Sandwich Notch Road in New Hampshire
Where is Sandwich Notch Road?
Lisa was scanning the NH Gazetteer and noticed Sandwich Notch Road and asked if we ever took it??? I dimly remembered someone last year telling me to take it… So off we went!
Let me start out by saying, this notch road is not for all of you! There is NO cell service, it is really a one-lane dirt path over the hills and mountains. If you do manage to meet someone coming the other way, one of you will have to back up to a wider point to allow both to pass… It happened one time from the time we got on there till we finished. It just happened to be wide enough for us to clear one another.
Finding this Notch Road
To start with you start this journey in Center Sandwich New Hampshire. (Click here for Google map) What you can look for is the conjunction of Routes 109 and 113. You may also notice this grouping of signs.
You’ll see the main road, Route 113, head off to the north and west at this point but also you’ll see a small side street, Grove St which is the one you want to take. You will follow that for a while until it turns into Diamond Ledge Road. You can follow this until Diamond Ledge splits to the right and Sandwich Notch heads to the left. If you read my articles you could stop up a ways at Beede Falls and take a walk into the falls. I’ve never caught this in October and it “could” be pretty.
If you check this Google Map and view it in terrain, you will see why this road is called a Notch Road. It winds its way between many tall hills. Further away from the road you will find mountains like Mount White Face, Mount Passaconaway, and Mount Tecumseh. To the south of the road are the Squam Mountains (roughly 2,200′ tall hills).
I was in my 2×2 Rav 4 (part-time 4×4) which is pretty good on dirt roads like this. I would call it a decent dirt road but it is close in areas and it is up to you to decide how “adventuresome” you are and if your vehicle will manage it.
I found it to be a pretty drive but there aren’t many “sweeping views” that I would like to see. There is a stream that passes next to the road and if you are a fan of cascading waterfalls, then you might stop and grab a few shots. This also depends on how much rain we have had recently. The colors you see in these images are on 12 Oct 2018 and it depends on the year as to whether a drive through the Notch a bit earlier or later would be better.
There is a waterfall alongside the road and I caught several good shots of it
AutumnWatch on PBS/BBC
** this article was written in 2018 so the rest of the article pertains to my TV activities and Foliage Report in 2018**(So the nice pictures are to show you what you might see on that date)
Before we get to the Fall Foliage Update. For those of you who are not getting up here this fall and are just enjoying the fall colors Vicariously through my reports and images.
Well, you can tune in to see me LIVE on Wednesday night at 8-9PM on your local PBS station. Where they tell me I will be giving tips on shooting the fall colors. The AutumnWatch series runs Wed-Fri from 8-9PM. So set your VCR (hey I’m old…) to catch it if you can’t be home!
**Note number 2**, IF you missed this event, I have it here on my website. Click to watch the Autumn Watch video which they allowed me to put on my Youtube channel. Also, you will find my segment that aired that November on CBS Sunday Morning. I was actually interviewed a few days after Autumn Watch by a small but wonderful team from CBS. They interviewed me up in Evan’s Notch on the New Hampshire/Maine border.
Fall Foliage Seen around 12 Oct 2018
(Remember this was written in 2018) Well even with snow, the colors haven’t gone away. Crawford Notch and the north side of the White Mountains are starting to fade but so far it’s a slow process. Below you will see images from 2018 from some of my friends who are wonderful Photographers. John Rowe and Brian Drourr hale from Vermont. Chris Whiton hangs out in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Over in Maine, you will find Benjamin Williamson who is one of the photo editors of DownEast magazine.
It was Friday after our weekly stop at the Hooksett rest stop on I-93 (on the northbound side only). Lisa and I stopped and got our cider donut fix and I did another Facebook live and about 20 or you jumped on to say hi and ask questions. Soon we were back on the road and we drove up to the Lake region and I will say while not full peak, most of you would have loved it.
A Snapshot of the Fall Colors around 12 Oct 2018
Photographer Brian Drourr caught some Snoliage in Vermont. Click the link to see more of his work.
Photographer Chris Whitton caught some nice scenes today from around Crawford Notch and from what he says, a lot of you were there as well. Visit his page to see more of his work.
Keep the comments coming and if you find fall colors be sure to post them on the New England Fall Foliage Facebook page!
Got Foliage?
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
I used your site to help decide routes/towns to visit to see fall foilage while vacationing last week in Vermont. Thank you!
I used your site to help decide routes/towns to visit to see fall foilage while vacationing last week in Vermont. Thank you!
Thanks so much for all the beautiful pictures—do you have more of Vermont—it is my favorite place to go and love seeing pictures from there—how will the foliage be at the end of October—thanks again—Michele
Thanks so much for all the beautiful pictures—do you have more of Vermont—it is my favorite place to go and love seeing pictures from there—how will the foliage be at the end of October—thanks again—Michele