Fall New England Road Trip: Vermont and New Hampshire

Planning the perfect fall New England road trip during peak foliage can be stressful.  We’re here to give you a guide to finding the best fall colors in Vermont and New Hampshire.

When to Visit

Fall in New England is a dream.  The vibrant colors, the cold weather, and the fall activities make the month of October memorable.  The dates for peak colors change a bit from year to year, but peak foliage usually occurs within the first two weeks of October.  This foliage tracker will help you determine the best time to visit.   We were a little late visiting in mid-October, but coming from Florida, we were thankful to be able to experience fall in the first place.

We recommend planning early.  Our trip turned into a lot more driving than expected, because I didn’t plan early enough.  The last option in Vermont was a Fairfield for $600 a night, so we drove all the way to Plattsburgh, New York for a much cheaper stay.

Vermont

Woodstock, VT

We started our fall road trip in Woodstock, Vermont.  The downtown area is truly picture perfect.  We spent some time walking around and took some pictures at the Woodstock Middle Covered Bridge.  This covered bridge provides a walkway over the Ottaquechee River and is a popular photo spot.

After exploring downtown Woodstock for a bit, we drove to Sleepy Hollow Farms about 10 minutes away.  If you’ve ever seen pictures of Vermont in the fall, you’ve more than likely seen a shot of this farm.  In the past few years, it has become a popular tourist destination, especially in the fall.  We visited close to sunset, and it was extremely crowded which seems to be typical during peak foliage no matter what time you visit.  We parked alongside Cloudland Road with everyone else and took some pictures a bit further down the road.  There is a gate blocking the winding driveway to the farm with lots of “No Trespassing” signs posted.  It is a private residence, so please remember to be respectful when visiting and adhere to the posted signage.

Stowe, VT

We decided to spend an entire day exploring Stowe, Vermont.  We began our day driving through Smuggler’s Notch State Park, a narrow pass through the Green Mountains. PSA:  All restrooms will be closed during the fall; they open during ski season.  We learned that the hard way.   In the fall, Smuggler’s Notch has a beautiful display of color.  We stopped in one of the parking areas to take some pictures,(highly recommend taking a girls’ trip with your mom and sister) capturing the bright orange leaves around us.  Once we arrived in downtown Stowe, we parked in the parking area near Salon Salon to take in the iconic views of the Stowe Community Church.  We found it easier to pay for a few hours of parking here and walk around Stowe due to the heavy crowds.

Black Cap Coffee was a great place to stop and enjoy some lattes before heading towards Sunset Rock Trail.  This leaf covered trail begins at the end of Sunset Street and is about 1.6 miles roundtrip.  We didn’t hike to the viewpoint, but the walk through the colorful forest was so pretty!

New Hampshire

From Stowe, we drove all the way to Derry, New Hampshire.  We wanted to be near the airport for our early morning flight, so we chose this Airbnb in Derry instead of Franconia where we did most of our exploring in New Hampshire.

Franconia

We were so excited to visit Franconia Notch State Park in the White Mountains.  We headed out early on a Monday morning to hike Artist’s Bluff and almost had the trail all to ourselves.  Based on some AllTrails reviews, it was a good thing we didn’t visit over the weekend.  This trail can get very crowded during peak foliage.  This 1.5 mile hike is moderate and quite steep in some areas. It can also be muddy depending on how recent the last rainfall was.   The view of Echo Lake surrounded by colorful treetops makes this short hike very rewarding.

Before hiking this trail, we read this blog post by Where are Those Morgans  for detailed parking and trail information.  Their post is so helpful!

Kancamagus Highway

We drove part of this 34 mile scenic highway through the White Mountain National Forest.  The autumn colors left us in awe, however we were very hungry after our hike and cut the drive short by heading back to our Airbnb.  If you plan on driving the Kancamagus Highway, fill up on gas and get some food before the drive as there are no businesses along the highway.

Mack’s Apples

This apple orchard was on our list, because you could pick your own apples and enjoy some other fall favorites, however our last day was a bit ruined by the weather.

We ended up spending the rainy day at our Airbnb playing Mancala and making it through an entire set of TableTopics.  We hope this guide is helpful as you plan your fall trip to New England.  For some other fall trip ideas check out our guide to Washington D.C. in the fall as well as our mini guide to fall in Blue Ridge, Georgia.