Building an itinerary from scratch

I received a request for help with an itinerary from New York, up into New England, and back again. They gave me a loose set of parameters and asked what I would suggest. This is NOT something I normally do because I’m not a travel agent. Also, how do I know what is important to you? If I was by myself, I only stop for Photo Ops and meals are an afterthought. I choose my routes by looking over my gazetteer maps (This is an Amazon affiliate link) and picking routes that look interesting to me.

The reason I did this, is I thought everyone might get some benefit from my process. But after seeing this you may think I suffer from ADDHD or merely have bats in the belfry.

These are my 4 rules and thoughts for planning your fall foliage trip. The couple in question said they are arriving in NYC and renting a car and then driving in through NY, CT, MA, VT, NH, and back to NYC. They didn’t have any firm plans so I brainstormed the following ideas about some semblance of an itinerary.

Driving versus Exploring in the Fall Colors

The first thing to decide is “How much time do you want to spend driving versus being out of the car exploring?”. My suggestion as a rule of thumb is to drive less than 300 miles in a day when you are trying to get from point A to point B. From 250 miles and further, you are getting worn out and you can’t enjoy the trip. Hence the

“I need a vacation AFTER my vacation feeling”.

Earlier versus later determines the daily distance

So if they start on 27 September they would Normally drive 250-300 on days 1 & 2. BUT! if you got in late to JFK you might only drive 100 or so miles, so maybe go into North Canaan Connecticut (111 miles & 3 hrs). From there you drive to Burlington Vermont. (124 miles & 3 hours, 44 min) This gets us into Vermont but is it in Peak fall color?

Let’s say that as of 29 September, the fall colors are 10-15% towards Peak and you hear that in Canaan Vermont people are finding full Peak fall colors! So that is another day of driving 2.5 hours and 120 miles to Canaan VT. Now we’ve gotten as far as 30 Sept.

Exploring the area close to where you are staying

Once you have arrived in the area where you want to explore then you should only need about 75-100+/- miles in a day, or do you? Let’s say you start with breakfast, and maybe a sit-down lunch, and then you’d be getting back to your lodging for dinner. These necessary activities will cut into your travel for the day.

All of these things have to be taken into consideration and you have to decide if they are important enough to subtract from your 100 mileage count. Maybe you are too much like me, and you need much more than 100 miles in a day. Remember, if you get out of the car to explore a short trail with a scenic overlook, and maybe 1 or 2 covered bridges, you may find you have used up most of the day already.

As far as lodging recommendations you can check out our Lodging page and this article on finding a room during the fall foliage season will give you a good idea of what I went through one trip in picking a place to stay.

Tools that I use for exploring

Rule #1 Here is my first rule for planning your fall foliage vacation. I want you to pick up a good map book like a Delorme Gazetteer which I have Amazon affiliate links to on my planning tools pages on this site. I never travel without my Gazetteers in the car as they are invaluable in planning your fall foliage trip. They are large topographical maps and will point out every trail, pond, and covered bridge that you may want to find. You will also see all the state parks and more things than I have room to point out here. (The link above is an affiliate link)

Now some suggested “light reading”

You should also read:
The Art of Getting Lost
If it rains, here are 8 fun activities to try out.

Now here are a few articles detailing some scenic locations and things to do in VT, NH, and MA
Vermont:
Guildhall grist mill, Head to Vermont Eastern Border
The Jenne Farm, Vermont’s most photographed farm
Vermont’s Sleepy Hollow farm

New Hampshire:
My favorite Franconia Notch view in autumn’s fall colors
Pondicherry wildlife refuge
Coffin Pond fall foliage reflections

These are several scenic drives north or south of the White Mountains
The beaver pond at Kinsman notch
Reflections of a white church amid fall foliage reflections
Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire

Massachusetts:
A Vermont-covered bridge in Sturbridge MA
The Hartwell tavern near Concord MA

Now my general thoughts on planning a driving route

My thoughts on planning a driving route from New York into New England

Rule #2 There are no bad routes unless you travel on the highway all day! It’s great for quickly getting somewhere but after that, go find the farm roads and get lost. This trip is a huge distance and every mile you travel has opportunities for getting lost and exploring.

When you get up into Vermont you may want to go over the Green Mountains. One of the many scenic crossover routes in the Northern zone of the Green Mountains is Route 17. I have called this Route to be the 2nd twistiest route in Vermont. If you get to Middlebury you could also cut across the Green Mountains on Route 125 (a very dramatic Green Mountains byway).

Choosing Dates to Balance Distance Versus Fall Colors

Rule #3 Now, much of your travel will depend on the dates you pick. Remember the fall colors start from the north in Canada and proceed southward. The earlier your dates the further north you will have to travel to find the brightest colors. Rule 3 is not a hard and fast rule. But it is safe to say that following this one will more times than not help you find the best fall foliage colors.

Rule #4 You are going to find this frustrating but!  You may find an entire hillside all in color on one stretch of road and then for the next 5 miles, you may only see 1 tree out of 7 in color… I know it may not make sense but it’s the way it is.
Even If you choose 27 Sept to 4 October and you are way up north in northern NH/VT or ME. (Think nearer to the Canadian border than the Mass border). You will be amazed by the colors on one hand and then a minute later they are gone!

Also just to confuse you more… You may find incredible peak fall color on Route 105 (on the Canadian border) and then in Troy VT, you find it almost green again with nary a spot of fall color. Then down around Lake Eden (which is further South), it will be near Peak again. Mother Nature always has me scratching my head on days like that.

During a year with the right conditions, I found beautiful color by the 1st of Oct along the “Kanc” but just a bit North in Conway the fall colors are only a quarter of the way towards peak (remember the elevation rule) and the Conway area is doubtful before the 7-10th of October.

7-15 Oct you can call this the sweet spot because in a normal year (And I’m still not sure what a normal year is) you will find the broadest swath of fall color in VT/NH and Maine and down into Massachusetts.

After the 15th of Oct, you are getting from the lakes region of NH down into Massachusetts. If we ever have another “early” year you could be in CT and RI and near the coastal areas. In fact, by these later dates, I can find nice fall colors to good fall colors all along with the coastal towns of New England, and traveling up to Ipswich or Hampton NH, or even Harpswell, Maine can be wonderful drives, right along the ocean’s edge.

Back to the Itinerary…

This is why I do not do itineraries for you folks. 🙂 I find myself getting lost in the details of what might be and when. As I discussed above, from Late September 25 to mid-October, I would spend all my time in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Not because they are the best states (and they may disagree), but because that is “generally” where the best fall colors will be found.

Once you are on your way back to New York again you can head south through Vermont or New Hampshire into Massachusetts. If your dates have you leaving sooner than the 10th, take a ferry across Lake Champlain into Northern New York and find back roads to slowly make your way South to NYC.

Now you could also head down along the coast of Connecticut through Norwalk and finally to Mystic CT. Mystic Seaport is beautiful and has several tall ships at anchor with many activities. But the fall colors won’t really be strong here until the end of October or early November.

During the mid to late October time period, it might mean great fall colors in the Litchfield hills of CT which can easily take another day to explore.
If you drive Route 7 in Massachusetts, you will find it will take you through the Berkshires and past Mount Greylock (The highest point in MA. South of Lee Massachusetts is the Keystone Arch Bridges trail and this will be a 2-hour trail hike to take to see them all. Here is a link to the Keystone Arch Bridge trailhead.

If you have questions? let me know. Do you have suggestions? Let me know as well.

Jeff Foliage Folger

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

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