Today I’m going to discuss a foliage hub, what it is, and how it can help you explore in a (hopefully) relaxing way. This may not work for all leaf-peepers but it can ensure you don’t miss too much while you are here.

I got this e-mail previously and thought I would share it
“I’m making plans for a trip to see New England fall foliage this year. I would like to spend about a week in one spot to be used as a “hub” for day trips. I’m considering White River Junction. What is your opinion on this?
Thank you in advance for your help.”

First, What is a Hub?

In my articles, I talk about Zone Planning which is nothing more than planning to be Near the fall colors NOT in the middle of them. A critical piece of Zone planning is choosing a “Hub” to start your travels from which will be your BnB, hotel, motel, or campground.

You can start each day as early (or late) as you want and go in a different direction every day. The person above specifically chose White River Junction (WRJ) in Vermont and it’s on the Vermont/New Hampshire border. This means you could do one day in Vermont and the next in New Hampshire. Another part of being able to relax in the exploring is looking at nearby restaurants. When you get done for the day, having a place to get a bite is one less worry.

So Below are my guidelines

Before I go too far, I will mention you should get the VT-NH Gazetteer map book, especially if you selected White River Junction. I find these map books to be indispensable. They are full of ideas and give you topographical information (showing valleys, hills, mountains, and special features like state parks and covered bridges. You can also choose the Maine Gazetteer or the Massachusetts Gazetteer.

What do I look for in a hub?
1-Multiple roads into/out of the town
2-Centrally Located
3-Big enough for several different restaurants/diners, so when you end the day you don't starve.

1- Let’s say you didn’t pick White River Junction, What if you picked Stowe VT instead? Stowe has Route 100 passing through and Route 108 starts there and heads up through the Notch. (CHECK)

2- Next. “Centrally Located“, Not as much as WRJ since it is on the NH/VT border, but as far as Vermont, it is and it’s only 37 miles to the Canadian border. 27 miles to Lake Champlain, The heart of the Northeast Kingdom is about 50 miles (CHECK)

3 – A place to eat in Stowe? Yeah, I’d say they have that covered. I quit counting at 15 restaurants of all types. So there are dining options here.

What are some suggestions from Jeff?

So a Hub can be any town you choose. Lisa and I chose Craftsbury Vermont for our 3-5 Oct trip in 2021.

Accessibility to lots of roads in different directions Number 1, The most major route was Route 14 running north and south through Craftbury. This is not as good as I would advise you but we were more interested in traveling the smaller roads so we left our Airbnb and skipped Route 14, took the E. Craftsbury Rd, and went off in northeasterly directions. So for us, this worked, Check.

It is centrally located as far as Vermont is concerned. Lake Willoughby is only 18 miles away and the New Hampshire border is only 40 miles away. So number 2, it is centrally located, check.

3 – meals ready to eat… Well, here it was a fail. The restaurant below our room had a function the first night and closed the second. The nearest eateries were a couple of General Stores that were just a mile away. They have great sandwiches and one of them had meals you could take out and heat. (mac & cheese or pasta meals) and in the morning they opened early for coffee and breakfast biscuits and really this was enough for us. So this was a half-check for us. A few more choices would have been nice.

Carroll New Hampshire

We had made reservations for the Allegory Inn (Airbnb) 6-8 October 2022 but Lisa came down with Covid so I went by myself. You can read about the Allegory Inn here. For centrally and route accessibility it is stellar! It’s right near the Junction of Routes 3 and 302 in the White Mountains. If you are a trail hound pick up a White Mountain Guide from my Store. OR pick up the NH/VT Gazetteer as this is my go-to guide of choice.

For food, this location has 6 restaurants within 5 miles and another 5-6 within 10 miles. So I will say a check here as well. This is a good spot for early October and as you can see the roads converging into a splash of fall colors.

Lyndon VT, The Wildflower Inn

Now this is counterintuitive, After staying further south the week before (Carroll NH) Lisa was with me this week and we had reservations at the Wildflower Inn which is between Lyndonville and Burke Vermont. I have told you that you CAN wing it but we had made reservations and knowing that these places NEED our business we decided to stick with our reservations (Besides it is a really nice place)

It was past peak here and we were only scheduled for one night. This is my write-up on the Wildflower Inn.

Ok, centrally located Check… Routes 91, 5, and 114 are all nearby and there is an impressive array of small roads to explore. Check this article on exploring Burke Vermont. Check your Vermont routes to take in the Vermont Gazetteer in my store.

We confirmed at least for 2022 that 13-15 Oct was well past peak but just 32 miles to the south in North Hartford Vermont the fall colors were looking really pretty. This is my first time visiting the Willard twin covered bridges.

Lastly food availability – Check. First, they have their own restaurant and pub, but there are a dozen places down in Lyndon. in the 30-40 minute range. So I would say, this would make a good location during the first 10 days of October.

Apply this to your planning process

Lisa and I have chosen Danville Vermont or Strafford Maine (Carrabassett Valley) and others over the years. You can apply this to any place on the map and while it won’t make sure the fall colors show up it will help you with planning to explore.

Now it’s your turn. Google Maps help to make this easier but I would still use the Gazetteer combined with Google Maps to create your plan. Have you considered your Plan B’s? These are things to do that do not require the fall colors. Here are some ideas…

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage

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