What I’ve learned (so far) planning my New England fall foliage trip as a first-timer
It’s February 2025 as I’m writing this, and I’m headed to New England to experience (hopefully) peak or near peak fall foliage later this year for the first time. In this post, I’m going to recap what I’ve learned so far and share what my tentative plan is!
The Research
My typical trip planning approach is to start with picturing the experience and vibe I hope to experience during the trip and then I start researching. I watched vlogs (my favorites were several from James and Meg and Allison Bickerstaff), read blogs (mostly Helene in Between), and watched Instagram Reels and TikToks to get a lay of the land… literally.
I’m going with my parents, so I also wanted to incorporate their requests while following the experts’ best practices and advice. My mom is the one who told me about Helene in Between, so I knew she’d be game to follow her advice to a large extent. And my dad’s only request was to go to Maine, and specifically mentioned liking the idea of a coastal town in Maine sort of vibe. He’s never been (none of the three of us have), so he hoped we could pop through. That sent me on a side-quest to start researching Maine coastal towns, and now I want to go there in the summer sometime too (see this vlog from Jame and Meg for more on that).
Travel Logistics
One of the first things I learned was that most people recommend flying in and out of Boston and renting a car. Most of the best fall foliage spots are a one to three hour drive from Boston, and it usually has the best flight options regardless of where you live. It’s still too early to book flights as I’m writing this, so I have to put a pin in that for now.
The thing I can do now is book hotels, and let’s just say many others have had the same thought. It’s actually pretty wild that the three weekends that are the most likely to be the peak fall foliage colors this year (September 27 through October 12 or so. I’m not an expert at this by any means, so we’re gambling with our dates!) are nearly booked up. There are definitely still rooms here and there, but it’s slim pickings for sure. I’ll share hotel details AFTER the trip since everything is mostly penciled in (and fully refundable) right now. But I’m getting ahead of myself… here’s the big picture plan for our trip as of this moment.
Ogunquit, Maine
We’re planning on landing in Boston on a morning flight and heading straight to Ogunquit Maine. It’s on the southern coast of Maine and looks like a beautiful little coastal town. We’ll explore in the afternoon and evening, stay the night, then hopefully do a little more exploring and brunch the next morning. I’m interested to go to the local shops and restaurants, head to the beach, and check out their famous drawbridge and maybe see a lighthouse or two. After all of that, we’ll head over to our next destination - New Hampshire!
North Conway, New Hampshire
The drive from Ogunquit to North Conway is just under two hours which really isn’t bad. I also have a few pit stops tentatively planned along the way to break it up in case the motion sick bugs gets me. I’m expecting us to arrive in the early evening since we have two nights here but only one night in Ogunquit.
This is the first stop on our trip that follows Helene’s ideal itinerary. Once we get here, we’ll probably check into our hotel right in the middle of the town near the Conway Scenic Railroad. We’ll probably grab some dinner then get some sleep. The next day, or potentially the following depending on how we feel, it’ll probably be time to head to the famous Kancamagus Highway where we’ll stop at several outlook spots to soak in the fall colors.
On our last day in North Conway, we’ll probably grab some breakfast then head straight to Vermont.
Stowe, Vermont
This day will be a longer drive, closer to three hours, but we’ll very like stop to check out Montpelier on our way to Stowe at about the two-hour mark. I also need to keep in mind that this trip is all about the journey and the fall colors along the way. We’re not wasting time by being on the road… the road is literally going to be where all of the best leaf-peeping spots will be.
Once we get to Montpelier, we’ll maybe just stop to walk around, potentially get some lunch if we’re hungry, and pop into some shops. Then we’re off to Stowe. The highway for the last bit up of the drive to Stowe is called Route 100, and I’ve heard great things about the beautiful spots along this drive. I’m interesting in checking out Cold Hollow Cider Mill on the way.
Once we get to Stowe, I’m guessing we’ll want to walk around the town a little bit and maybe find a nearby hiking trail to get a good view of the town from above. We’re staying in Stowe for two nights, so the next day will really be open to whatever type of activities we want to do. We could stick around town to shop and relax, head out on a hike, or try for the Gondola Skyride at the Ski Resort if it’s open.
And the next day we’ll be headed back toward Boston. I’m still a little fuzzy on the route we’ll take since we could take the more scenic route or the shorter route. It’ll really just depend on how we feel. I’m guessing by this point we’ll have seen enough fall beauty that we’ll be okay to take the more efficient route and spend less time in the car on more winding roads, but we’ll see!
And that’s honest all there is too it for now! I have literally 98 places saved in Google Maps to have on standby ranging from coffee shops and restaurants to historical sites to hikes and scenic overlooks. I’ll be sure to post again in October with the scoop on how it went!
