NH in October

I am looking for suggestions for NH the first week of October. We%26#39;d like to see some foliage, coming from Philadelphia, but we%26#39;d also just like to see some of New England. Pretty clueless and could use any suggestions :)

We%26#39;d like to do outdoorsy, unique NH stuff, and will have our 15 mo. old with us. Any clues, would be much appreciated!

NH in October

well.

Can I suggest that you go up to the White Mountains area - up by Franconia Notch, and there is a lovely little town there called Littleton - (it%26#39;s pretty far up). Going up Franconia notch is fabulous and the views are so majestic - it the leaves are turning you will think you are in heaven.

Another thing would be to head off up Franconia notch, then take the exits for Twin Mountain (from 93 North) and head on through twin mountain and down to Mt. Washington Hotel - this is just amazing - you have bretton woods ski area - the hotel is hugely expensive but they have a lovely lodge, and Bretton woods is not as expensive. You could head to North Conway then (about 40 miles from Mt. Wash hotel). This is a fabulous little town, with great places to stay (Eastern Slopes is my personal fave), lovely restaurants, and brilliant outlet shops - last year I got Timberland shoes marked 90 Dollars and with all the reductions I got them for 12 dollars. Unbelievalbe. They have such good shopping there. They have a kind of little shopping village wtih all the outlets. Yumm. Everything is so cheap, compared to where I am from.

They have a place there called Storyland for things to do with the children - I think this might be about 5 or 6 miles outside N. Conway - they might do hayrides too ( if it%26#39;s not already snowing). I can%26#39;t really help you with children%26#39;s things to do - sorry.

NH in October

There is no doubt that you will see foliage in early October - usually a great time for color.

For outdoorsy stuff I%26#39;d recommend you check out the Appalachian Mountain club (outdoors.org) The have a great visitors center in Pinkam Notch, the eastern slope of Mount Washington. Also a brand new center in Crawford Notch (the western slope). The AMC is a great source for information on hikes in the area. There are lots of great day hikes for little ones (I assume at 15 mos. the lucky baby still gets to ride in the carrier).

North Conway does have outstanding outlet shopping if you are looking for that, but it also offers a great little town center, as well as restaurants, quaint shops, etc.

Jackson is a beautiful small town with outstandin mountain views, olld inns and B%26amp;Bs.

What type of accomodation are you looking for? There%26#39;s a wide variety - something for everyone.

Most of the attractions for kids will be closed weekdays, but open on weekends...there are a lot of easy and relatively short hikes in the area that can get you off the highways and into the wilderness to experience the Autumn colors as opposed to watching them as you drive by...

Some highlights would be the Cog Railroad...Conway Scenic Railroad, Mt. Washington Auto Road, Cannon Mt. Tram and Flume Gorge (last two in Franconia Notch State Park)...Lost River Gorge is pretty good too..

Scenic Drives inlcude the Kancamaugus Hwy, Bear Notch Road, Crawford Notch...White Mountain Attractions has a couple of brochures on Waterfall tours and Covered Bridge Tours...Google them and they can send you the information.

For the 15 month old ... invest in a toddler backpack - strollers are more of a pain in trying to get out and around as many of the things to do are over rougher terrain than a stroller is designed to handle...

Happy trails...

I personally love the Lincoln/Woodstock/Franconia area during the fall. There is plenty of hiking here as well as bike riding. The Franconia Notch Recreation Trail is one of the most popular places as it goes from Echo Lake and Cannon Mountain down to the Flume Gorge. There is a company that does self guided bike tours there. I think its called All Seasons Adventures. They have a website that is www.bikeandskinh.com They also have the child carriers that another posting suggested. There are hikes that can be easy to difficult. The color will be at or almost peaking at this time. The Notch is absolutely stunning in color during this time. You can also do the Hobo Railroad and see the trained bears at Clarks Trading Post where they also have a train ride, but not sure how a toddler would react to teh Wolfman. I hope you enjoy your visit.

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