Fall Trip Plan

Thanks for all the posts on our fall trip. Here is our plan. Fly into Portland (rates are cheaper for us from Atlanta). Drive up to Bar Harbor, down the coast of Maine to include Oqunquit, then to Salem (I am a retired AP US History teacher who has never made it to Salem), then up to White Mountains to do scenic drives, cog railway, etc. We would then fly out of Manchester. We would take between 7 to 10 days to do this trip around Oct. 4. We would need to be back by Oct. 14 because our son has his college fall break and would be home a few days.

Fall Trip Plan

You should be able to handle that quite comfortably.

Since you are going to Salem, I would also suggest Rockport which is a great little town on the ocean and is famous for its artist colony as well as its lobster.

Fall Trip Plan

I saw on a post that you plan a fall trip to New England. You will love it there! My wife and I went to that area in the summer of 92 (before we had children). We spent several days in North Conway, NH. If you can get to the top of Mt. Washington, I would recommend it. We took a tour van up. I was glad I didn%26#39;t drive-and I was a young, daring 32 year old when we were there! It was beautiful. You also need to try to drive the Kancagamus Highway. It should be awesome in the fall.

We also spent a couple of days in Bar Harbor (stopping at LL Bean on the way). If it is still open, try breakfast at Jordan%26#39;s Pancake House. They had incredible blueberry pancakes. We had a great seaside supper outside on a deck, but I can%26#39;t remember the name of that place. We were overlooking the harbor and watched the boats sail in and out. The highlight of Bar Harbor was getting up early to be on top of Cadillac Mountain for sunrise. We had to get up about 4:30, but it was worth it. I have a series of time lapsed photos of the sun rising over the Atlantic.

We ended the trip with a couple of days in Boston. The Freedom Trail was a great experience. We also spent time in Lexington and Concord at Minuteman Park visiting battlefields.

My parents took a fall trip there on their 50th anniversary about 5 years ago and it fulfilled one of my mom%26#39;s lifelong dream trips.

You will have a great time. I will look forward to seeing a trip report on it this fall. We plan to visit the Grand Canyon at the end of May.

My wife and I want to return to New England after we are empty nesters.

Book your White Mtn accomodations right now. You%26#39;ll be traveling at the height of the fall color season. You%26#39;ll probably find more available on weekdays than weekends, but it will be busy. Expect to find that some places are already booked solid. Once you have your dates set, let us know the time frame and we%26#39;ll try to give you some specifics.

Remember that you need to be flexible about Mt Washington. The weather is the key and you%26#39;ll need to wait for a good clear day to go to the summit. That also means that if there%26#39;s a clear day that comes up, you need to be able to drop your other plans and go do the mountain. I grew up with that during my summers. When we had a good day, we went up Mt Washington. It was that simple.

Where is the best place to stay for 2-3 days in the White Mountains? Should we stay in the same place or move around like we do in Yellowstone National Park?

The White Mountains cover a small enough area that you can just stay in one place. Lincoln and North Conway are the two main, central towns (linked by the Kancamagus Highway). They are both easily accessible to all the attractions of the region. Both areas are going to have some leaf-peeper traffic in foliage season, although North Conway is worse. However, Lincoln is smaller and has less in the way of shopping. I personally would choose Lincoln, but I think it%26#39;s more important that you find accommodation that looks good.

However, I might suggest that you revise your itinerary a bit. Keep in mind that the foliage peaks in northern areas first and then works its way south and towards the coast. Ideally, you should go straight to the White Mountains from Portland (Route 302), or Manchester if you decide to fly in from there (I-95). After that, you can head to Acadia either by taking Route 302 to 115 to I-95 (in Gray, ME), then getting on Route 1 towards Bar Harbor in Bangor, OR taking Route 2 from Gorham, NH across Maine to I-95 (in Newport, ME). The second route is more scenic, I think.

When coming down the Maine coast from Acadia, don%26#39;t forget to stop at Mt. Battie in Camden (GORGEOUS view), as well as the cute little towns of Damariscotta and Wiscasset. From Damariscotta you can head down to Pemaquid Point, a beautiful area with a lighthouse. If you have the time, the Port Clyde lighthouse near Camden is nice too. Don%26#39;t forget the Portland Head Light and the Nubble Light on Cape Neddick in York.

As you head south towards Salem, you must stop in Portsmouth, NH, to see this wonderfully preserved city and the Strawberry Banke museum. From Portsmouth, take I-95 south to Newburyport, MA; see the amazing colonial and federal architecture as well as Market Square. Follow Route 113 / 1A through Rowley, Ipswich, Gloucester, and then out to Rockport. Take Route 127 towards Salem.

In the Boston area, add maybe add Lexington and Concord if you have the time. Concord is a particularly nice little town. From the Boston area, it%26#39;s a short drive to the Manchester airport.

I wouldn%26#39;t leave any earlier than Oct. 4th. A couple days later might even be better for catching the best foliage, although I know that would mean less time for your trip overall.

Here%26#39;s a possible itinerary:

Day 1: Fly into Portland, drive to North Conway or Lincoln

Day 2: White Mountains

Day 3: White Mountains

Day 4: Drive to Bar Harbor / Acadia

Day 5: Bar Harbor / Acadia

Day 6: Drive down the coast, stopping in Camden, Pemaquid Point, etc; spend the night near Portland

Day 7: Continue down the coast, stopping in Portsmouth, Newburyport, etc; spend the night in Salem

Day 8: See more of the Salem/Boston area (Concord, Lexington, etc.)

Day 9: Drive to Manchester and fly home

If you wanted to add a day, I would suggest a long day trip drive somewhere in Vermont after the White Mountains. You could also remove the events of day 8 to have more time in Vermont. To save a day, drive to Bar Harbor in the afternoon of Day 3 and start down the coast on Day 5.

For many visitors, the White Mtns are a great big circle with a diameter of about 35 miles with Littleton on the West and NC/Jackson on the East. 1 option would be to stay in the NC area and then do all the various activities there for a couple of days, then move to the West stopping at various places along 302 Crawford Notch, Aruthusa Falls, Cannon Mtn, MW Hotel. this is a 35 mile ride but can take all day if you want. On the west side of the Mountains are the Lost River Gorge, Flume Gorge, Clark%26#39;s Trading post and alot of other places just mentioned in a post by ramblinmaninnh today. Depending on where you are

planning on going from the WMs this could save some miles of driving. It really just comes down to how far you want to be from your base at the end of the day.

Hi Cece,

I like TeryMys plan. i agree that seeing the White Mountains when you first get there, will be less driving for you in the long run, then you can drive over to the Maine coast I also agree with spending the night in Portland, or even Boothbay Harbor.

Definately make reservations soon for the White Mts. I recommend Woodstock or Jackson. North Conway is nice too but the traffic will be very heavy there.

Oqunquit has the marginal way , a delightful ocean walking trail. If you stay there, there are severl good options for lodging, and you will get some reduced rates. Salem doesn%26#39;t really excite me too much but you would love the history in Boston..Freedom trail a must.

I LOVE the coast of Maine...my favorite

You are going at a great time, but not quite peak for foliage.

I%26#39;m partial to the North Conway region because I have a family home there and am more familiar with iy. It does make an excellent base for touring the White Mtn region. You can avoid some of the heavy traffic by staying in some of the places just above NC like Jackson or Glen or Bartlett. Jackson would be my first choice for you.

CeCe,

I would agree with a lot of TerrMys%26#39; suggestions, especially the route. Driving from Portland, to BH, down to Salem, MA, then up to the White Mountains, and back to Manchester is a giant vertical zigzag. Portland to the Whites is a pretty easy drive, two lane roads all the way. Likewise the road across to Bar Harbor - Rte 2.

I think you have picked some good destinations. There are a ton of great spots along the Maine coast, and you can spend your entire time exploring them. I would recommend that you pick a limited number of destinations, which you seem to have done, and enjoy what that area has to offer. You will get a wonderful experience of the coast at BH. It is a special and wonderful place. Ogunquit, or any of several scores of coastal towns, will give you a different feel for the coast. Also, consider taking a whale watch cruise, which you can do in BH, Portland, Portsmouth, and several other places. Be sure to heed the warnings to dress warmly and in layers. The air temp is quite different 25 miles out to sea than near the shore. And I recommend Dramamine if you are at all prone to sea sickness.

Unless you are specifically avoiding cities, consider a night or two in Portland. Stay in one of the downtown hotels, walk around, take the ferries to the islands, etc. Portsmouth, NH is also a wonderful small city, as is Newburyport, with nearby Gloucester. For the history teacher, Boston cannot be beat. But of course, you are only coming for 7 - 10 days.

Thanks for all the great info. Many years ago we did the trip from Washington to NY to Boston but did not do Salem. I don%26#39;t even know if we will get there this time. My husband wants to do the Maine coast, NH and Vermont this trip. We are also going to South Florida in late April and a short trip to Jackson Hole in late August so our budget can only take 7-10 days this trip. Where is the best place to fly in and out of in terms of airports? Since we%26#39;ve never been we were just looking at price from Atlanta but you TA experts please give us your ideas.