Getting the most of the New England Experience

Greetings Leaf Peepers the world over!

Today we’re going to look at the New England experience that you are coming to see, feel, and taste. There are a lot of facets to this “New England Experience”. You are of course coming for the New England fall colors and with that in mind Lisa and I want to mention that while skipping reservations is a dream of most people, it can also be disastrous for many leaf peepers.

Lisa has been making a few reservations here and there in late September and October. What she has been finding out is that depending on where and when you are looking, availability and sticker shock are a problem. I’ll let her tell it…

Do you need to make reservations?

Lisa on Travel Plans for ~~2022~~ any year: It’s August and I’ve been looking at travel dates from the end of September to the first October weekend, and I am finding that mid-range priced accommodations are becoming difficult to find. Availability for very low-priced or very high-priced accommodations is still available, but the mid-range ($120-180 USD) is becoming increasingly rare. Although not yet completely booked, many places are full.

As with many parts of the US, New England is experiencing staff shortages. This may be causing the availability to be limited with fewer housekeepers. I feel that some motels/hotels may be limiting the number of rooms they rent out because they don’t have the housekeeping staff. In my opinion, it would be better to get your reservations in place before you come. For some people, winging it is part of the fun. That is great if you don’t mind the possibility of paying $250-350+ USD, but if your vacation budget is lower (like ours), better to have someplace to stay than to sleep in your car, in my opinion.

Check the sidebar for affiliate links to Hotels.com and Expedia (clicking helps keep the lights on at Casa Foliage) These are also some of the best ways to see a lot of different prices at one time because they reach out across many different platforms to get you the best prices.

Some of my articles for planning your fall foliage vacation.

Here are some articles on my scenic drives

Dining vs. Convenience Store Snacks

Also, being affected are the restaurants. When planning where you will stay, do some research about what else is available in the area for meals. You won’t have a problem in larger populated areas such as Boston and the surrounding area, and also Springfield MA, Burlington VT, Concord/Manchester NH, Portsmouth NH, Portland, and Augusta ME.

Anywhere else, you may find very few options for meals, and of those, there may be evenings they are closed. Jeff and I experienced this last year and conditions have not really improved for these locations. Sunday nights, Mondays, and Tuesdays in more rural areas can be particularly difficult to find a restaurant open.

We stayed in Royalton VT last year, and I thought it would be a good choice and offer a selection of places to eat since there is a small college there. But after a long day of leaf peeping, we found one restaurant open on a Sunday night, and because it was the only place to go there was a line out the door, so we had to resort to a sub sandwich from the gas station.

While that may be ok one night, you certainly don’t want to rely on that your whole trip! Don’t wait until you get here to find out the closest place to eat from where you are staying is 20, 30, or more minutes away. Before you hit the Reserve button on your accommodations, check the local area first as to what is nearby and check their hours of operation. That price for your accommodation may be cheaper for a reason!

Also, please remember when you do eat out, it may take a little while to get your food. You will not get room service every day (usually unless you ask for it) Please be kind, sometimes these people are doing their best, it is just the circumstances we are in.

What are the early signs looking like for the Fall Colors

The next thing leaf peepers are looking for are the fall colors and while this is not a “real” fall foliage update, I’m including a few OTHER, reports for you to read. My forecasts and reports are found by clicking this link.

Next, we have Yankee Magazines forecast. Jim Salge is their fall foliage blogger and he and I see eye to eye for the most part as of now. Read what Yankee has to say by clicking here.

Next, you can read the update from the Old Farmers Almanac. They used to have more meat in their reports but you will need to click several links and be hit over the head with all the ADs… You will notice that ADs are few and far between on my blog… 🙂

Accuweather has their reports coming out and their August report was dismal sounding, their September forecast is sounding a bit better.

The short of it, what will the fall colors “really” do…

The northern 3 states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine will be the best bets this fall due to those areas suffering less drought. The southern 3 states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut have been suffering from the greater drought for longer and are going to be harder to call… But I will try…

The northern 3 states will give us our best color depending on the temps, rain, wind, and storms.

The southern 3 states MAY give us a decent show but I THINK, that we may see bright but short-lived colors. It also may be a varied bag of leaves that we get. Some may turn brown and drop, some may turn a very bright color and drop and these trees exhibiting these colors (yes, brown is a color) may be standing next to each other. You may have, due to warmer temps, bare trees, green trees, and brown or colorful trees. I just can’t say with assuredness what will happen but I would go with the mixed bag in the south.

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.

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Comments

Getting the most of the New England Experience — 2 Comments

lobsterlight on September 10, 2022 at 20:58 said:

As usual, very good advice in these unpredictable times.Thank you

Reply ↓
- Jeff Foliage on September 11, 2022 at 06:19 said:
  
  Thanks, only time will tell how this all shakes out…
  
  Reply ↓

New England Fall Foliage

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