The wonderful, hidden fall foliage gems of New England

Would you take a “Road Not Taken?”

My basic premise in life is to take the road less traveled. Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken” is 100 years old yet it still resonates with me today. It’s not so much if one path is better than another, to me, I just prefer to take the one that is less “popular”. To me, you are on the right path, so long as you get out and explore. You might know Waterville Vermont but do you know Codding Hollow Hill Road? Yep, less taken.

Hidden fall foliage gems of New England, or are they?

First, I have to say there are no real “hidden” iconic locations. There are only those we haven’t found yet. The secret to finding and exploring Iconic locations in New England is to do research. I do just what you’re doing now, research books and websites. The places that I do my research are:

Internet blogs Jeff-foliage.com and Yankeefoliage.com are good starting points.
Photography magazines (Outdoor Magazine, Yankee Magazine (the fall edition)).
photography sharing sites like Instagram, or Facebook.
DeLorme Gazetteer series of maps (Great map books and I have 10… 3 of Vermont).
Talking to people in Facebook groups and seeing what they post (Try my Facebook fall foliage Facebook group).

A lot of photographers don’t like to give away their secret places. I was once trying to find this little white church reflection on a lake surrounded by the fall colors. I didn’t know the state or lake but between Flickr and Facebook, I was able to learn the location. (Eaton New Hampshire)

It’s never all that simple to get this view. First, get there when it’s dark (park at the beach) and then hope that the wind doesn’t pick up and it’s also cool enough with the dew point is close to the temps to give some fog/mist over the lake but not a whiteout. Read a little more about reflections and misty mornings.

Sometimes a mistake can turn into a Hidden Gem

Before you start saying, “Why am I listening to him if he makes mistakes?”… Rule 1, I don’t know it all, and Rule 2, if you don’t make mistakes, you are not trying… Nuff said.

A Gem that I but I can’t tell you where it is…

Many, many, years ago, I was looking for the Jenny Farm (I didn’t know the “real” name of the Jenne Farm, only what I saw in pictures in Yankee magazine). It was 15 years ago so I was still a NEWBIE as far as a foliage leaf peeper. I wasn’t having much luck finding this hidden gem,(Social Media hadn’t ruined it back then) I was too embarrassed to admit and say I didn’t know where it was, so I started to search on the Internet. (*Note: the place I found is personal property so no address).

After a while, I found what I believed was a listing for the owner of the Jenne Farm. So I made a phone call and talked to the owner of the “Jenny” farm (Note the name in bold, it matters how you spell it) and arranged a visit where I could come up and photograph the farm. This worked because I was under the umbrella of working for Yankee Magazine, this sometimes got me access.

Not the “Jenne” Farm but the “Jenny” Farm, and there is a difference…

during the drive to the farm, I stopped when I saw a farm surrounded by the fall colors and stuck my camera out the window to take a picture of this farm with my Canon 70-200mm lens. It was a couple of miles away. (zoomed in but not cropped in, never crop in)

The farm pictured is not the fabled Jenne farm but an unnamed farm across the valley from where my car was parked.The long telephoto lens allowed me to get closer without actually driving there.

Lisa and I drove down Route 7 near Danby Vermont and then we drove up some dirt roads to the west of the Green Mountains. We drove up into the low hills above Route 7 which provided views looking across Route 7 to the nearby Green Mountains. I didn’t keep good notes on finding this spot but if you drove along Danby Mountain Road you “might” see this farm across the valley.

On our way to this other “Jenne” farm, we were passing a field and we found a couple of white horses surrounded by the fall colors against a backdrop of the Green Mountains in the distance.

Not the Jenne Farm

A little while later according to the GPS/map, we arrived at the farm, and Lisa and I quickly realized that this is NOT “The Jenne Farm” (which you can find South of Woodstock VT off of Route 106). We found a low “modern” ranch house and some barns at this Jenny farm. I was a bit unsure as to how to proceed. The problem was resolved when the owner came out to greet us. He was warm and friendly and showed us around. (Good Vermont friendliness)

He didn’t have the winding driveway view leading to an old farmhouse and barns but he did have a huge old barn that was very photogenic. We talked about the state of barns in Vermont and it was sad that he couldn’t afford to repair one that had a partially collapsed roof. He told Lisa and me to walk around and explore which we did. I took pictures from different angles and soon Lisa and I said our goodbyes.

Unexpected Finds

We all too soon had to leave but even as we were leaving the hills above Route 7, we came upon another farm with a backdrop of a high hill covered in the reds and oranges of New England’s fall foliage.

On this journey we were traveling from Saint Albans VT, down to central Massachusetts for the next two days. On this day we still had many miles to travel before we got to Hartman’s Herb Farm B&B. This is another hidden gem but that is for another time.

Around the next bend, a retrospect

In the beginning, this “Jenny Farm” was not an iconic Vermont location but it was a wonderful find. Since I had already talked to the owner, I was ok with driving up to the house and asking to photograph the property. I pass by thousands of farms every year and normally just pull over and “snap” a shot.

In the case of this “Jenny Farm”, I think he permitted it because I was, at the time, working for Yankee Magazine, it gave me a level of access that I might not have now. There are lots of barns and farms you can photograph from the road though, which I have done many times.

Some days, all it requires is that you take the road less traveled, or at least, less popular than where all the travel books tell you to go. Route 7 is plainly visible on all the maps but it’s the small side roads that will take you years to explore. Each sideroad has its own story to tell. And I find the most amazing things when we go outside our comfort zone (a little) and drive the farm roads and see what is around the next bend.

Tools to help you in your travels

If you’ve never been to this area before, then follow the travel books Like Frommers New England Guide or Fodor’s scenic drives of ME, NH, and VT. and explore the popular areas because they’re popular for a reason. Once you fall in love with New England you’re probably going to come back again. So during those times, I suggest you explore the back farm roads that are less traveled and discover the wonderful hidden gems of New England.

I recommend getting a Gazetteer for each New England state you plan to visit.

Jeff Foliage Folger

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

Visit my Amazon affiliate store for items that Lisa and I have curated for you. These items are either New England-made or things we think will make your fall foliage trip more successful.