Recommendations on TS in Vermont or New Hampshire OCTOBER visit

[Cheapseater]

Planning a early October week visit to Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine area to enjoy a New England Fall week. We would greatly appreciate your thoughts and recommendations upon which ts is a great base camp to take in the area.

Our first goal would be to really enjoy the 75 mile radius around the ts. Therefore which ts to select is important as the real question could be which part of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine has the best and classic New England fall activities and scenic leaf viewing in a 75 mile area.

Activities at the ts are not important as we will travel each day to take in the area around the ts. Just adults on this trip.

We already have a week at Samoset in June 17 so visiting the coast is not a priority for this trip.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and recommendations.

 

[WinniWoman]

Of course, I own at Smugglers Notch and Innseason Pollard Brook, so those are what I would recommend.

First Pollard Brook (or even Blue Green South Mountain) is in Lincoln, NH- right off the exit on Highway 93- central to everything and smack dab in the White Mountains - the Franconia Notch area which is so drop dead gorgeous and also has direct access to the Kancamaugus Hwy- which takes you into North Conway. Stunning vistas, hiking has it all. Woodstock Inn is very close by and some decent restaurants. Mount Washington and Bretton Woods.Highly recommend. You can even travel down the hwy to the Lakes Region for a day trip. We do it all the time. I don;t think you can get better than this location. You can also take a drive into Maine from here as well.

As for Smuggs- great in the Fall! Drive through the Notch to Stowe/Waterbury- beautiful. An hour east takes you to Burlington and Lake Champlain.
Also, the Trapp Family Lodge is a good TS and on the Stowe side of the Notch.
You can drive or take the Gondola up Mount Mansfield. Lots of breweries around.Great restaurants.

Are you spending a week in each state or a week total? If it's just a week total you will never have time to sight see all these areas. These are rural places with a lot going on in the Fall. Takes quite a bit of time to drive around.

 

[WinniWoman]

I've owned at Smuggs for 17 years and I am a member of the VT 251 club and have visited over 100+ towns already, so I know a lot about Vermont. if I can help with anything just ask.

Also been traveling to NH for many years as our son lives there, although only owned at Pollard Brook for one year, so very much familiar as well.

 

[mdurette]

I would suggest the White Mountain area in New Hampshire since it would be centered in between Maine and Vermont.

If you prefer a more commercialized area: Stay in North Conway. I would suggest the Eastern Slope Inn. (trades with RCI)

If you prefer more rural (but will still all the amenities you need) Stay in Lincoln, NH. First choice would be South Mountain, second choice would be Pollard Brook. (these trade with RCI and II - but RCI tends to have more availability.

 

[Cheapseater]

Only a week this trip...

We will be traveling 2 days, in area for 7 days and traveling 2 days home. So we are only in for a week this trip. Again, really want to focus on about a 75 mile radius as we have car and will travel! Planning on the coast of Maine and other parts of NE summer of 2017 for a two to three week trip.
Thanks all! Keep the thoughts coming as we are taking them all to heart.

 

[mdurette]

If you haven't come across this yet in your research. It will really help.

http://www.yankeefoliage.com/


Also, would tell you that there is a big difference in foliage between early October and late October. The later on in the month...the more south you want to be.

 

[WinniWoman]

OK so I believe there is a timeshare in Bethel, Maine that is not too far from North Conway and White Mountain area. Eastern Slope Inn there as someone else mentioned. From there you could drive into Vt, but you will definitely be traveling a lot more than 75 miles overall. Would take a couple of hours to get to Trapp from North Conway. Its under 2 hours drive from Lincoln, NH to Trapp in Stowe. You might want to stick with just Vt/ NH or Maine/ NH. Or maybe you could do Bethel, Lincoln and Stowe. Just expect a wider mileage radius.

 

[missyrcrews]

OK so I believe there is a timeshare in Bethel, Maine that is not too far from North Conway and White Mountain area. Eastern Slope Inn there as someone else mentioned. From there you could drive into Vt, but you will definitely be traveling a lot more than 75 miles overall. Would take a couple of hours to get to Trapp from North Conway. Its under 2 hours drive from Lincoln, NH to Trapp in Stowe. You might want to stick with just Vt/ NH or Maine/ NH. Or maybe you could do Bethel, Lincoln and Stowe. Just expect a wider mileage radius.

In Bethel, ME you have Bethel Inn, Jordan Grand, and Grand Summit. We don't care for the Grand Summit. Jordan Grand is a hike from town....but the views are AMAZING. It is literally on the side of a mountain. Units were nice enough. Bethel Inn is right in town (very walkable downtown) and the 2 BR townhouses we've stayed in were fine. Not fancy at all, but certainly good enough. We like staying in Bethel because it's about an hour to the North Conway area, a couple of hours to VT, not far from some great Maine state parks. And if you wanted to go to Portland, you're about 90 minutes away.

We enjoy Smugglers' Notch in Vermont as well. Again, amazing views from some units. (My parents were there Columbus Day week last year, and will be there again this year....foliage was great last year at that time.)

We've stayed at Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway.....we tend to prefer the quieter country settings, but every now and again, it's fun to be in town where the action is.

Hope you'll enjoy visiting "our neck of the woods" during what is my very favorite time of year!

 

[Cheapseater]

Great guidance!

Just to be clear, we are asking for guidance in selecting an area with a TS so that we can simply really take in the area around the TS venue. We are all blessed to have great beauty in most all parts of the US. Here in East Tennessee and western North Carolina we have national forests and the GSMNP all around to offer wonderful scenic fall views. What we hope to take in during our trip up north is not national forest areas but the towns, villages, fairs, festivals, maple syrup farms, farmers stands, etc all along the back roads of whichever area you all guide us to. So being in a national park or national forest is not what we are seeking as we have a wonderful and beautiful fall season that hits in late October as evidenced by October being the month with the most visitors to the most visited national park in our nation- our GSMNP.
So small towns and the New England way of life in the fall is what we hope to experience. Thank you all greatly for your advice and guidance- please keep your thoughts coming as we attempt to narrow the choices down.

 

[sue1947]

I also enjoyed Pollard Brook for a similar trip several years ago. We were there Columbus Day weekend and the leaf color was at its peak. We used it as a base to explore east into Vermont and west over to North Conway plus Franconia Notch etc. It was a good base for that type of exploring. I hadn't explored any of New England since working as a Girl Scout camp counselor back in the early '70's and so it was all essentially new to me. We then did a second week at Acadia at Harbor Ridge which can't be beat for exploring Acadia National Park. I'd recommend both timeshares. They aren't fancy, but the locations are good.

Sue

 

[WinniWoman]

Just to be clear, we are asking for guidance in selecting an area with a TS so that we can simply really take in the area around the TS venue. We are all blessed to have great beauty in most all parts of the US. Here in East Tennessee and western North Carolina we have national forests and the GSMNP all around to offer wonderful scenic fall views. What we hope to take in during our trip up north is not national forest areas but the towns, villages, fairs, festivals, maple syrup farms, farmers stands, etc all along the back roads of whichever area you all guide us to. So being in a national park or national forest is not what we are seeking as we have a wonderful and beautiful fall season that hits in late October as evidenced by October being the month with the most visitors to the most visited national park in our nation- our GSMNP.
So small towns and the New England way of life in the fall is what we hope to experience. Thank you all greatly for your advice and guidance- please keep your thoughts coming as we attempt to narrow the choices down.

OK. So you want to stay in one timeshare and drive around from there on day trips and back each night? Then, well- you will not be able to see all three states staying in one timeshare- it would simply be too far between each state to do this.

I am partial to Vermont hands down for what you have described. Stowe would be my number one choice - Trapp Family Lodge (or Smugglers Notch if you can't get into Trapp))- again- you will be a ways from the New Hampshire border and very far from the Maine border.)

But- you will be able to go to breweries, wineries, maple farms, Cabot Cheese, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Ben and Jerry's. Stowe always has events going on. You can take the hour ride out to Burlington- lots to do and see there. Lake Champlain area and the Champlain Islands = awesome. You can even go into Montreal if you want- about 1 1/2 hours away. You can take a ride into the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont (St. Johnsbury and the surrounding area) ) from Trapp and then cross over into New Hampshire to Littleton, NH, a great town with lots of shops, etc.

 

[Dollie]

Common Ground Fair

This may be too early for your trip but it might be the sort of thing you're interested in:

http://www.mofga.org/TheFair/tabid/135/Default.aspx

 

[missyrcrews]

This may be too early for your trip but it might be the sort of thing you're interested in:

http://www.mofga.org/TheFair/tabid/135/Default.aspx

And that reminds me....the Fryeburg (Maine) fair would be right up your alley! One of the best fairs in New England. Or even the Sandwich (NH) fair would be fun. I'm sure you could google both of those for dates. Fryeburg would be close to North Conway or Bethel, and Sandwich would be closer to the NH timeshares mentioned.

 

[WinniWoman]

And that reminds me....the Fryeburg (Maine) fair would be right up your alley! One of the best fairs in New England. Or even the Sandwich (NH) fair would be fun. I'm sure you could google both of those for dates. Fryeburg would be close to North Conway or Bethel, and Sandwich would be closer to the NH timeshares mentioned.

Oh, yes! the Fryeburg Fair! That's a good one!

As for North Conway, I like it a lot, but it is way too crowded during peak seasons.

 

[candygirl]

Great to hear about your New England trip this fall-but remember fall in NE is very busy so I hope you get the ts you want! Also "leaf peepers" as we New Englanders like to lovingly refer to the fall tourists, are usually driving at a slow pace so it will take some time to get around. I agree with everyone about a 7 day trip for 3 states is not enough time. Enjoy your trip!

 

[theo]

Jackson Gore Inn (RCI #5422) in Ludlow, Vermont would certainly be a great base of operations for fulfilling the OP's very ambitious and quite specific criteria, but I suspect that the odds of being able to "trade in" there during early October would be just about the same as the odds of a meteor striking Earth this morning.

 

[Cheapseater]

Thanks for all the information! We are booked at Smuggler's Notch

We waited as long as we felt comfortable waiting for a Saturday to Saturday stay in Vermont. We booked the Smuggler's Notch Resort for our base for our week in October.
We intend to limit our daily travel to the north half of Vermont with a day in Burlington, one on the around the islands, one in Stowe area, one in the Mad River Valley, one to the Capitol area, one to the Northeast area and one to go back to any thing that really stands out to us during our daily discovery drives.

Living here in East Tennessee we are very familiar with slow "leaf peepers" every fall and especially in the last weeks of October in the GSMNP area- Cades Cove is like an urban center on weekends in October. That said October is the busiest month for the most visited National Park so we are used to it. I suspect that Vermont can be no worse.

Thanks for all the heads up about festivals, don't miss places and such. We are open to any other ideas that you may have so go ahead and pitch'em out for us. We have places of interest to that we plan to stop already but are looking for more. Outlet malls are not an option. Places like Maple Hardwood or Cabot Cheese or maple shacks are on our list to visit as we drive about northern Vermont.

Thanks again and keep the tips coming!

 

[missyrcrews]

Congratulations!

My parents exchanged their timeshare at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri for an October week at Smuggs. Maybe we'll be there at the same time you are! They will be there the week that includes Columbus Day. They had that same week last year, and it was perfect. One of our very favorite places to visit in New England.

 

[WinniWoman]

We waited as long as we felt comfortable waiting for a Saturday to Saturday stay in Vermont. We booked the Smuggler's Notch Resort for our base for our week in October.
We intend to limit our daily travel to the north half of Vermont with a day in Burlington, one on the around the islands, one in Stowe area, one in the Mad River Valley, one to the Capitol area, one to the Northeast area and one to go back to any thing that really stands out to us during our daily discovery drives.

Living here in East Tennessee we are very familiar with slow "leaf peepers" every fall and especially in the last weeks of October in the GSMNP area- Cades Cove is like an urban center on weekends in October. That said October is the busiest month for the most visited National Park so we are used to it. I suspect that Vermont can be no worse.

Thanks for all the heads up about festivals, don't miss places and such. We are open to any other ideas that you may have so go ahead and pitch'em out for us. We have places of interest to that we plan to stop already but are looking for more. Outlet malls are not an option. Places like Maple Hardwood or Cabot Cheese or maple shacks are on our list to visit as we drive about northern Vermont.

Thanks again and keep the tips coming!

Well, that is quite an ambitious schedule for one week! Keep in mind you are dealing with long distances with these ideas. It is extremely rural and a lot of the driving can be tiring. No way can you see, do and appreciate everything on your list and get some sleep! LOL! But- here goes some suggestions again you can pick from-(sorry if I have repeated myself from a previous reply)-

If you go to Cabot make sure you go to the actual Cabot factory in Cabot VT. (There is also a Cabot outlet in Waterbury which is good.) Ben and Jerrys and Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Lake Champlain Chocolates outlet. Smugglers Notch Distillery outlet and Vt. Teddy Bear outlet are there also, and Kerug Green Mountain Coffee. Going from Stowe to that Waterbury area you will pass Laughing Moon chocolates small shop- very good.

Going through the notch itself is an experience.

Visit the Trapp Family Lodge of Sound of Music fame in Stowe. Take the tour. Good restaurant in Stowe is Harrisons. Small- so make reservations. The Whip at the Green Mountain Inn is good also.Great bike/walking path in Stowe. I love the Stowe Mercantile Exchange shop in Stowe. Also- local theater there is very good and bargain prices (Stowe Theater Guild). If you go to a show keep in mind you have to drive through the notch in the dark to get back to Smuggs.

Also ride up to the summit of Mt. Mansfield (a must), or take the gondola up to "almost" the summit. You can also make dinner reservations for up there.

Burlington has a ton of restaurants and a bike/walking path that goes along the Lake- (and actually over it in Colchester) awesome views of the Adirondacks. There is also a city trolley tour you can take from the waterfront. You can also take a guided sailboat. Or, you can grab one of the Champlain Ferries to cross the lake. Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory gives tours. Lots of breweries. Also, the Ethan Allen Homestead.

In South Burlington there is the Shelburne Museum and Farm, Vt Teddy Bear factory, and the VT. Wildflower Farm. In Charlotte, you can ride up to Mt. Philo State Park for an incredible view of the Champlain Valley.

The islands are my favorite. Every one of them- on Isle La Motte you might visit St. Anne's Shrine- very French Canadian area. There are many state parks and beaches along the lake. I like Sand Bar State Park. Heck- I like all the state parks on the lake. Some wineries. Hit St. Albans and try Joe's Maine Seafood Restaurant- the early bird special. There is also a Historical Museum there. Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Swanton.

If you make it to Montpelier, visiting the Hope Cemetery in Barre is a must. Go on-line to see why. Also Morse Maple Farm (has a website as well). Vermont Historical Museum.

If you like the idea of dog sledding, Eden dog sledding has a dogs on wheels excursion- expensive- but worth it. About an hour and a half from the resort.

As I said previously. I belong to the VT 251 club and have been to well over 100 towns in the state- plenty to see and do. I have owned at Smuggs for 17 years. If you need to know anything, just ask me!

I recommend the book : An Explorer's Guide Vermont by Christina Tree and Rachel Carter.

Have fun!

 

[WinniWoman]

One more- Hearth and Candle and Mountain Grille restaurants at the resort are very good. But definitely hit 158 Main in Jeffersonville- a fav local place. Jeffersonville Pizza above in the same building also very good, as is The Family Table in town there.

Boyden Winery in Cambridge and Smugglers Notch Distillery in Jeffersonville also recommended.

 

[elaine]

It's only 2 hrs to Montreal on mostly easy roads thru farms. Highly recommend it. We parked at the Hilton for $25 and walked to the old town.

 

[silentg]

We waited as long as we felt comfortable waiting for a Saturday to Saturday stay in Vermont. We booked the Smuggler's Notch Resort for our base for our week in October.
We intend to limit our daily travel to the north half of Vermont with a day in Burlington, one on the around the islands, one in Stowe area, one in the Mad River Valley, one to the Capitol area, one to the Northeast area and one to go back to any thing that really stands out to us during our daily discovery drives.

Living here in East Tennessee we are very familiar with slow "leaf peepers" every fall and especially in the last weeks of October in the GSMNP area- Cades Cove is like an urban center on weekends in October. That said October is the busiest month for the most visited National Park so we are used to it. I suspect that Vermont can be no worse.

Thanks for all the heads up about festivals, don't miss places and such. We are open to any other ideas that you may have so go ahead and pitch'em out for us. We have places of interest to that we plan to stop already but are looking for more. Outlet malls are not an option. Places like Maple Hardwood or Cabot Cheese or maple shacks are on our list to visit as we drive about northern Vermont.

Thanks again and keep the tips coming!

We used to stay in Warren VT but summer week. If you go on Route 100 there are some quaint places and Waitsfield has some nice restaurants or cafes. Have a fun time and write a review for the rest of us to see.
Silentg

 

[WinniWoman]

It's only 2 hrs to Montreal on mostly easy roads thru farms. Highly recommend it. We parked at the Hilton for $25 and walked to the old town.

And- only 1.5 hours away is the Saint Benoit-du-Lac Abbey in Quebec Provine. Really wonderful to see. We got there to see/hear the service with the monks performing the Gregorian chant for the entire service. They also make their own cheeses for sale and have a shop downstairs in the building.

You can circle around Lake Memphremagog to get back to Vermont. My second favorite lake. Just gorgeous and nice to go through some of the Canadian towns.

 

[silentg]

One more- Hearth and Candle and Mountain Grille restaurants at the resort are very good. But definitely hit 158 Main in Jeffersonville- a fav local place. Jeffersonville Pizza above in the same building also very good, as is The Family Table in town there.

Boyden Winery in Cambridge and Smugglers Notch Distillery in Jeffersonville also recommended.

Also visit Ben and Jerry's!

 

[Space Coast Laurie]

Cheapseater... We're booked into Smuggler's Notch for Oct 7-14 of this year, so we would be interested in what you ended up doing during your 2016 October visit, what places/restaurants/drives/activities you really enjoyed, and whether there's anything that you'd skip if you had it to do over. Thanks in advance!