New England
Weekend Foliage Planner | New England Fall Trips
A weekend-by-weekend guide to where you’re likely to find the best foliage in New England.
By Jim Salge|Aug 26 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan- The New England foliage season rarely disappoints. There is always great color to be found.
- There is usually a predictable pattern to the way the foliage develops.
New England Fall Trips | Weekend Foliage Planner
September 15-17, 2023
In northern New England, foliage usually begins to emerge during the last weekend in September, and when the foliage is on the early side , it’s possible that some high, cool valleys will be at or approaching peak. Think Pittsburg, New Hampshire, and Newport, Vermont, way up by the Canadian border. Drive Route 5A in Vermont through the Willoughby Gap, or Route 3 along the Connecticut Lakes. Hikers can head to the Zealand Valley, the earliest place in the White Mountains to turn. If you could forgive yourself for not finding the brightest early foliage weekend, other classic autumn favorites might be in order. Apple picking should be peaking, with hot cider and apple cider donuts adding appeal, and fairs and festivals abound during the first official weekend in fall.September 22-24, 2023
Your travel options increase dramatically during the first few weeks of fall, and you’ll now have many more chances for finding peak color. These will still be limited to the most northern parts of the three northern states, but widespread color definitely provides many loop options once you are there.
Photo Credit : Jim Salge
September 29-October 1, 2023
By now the majority of Vermont has often reached peak, and most of New Hampshire and Maine outside of the coastal plain as well. This is the weekend to drive the beautiful rural Route 100 in Vermont, or visit Woodstock and Quechee Gorge. The southern towns of the White Mountains, like Waterville Valley, North Conway, and Tamworth, will likely be at their best, and the area offers plenty of activities for visitors. And a quiet getaway near Sebago Lake in Maine might make for the perfect weekend. If the foliage comes early, the Berkshires might be peaking on Columbus Day Weekend as well, venturing out from Boston, west is just as good an option as north. For a different take on autumn color, plan a weekend at the Cranberry harvest on Cape Cod.October 6-8, 2023 (Columbus Day Weekend)
Columbus Day Weekend is usually the big leaf-peeping weekend in all of northern New England. Leaves are usually falling fast in far northern New England by mid-October, while central and southern New England are just coming into their own. There are exceptions though—the coast of Maine (this will likely be the brightest time in Acadia National Park) and Lake Champlain and Lake Winnipesaukee, where the water holds enough heat to create a slightly later peak than the rest of the northern zone. Start in Bar Harbor and explore the unparalleled scenery during the centennial celebration of our National Parks, or try a hike of Mount Major in New Hampshire or Mount Philo in Vermont for some surprising color in the canopy!
Photo Credit : Jim Salge
October 13-15, 2023
This is usually southern New England’s big foliage weekend, when Connecticut, Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts are all reaching peak. There are plentiful red maples (which turn earlier) and oaks (which turn later) in southern New England, so this region tends to have an extended season, with the best color usually arriving in late October. This would be the ideal weekend to hike in the Blue Hills near Boston, with great views of the skyline, or Talcott Mountain State Park in Connecticut. The Cape and Islands off of Rhode Island will be showcasing great color as well. The colors in the salt marshes and shorelines are not to be missed. And while southern New England is putting on the big show, subtle colors should also reemerge in northern New England. Many forests in the mountains have a beech understory that turns late, and the tamarack, our deciduous conifer, turns the edges of bogs and wetlands a stunning gold.
Photo Credit : John Compton
October 20-22, 2023
By late October, the foliage season is winding down across most of New England as we gear up for Halloween. Salem, Massachusetts, is the place to be for this haunted holiday, and some great fall color usually hangs on right along the coast of the Massachusetts North Shore and Cape Ann. Peak should also be occurring along our southern coast. Newport, Rhode Island, and Mystic, Connecticut, are two coastal towns with year-round charm and beauty, but they’re even more memorable with the foliage as a backdrop. A surprisingly nice foliage drive is the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut. It may be a busy highway, but its trees are tight to the road, and the architecture of the bridges in world-renowned.October 27-29, 2023
We don’t typically see many leaf peepers lingering into November, and by this point, the mountains are usually covered in snow. A few ski resorts might even be preparing to open. But Boston Common, and our southern coastlines treat the stragglers to a final, colorful sendoff at the conclusion of this most beautiful season. As you can see, while the New England fall foliage season only lasts a couple of weeks in any one location, the entirety of the season always offers travelers something to see. Certainly, we can put the qualifier on all of this, saying it’s just a forecast, but historically, the progression rarely deviates more than ten days early or late. This post was first published in 2016 and has been updated.
From mid-September to mid-October, one of the most dazzling routes begins in St. Johnsbury, just off Rt. 91 on the Northeast Kingdom’s southern edge. Take Rt.2 East out of St. Johnsbury to Rt. 102 North along the Connecticut River. Go all the way to Canaan and from there take Rt. 114 West to Norton and then south through Island Pond, East Burke, and Lyndonville back to St. Johnsbury. It’s about a three-hour drive not counting stops. To make a weekend of it, stop at Quimby Country in Averill where a couple can rent a lakeside cottage for as little as $99 a night, including continental breakfast. From there, it’s an easy drive into the Eastern Townships of Canada (bring your passport).
Where can I find up-to-date info on the quality of leaf coloring for this year. Last year we spent 8 nights traveling through New England in peak time, and the color was DISMAL. Tour bus passengers were almost in tears with the lack of color – as well as myself. Where can we find info on this? Last year we couldn’t find quality of color anywhere or we wouldn’t have paid all this money on hotels (a bright red maple was not to be seen on the whole trip); I think chamber of commerces throughout didn’t want to discourage visitors. Thanks for information on this.
Although many commercial enterprises attempt to profit off of the leaf peeping “industry”, they have no control over the when and where! It’s a God-thing and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he intentionally changes the schedule to get our attention!
where can we buy 2 senior tickets to view foliage? Where are the hotel pick up points in Boston? In Manchester, New Hampshire? where? where? , where?