours and soak up autumn colours. Sleepy Hollow cemetery with the famous author’s ridge (where many a famous writer is interred) is an interesting place to walk around – just don’t do it at sunset as we did – kinda spooky. Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women is also close by and open for visitors. Stay at the Colonial Inn right in town.

New England Links and Notes:

http://www.yankeefoliage.com/ – a great website with a live map for latest foliage. It also has a list of drives and other resources.

http://leafpeepers.com/contents.htm another good site with lots of current reports.

Foliage Leaf Peepr is a free app for your phone or tablet – it relies on users rating the foliage in their location and comes with an interactive map – a great way to find the best colour.

Books – Karen Browns New England has a list of recommended drives and places to stay. Frommers New England also has a lot of useful information – get them as ebooks so you can reference as you go.

Tours – Viator have whole day tours out of Boston to see fall highlights: http://www.viator.com/Boston-tourism/Fall-Foliage-Tours-from-Boston/d678-t11245

Lonely Planet https://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/new-england/travel-tips-and-articles/fall-foliage-tour-the-ultimate-new-england-road-trip

Fall foliage rail tours http://gonewengland.about.com/od/nefoliage/a/blfalltraintour.htm

Mayflower tours have multi day tours by coach, rail and even sail up the east coast http://www.mayflowertours.com/tours/autumn-foliage/

Globus Tours have a 9 day trip that hits all the highlights http://www.globusjourneys.com/tour/classic-fall-foliage/ab/

For more detailed information on any aspect of our trip, please contact us at dreamcatchmetravel@gmail.com

Roadside colour in New England