New England in 'the Fall' - how long needed?
Discussion
OK the idea is to go to NYC and then traipse around New England (ie road trip using hotels rather than an RV) and Niagara ending up back in NYC. Is 2 weeks enough to do this justice or is longer better <fnar fnar>.
Would look to get there 1st week of October (either 3rd or 10th)...
Any thoughts? Have I left it too late for this year or is the political situation meaning it's likely to be not as crowded this year?
Would look to get there 1st week of October (either 3rd or 10th)...
Any thoughts? Have I left it too late for this year or is the political situation meaning it's likely to be not as crowded this year?
2 weeks will be enough. Under normal circumstances, you've left it too late for this year. I would guess you're also too late in the current circumstances as most of the hotel rooms will be taken by people living in the US. Pick some places at random and see what availability they have.
Also - and we very definitely got caught out by this - you're very dependent on there having been hard frosts. We went at what all the guidebooks said was the optimum time and the daytime temps were in the 75 - 85 degrees Fahrenheit range so there was very little colour change. The one compensation was that I had managed to rent a Porsche Boxster, so we had the roof down for the entire week.
Also - and we very definitely got caught out by this - you're very dependent on there having been hard frosts. We went at what all the guidebooks said was the optimum time and the daytime temps were in the 75 - 85 degrees Fahrenheit range so there was very little colour change. The one compensation was that I had managed to rent a Porsche Boxster, so we had the roof down for the entire week.
Went at the end of October and started in Boston for the weekend (lovely).
Then spent the week ambling up towards Vermont, stopping at hotels en route.
Back to Boston for the weekend.and then ambled down to Martha's Vinyard.
Seeing the foliage was amazing, despite people there saying it wasn't as good as the year before.
You are in the hands of mother nature so the start of Oct may be better than the end .... and it can vary in what part of NE you are in.
Have a fun time - it's a spectacular view.
Then spent the week ambling up towards Vermont, stopping at hotels en route.
Back to Boston for the weekend.and then ambled down to Martha's Vinyard.
Seeing the foliage was amazing, despite people there saying it wasn't as good as the year before.
You are in the hands of mother nature so the start of Oct may be better than the end .... and it can vary in what part of NE you are in.
Have a fun time - it's a spectacular view.
Depends what you want out of it.
We did 3 weeks, could have gone for more.
Plenty to see and do, including things like Mount Washington , railroad journeys, up and down mountains in forests of all colours, the "kank" main drag which is several miles long. Waterfalls everywhere you look, Wildlife life black bears, deer, chipmunks etc, Meredith art town.. and so forth..
We did 3 weeks, could have gone for more.
Plenty to see and do, including things like Mount Washington , railroad journeys, up and down mountains in forests of all colours, the "kank" main drag which is several miles long. Waterfalls everywhere you look, Wildlife life black bears, deer, chipmunks etc, Meredith art town.. and so forth..
Hmm.
We did it 2 or 3 yrs ago, end of Sept, we had 2 weeks and travelled all over New England. We racked up a LOT of miles, Boston upto Portland, Brunswick, across to Mt Washington, down to Hartford way and across to Cape Cod. It’s always been on my bucket list to do New England around Fall time.
Put me off going to America ever again. What a disappointing, let down, dull dump of a place. Oh and backwards, seriously it makes deepest darkest Devon look like the heart of the Matrix!
I can honestly say it was the most disappointing holiday and location that I have ever been to. Trumped even Mexico, at least that was cheapish, but the New England holiday wasn’t scrimped on at all.
We did it 2 or 3 yrs ago, end of Sept, we had 2 weeks and travelled all over New England. We racked up a LOT of miles, Boston upto Portland, Brunswick, across to Mt Washington, down to Hartford way and across to Cape Cod. It’s always been on my bucket list to do New England around Fall time.
Put me off going to America ever again. What a disappointing, let down, dull dump of a place. Oh and backwards, seriously it makes deepest darkest Devon look like the heart of the Matrix!
I can honestly say it was the most disappointing holiday and location that I have ever been to. Trumped even Mexico, at least that was cheapish, but the New England holiday wasn’t scrimped on at all.
We did New England just last Fall...... absolutely loved it.
Went at the very end of Sept and the first 2 weeks of Oct. Started out in Boston for a couple of days, then picked up hire car and drove to Stowe in Vermont, then onto Jackson in New Hampshire (which is where we saw the best colours ie the Kancamangus Highway), also drove up Mt Washington for the most awesome views etc. After Jackson drove over to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, then down to Kennebunkport and finally finished off in Chatham, Cape Cod.
It all took a fair bit of planning which is all still doable for this year, my only concern would potentially be over accommodation availability. (feel free to DM if you want specifics / details etc)
Went at the very end of Sept and the first 2 weeks of Oct. Started out in Boston for a couple of days, then picked up hire car and drove to Stowe in Vermont, then onto Jackson in New Hampshire (which is where we saw the best colours ie the Kancamangus Highway), also drove up Mt Washington for the most awesome views etc. After Jackson drove over to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, then down to Kennebunkport and finally finished off in Chatham, Cape Cod.
It all took a fair bit of planning which is all still doable for this year, my only concern would potentially be over accommodation availability. (feel free to DM if you want specifics / details etc)
We went in 2017. We went to NYC for our wedding anniversary on 14th October, train up to Boston and then drove up to Vermont for the fall: it had already fallen.
To be more certain, I would suggest starting at the beginning of October before heading north. There is a website to identify the best days to be there.
We were underwhelmed by Martha’s Vineyard, but really enjoyed both Boston & Rhode Island and wished that we had spent more time there.
To be more certain, I would suggest starting at the beginning of October before heading north. There is a website to identify the best days to be there.
We were underwhelmed by Martha’s Vineyard, but really enjoyed both Boston & Rhode Island and wished that we had spent more time there.
at the moment I've got a (VERY) rough idea of doing something like the below:
I figure that this should give us a decent chance of seeing some autumnal splendour as well as not being stupidly long. Currently we are looking at 14days, though depending on other factors that could increase to 28... Being as we've 'done' Boston already I'm not too worried about re-visiting just yet but am open to ideas...
I figure that this should give us a decent chance of seeing some autumnal splendour as well as not being stupidly long. Currently we are looking at 14days, though depending on other factors that could increase to 28... Being as we've 'done' Boston already I'm not too worried about re-visiting just yet but am open to ideas...
Ive done the east coast trip twice and also the Niagara from NYC twice (live in NY)
2 weeks should be enough, personally when I did the east coast fall trip I didn't book any Accomadation more than 1 night in advance and had no issues (once pre covid once after)
The largest issue is timing, heavy rain affect the foliage as do many other factors that affect not only when the leaves turn but how long they stay on the trees for.
Another thing to note is that the leaves turn in color from north and then slowly turn down south , by the time they are fall foliage in Connecticut there will be no leaves left in main on the trees, this allows you some flexibility as to when your in the areas and also you can have green, red and naked trees all at the same time in your pictures.
If going 1st week of October I would hit Niagra falls first at its warmest for your holiday and unlikely to be far in Maine, stop off for the first night at Watkins glen (great national park), I think that closes mid October (but changes on weather) . you also have Ithaca for waterfall watching if your interested (im sure the vinyards of the finger lakes will be closed in October but you can check)
After Niagra I would head to Bar Harbour, I would flex your timing on how the trees are turning in Maine if you need to speed up or slow down your journey and stops at that point
Bar Harbour is a great place and the national park gives beautiful views, I think this is probably the hardest to book a place in.
I would utilize the lonely planet east coast trip guide for all the stops back to New York, but there are lots of beautiful little fishing villages and light houses to visit , and ofcourse lobster rolls to eat, just follow the coast down.
Also don't discount Connecticut either, with Mystic (made 'famous' from the Mystic pizza film) , Yale university and old fashioned 'closed bridges' to see, it also has great fall foliage too, as does New York end of October, ish,
Ultimately its a bit of a gamble on timing and luck on how the trees react, get it right and you will be treated to a beautiful display, but even if they are all green still, its still a great part of the world to see and explore!
2 weeks should be enough, personally when I did the east coast fall trip I didn't book any Accomadation more than 1 night in advance and had no issues (once pre covid once after)
The largest issue is timing, heavy rain affect the foliage as do many other factors that affect not only when the leaves turn but how long they stay on the trees for.
Another thing to note is that the leaves turn in color from north and then slowly turn down south , by the time they are fall foliage in Connecticut there will be no leaves left in main on the trees, this allows you some flexibility as to when your in the areas and also you can have green, red and naked trees all at the same time in your pictures.
If going 1st week of October I would hit Niagra falls first at its warmest for your holiday and unlikely to be far in Maine, stop off for the first night at Watkins glen (great national park), I think that closes mid October (but changes on weather) . you also have Ithaca for waterfall watching if your interested (im sure the vinyards of the finger lakes will be closed in October but you can check)
After Niagra I would head to Bar Harbour, I would flex your timing on how the trees are turning in Maine if you need to speed up or slow down your journey and stops at that point
Bar Harbour is a great place and the national park gives beautiful views, I think this is probably the hardest to book a place in.
I would utilize the lonely planet east coast trip guide for all the stops back to New York, but there are lots of beautiful little fishing villages and light houses to visit , and ofcourse lobster rolls to eat, just follow the coast down.
Also don't discount Connecticut either, with Mystic (made 'famous' from the Mystic pizza film) , Yale university and old fashioned 'closed bridges' to see, it also has great fall foliage too, as does New York end of October, ish,
Ultimately its a bit of a gamble on timing and luck on how the trees react, get it right and you will be treated to a beautiful display, but even if they are all green still, its still a great part of the world to see and explore!
Edited by Peeping Turtle on Sunday 8th June 21:00
Edited by Peeping Turtle on Sunday 8th June 21:04
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