Best of New England in the Fall: Fall Foliage, Great Hikes, Apple Picking and More.

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Table Of Contents:

Fall Foliage Best Fall Hikes in the White Mountains Best Apple Picking in New England Halloween Festivals …and More!

Fall Foliage

The 7 Wonders of Fall

Is there anything more beautiful than New England during foliage season? In fact, you might even say that New England invented leaf peeping as a destination. Here’s a look at why we love New England’s “7 Wonders of Fall”!

The Northeast Kingdom | A Place Apart

The Northeast Kingdom is the Vermonter’s Vermont. It’s a name that fits a world apart, and it comes with a story of its origins. Local newspapermen used it in the early 1940s, but it was Vermont’s legendary Senator George Aiken who first gave “Northeast Kingdom” widespread currency.

Fall In The Northeast Kingdom in Brownington, Vermont.
Credit: Thomas Mitchell

Jenne Farm | The Perfect Setting

Jenne Farm in Reading, Vermont is the most photographed farm in New England, possibly in all of North America. And maybe even, as Rebecca Gibbs in Thorton Wilder’s Our Town might say, in the Western Hemisphere. Chances are, you’ve seen it, too — been there, in a sense.

The Conway Scenic Railroad | The Most Beautiful Train Ride

The Conway Scenic Railroad runs vintage equipment from the old round-house in North Conway, New Hampshire. From late spring to mid-December, some of the trains go south down the valley to Conway. The other trains run north to Glen and Bartlett through what an 1890 edition of Sweetser’s White Mountains described as “the broad intervales of the Saco River.”

Cranberry Bogs | A Sea of Crimson

Each fall, when the berries ripen in cranberry bogs from southeastern Massachusetts to parts of Rhode Island and Down East Maine, the landscape is flooded till a sea of crimson spreads across it, and the harvest begins. Think you can’t get close? A number of farmers welcome visitors, and some even let you get close to the bogs.

Apple Orchards | John Chapman’s Legacy

Around the turn of the 19th century, John Chapman (a.k.a. “Johnny Appleseed”) departed Massachusetts for the nascent Northwest Territory of Ohio and points west, planting nurseries of apple varieties as he went. By 1905, the U.S. Department of Agriculture counted some 14,000 unique types. Today, only about 100 are grown commercially in any volume, but old apples are finding a new audience — especially in New England.

The Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire | Foliage Daytrip

This famous paved mountain pass (affectionately dubbed “The Kanc”) just may be the most scenic drive in New England, which is why you want to wake up early to explore it. On crystal-clear October afternoons, this 34.5-mile stretch of Route 112 between Lincoln and Conway, New Hampshire, can feature a caravan of SUVs and Airstreams, but the views are so stunning, you’ll hardly notice.

Vermont’s Route 100 | Foliage Daytrip

Leaf peeping is about more than just leaves. It’s about the total foliage experience — farm stands and country stores, craft galleries and hot cider — and Vermont’s Route 100, with its many off-the-beaten-path side trips, offers all of that in one long, winding package.

How to Take Your Best Fall Foliage Photos Ever

Photographer Kindra Clineff has been shooting foliage for Yankee since 1989. She shared her top tips on how to take the best fall foliage photographs ever.

Growing up in New Hampshire’s Connecticut River Valley, Kindra Clineff fell in love with photography and autumn. Thousands of images later, the adoration continues. What goes into capturing the iconic fall foliage shot? We caught up with Clineff at her Topsfield, Massachusetts, home and studio to find out.

Let There Be Light!

Backlight, that is. Bright sunlight can wash out foliage color, so Clineff avoids shooting with the sun at her back. Instead, she aims her camera in its direction. Backlighting her subjects, she says, makes the leaves and grass look more vibrant. But shooting this way requires finding something with which to shade your lens (more than just a lens shade) so that there’s no sun glare. Clineff’s foolproof method: “I’m a master at finding and working with the shadows cast by trees, signs, and even telephone poles,” she jokes.

Morning, Sunshine

Sundown can be magical, but Clineff prefers early morning. Often, she’s out before the sun is up—for a story in northern Maine she was hiking a trail at 4:30 a.m.—but the payoff is extraordinary. The light is gorgeous, and “if you get that fog or mist, that’s the best,” she says. “For a recent Yankee assignment in northern New Hampshire, I made repeated trips to specific locations just to get the moment when the mist was coming off the Androscoggin River, with the foliage in the background.”

Roll With It

Keep in mind that fall foliage isn’t a singular moment. A pretty image may be a tree that’s topped with color but still green below. A week later, that same tree may be bare at the top but vibrantly colorful closer to the ground. Also, autumn color is about more than just the maples. “Look at everything around you,” Clineff says. “I find blueberry fields unbelievable. Their rich crimsons are unearthly.”

Color Scheme

Thanks to the Web, Clineff can scout out areas before she visits, for conditions and for color. Her favorite tool? The webcam: “It’s great for weather, and you can see what the foliage is looking like.”

Stay Aware

When Clineff was shooting in Boston one morning early in her career, a stranger gave her some advice that has remained with her, whether she’s shooting foliage or not. Don’t forget to consider the shadows, he told her. “I’ve never forgotten that,” Clineff says. “He was talking about shadow as a graphic element but also much more. Be aware of everything; don’t narrow your field of vision.”

20 Tips: Dos and Don’ts for Leaf Peepers

1. DO get lost. Carry a good map and get a little lost. With 7,401 miles of unpaved roads just in Vermont, there’s ample opportunity to find adventure.

2. DO observe proper foliage etiquette. Locals use the back roads to get from here to there as promptly as possible. If you’re oohing and ahhing at five miles per hour, pull over when someone’s behind you. And DO ask a landowner’s permission before tramping into the fields.

3. DO get out of your car, and walk, and smell, and listen. Foliage is the most sensual of New England seasons, from the sweet aromas of our apple orchards to the swirling of leaves and wind, from that first whiff of woodsmoke on a frosty fall day to the crunch of dry foliage underfoot. Seeing foliage is only half the fun. Many of us remember our parents shoving us into the car when we were young and driving for hours with out-of-town relatives. We hated it.

4. DO pick up a parking pass for New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest to avoid a parking ticket. Funds go to protecting the forest habitat.

5. DO as professional foliage photographers do when composing photos. A single crimson maple in the foreground with a white church behind and a little blue sky showing will translate better than a 40-mile-distant panoramic view. DON’T forget your polarizing filter. The filter enhances the vivid colors.

6. DO look for changing views. Search out roads with hills and curves, roads that meander through changing vistas of woods and farms and small villages. If there is a better combination than water and stone (stone walls, stone bridges) and autumn leaves, we don’t know it.

7. DON’T be a hit-and-run leaf watcher. DON’T rush. A picnic by a waterfall beats dashing all about, hoping to see just one more place before dark.

8. DON’T panic that “peak” is passing you by. Peak color is a continuum, not a moment fixed in time. Within a few miles you’ll see different stages, depending on types of trees and elevation. “Seeking peak is missing the point,” says Kit Anderson, a Vermont cultural geographer. “It’s like condensing the entire season and the entire experience into this one moment, like a sound byte, and people miss it.”

9. DO respect “Moose Crossing” signs. Northern New England is moose country. Cars and passengers do not always survive collisions with 1,000-pound moose.

10. DO wake early. The colors will be most vivid with the morning dew and morning light. Watching the dawn mist rise off our forest-ringed lakes and rivers may be the best treat of all.

11. DO linger to enjoy the late-afternoon light. The deep shadows late in the day set off all colors against areas of darkness.

12. DO have lodging reservations during the late September to mid-October prime leaf-watching period. DON’T expect to stay but one night. Most places expect a two-night minimum during foliage.

13. DON’T let your lack of lodging stop your visit. Local Vermont chambers of commerce, for instance, keep a quiet list of hospitable locals who open up that spare room in their homes for intrepid leaf watchers. If possible, DO come midweek.

14. DO look skyward, especially if you’re hiking. Mid- to late September is when thousands of broad-winged hawks ride the thermals south. The raptor migration is worthy of a trip in itself.

15. DON’T be a color snob and ignore everything except bright reds. Trees exhibit an astonishing range of colors. Foliage season means subtle shadings of peach and corals and apricot, the subtle yellows of beech and birch, the soft browns and purples. DON’T let rain keep you indoors. Wet weather brings out the most vivid colors.

16. DO go beyond where most people go.

17. DO visit northern Maine for wondrous color with few crowded roads. But DON’T ever think you have the right-of-way when approaching a logging truck on the narrow roads.

18. DO let New Englanders help you find the prime local foliage spots. Best bet for advice: district forest rangers. Many of them are “leaf spotters,” asked by the state to report daily and weekly on foliage conditions in their area. Their pride in their home vistas spills over if you stop in at their headquarters and ask where they would go.

19. DO include valleys and the seacoast in your travels. Though most people head to the mountains, in fact the lowland areas boast the brightest and earliest colors. Look for the swamp maples surrounding the marshes.

20. DO visit NewEngland.com often to see color changes on the interactive map of New England, to find driving tours, to submit your digital photos to our foliage photo contest, and lots more!

Fall Foliage Cruises

New England is famous for its colorful fall foliage, which draws thousands of visitors (or “leaf peepers,” as they’re affectionately known) to every corner of its diverse landscape each year. It seems that most of these visitors flock to hilly foliage hotspots to admire the fall colors, but a lesser number know to take advantage of New England’s many bodies of water, which often offer even more spectacular views that are only accessible by boat.

For this reason, we’ve compiled a list of sixteen New England cruises that promise to give you a new perspective on classic fall foliage. The list includes jaunts along rugged shorelines, journeys up and down rivers, and treks across mountain-lined lakes.

COASTAL BAY & HARBOR CRUISES

Acadian Boat Tours – Bar Harbor, ME

Experience Acadia National Park from the water with Acadian Boat Tours, who offer daily Sightseeing/Nature Cruises that explore the Acadian coast, as well as a special Somes Sound Cruise, which takes visitors up through the Somes Sound fjard of Mount Desert Island.

Sightseeing/Nature Cruises: Daily, through October.

Somes Sound Cruises: Early September to late October.

119 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME. (207) 801-2300; acadianboattours.com

Casco Bay Lines – Portland, ME

A number of scenic, seaside cruises of varying duration and distance wind through the many islands of Casco Bay, giving participants beautiful views of Mid-Coast Maine’s stunning fall foliage and coastline.

Scenic Harbor Cruises: Year-round.

56 Commercial Street, Portland, ME. (207) 774-7871; cascobaylines.com/maine-boat-tours/scenic-harbor-cruises

Gansett Cruises – Newport, RI

Offered several times a day, these cruises will take you through Newport Harbor and around Narragansett Bay. Enjoy the natural scenery and unique views of Newport’s famous mansions while being served Rhode Island culinary specialties, like Del’s Lemonade or stuffed clams.

Harbor Tours & Sunset Cruises: Through October.

2 Bowen’s Landing, Newport, RI. (401) 619-1300; gansettcruises.com

Maine Windjammer Association – Camden & Rockland, ME

The Maine Windjammer Association is a group of sailing ships whose members specialize in multi-day tours of the Mid-Coast Maine region. In the fall, a number of these ships offer special foliage cruises, through which you’ll not only experience Maine’s natural beauty, but also learn a thing or two about sailing!

Fall Foliage Cruises: Dates vary by ship; generally mid-September to mid-October.

Camden & Rockland, ME. 800-807-9463; sailmainecoast.com/pick-a-ship/our-vessels

RIVER CRUISES

Damariscotta River Cruises – Damariscotta, ME

Experience the beauty of autumn on the Damariscotta River with a narrated tour, complete with hot apple cider.

Leef Peepers Tour: Select dates in October. See site for details.

40 Main Street, Damariscotta, ME. 888-635-4309; damariscottarivercruises.com/leaf-peepers-tour

Essex Cruises – Essex, MA

Enjoy donuts and hot apple cider while cruising up the Essex River towards expansive salt marshes and coastal islands. This cruise offers a unique view of a tidal estuary in the fall.

Fall Foliage Cider & Donuts Cruises: Select dates in October. See site for details.

35 Dodge Street, Essex, MA. 978-768-6981; essexcruises.com

Northfield Mountain Recreation & Environmental Center – Northfield, MA

Hop aboard the Quinnetukut II and take a cruise down the beautiful Connecticut River, which is sure to show a full spectrum of fall colors.

Riverboat Cruises: Through mid-October.

99 Millers Falls Road, Northfield, MA. 800-859-2960; h2opower-new.itwcorp.info/firstlightpower/recreation/quinnetuket-ii-riverboat-cruises

Portsmouth Harbor Cruises – Portsmouth, NH

Start in the busy harbor of Portsmouth and travel down the Piscataqua River before setting out towards the Great Bay or Cocheco River.

Inland River & Fall Foliage Cruises: Mid-September through October.

64 Ceres Street, Portsmouth, NH. 800-776-0915; portsmouthharbor.com/cruises/inland-river-fall-foliage-cruise

RiverQuest Cruises – Haddam, CT

Take in the colorful fall foliage that lines the shores of the Connecticut River from the comfort of a boat.

Fall Foliage Cruises: Mid- to late October.

14 Little Meadow Road, Haddam, CT. 860-662-0577; ctriverquest.com/fall-foliage-cruises