I really don’t know that you can beat New England in the fall, the leaf peeping is prime here. I will drag my butt up mountains and down valleys in search of yellow, orange, and red trees. Vermont and New Hampshire are famous for their foliage and the peepers come out en masse for good reason.

Several summers ago Andrea and I headed over to Stowe, VT for a field trip to the Ben & Jerry’s Factory and Trapp Family Lodge . We told ourselves we’d find our way there one October for a Fall Funday for the ages.

As life-long Sound of Music fans, we were giddy to be at the beautiful resort the family singers opened after escaping Austria. We strolled the gardens, rode horse drawn carriages, spun on the stage in the meadow pretending we were Maria performing the Prelude. This resort offers a wide range of activities in all seasons, but what we really wanted to do was see those hills (alive) and aflame with color.

We ended our day in wonderful Woodstock, Vermont. It probably deserves a dedicated day of it’s own. Between the Quechee Gorge, the four beautiful covered bridges, Cabot Cheese Factory, and Sleepy Hollow Farm…. you will want some time to bask in the beauty and fun here. Our quick stop was lovely, and I’m told this is an excellent basecamp for peeping because it’s a couple hours in several directions from prime spots.

This year, we headed back that way for a perfect first Fall Funday on our Autumnal Adventure. Our plan was to hit the famous Cold Hollow Cider Mill, then ride on the Stowe Mountain Resort Gondola, and back to the Trapp Lodge to twirl in the meadows.

Foliage turned late this year. By the second weekend of October only a couple of trees had changed in Boston. If you are planning on leaf peeping, you should check some leaf maps or join a few fall foliage facebook groups. Members post their views each day so you can get a feel for what order you should plan to explore. Since we are day trippers, it’s a little easier for us to move things around, but it also means our daylight hours are limited. We have to strategize, prioritize, move quickly, and be efficient. There are hundreds of helpful blogs and articles to help you get a feel for your most scenic destinations. You can pretty much assume if it is a pass or notch, it’s going to be scenic and pretty. Decide what is important to you and start planning from there. I went in and added all of the covered bridges, top scenic drives, and the wishlist sites that Instagram had been feeding me to a google map, and then I downloaded to be available offline. Service isn’t great in a lot of these national parks and mountains. You don’t really want to be stuck in BFE with no idea how to get home. Other helpful hints: Traffic is going to be terrible. These are usually two lane roads and they are packed with tourists that don’t know where they are going are what they are doing. A lot of these towns plan seasonal festivals and activities, and that will make traffic horrendous for several mile stretches too. You’re going to be drowning in tourists, telephoto lens toting photogs, and the dreaded fashionistas with their IG-Husbands in tow. Be patient, flexible, and keep your pumpkin spiced snacks in the car to prevent any hangry mishaps.

We made it to Waterbury and Woodstock before we found some good trees, and all the way up to Stowe before we started seeing the kind of color you hope for on a leaf peeping trip. Our summer trip to Cold Hollow was a piece of cake… err, donut, but on a gorgeous October day prepare yourself for a parking nightmare and long lines in the gift shop and restaurant/ hard cider bar. Unfortunately they were sold out of their “Dreamee,” an apple cider donut ice cream sandwich, but they had plenty of “Creamee” their maple vanilla soft-serve. So we bought a couple donuts and made our own in the parking lot. We got apple cider slushies to power us through to the next leg of the adventure. An enterprising explorer would have a little airplane bottle of whiskey or fireball handy to pep it up. I'd 100% plan a return visit for a hard cider flight, and I hear they sometimes offer hard cider slushies! The line wrapped around the building at 11am, so leave yourself PLENTY of time.

I can’t stress enough how good the Stowe Mountain Lodge Gondola ride is. The views are spectacular, they don’t pack the gondola with people outside your party, and it’s a great way to gain some elevation without hoofing it. You do have to pre-purchase your tickets online, and they are day but not time specific. Then you have to wait in line to give your order number to the ticket desk for a printed ticket, and hop in line to grab your gondola. They close early (last ride at 4:30) and the lines get long and crowds get pretty big later in the day when the fog burns off. The view of the lake, mountains, and trees are breathtaking, and the parking lot is on the edge of Smuggler’s Notch, the most ridiculously scenic drive in Vermont. Keep in mind, Smuggler’s Notch is a seasonal road. This year it closed on 10/17, so plan accordingly. The two lane road was inundated with big dresses, tall boots, and drones- but it was TOTALLY worth it. I took a quick timelapse heading up the mountain, but I’m pretty sure that view is burned into my retinas. We lost daylight before we could head back to Woodstock and check out Thundering Brook Falls, but I could be truly happy experiencing this day on repeat like Groundhog Day.

You simply cannot go to Stowe without a visit to the Trapp Family Lodge. You’ll need to purchase a day pass to explore the grounds, you can do it online or in the sportshop. $10 is a small price to pay to access this stunning property. Take a spin on a hill and pretend you’re in that opening scene of the movie. Spin long enough for a reel, and you’ll be falling down just like Maria. Don’t ask me how I know. You barely have to clear the parking lot to realize why the family chose to settle here. It feels a lot like Austria, but in the fall it feels as close to heaven as you can get. Timing is tricky, but they offer opportunities to meet their Highland cows, you can go on a tour led by an actual Von Trapp descendant, you can pay your respects the the Captain and America’s favorite governess in the family cemetery, do a wine tasting on the lawn or you can visit their brewery for some Austrian beer and treats.

I’m pretty sure my only previous experiences with New Hampshire were driving through it to get to something else. We actually went on purpose this year, and I can’t wait to go back! We just missed the foliage peak, but we still caught some lovely views and a fabulous day. If I had to do it over again, we would have gone the week before and booked tickets for the Conway Scenic Railroad, but our low-key exploration day was packed full of pretty.

We started in Franconia Notch Park and Crawford Notch, a sensational scenic ride with bridges, waterfalls, moody skies and plenty of color. We continued on to Willey House where the water, bridge, falls, and foliage were postcard perfect. I just read about the incredibly tragic tale of the Willey family, so definitely take some time exploring the signage and historical buildings.

I had found a gorgeous railroad trestle on IG, but there was some weird conspiracy to keep from actually naming the location. I had given up on finding the actual location and would have settled for any scenic bridges along the way. Imagine my surprise when we randomly happened upon the Fourth Iron Campsite. It was easy to hop down the rocks and walk along the water, take photos under the trestle, and then climb up to walk down the tracks. Somehow we timed it just right and got to see the Conway Scenic Train go through by. I don’t know what I thought walking on a railroad trestle would be like, but it was effing terrifying. The railroad ties were spaced just far enough apart to be death traps. Your feet could absolutely go through the gaps high above the water. It wasn’t much wider than the train, so if it came through you didn’t really have anywhere to go. I took a few steps onto the bridge and hauled ass back off it. Somebody braver than me will have to tell me what fully crossing one feels like. Oof.

Carry on the Kancamugus Highway into Conway, this sweet little town is a perfect place to grab a meal and pop into local shops. You know this Almost Famous fan and her Beatles loving friends had to stop into Penny Lane’s Boutique. Be sure to visit the infamous hairpin turn before it gets too dark. It is a beautiful ride through the White Mountain and valleys. As a West Wing fan, I was totally tickled to drive by the Josiah Bartlett Elementary as we meandered through Bartlett, New Hampshire.

We explored North Conway, then cruised past the Lower Falls turn off. We had driven by a couple of times but it was such a zoo we didn’t try to stop. Andrea’s mom, Joan, has a lifelong dream of seeing a Moose. We had our eyes peeled, peeping for Bullwinkle (or is it Rocky?) as we headed home at dusk, and noticed that the people seemed to have packed up and headed home for the day. So we made a quick stop at the Lower Falls park and it was totally worth it. I can see why droves of people had driven to this scenic spot.

If you are a Lord of the Rings fan with a LOT of cash to burn, the Maker’s Mark Hobbit House in Richmond, Rhode Island looks pretty spectacular. $250 per person for 45 minutes of sightseeing was too rich for our blood, and so was a $1000 private dinner there, but we looked into it. Instead I did a (free) drive-by of the Chase Farm Park in Lincoln, Rhode Island to see the Hocus Pocus 2 sets.They appeared to be hard at work, so I didn’t try to wander around, but it sure made me smile.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you plan for leaf peeping. A little research, a lot of flexibility and patience, and an adventurous spirit, and you’ll have fun no matter where you go. We’re talking about heading to Maine and Acadia National Park next year, and I can’t wait. I think it’s an unwritten law that impressionist fans are also obsessed with the beautiful changing leaves, and we all had a wonderful time exploring and swapping tips with other peepers.

New England is Neat

Connecticut? Count me in!

Beyond Boston