doreenpawid5413

Hi planning a driving trip to see the fall colors. leaving Hawaii on October 10th till October 24. We land in Boston on the 11th at 6am, not sure if we should pick up a car there, have concerns for traffic,etc, or should we catch a train to another city, either in Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont and get a car there. Do want to see the fall foliage and also thinking of going to Acadia National park and drive down the coast, then back to Boston for a few days then home. Need all the suggestions on where to start. Mahalo

J62

Welcome to fodors. Others will weigh in with more detail, but here's my quick comments...

• Arriving Oct 10th is putting you on the late side of good colors. Can you move a week earlier?
• Driving a car out of Boston airport is not an issue.
• The Maine coast (including Acadia) is not the best for fall foliage as it is more of a coastal evergreen forest. Better are the White mountains of NH, the Green Mtns of Vermont/Berkshires of MA, and the Adirondacks/Catskills of NY. Hillsides and forests have more hardwoods - especially maples, that give the rich fall colors.

doreenpawid5413

No my dates are permanent. I wish I could change it. From Boston where do you think I should start. would like to do Vermont, New Hampshire, go to Acadia then drive back down to Boston

J62

one of our local NH experts will weigh in with more details...

I would do a general route like this.With 2 weeks you have time to do more in each place (not necessarily just drive more).... so if you give us more info about your interests we can tailor our inputs

For some people, they just want driving routes and nice B&Bs or Inns
For others, they want to know gentle hiking routes
For others still, they may want more adventuresome hiking
Some want to see historical sights or museums, others just want to be outside....

If you do a search on fodors for just NH or Maine tagged threads you'll see some from each year about similar trips others have planned.

tomfuller

If the cost or availability of a rental car from the Boston (Logan) airport does not suit you, take the Amtrak Downeaster (several per day) to Portsmouth NH and rent there. The one highway I would suggest in NH is the Kankamagus Highway going west from Conway to Lincoln. Amtrak changes their schedules in September so you will have to wait to see what the Downeaster schedule will be. The Downeaster trains depart from Boston North station. All other Amtrak trains from Boston leave from Back Bay and Boston South.

tom_mn

I’m not familiar with colors in this area but note that where it is warmer, lower elevations and in urban heat islands, color will be a week later. So you can adjust this way if it appears that you are missing the color.

doreenpawid5413

Thank you for your response, we want short hikes maybe 1 to 2 miles okay to see colors, gorge and falls. Was thinking of going to the farmers market if there was a festival would be great but haven't seen one yet with my research. Of course eat seafood, want to go to local beer brewery and maybe lodge close by, stroll through some cute towns, eat cider donuts, want to see light houses, Woodstock, VT sounds interesting, want to do apple picking, we will probably do a museum in Boston, but if you have any suggestions will gladly consider it. Do want to go on a lobster catching excursion. Probably drive the byways and do a lot of exploring. Is this to ambitious?

doreenpawid5413

Mahalo good to know.

doreenpawid5413

Mahalo good to know about the Downeaster changing in September.

dfrostnh

Columbus Dayweekend is usually foliage festival time. columbus Day is Oct 10 so yo might look for foliage festivals
i agree that colors will be better in MA and southern NH. There's always the possibilty of rainy weather by mid October. The Flume in NH won't be nest colors but is a wonderful hike thru a gorge. Color should be good in Boston area and the Flume is a straight drive up I93.it will get more scenic an hour or so out of Boston.
I would skip Woodstock VT since it has too many tourists. But people like it. If you went from the Flume to Norwich VT on Saturday the farmers market is very good. Several prepared food stalls. The Norwich Inn has good beer and you canalso walk across the street to a good restaurant.
now, to get to the Seacoast head south on I89. Get off in Hopkinton NH to pick apples at Gould Hill orchard. It's hetting late for apple picking so check their website. It also lists the apples they grow. They also make hard cider. Return to the main road to continue into Concord NH. Google maps will tell you to take Rt 101 to the seacoast but it is a boring limited access highway. Go rt 4 east. There are beer places all over NH. You might look into a beer tasting tour in Portsmouth. If there is any foliage left you might consider an inland rivers cruise. Since it's warmer on the coast and Portsmouth is southern NH there,s a chance. Otherwise it might give you a good break from driving.

take I95 north from Boston to get to Acadia but be prepared for a long boring drive. If the weather isn't good I would scrap plans for Acadia and perhaps only go as far as Rockland where you can visit the Farnsworth Museum and also the Owls Head class car museum. Lots of seafood around but check. We like Claws but it is seasonal and might only be open weekends. If you want quaint little harbor just go north to Rockport next door.

i think the view is better from top of Mt Battie in Camden than Cadillac in Acadia.
get the DeLorme Atlas and Gazzeteer for detailed road maps in each state. Will also give you locations of waterfalls.
Be careful about any hiking in NH's White Moumtains which can have treacherous sudden weather changes. There a re plenty of short hikes that won't be a problem.

Brunswick ME and Portsmouth also have great farmers markets should you want to skip the trek to Norwich. After visiting the Flume you could head south to Canterbury NH on a Wednesday for their small market and check aabout apple picking at Apple Hill in Concord which is near Canterbury. Same exit 17 off I93 for both. You could also check Carter Hill Orchard in Concord which isn't the best but has a viewing platform for hawk migration which is around timeof your visit.

Western MA should have some good foliage and is very rural. You're going to have to make some tough decisions but might be able to include it near the end. Yankee Magazine website has foliage info and suggested routes for New England. Stay off south bound interstates on sunday afternoons because there will be heavy traffic comgestion.

Fra_Diavolo

Th e Putney/Brattleboro area of southern Vermont should be at around peak color then. The Putney School Harvest Festival is traditionally held on Columbus Day weekend, but has been cancelled the last few years due to Covid. Not sure if it's on this year. Down the hill lies Green Mountain Orchards which offers pick-your-own. There's a short easy hike up Putney Mountain. If pressed I'd have to say neither is a particularly "cute" town, though nearby Grafton or Newfane would meet that description.

Brattleboro has a craft brewery and some good restaurants, Peter Havens and TJ Buckley's among them. Top of the Hill Grill for BBQ.

Scenic Route 9 runs west from Brattleboro to Bennington. From there head south on Route 7 into Massachusetts to Williamstown for the college and its museum -- or a challenging hike up Mt Greylock.

doreenpawid5413

Here is my update from all your great suggestions, please chime in if to much or to little, I am open to all suggestions.
10/11 fly into Boston pick up car just outside airport to avoid steep airport taxes, drive over to Albany , any scenic routes not in a hurry, saw there is Shelbure Falls then can follw the Mohawk trail, worth doing or not? Stay over in Albany, explore in the morning then leave to Bennington then across to Brattleboro
10/12-13-14-15 stay in Brattleboro or drive further to Quechee, Norwich or Conway. Remember like good food/local brewery/short hikes/scenary.
may have to stay in area longer? not sure because seems like there is many things to do around this area.
Flume, white mountain, hot air balloon ride, cog up the mountain, farmers market not sure what else
10/16-17-18 drive to Acadia, ? stay at Bar Habor.
10/19-20 Portland
10/21 back to Boston

Do you think this sound good? We'll we hopefully see enough fall colors.

Fra_Diavolo

I don't think you'll need more than a day or two in the Brattleboro area. One problem is the lack of nice hotels. There are a couple of chain motels on Route 5 north of town, and the very quirky Latchis in downtown Brat. Putney used to have a nice B&B but it closed during the pandemic. Note that these may already be booked for those days.

clarkgriswold

In Maine the real colors are inland/ around the lakes, but the coastal foliage is the latest so you might see some nice color still. Unfortunately lots of restaurants and some lodgings close up for the season after Columbus Day weekend, and the weather could get chilly and rainy. You'll have to stick to the year-round towns such as Bar Harbor, Camden, Portland and maybe Ogunquit/York..

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/proje...ort/past.shtml

dfrostnh

I likeFra's suggestions. I'm not a hiker but understand Norwich is close toAppalacian trail. Acadia is only real question since if weather turns cold and rainy there's not a lot to do in the area. I,d aim for Rockland instead since it has museum options. It moght possibly have last minute lodging options since it's a good size town.

color can change by the hour depending on how sunlight hits it or you can notice something different about a tree you look at every day and several times a day.

check local papers online for any local events. You might luck into something such as an author speaking at a local bookstore or a New England public church supper, in maine there might be the chance of a lobster supper held as a fundraiser. On your way to White Mountains you might also have chance to stop in Meredith NH which is a beautiful town on Lake Winnipesaukee that has some good lunch options. You didn't mention wine but Hermit Winery in Meredith has tastings. Further east heading to Conway, Tamworth has a beautiful distillery and tastings. There should ne good beer options south of Meredith at Weirs Beach. This is the famous motorcycle weekend target in June.

J62

10/11, I would not drive all the way to Albany. It doesn't add to your trip and is out of the way. Only go as far as western MA. There are inns, B&Bs and chain motels in both Lenox and Pittsfield MA. The drive north from there to Bennington is pleasant, once you get past Pittsfield. On a clear day the drive up Mt Greylock will give you great panoramic views of the MA & Vermont mountains.

There is an excellent art museum in North Adams, MassMoCA.
In Lenox is Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a popular outdoor concert venue (JT this weekend). I believe they close by Labor Day, so nothing will be on when you're in the area.

bjordan49

Have you made the plan to pick up car outside Logan yet? Where will you get it? We discovered there is a brand new SEPARATE rental car center that is away from the airport, which makes it very difficult for disabled person. How will you get to your rental? Appreciate the advice.

doreenpawid5413

Hi I rented @ 40 Lee Burbank Highway because it was 200$ cheaper in the extra taxes category. It is 25-40$ by uber to the location, so still a big saving

bjordan49

Great deal - which company?

doreenpawid5413

I went through/ Expedia and they booked with hertz