A road trip through New England

[Chuckanut]

I am thinking of a road trip through the New England states. In particular I am thinking of New Hampshire, Vermont and upstate NY.

I am not interested in fighting the crowds to see the Fall colors, at least not yet.

When is a good time of the year to visit this area? What is worth driving out of the way to see? Where would you take your relatives if you wanted to show them something special?

 

[lwp2017]

If you are a triple AAA member, their regional travel guides are helpful.

DW and I are also taking our first New England road trip October 15.

3 days in NYC, Amtrak to Vermont and then 4 days in a rental car seeing leaves.

 

[KM]

If you get to NH:

the White Mountains through Crawford Notch, Pinkham Notch, Franconia Notch are all very pretty even in the summer and spring. Definitely try to get up to the summit of Mt Washington. You can take the Cog Railway or a shared van to the top. You can also drive your own car, but it can be considered “harrowing” for some (no guardrails) and is brutal on your brakes during the trip down. No matter what the weather.....bring a jacket/sweater. It could be 80 degrees at the base and freezing at the top. Trust me on this [emoji14]. You’ll probably drive through Crawford Notch if you do the cog railway and Pinkham Notch if you do the van/auto road. While up north, North Conway is a nice town to stop in and walk around, although you can find lots of smaller towns with general stores up that way. If you have the time, you can drive a circle around the whole area via Rte 16 and 302. I’m born, raised, and still live in NH and this is by far my favorite part of the state.

A little further south than the White Mountains is Lake Winnipesaukee, also very nice. You can take the Mount Washington boat for a scenic cruise around the entire lake. I think it takes about 2.5 hrs.

If this is all to north for you and you like the beaches, Hampton Beach has come a long way. There is an annual sand sculpture contest in June that is pretty cool to see. You can also grab a boat in nearby Rye and take a trip out to the Isles of Shoals. Pretty neat place with a lot of history, including the Smuttynose murders.

As far as seasons go, if you want to skip fall, then I’d shoot for May thru Sept. We do get some really hot days every summer, but as a rule of thumb, weather is pretty tolerable after the snow leaves.

Anyhow, if you have any questions about specific areas, let me know. I’m less familiar with the western part of the state, but imo the White Mountains are where you should head.

 

[Nemo2]

While you're up there, deke over to the Hopewell Rocks:

 

[MRG]

Second Mt. Washington. Add in Bar Harbor Maine.

 

[Just_Steve]

Mt Washington, NH In July, bring a sweater. You can drive up or take the cog railway.
I chose the cog.

 

[Just_Steve]

Also Cape Cod and provincetown ma.

 

[LuckyDog]

A great time to go is right after Labor Day as the kids are back in school and the leaves have not peaked. We live in the Finger Lakes region and taken such a trip several times. We travelled through the Adirondacks to Lake Placid and spent the night. There is a lot of Winter Olympic stuff there to see. The next day crossed Lake Champlain on the ferry to Burlington Vermont, walk up the hill and have lunch there at U of V. You can spend a couple of days fooling around in VT and NH and make your way into Maine. Maine is a big state with LOTS of seacoast and LOTS of woods. You can spend as much time there as you like. On one trip we travelled all the way up the coast to New Brunswick in the Atlantic times zone and then back home through the woods. We would do it again. Take a jacket...

 

[braumeister]

Second Mt. Washington. Add in Bar Harbor Maine.

You bet. Acadia NP is worth a day or two. Some of the most stunning photographic vistas you'll ever find.

 

[MRG]

You going to the Glen at Watkins Glen? How about wine tours?

 

[Ronstar]

We went last year - road trip through Vermont and New Hampshire Oct 3-5 and it was too early. It was still about 75° during the day. It would have better if we waited a week or 2.

There are websites that track the best time to visit certain areas, but you have to be able to go right when it is optimal. Tough to do.

 

[SnowBound]

I am thinking of a road trip through the New England states. In particular I am thinking of New Hampshire, Vermont and upstate NY.

I am not interested in fighting the crowds to see the Fall colors, at least not yet.

When is a good time of the year to visit this area? What is worth driving out of the way to see? Where would you take your relatives if you wanted to show them something special?

Best time of year is 100% dependent on how warm or cold you like it. There is year around activities, less that sub-season of spring called the MUD season. Would also avoid the black fly season, check with the locals on the peak season, it varies a lot. Winter sports are expensive, bring your wallet!

Crowds in these areas are minimal, less the normal weekend only busy places and of course the two weeks before labor day. Bad crowd planning will put you in a traffic jam on Mt Washington, go figure

Also, everything in/near the Adirondacks (and very northern NH) is really spread out, be prepared to drive.

Some have mentioned Maine; Maine is worth a separate trip of at least one week, but I would do Maine in the summer.

 

[imoldernu]

"If you're fond of sand dunes and salt sea air..."

Cape Cod was our home and/or summer vacation home for years... from vacationing in Buzzards Bay back in the 1940's to living in the oldest house in Martha's Vineyard (1720) in the early 60's and then to Falmouth Mass in the later 60's. Too many wonderful places to see, beaches to swim, and old coastal roads to explore.... From the Cape Canal to Provincetown, the Cape Cod Highway is a natural route.

We'd love to go back... take the Ferry from Woods Hole to the Vineyard and immerse ourselves in remembering some of the happiest years of our lives. Our first two sons grew up, learned to swim and to sail from Oak Bluffs to Edgartown and Chappaquiddick in my Sunfish at age 6 and 7... despite dirty looks from onlookers.

I ran a small Sears catalog Store in Vineyard Haven, and at the time had all sorts of celebrities and millionaires as customers. (No department stores on the Island back then, so they had to use Sears.) I delivered things to Spencer Tracy, and fished off the beach in front of Katherine Cornell's Vineyard Home, and lived just a few hundred yards from where a worker on a party yacht drowned during a late night party that was attended by Frank Sinatra and some other stars.

But you wanted to know about where to go in New England... Boston for history (the Freedom Trail), Salem Ma, Newport RI, for mansions and sailing, New Hampshire for mountains and Lakes Winnipesaukee and Newfound (my favorite) and the Berkshires in Western Ma. in the Fall. The Adirondaks were mentioned... more camping/canoeing trips than I could count. Heaven on Earth. And... Lake Placid... Lake Placid Lodge for lunch, but maybe a little expensive for overnight @1K+.

Nicest place IMHO... Mere Point Maine... where I raced Lightnings and dove for lobsters when I was in college.

 

[Bamaman]

My favorite place in New England is Camden, Maine. it has a great harbor with beautiful schooners and tall sailing ships. The old homes of sailing ship captains have been made into beautiful bed and breakfasts.

 

[CardsFan]

+1000 to everything above. I grew up near Boston, and my grandparents lived on Cape Cod ("the Cape" to a local).

IMHO, right after labor day is the best time, but be careful as many places shut down then for the season (at least on the Cape). The water is still swimmable (by New England standards) and the crowds have gone away.

For New Hampshire, KM pretty much nailed it. For Cape Cod and the islands, imoldernu has been there, done that.

One word of advice: Don't try to cram too much into one week, or even two. There is too much to enjoy.

FYI, if you are flying in, fly to Hartford/Springfield. A straight shot north to NH. Or a left turn on "the pike" to upstate NY.

 

[kitesurfer2]

my wife flew into boston where I picked her up on my motorcycle. that was a 29 day bike ride for me! we also camped every night. the high light for us was the lobster boat. we did so many things on that trip, but we never made it to Maine.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

+1 for the White Mountains. If you go up Mt. Washington in summer, you can bring a sweater. But I would bring a warm jacket. It can snow in August up there. Read up on its weather system; it has its own weather, often barely related to what’s going on below. The view is spectacular but it might be cloudy, foggy, or who knows?

+1 for Bar Harbor, Camden, and the Cape. I would only attempt these off season, though, unless you love sitting in traffic. Whatever you do, don’t try to drive over the bridge into the Cape on Friday evening, or return on Sunday afternoon!

Vermont is my former and present home. Depending on what you love, there is hiking, boating, history, and beauty wherever you look. It is craft beer heaven. . Burlington has small-city enjoyment, and the out-of-the-way small towns are delightful if you love scenery and beautiful villages with a white church in the center. Summer theater is plentifully, Lake Champlain is beautiful (I also love the ferry to the Adirondacks), and there is plenty to do. I prefer the mountains. At Okemo you can drive to the top, or take a lift ride. (Probably you can do this at most ski areas.). If you hike, the Green Mountain National Forest is excellent, or the White Mountains - a rockier trip. Woodstock, Vermont is an extremely beautiful, wealthy area, with the Rockefeller mansion now a National Park, along with Billings Farm which is great fun even without kids (but the kids love it).

What do you enjoy?

Bed and breakfasts are one of the best ways to see Northern New England.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I would also recommend Bradley Airport (Hartford/Springfield) rather than Boston if you fly. Much saner. If you drive up through the NY area, be sure not to drive through NYC at rush hour. Ditto Boston. Misery.

 

[Elbata]

To me, it's all God's country. No matter where you're at. Beautiful part of the country.

 

[Souschef]

We did a fall colors by rail of most of the New England States. You can drive it if you like. +1 on the Mt Washington RR.
I have attached our trip story. We are happy to answer any questions.

 

[Chuckanut]

Great ideas! Thanks.

 

[imoldernu]

We did a fall colors by rail of most of the New England States. You can drive it if you like. +1 on the Mt Washington RR.
I have attached our trip story. We are happy to answer any questions.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

I'd humbly suggest that anyone interested in travel, download this absolutely wonderful reflection on a New England trip... with first person commentary.

Seeing so many beautiful pictures and reading the descriptions, brought a tear to my eye. An extra special was the photo tour through the Newport Mansions.
My own tour was way back in the 1940's... and the interiors were no where near as opulent or shiny (as I recall).

The tour also covered some places or experiences that we never had a chance to visit in our first 30 years.

Highly recommended... you won't be disappointed.

Well done.

... and by the way.. found the link to your biography, and have scheduled time for a world wide vicarious travel experience. May have to turn off the TV for a few days...

 

[Chuckanut]

I am seriously considering pulling the trigger a road trip to the New England area of our country in late Summer/Early-Fall. I am thinking of visiting Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and upstate New York.

I am planning on skipping the change of color season so as to avoid crowds and higher prices. My plan is to be gone by the time the color change happens.

Maybe I will do the colors some other year, but for now I suspect it's best for me to avoid the crowds.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Letchworth state Park in upstate New York which is the Grand Canyon of the East.

 

[Yoheadden]

We are in CT and have taken plenty of road trips throughout NE. Each state has their own jewels to see, but it really depends on what your interests are. Unless, I missed it, I didn’t see a time frame for you trip either. There are a lot of good suggestions here, but from Upstate NY, to Arcadia NP in ME to The Cape in MA will take some time.
Late September/Early Oct would be a good time for a road trip. IMO, just the natural beauty is the biggest draw when driving through NE.
A ride up RT100 in northern VT is great. There is the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Cabots Cheese & Ben & Jerry’s factory all very close to the beautiful town of Stowe. If anyone bakes, then a stop to King Arthur Flour in White River Junction is a must do.
In NH, the White mountains are beautiful anytime of the year and you have to take RT 112, the Kancamagus HWY is a National Scenic Byway.
ME is a bigger state than most people think. If you have the time, a trip to Arcadia NP is well worth it. In Freeport, there are lots of shopping Outlets, but most notable is the huge LLBean store, open 24 hours. Kennebunkport is a great town to explore and home to Walkers Point, the Maine home of the former President Bush. While you can’t go up to the house,(really group of houses) it’s on a peninsula with a guard house, there is a turnoff where you can park and get out to look at it.
If you can make it down to MA, the coastal road along NH to MA is a great ride with some beautiful houses. Swing up north of Boston to Rockport and Gloucester, where the movie “The Perfect Storm” was based on and filmed. Boston is rich in history, but driving is a bit crazy. If there is time to keep heading south, there is Plymouth, (something about pilgrims) and on to “The Cape” as we like to call.
On your way way back, if you can stop off at Newport, RI to see the “summer cottages”, you won’t be disappointed. I would recommend that for anyone.
If you have any specific questions, I would be glad to help if I can. Happy Planning