New England non snow reports?

[Tony Crocker]

Just for you northeasterners' amusement, here's a pic from my immediate neighborhood in SoCal from December 6 last year.

More of our streets are lined with palm trees, but someone long ago planted a lot of liquid ambers. I have one in my front yard and two in the back.

 

[Sbooker]

^^^
I’ve got some ‘neat freak’ with regard my yard. Those leaves all over my lawn would drive me crazy.

 

[Sbooker]

Some autumn leaves from the Blue Mountains west of Sydney a few years ago.

 

[Sbooker]

Here's just a rough outline of a trip from Montreal to Boston trying to incorporate some interesting New England sites. Of course you should add your own spin, but tried to incorporate: Stowe via Smuggler's Notch, Ben&Herry, VT Rte 100, Woodstock/Quechee Gorge, VT, Boston, Portland, North Conway via Kanmangus Highway, Cannon/Fanconia Notch, etc.


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Thanks. Wonderful. I appreciate the effort you have put in.
I looked at hypothetical lodging prices for this October. Wow. I’m going to be forced to spend over my self imposed $300AUD per night limit.

 

[ChrisC]

I’ve got some ‘neat freak’ with regard my yard. Those leaves all over my lawn would drive me crazy.

Lol. The joy of raking and bagging leaves!

I don't know if you are familiar with all of the Autumn activites that go on the Northeast United States.
Halloween is now the #2 holiday in the US - so people ramp it up with all the decorations!

Also, Fall is the season for pumpkins, apples, apple cider, candied apples....roadside stands, festivals, Octoberfest,etc.

 

[ChrisC]

I looked at hypothetical lodging prices for this October. Wow. I’m going to be forced to spend over my self imposed $300AUD per night limit.

I was just using a few, rather expensive New England towns as navigation markers.

For Stowe, you can look in the vicinity - maybe Waterbury. Or nearby Burlington is great small city/college town.
For Woodstock, look around Killington or even White River Junction/West Lebanon.
Etc, etc.

It's likely not worth the cost to stay in these towns - rather poor value. I would not.

 

[Patrick]

I just saw Chris's call out. Sorry been too busy focusing on the Southern Hemisphere and home renos.

Mmmm. I didn't know that thanks. I thought the foliage was pretty constant and reliable. I guess it's a nice area to visit even if the leaves aren't optimal. Kylie wants to go to Montreal so we'll fly into there. I suppose there is plenty of places to go north, south, east and west of there.

Laurentians... short drive north from Montreal (Everything from St-Sauveur (40 miles/60km) to Tremblant (70 miles/120 km) is pretty.
Eastern Townships which has the northern end of the Green Mountains just north of Vermont which is about 60m/100k.
Gatineau hills and Gatineau Park are 15m/20km) from downtown Ottawa (180km from Mtl).

Timing: anywhere from mid-Sept to late Sept, sometimes October might be too late. Mind you, you don't need to leave Montreal to enjoy the leaves, Mount Royal Park in the middle of the city has plenty of trees a short steep walk up from downtown.

I grew up / spent most of my pre-adult life in New York/New England, went to college in New Hampshire and spent some time in Boston afterwards.

Peak week for New England fall colors is early to mid-October, which is essentially Columbus Day for lower elevations. Taller mountains (3-4k feet) can start changing in mid-late September and reach their peak then. They might be barren by Columbus Day.

Some of the best New England areas are outside of Boston:

• I-93 up to Loon/Cannon Mt; take Kancamagus Highway to North Conway, NH, and see Wildcat/Mt. Washington, then back down to Boston
• I-89 up to White River Junction/Hanover, Woodstock, VT, and Killington. Perhaps follow Rte 100 all the way to Stowe - even go through Smugglers Notch, come back down I-89

As for Montreal, I do not know quite the optimal time, but it's similar. I believe I was up in Montreal around Canadian Thanksgiving in October, and there was still foliage due to the city being a heat sink. However, I prefer Mountains and Hills covered in fall colors. Assume you could drive out of the city to Mont Tremblant/Laurentians. Patrick?

As stated above, Canadian Thanksgiving is generally too late to fully enjoy the fall colours.

Smugglers' Notch is easy drive and less than 2hrs from Montreal and the road is still open so you can drive across to Stowe. Beautiful hiking in the area, even If I haven't hiked the area since the 1990s.

Agree with Chris, Franconia Notch (Cannon) is great. Everything through North Conway might be very busy.

Great info. Thanks. We would probably drive from Montreal down to Portland and Boston as we’ve never seen those cities and back to Montreal via a different route. Trip duration would only be about 12 days.

New England is likely at its busiest during late September and October -- not summer or winter ski holiday periods.

Hiking is always great in New England. The ski areas run their lifts too: Stowe, Killington, Cannon Mt, etc which provide great viewing platforms.

You likely can always find a last minute room in larger places: Burlington, White River Junction/West Lebanon, Concord/Manchester, etc.

Definitely should spend 2+ days in Boston MA. It's one of America's best cities - and one of the few that are highly walkable.

Related busy weekend nightmare; I remember hiking Mt Washington on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend back in 1993 and couldn't find room anywhere between Mt Washington and Burlington, ended up driving back home in Montreal.

Much good local advice above. It sounds like much less of a hassle if you avoid weekends for the rural fall foliage areas in New England. But Boston or other New England locations are worthwhile weekend options as ChrisC noted. Cannon Mt. has the New England Ski Museum plus a sightseer tram to the top. I probably went there during the late October 1988 trip.

New England Ski Museum has great ressources plus you are at the base of the Cannon Mountain Tram. The museum is about the same size as the National Australian ski museum at Mt Buller, slightly bigger than the one at Thredbo. The Vermont Ski Museum in Stowe is a bit bigger.

 

[Sbooker]

Lol. The joy of raking and bagging leaves!

I don't know if you are familiar with all of the Autumn activites that go on the Northeast United States - and other similar geographies.
Halloween is now the #2 holiday in the US - so people ramp it up with all the decorations!
Also, the Fall is the season for pumpkins, apples, apple cider, candied apples....roadside stands, festivals, etc.

I’m not really into the fall traditions as I’ve only visited North America between mid December and the end of April. We’ve caught the Halloween thing here in Australia. It was nothing here when I was a kid in the 70s or 80s.
Come to think of it Black Friday sales have come onto the seasonal landscape recently too.

 

[ChrisC]

Another interesting idea or two.

I have always wanted to try this - The Mt. Washington Auto Road. Link

Or the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. Link

Also, the Mt. Washington Hotel near Bretton Woods has a spectacular setting. I attended a college friend's wedding there, and it was super fun! Great place to stop for a meal. Link

 

[Sbooker]

Another interesting idea or two.

I have always wanted to try this - The Mt. Washington Auto Road. Link

Or the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. Link

Also, the Mt. Washington Hotel near Bretton Woods has a spectacular setting. I attended a college friend's wedding there, and it was super fun! Great place to stop for a meal. Link


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That hotel looks swish. I might have to book it for a night and keep it as a surprise for Kylie.

 

[ChrisC]

It's an beautiful, grand hotel and the birthplace of our modern financial system - the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 established the World Bank, IMF, and post-war foreign exchange rates. Lots of history in the various conference rooms.

Interestingly, the Mt. Washington Hotel was not winterized until 1999; previously it only operated in the summer.

 

[Sbooker]

It's an beautiful, grand hotel and the birthplace of our modern financial system - the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 established the World Bank, IMF, and post-war foreign exchange rates. Lots of history in the various conference rooms.

Interestingly, the Mt. Washington Hotel was not winterized until 1999; previously it only operated in the summer.

Yikes. 1100Aud per night. I think we’ll just call in for coffee and cake…..

 

[ChrisC]

Typical Columbus (Indigenous Peoples) Day Weekend in New England. Don't get pushed off the trail/cliff/rock!

Franconia Notch State Park near Cannon Mountain

Franconia Notch State Park Considering Ways To Manage Fall Crowds

Unsafe trail conditions leads Franconia Notch State Park to consider crowd control measures.

unofficialnetworks.com

 

[MarzNC]

There are fall colors all over New England and upstate New York State. These pictures are from western Massachusetts, 4 hours drive west of Boston and 4 hours north of New York City. The Berkshire mountains have plenty of mellow hikes good for folks over 60. I picked the week far in advance for lodging and got lucky with the weather. My friends and I left on the Friday before the holiday weekend.

Mount Greylock State Park, memorial tower at the summit, Oct. 8, 2024

View towards the New York Adirondack mountains from the top of the tower, can see five states on a clear day

Sperry Road

Jiminy Peak 6-pack, runs on weekends in the summer and fall

 

[ChrisC]

There are fall colors all over New England and upstate New York State. These pictures are from western Massachusetts, 4 hours drive west of Boston and 4 hours north of New York City. The Berkshire mountains have plenty of mellow hikes good for folks over 60. I picked the week far in advance for lodging and got lucky with the weather. My friends and I left on the Friday before the holiday weekend.

Did you take the auto road to the summit? I forgot Mount Greylock Auto Road is free (only $2 parking) compared to Mount Washington, which is $45, Stowe/Mansfield, which is $35, or Whiteface, which is $20.

The Berkshires (Williamstown/JiminyPeak/NorthAdams/MassMocha) are about 2.5-3 hours from Boston. It's an easy drive on Rte 2 and almost a day trip. It is better than a day trip to the long tram lines at Cannon Mt., hiking trails around Franconia Notch, or the insanity of North Conway/Mt. Washington Valley.



Mount Greylock could have served as a major Berkshire ski area given its nearly 3600 ft summit elevation - high as Mt. Snow or Smugglers' Notch, and higher than Okemo, Magic, Loon Mt, Bretton Woods, Mt. Sunapee, Attitash, Jiminy Peak, Hunter Mountain, etc.

Only 110" inches of annual snowfall is reported for Mount Greylock, but that is a non-biased number - unlike a ski reported Jiminy, Mt. Snow, Hunter Mt., Etc. Assume preservation would be better on the northern aspects.

Mount Greylock

 

[MarzNC]

Did you take the auto road to the summit? I forgot Mount Greylock Auto Road is free (only $2 parking) compared to Mount Washington, which is $45, Stowe/Mansfield, which is $35, or Whiteface, which is $20.

Yep. We drove up first thing in the morning before it was busy. Plus it was relatively clear then. That meant we were also early when it came to parking at trailheads for a few short hikes.

Actually it's free to park at the Greylock Summit these days. They don't have a power source for an electronic ticket machine. Not worth having a Ranger there all day long just to collect parking fees. The first time I went several years ago was after Oct. 1 so that was free too.

The weather at the top of Greylock is actually too hard to deal with most of the winter. Only the most hardy go before March. The Mount Greylock Ski Club has slopes on the other side from the Thunderbolt with rope tows.

 

[Tony Crocker]

My friend Richard just got back from two weeks in NY/New England. He said fall foliage was best around Kancamagus Highway in NH.