We have all day to make this drive, please advise me of the most scenic and enjoyable route, staying in North Conway for three days. Stowe Vermont will be our next stop over, suggestions appreciated.
scenic route from Camden Maine to North Conway
One way to do this trip that is somewhat scenic is to go down the coast until you get to Brunswick. This is a nice little town with Bowdoin College at the center. Take 196 NW out of the town, and follow it to Lewiston. Believe it or not, there are some pretty areas out there.
From there, you can Take Route 11 to Route 2 up through Bethel, and across into Gorham, NH and down through the Mt. Washington Valley to North Conway.
Alternatively, you can take 11 all the way across to Naples, and then take 302 West into North Conway.
A few years ago, I bought a book titled ';Waterfalls and Swimming Holes of New England';. One of our favorite places out of that book was in Bethel, Maine -- The Falls at Frenchmen%26#39;s Hole. We drove there from Camden using the Route above. The water was freezing, but the swimming was amazing (particularly if you don%26#39;t mind climbing up a river bank). If you like that kind of activity, buy the book, and you can hit about 5 waterfalls along that drive...
Good luck!
scenic route from Camden Maine to North Conway
One way to do this trip that is somewhat scenic is to go down the coast until you get to Brunswick. This is a nice little town with Bowdoin College at the center. Take 196 NW out of the town, and follow it to Lewiston. Believe it or not, there are some pretty areas out there.
From there, you can Take Route 11 to Route 2 up through Bethel, and across into Gorham, NH and down through the Mt. Washington Valley to North Conway.
Alternatively, you can take 11 all the way across to Naples, and then take 302 West into North Conway.
A few years ago, I bought a book titled ';Waterfalls and Swimming Holes of New England';. One of our favorite places out of that book was in Bethel, Maine -- The Falls at Frenchmen%26#39;s Hole. We drove there from Camden using the Route above. The water was freezing, but the swimming was amazing (particularly if you don%26#39;t mind climbing up a river bank). If you like that kind of activity, buy the book, and you can hit about 5 waterfalls along that drive...
Good luck!
Thank you so very much for the suggestion, the drive with waterfalls along the way sounds just perfect. Do you have an ideal on the amount of drive time this would involve, just curious!
Julia:
It should take about 3 hours to drive from Brunswick to Bethel. And about 3 hours from Bethel to North Conway. If you go the more direct route, it would probably take about 3 hours from Lewiston to North Conway.
The Falls are great in the book. We never would have found half of them if we hadn%26#39;t bought it. We%26#39;ve already visited 5 or 6 all over New England, and we leave the book in the car to make sure we can check wherever we are.
North Conway has a nice falls called Diana%26#39;s Baths. I was there in June on a 100-degree day, and it was very refreshing. The falls are 6/10 of mile off of West Road, with a nice parking area. The falls are in the National Forest, so they are well maintained. It has 5 or 6 levels with falls into pools on each level.
To get to Stowe, VT, you will take the Kangamangus, or alternatively drive up 16 and across through Bretton Woods. If you go Kangamangus, there is a nice swimming area with falls right outside Conway in Albany, NY. Further up, there is a beautiful fall on the south side of Kangamangus called Sabbaday Falls (named such because people went there on the Sabbath Day).
If you go across the top of Conway, through Bretton Woods, there is a beautiful swimming hole on the road to the Cog Railway next to the Mt. Washington Hotel. You can find it because there will be a ton of cars there. It%26#39;s about a mile up the road from the main road. The water comes right off of Mt. Washington, so it is brisk and refreshing. You%26#39;ll probably also see bear cubs everywhere -- they are very bold in that area!
In Vermont, there is a great fall in Bristol, VT -- known as Bartlett Falls. It is probably the best fall in VT, with a cave behind the waterfall. Great cliffs on either side, with a big sandy-bottom pool to wade in. Our kids loved it.
You can find a mini list of falls that describes Bartlett Falls at this page -- http://www.ecet.vtc.edu/~pchapin/water/list.html .
Let us know how you make out...
Walt
I just found a page that mentions the Falls at Frenchman%26#39;s Hole! Evidently, Maine has purchased the land to make sure that it is open to everyone. Take a look at state.me.us/spo/…
Walt
minor correction: Bethel to North Conway should take you just over an hour, no longer than 1.5 hours........west on rt 2 and south on rt 16
Guess I was just driving slow -- all I remember was it was starting to get dark. I actually went up and over through the Berlin area, so maybe that is why it took me longer.
Walt
mmmm-mm. The (not so) fresh scent of the infamous Berlin paper mills.
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