Fall Folliage October 06 trip

Hi there,

We are planning a trip to go to New England this October. I have a class in NJ on october 24th so we%26#39;re going to leave northern California and fly to Manchester, NH on October 9th. Go from Manchester northwest towards Vermont, then end up in central Vermont then down to Putney, VT and then back to NH where my husband will fly home and I%26#39;ll rent a one-way car to Newark for my class.

We were thinking originally of going to the White Mountains when we first got to NH - but I think that we may be slightly too late for the mountain areas, yes? If so, I%26#39;m looking for recommendations of where in NH to go on our way to VT. We love to hike, bike and my husband loves his photography hobby when we%26#39;re on vacation.

thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions!

~Melinda

Auburn, CA

Fall Folliage October 06 trip

The Oct 9th time frame is normally prime time for White Mountain of NH foliage as well as VT foliage. However there are weather variances that are impossible to predict long term. Some years foliage is earlier, others later but the Columbus Day weekend in normally a BULLS EYE! So you should be right on with the date.

With being right on comes the fact that this is a very difficult time of the year for reservations and for my wallet very pricy. Every year there are stories of people without reservations sleeping in their cars or being invited into the homes of locals if they are lucky. I strongely urge that you do reseacch and have reservations or anytime in late Sept or early Oct.

Right here on TripAdvisor.com you find lot%26#39;s of great suggestions. Check out the towns of North Conway, Woodstock, Lincoln and Bretton Woods. The Mount Washington Resost is really special and is The Balsams in Dixville Notch.

Good Luck and please do come and enjoy our New Hampshire October spectacular.

Fall Folliage October 06 trip

You will be right on time for some spectacular fall foliage in the White Mountains of NH. It all depends on rainfall/winds which prematurely strips the trees of their leaves. I would plan to go to the White Mtn, Waterville Valley regions.

Why not leave Manchester, drive north on 93 to the White Mtns. You could go as far as Littleton. This will bring you through Franconia Notch (no old man of the Mtn there) to Twin Mtn where you can go on Rte 302 to see the Mt Washington Hotel(great place to stay) (also the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield is nice) and take a ride on the cog railway. Back track to Littleton and head over to Rte 100 in VT. Follow this south through some beautiful country. You can go most of the way to Putney on the back roads or head back over to the highway from Rte 100 if you want to make time. After Putney head back to Manchester. Or if you need to be in Putney first head north from there. You should see some foliage in VT.

thank you, everyone for your ideas and input. Sarakate - that is the route we were originally thinking about - at least the part of going from Manchester directly up 93 to the white mountains. My husband is worried though, that after the 9th we will have missed the peak in the mountains and that we should be sticking to lower elevations... No matter what, we will take a day trip at least to Franconia as it sounds so appealing to me. It sounds though, that you all think we should be ok on our timing, which is very encouraging!

thanks again!

~Melinda

Auburn, CA

Don%26#39;t worry as Oct 9th should hit a home run for foliage in The Notch area. I%26#39;m in So NH and last fall it would have been FAR to early in this area for peak. The upper NH area should be ';perfect'; then unless we have had a hurricane which is very rare here.

If you do decide to head to the White Mountain are around the 9th. May I suggest a stay over at a great Inn we found this year called the Ammonoosuc Inn. Great reviews on Tripadvisor as well as other sites. It has wonderful views for foliage, as well as having two restaurants onsite. And if your interested in Golf, it is smack in the middle of a Country Club. Excellent food and beautiful rooms.

I agree with Djf... last fall was too early around the 9th of Oct. We peaked in Southern Nh here in the last two weeks of Oct. Columbus Day weekend in the Mount washington Valley is spectacular usually. BUT don%26#39;t count on that being definite. Mother Nature is very funny! We are having a very early spring here in NH! Last spring it was cold and we had 7 weekends of rain right up until the second week of June. No spring at all. The farmer%26#39;s almanac swears that when spring is early...so is fall. Enjoy!

A great place to stay that opened this past winter is Bear Mountain Lodge in Bethlehem. It%26#39;s right on Route 302 and just minutes from Franconia Notch State Park. It%26#39;s right in the middle of the top route for fall foliage in the White Mountains.

It%26#39;s an incredible log B%26amp;B that%26#39;s so gorgeous inside. We stayed in February of this year. The beds were sooo comfortable, the food was great and we highly recommend it. The innkeepers were very friendly and extremely helpful with dinner reservations, etc. A great place and some of the rooms have fireplaces and in-room jacuzzis, very romantic.

With the advent of foliage ... be prepared to book a reservation now...as anywhere in the White Mountains will be booked sooner rather than later....be prepared to pay upwards of $180 - $200 a night for the inns, b%26amp;b%26#39;s, and big chain hotels, etc. More reasonably priced prices will be found at some of the smaller motels....there are a couple of really nice motels in Franconia that have gotten rave reviews and are ranked in the top five for New Hampshire for their TripAdvisor reviews....the one I think is the best is the Gale River Motel...right in Franconia...

Oct 9 is the perfect time to be up here in the White Mountains. There are plenty of nice places to stay. A good suggestions is to stay centrally and then take day trips where you can go in all directions. Lincoln NH is a nice area. it is just over and hour from Manchester, NH and can get you to Maine or Vermont in short time with scenic drives. The Northeast Kingdom of Vermont is a short distance away and is home to some Sugar House that alos sell Apple Cider in the fall.

Lincoln as also a great hiking mecca with Franconia Notch to the North, the Kancamangus Highway to the East, the Lakes Region to the South other places.

The websote to see is www.lincolnwoodstock.com.

If you want bike rentals try www.bikeandski.net. They also offer concierge services on other activities in the area.