Fall Folliage Tours of New England

Hi Folks:

A friend and I are looking into taking a Fall Folliage bus tour of the 5 New England States. Caravan has been recommended to us.

My question to those who know:

Would the dates of October 9 - 16th be too late for the colors? Can you recommend another Tour company. The reason I ask is that we would prefer the dates of Oct 1 to 8th but apparently Caravan is full.

Thanks for your help

Lynn

Parkplace said:

Hi Folks:

Would the dates of October 9 - 16th be too late for the colors?

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It will probably be too early for Connecticut, and too late for Maine. It may be just right for central Vermont/New Hampshire. Plus every year is different.

What I'm telling you is that there is no single date range that the foliage will be peak throughout New England. I don't understand why anyone would do a week tour of all the NE states to see the foliage.

Check out sites like this one:

http://www.foliagenetwork.com/default.php

Google NE Foliage and several will appear

good luck
don

Parkplace said:

Hi Folks:

A friend and I are looking into taking a Fall Folliage bus tour of the 5 New England States.

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BTW there are 6 New England States- your tour is skipping one, but as I said for foliage it makes little sense to me.

http://www.foliage-vermont.com/foliageinflash.htm

The link above gives a good view of foliage in Vermont. It is similar to New Hampshire and Upstate New York (Adirondacks). Maine is a special case because its inland forests are mostly pine and the coast has its own weather. In the map you can follow the colors south to the Mass border. The mountains and high ridges go first in any area. Oct 9th to 16th is peak season in the valleys of central Vermont and the mountains of southern Vermont and Western Massachusetts.

Not anymore...

DonM said:

BTW there are 6 New England States- your tour is skipping one....

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I regret to inform you that Connecticut has been expelled -- hence there really are now only 5 New England states. We have donated and allocated Connecticut to the mid-Atlantic region, primarily due to an unacceptably high number of NY Yankees fans residing in CT. So sorry...

theo said:

I regret to inform you that Connecticut has been expelled -- hence there really are now only 5 New England states. We have now donated and allocated Connecticut to the mid-Atlantic region, primarily due to an unacceptably high number of NY Yankees fans residing in CT. So sorry...

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:hysterical: :hysterical:

Don:

I'm curious about your questioning why we would want to visit all the New England states for the foliage? Is there a better plan that you can think of?

This is a sincere question. We are from Western Canada and the itinerary beginning in Boston, touring Marthas Vineyard, Bar Harbour, Cape Cod, Kenebuckport, and a few other places sounds interesting. But if you can think of something better since you live there, we are very open to hearing about it.

Thanks

Parkplace: I agree with you.
Fall foilage is what they push when there is nothing else of interest. Boring!

I dont think it's boring really...but seeing it from a bus just doesnt work for me. That would be boring (I think...probably...never done it but....nah.) I'd rent a car in Boston and take the following trip.

http://www.yankeefoliage.com/drives/nhdrive

It's just about on target...stopping for 2 or 3 days in the Lincoln/N Woodstock area to explore and then again for 2 days in N Conway. If you decide to take this route and like to hike...make sure you ask someone in Lincoln/Nwoodstock where to hike bald nob (fairly easy hike and the view are INCREDIBLE...pack a lunch and spend some time just admiring the view). I lived in the area for about 6 years and your best bet for color is Oct 5-14th...but as has been mentioned...there's never a guarantee.

Have fun whatever you do!!!

Parkplace said:

Hi Folks:

A friend and I are looking into taking a Fall Folliage bus tour of the 5 New England States. Caravan has been recommended to us.

My question to those who know:

Would the dates of October 9 - 16th be too late for the colors? Can you recommend another Tour company. The reason I ask is that we would prefer the dates of Oct 1 to 8th but apparently Caravan is full.

Thanks for your help

Lynn

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Skip the tour, do it yourselves, as others have already said. If Oct. 9-16 is your preferred schedule for your vacation i would recommend Northwestern Mass (lost of good museums there too) and lower New Hampshire and Vermont. I live in western mass so i have a good feel for the dates. The 'seven state tour' will bore you, i promise.

As always, every year is different as far as foliage goes.... but you'll have fun no matter what or when. If you would like more details on Western Mass museums and attractions, please feel free to ask)

John B

Parkplace said:

Hi Folks:

A friend and I are looking into taking a Fall Folliage bus tour of the 5 New England States. Caravan has been recommended to us.

My question to those who know:

Would the dates of October 9 - 16th be too late for the colors? Can you recommend another Tour company. The reason I ask is that we would prefer the dates of Oct 1 to 8th but apparently Caravan is full.

Thanks for your help

Lynn

Click to expand...

Parkplace said:

Don:

I'm curious about your questioning why we would want to visit all the New England states for the foliage? Is there a better plan that you can think of?

This is a sincere question. We are from Western Canada and the itinerary beginning in Boston, touring Marthas Vineyard, Bar Harbour, Cape Cod, Kenebuckport, and a few other places sounds interesting. But if you can think of something better since you live there, we are very open to hearing about it.

Thanks

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Lynn, I'm a bit confused. Your first post described a 5 state foliage tour, while your last post talks about Boston, Martha's Vineyard, etc. Please clarify for me...which is it?

I agree with others about skipping the foliage bus tour. You will see plenty of foliage just with your everyday activities (you will need to be more North if you prefer the first week of October).

For example, you can drive up the interstae to Northern NH, then across the Kankamangus Highway to North Conway for a little shopping. Take a ride to the top of one of the ski hills, or to the top of Mt. Washington. From North Conway you can drive through Bethel, Maine to the coast (don't forget the side trip to Freeport for LL Bean). From there you can explore the Coast of Maine, before returning to the Boston area or RI.

Parkplace said:

Don:

I'm curious about your questioning why we would want to visit all the New England states for the foliage? Is there a better plan that you can think of?

Click to expand...

You originally asked... "Would the dates of October 9 - 16th be too late for the colors?"
Therefore I assumed that you were concerned about seeing some beautiful peak or near peak color, and I responded:

"...It will probably be too early for Connecticut, and too late for Maine. It may be just right for central Vermont/New Hampshire. Plus every year is different. What I'm telling you is that there is no single date range that the foliage will be peak throughout New England."


Therefore to visit all the New England states during any foliage week will produce some areas that are pre peak color, and some that will be past peak.

I suggest that you limit your tour to those areas that are peak when you tour. If you tour the week of Oct 9th, I would think that central Vermont & New Hampshire might fit that bill, but every year is different.

If on the other hand, the foliage viewing is secondary to some specific destination such as Boston, or the White Mtns of New Hampshire, then by all means enjoy your tour without concern for the foliage.

good luck
don

theo said:

I regret to inform you that Connecticut has been expelled -- hence there really are now only 5 New England states. We have donated and allocated Connecticut to the mid-Atlantic region, primarily due to an unacceptably high number of NY Yankees fans residing in CT. So sorry...

Click to expand...

That would be quite a loss for the remainder of New England seeing as Connecticut is the most affluent State in the Nation.

It's also true that we have many New York Yankee fans since Fairfield county (the most populous and affluent county in Ct) is less than 1 hour car ride into NYC. (It's not coincidence that there are so many Yankee Fans in such an affluent area)

I'm proud to be one of them!!

R.I.P. Bobby

Parkplace said:

This is a sincere question. We are from Western Canada and the itinerary beginning in Boston, touring Marthas Vineyard, Bar Harbour, Cape Cod, Kenebuckport, and a few other places sounds interesting.

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It is confusing because none of the places you have listed would be on a fall foliage tour. They are interesting places but not generally foliage stops. For your planned schedule, Southern to Central Vermont and New Hampshire and Western Massachusetts would at or near peak foliage. The only advantage of a guided tour is that presumably you don't have to worry about lodging. If you decide to do it yourself, which is a much nicer way to see the colors, you will have to do some homework and get reservations. Rather than just endless highway driving, pick a few places to spend a day or two, stay at a B&B, and ask the proprietor for a scenic and colorful local route to spend the day. There are thousands of miles of graded gravel roads in Vermont and NH that pass through beautiful foliage scenery during this season. You won't get to those roads on a bus. The locals take foliage rides and they know where the best color and best "scenes" are.

Something I have done when planning a scenic route is to look at the guided tours and see where they go. They will at least have scoped out some interesting areas that are "in season". Then make your own itinerary concentrating on a few of the tour areas.

PS; The reason Coneticut was kicked out of New England is that no one, either in or out of the state, knows how to spell it.

You guys are absolutely right! I was way off in listing the stops. I was trying to list them by memory and should have looked them up.

Here is the itinerary:

1.Boston-2.Plymouth Rock-3.Marthas Vineyard-4.Rhode Island-5.Norman Rockwell-6.VErmont-New Hampshire-7.Portland-Kennebuckport

Sorry for the confusion. It shows you what I know about the New England States!

I welcome your input. Sorry for the confusion

Lynn