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good NE places for Fall leaves/sightseeing/activities?

E

elaine

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I am thinking of taking my Mom (70) next Fall to NE to see the leaves. I am limited to end Sept/early Oct. What are some good timeshares with nice facilities that are also near sightseeing, other activities. I would be driving from DC. We have been to Stowe, VT in the summer, but nowhere else in NE (except NYC) and not in the Fall.
In the alternative, I am also considering a NE/Canada cruise--but a TS stay would be almost free and give us more space. We have cruised, so know the pros/cons, but comments appreciated re. the cruise sightseeing (Bar Harbor, Saint John, Halifax, Portland, Boston, RI) vs. a TS stay and comparable places to visit as day trips vs. we would be bored with 1 week in a TS?
thanks, Elaine
 
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There is a great foliage tracking site you can Google to find it.

Anywhere from the catskills to the Canadian border and further North is foliage, it heads South as the weather cools.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk 2
 
I can't speak to cruises up here.. but the colors are beautiful right now. Some recommendations would be Innseason Pollard Brook (Lincoln, NH), Rangeley Lake Resort (Rangeley, ME) or Trapp Family Lodge (Stowe, VT). All would be great locations to have a home base for leaf-peeping. I imagine there are others but those come to mind.
 
thanks--my post was a bit wandering. My question is two-fold:
I am looking for TS recommendations that have very good facilities--heated indoor pool, hot tubs, sauna, etc. PLUS easy day-trips from TS to sightseeing places (such as, up the road 45 minutes is the cute town of XXX with lots of antique shops, apple butter making, etc.). Thanks, Elaine
 
Oak n Spruce in Lee, Massachussetts, is very nice, if you get a good unit. It's a big place and some of the units are magnificent, and some are horrible.

The place has nice facilities including a small movie theater, and the location is fantastic for sightseeing in the Berkshires (lots of quaint little towns, Mass MOCA, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Red Lion Inn) and foliage and scenery. Oh, and there's an outlet mall nearby!
 
ahhh .. lol, ok. I can't give you the names of antique shops.. or cute little stores that serve hot cocoa (I wish I knew them :) )

but from a location standpoint for "sightseeing" .. the ones I listed above are leaf-peeping ground zero during the fall. Rangeley Lake Resort in BEAUTIFUL and are log cabins right next to the lake. The amenities are minimal though and it is kind of "out there".

Conversely, Pollard Brook has the indoor pools/hot tubs stuff. And you're close to North Conway and Lincoln that has lots of places to see and antique shops as well.

Trapp Family Lodges is a sightseeing tour itself since it was the inspiration for The Sound of Music and has all the amenities you would be looking for. And if you've been in Stowe.. you'll know there are bunches of antique shops all over the place.

If you wanted to be closer to the Maine shore.. Harbor Ridge and Samoset are nice facilities and have good antique hunting places... and DW LOVES lobster rolls .. so a win-win :D
 
Pollard Brook was an excellent suggestion- some close by sightseeing includes the Flume, the Basin, Lost River Gorge, and North Conway for shopping among other attractions (some may be closed or on reduced hours).
We just got back from Maine on Sept. 29th. Acadia Village Resort or Harbor Ridge(both have an indoor pool and a hot tub) make a great base for visiting Acadia National Park while Samoset is an hour or two away from the main park. There were spots of good color to be seen on our way home. This week and next week may be better.
 
Vacation villages in the Berkshires. Nice resort on top of big hill...great views.

Note: sept/oct is still prime season in New England. TS may be hard to find.

Alternative: Portland is a great little city and only a 2 hr drive to mountains. Pick a great hotel and have TONS to do intown and great day trips in every direction.
 
thanks. I will look into these. I might start a search for those near Acadia.
 
Only two near Acadia. One in Ellsworth and one in SW Harbor. Both may be hard to exchange into during sep/oct.

Note: it's a 3-4hr drive from Portland to Acadia.
 
I have stayed at Bentley Brook. Nice facility, but much farther than you need to be from restaurants and other attractions outside of ski season...You'd be better off at Oak and Spruce or Ponds at Fox Hollow. Acadia area and around North Conway, NH are good choices.
You do want to stick to the areas with malls and year round activities. Not everything is open or fully staffed in October in the towns that are purely there to support ski areas.
 
DanM said:
I have stayed at Bentley Brook. Nice facility, but much farther than you need to be from restaurants and other attractions outside of ski season...You'd be better off at Oak and Spruce or Ponds at Fox Hollow. Acadia area and around North Conway, NH are good choices.
You do want to stick to the areas with malls and year round activities. Not everything is open or fully staffed in October in the towns that are purely there to support ski areas.
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Dan, have you been to Vacation Village in the Berkshires? That's also pretty far from activities, right?
 
We've stayed at Vacation Village. Nice units, pool & hot tub too. Not far from Lee and Stockbridge either.
 
wackymother said:
Dan, have you been to Vacation Village in the Berkshires? That's also pretty far from activities, right?
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Yes. It's across the street. Pretty area, but there really aren't any good restaurants within 30 minutes. Pittsfield, the nearest town of any size, is not the most tourist focused place in the Berkshires. The Stockbridge, Lenox area has a lot more going on.
 
DanM said:
Yes. It's across the street. Pretty area, but there really aren't any good restaurants within 30 minutes. Pittsfield, the nearest town of any size, is not the most tourist focused place in the Berkshires. The Stockbridge, Lenox area has a lot more going on.
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Thanks! Sorry to hijack the thread.
 
Wyndham Bentley Brook gets my vote, stayed there twice, theater indoor/outdoor pool hot tub, and really not far from any of the attractions. we stayed at Oak n Spruce this spring, and although the unit was not bad, check in was a mess, so bad in fact I was checking for bed bugs immediately, never found any. But check in and lobby was old dingy and not a place I wanted to be. No wifi in the units as well. It is though in a great location in the Berkshires.
 
We stayed at the Crafts Inn in Wilmington, VT in June 2012. Very nice place. Old-fashioned, huge rambling building, with a lovely front porch with a swing and comfy chairs. One of my favorite memories is of just relaxing on the porch in the evening, with a beverage and a book. This is a great place for adults to take it easy, there's not much for kids.

They have an indoor pool, but it wasn't very warm, and they also have a sauna and an indoor hot tub.

There are some little shops that are an easy walk, and you can go for drives to Bennington and the Grandma Moses museum, and drive to Brattleboro for shopping too. We loved the Crafts Inn!
 
Another $0.02 worth for the OP...

elaine said:
<snip> I might start a search for those near Acadia.
Click to expand...

If you broaden this geograhic area a bit, you might also consider Samoset Resort in Rockport, which is about 60 driving miles / 1+ hour from Ellsworth. The nearby Camden Hills have some great foliage and the Health Club at Samoset (access available at no charge for timeshare occupants) has the indoor pool, hot tub, and steam room you indicate seeking. There are numerous great restaurants in Rockland, Rockport and Camden. Samoset (which is directly oceanfront) beats Harbor Ridge and / or Acadia Village hands down (IMnsHO), but it's generally not the easiest place to trade into. Samoset is affiliated with both II & RCI for "exchanging".

The (only) two timeshare places closer to Acadia than Samoset are Harbor Ridge in Southwest Harbor and Acadia Village in Ellsworth. I could be mistaken if there have been recent affiliation changes, but historically both Harbor Ridge and Acadia Village have been affiliated only with Interval International; not with RCI.

We just returned from a week in and around Rockport and Camden. Perfect weather. Foliage not quite peak, but impressive nonetheless. Acadia N.P. was not on our activity agenda this trip, but Park access was not available anyhow, due the ongoing government "shutdown" fiasco. Barricades were in place at the Acadia National Park entrance points on both Mount Desert Island and also at the Schoodic Peninsula section.
It's a sad state of affairs when American taxpayers are denied entrance to their own National Parks.

P.S. There is no question that fall foliage in New England is more spectacular further inland, such as in the Berkshires of MA or in the White Mountains of NH but personally, I also want the ocean to be close nearby.
To each his / her / their own, of course.
 
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I was just searching for the answer to Elaine's question myself for a trip next fall. Thanks to all of you for the many suggestions.
 
Wyndham Shawnee

Shawnee is located on the Delaware River in the Water Gap area between NJ and PA. About 20 minutes SOUTH on RT 209, is the Delaware Wind Gap divide. More leaves and color.

Very pretty resort nestled in the hills - 6 HOAs with different building styles and slightly different views. Shawnee has a large indoor pool and hot tub. There is LAP swimming starting at 7:30AM every morning - rest of pool opens after 9AM. The activities center hosts the pool, fitness center, full basketball court, recreation center (with many activities) and a large number of owners who come very year (friendly crowd).

100+ Outlet Shopping Mall in Tannersville --about 10 minutes west on I-80.

Lots of cute towns in the immediate area. Casino in Mt Airy (about 10 minutes past the Outlet Mall).

I spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME THERE @ SHAWNEE in 2012 --- like every 3rd week while I rebuilt my Poconos vacation house (evil teenage vandals).

I brought a converted fixed week at Shawnee - Shawnee has free day use. ;)
 
We just returned from southern Vermont and the leaves were lovely. We stayed at the Jackson Gore Inn in Ludlow. Our vacation dates were 10/4 through 10/11.
The Inn is Gold Crown through RCI resort #5422.
They still had on property restaurants open on Friday and Saturday. We did not eat at them though because everyday we traveled to nearby towns such as Woodstock, Manchester, and Brattleboro and ate there.
I think this could be a great base for you and your mom to enjoy the fall foliage.
 
thanks to all. We decided to do a NE cruise this year and then maybe base out of 1 place in the future. Elaine
 
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