From Boston to Quebec - where to visit in NH

My husband and 15 yr old son and I will be traveling from Boston to Quebec this summer and wanted to travel through New Hampshire and possibly either Maine or Vermont. We are looking to travel on state roads, not interstate, and see things uniquely New England. I have read that Jackson is a lovely place - in which case we would then go through Maine. Another choice is Franconia Notch area and then through eastern Vermont. Can anyone give me feedback on which of these routes - or even a different route - would give us the better experience for 1-3 days?

From Boston to Quebec - where to visit in NH

Hmm, that%26#39;s a hard choice. If you have 3 days to make the journey between Boston and Quebec, you might want to consider dedicating a whole day to see the White Mountains. I%26#39;m not sure if I could choose between seeing Mt. Washington and seeing Franconia Notch!

That said, don%26#39;t discount the interstate highways entirely. I-93 through Franconia Notch is one of the most scenic roads in New England.

The most ideal and complete ';New England'; experience (in 3 days) would be to take I-95 North from Boston and get off in Portsmouth, NH. Take an hour or so to walk around Strawberry Banke and downtown. Then head north into Maine and follow the coast, stopping at Nubble Light, Ogunquit, Portland Head Light, etc. From Portland, take Route 302 towards the White Mountains (Conway). Spend the night somewhere in the area.

Use the second day to explore the White Mountains. The best and most popular loop is this one: www.noerf.com/irk/whitemountainstour.PNG (driving instructions here: http://www.noerf.com/irk/whitemountainstour.htm).

On day 3, get most of the mileage done (be prepared for 5+ hours on the road). Head towards St. Johnsbury, VT (via I-93 or Route 2). From there, you can take I-91 or Route 5 to the border -- the interstate option is actually quite scenic; I%26#39;ve never done Route 5 personally, but I%26#39;m sure it%26#39;s beautiful too, and more what you%26#39;re looking for. So it%26#39;s up to you.

As for Quebec, in the interest of saving time you%26#39;ll have to take the major highways (Autoroute 55 Nord to Autoroute 20 Est). The scenery of the St. Lawrence Valley isn%26#39;t particularly interesting, anyway; the important thing is just getting to Quebec City, which is incredibly beautiful.

If you only have 2 days, then I would still recommend arriving in the Conway area via Route 302 from Portland. You then basically have 3 choices to cross the mountains: 1) Kancamagus Highway (112 West) to I-93 North, 2) Route 302 West, or 3) Route 16 North to Route 2 West.

I would probably recommend the routes in that order: 1, 2, 3. The only downside of the first option is that it doesn%26#39;t give you a close-up look at the biggest mountains in the area, while the other two do.

If you do the trip in 1 day, you%26#39;ll have no choice but to take the interstates, which will still offer some great scenery. The quickest route is I-93 North to I-91 North, then 55 Nord to 20 Est. You can still plan a stop in Franconia Notch State Park.

From Boston to Quebec - where to visit in NH

Just to totally confuse you, I will make another suggestion. You could head west to the Berkshires and take rt 7 north which will take you thru Lenox,Ma, and williamstown. You could also stop in sturbridge village on the way west. Rt 7 crosses into vt in Bennington where there is bennington potters for mom and green mountain boy stuff for son and husband. follow 7a thru arlington (Norman rockwell museum), and up thru Manchester (take a ride up Mt Equinox). From Manchester you can go over to rt 100 (maybe stop at Bromley mountain for alpine sliding or Stratton Mtn and enjoy the village) 100 north passes thru lots of great towns including Peru, Weston, and Stowe

So, you can plan a trip thru maine, go thru the Whites in NH or up thru Vt. My personal choice, get to Jackson and spend time around MWV and then finish your drive to Quebec and then come back again when you have more time.

Hopefully you can give yourself enough time to get out and take at least a short hike and maybe swim in a water hole or maybe in Jackson Falls.

The furtherest point on our trip is Quebec City and stay for several days and either going up or coming back we would stop in Boston, again for several days, we will be traveling through NH and VT both up and back.

Based on the two responses a[possible itinerary would be Boston to Ogunquit - probably spend the night there and then drive to Conway area. Question: for seeing the area whould it be better to stay in Jackson, North Conway or Conway? We would not be interested in shopping. Spend the night whichever of those - drive up close to Mt. Washington but not up it and then take the Kancamagus Hwy and stop at Franconia Notch then on to Quebec City.

On the way back from Quebec drive to Burlington - spend the night - drive to Stowe, Manchester, Bennington and then back south.

Question: In picking places to stay for the day and not just be an overnight stop, what places would you recommend to stay for 2 nights and a day? I had thought Ogunquit, Jackson/Conway, and Burlington but since I am not familiar with the area I don%26#39;t know which places make the most sense.

Thanks much

I would definitely go Boston to Portsmouth, to Nubble Light/Ogunquit. From there I would go to the White Mountains and up to Quebec.

Jackson has more b%26amp;b and Inn type places, very quaint, also generally more expensive than the places along motel row in NC. For instance, the Wentworth, Inn at Thorn Hill or Wildcat Inn are very unique places to stay for something special, but you can spend alot less if that is not your budget. My friends in NH can probably be more specific.

You should get to the summit of MW if you can. It is a wonderful experience. Also, a stop at Pinkham Notch and Glen Ellis Falls is well worth the trip. GE is a 60 ft waterfall just off the highway so no serious hiking is involved.

It is also worth the trip up the Wildcat Gondola for a view of the ravines and MW.

You won%26#39;t be able to see everything but hopefully you will be able to relax enough to have some experiences like swimming in Jackson Falls or Diana%26#39;s Bath.