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.


View attachment 42120

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


View attachment 42139

View attachment 42140

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…..