Have you been to a corn maze? Bring a sense of adventure and get ready to laugh, scream, and have fun at these New England fall farm features. Visit, for example, Marini Farms in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where an 8-acre, interactive Maze Quest opens September 12 with clues via 3-D glasses and text messages. The maze […]
You’ll find the biggest bang for your buck on Middle Sugarloaf, one of three peaks atop a ridge, in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. A 2.8-mile round-trip hike takes you from a riverbed to an open, ledgy summit with clumps of spruce, sumac, birch, blueberry, and lichen. From here, overlooking a colorful maple and beech forest, […]
The United States National Champion sugar maple grows in Lyme, Connecticut. According to the National Register of Big Trees, this giant beauty stands 115 feet high, measures 223 inches around, and spreads 89 feet.
A biodiverse forest is what we think of first for the most dramatic displays, but it’s not just the treetops that capture the color. Look also for low-lying blueberry bush barrens, streams where leaves have caught on the bottom, and gardens with fall-blooming flowers such as chrysanthemums. Best advice: Buy a DeLorme map and explore […]
Visit Harrisville, New Hampshire’s town center — a classic New England mill village and a National Historic Landmark. Tidy red-brick buildings and a granite mill are reflected in a pond and the millstream that once powered a woolens manufacturer. The buildings are fully restored to their 19th-century splendor, thanks to a savvy nonprofit group that […]
Use Bethel, Maine, as your starting and ending point. Head west on Route 2, then turn south on Route 113 at Gilead. The road parallels the Wild River and Evans Brook here, and trees form a leafy canopy overhead. The road climbs steeply into Evans Notch; on the descent you’ll pass a grove of birches […]
For foliage views times two, put your canoe or kayak in at the state-owned boat access on Powers Lake in East Lyme, Connecticut. It’s close to major population centers but offers one big surprise: This 152-acre lake is undeveloped except for a Yale University retreat center. The untouched shoreline is edged by a diversity of […]
That’s right… No one ever said the only way to see color was from eye level. Get the birds’ perspective: Go hot-air ballooning, skydiving, paragliding, or flying. In western Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, climb into a wicker gondola with Paul Sena (413-238-5514; worthingtonballooning.com), or jump from an airplane with Dave Strickland (800-444-5867, 413-586-1889; airborne-adventures.com).
Fall is also harvest time — that time of year when we visit New England’s apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes. Maybe best of all are the county and state fairs that celebrate the season’s bounty. This year, check out the 189th Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, Massachusetts (888-781-3247, 978-887-5000; topsfieldfair.org). America’s oldest continually operating […]
Jewelry maker Michael Michaud of Fairfield, Connecticut, has designed a collection called Falling Leaves, featuring maple, oak, and hawthorn. Each piece is molded from an original leaf found in nature and then cast in bronze. Prices $40-$125. To find a local gallery or retailer, call 800-295-6784; fourseasonsdesigngroup.com
Vermont’s four-mile River Road is a don’t-miss. This dirt byway parallels the Ottauquechee River between Woodstock and Quechee — perfect for an afternoon outing. Often, you’re so close to the water it feels as if you’re on a boat. See fish rising and swallows swooping. Look for the old cemetery, the covered bridge, and the […]
