RVing through New England’s fall foliage
A reader asked me about leaf peeping and RV routes in New England. So I thought I would write up what I know about RVing through New England’s fall foliage. (No big difference from anywhere else)
I used to own a 25′ fifth wheel and during our travels, in New England, we never got stuck anywhere. Although Lisa (my navigator) would take us on roads that were either a primary or secondary road, that all of you would be comfortable traveling on.
I pulled our RV everywhere from Montréal to Cape Cod and points in between. I never found a place where I could not get to or out of but I tried hard not to take it off-road. Some of the new extreme RVs are made for this kind of travel and I wouldn’t mind owning one.
Types of campgrounds
You have everything from KOA’s to privately owned campgrounds and New England is full of them so if you are an experienced RVer then use your Goodall’s book and if you are renting from CruiseAmerica.com and use the resources they give you or just “google” it like I just did and get 1.9 million returns for just “Vermont RV sites”.
Our foliage trip
Lisa and I did many trips in the RV but after three years when it was sold we had only taken one fall foliage trip with it. This vacation was four days in New Hampshire and four days in Vermont. We stayed for the first part outside North Conway at the Sacco River Camp area. After that we drove over to Quechee Vermont and stayed at the Pine Valley KOA. I’m not sure what it was about an RV vacation but I found the trip to be very relaxing.
Base of Operations
We used my principal of “base of operation” and we explored the areas around where we were camping. Each night we would come back and either make dinner or have dinner nearby. We traveled from Conway over the Kancamagus Highway which was only tough in the one section where there’s a hairpin turn to navigate, so if you’re traveling with a big rig it might be better to skip the
My biggest trouble was driving along back roads with other leaf peepers who have this darned habit of seeing a really pretty foliage scene and stepping on the brakes. I learned very quickly to travel slowly and keep an extended safe following distance.
Things to keep in mind about RVing in fall foliage
- campgrounds do require reservations just like hotels
- some campgrounds close in October
- increase your normal following distance by 2 to 4 car lengths since leaf peepers stop more often
- remember what you’re driving and that you can’t stop alongside the road without blocking it.
- Purchase your firewood at the location and do not bring it with you. You may unknowingly bring a new insect into this area like the emerald ash borer or the Asian longhorn beetle.
- Most all roads are perfectly fine for RV travel, just remember, you take up more room.
- I suggest planning your routes and definitely do not do smugglers notch 🙂
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
- Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
- Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
- My Facebook foliage page
- Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
- You can visit Lisa’s Artist Facebook Page by clicking here
Another option, one that I am investigating, is buy a Jeep or a CRV like vehicle and attach a tent to it. You lift the tailgate up and attach a tent to the tailgate and boom you are all set.
Sounds a great way to get around .Haven’t tried it yet but…..