I'm Kim Knox Beckius, your fall color commentator, and the good news is that there's fall color to see just about everywhere in New England this weekend. Sure, some of the northernmost areas are past peak, but there are always a few stubborn trees that hold on tightly to their leaves, and it's an awful lot of fun to hike around in the crunchy fallen leaves, too.
Of course, in a moment, I'm going to tell you about some of the very best places to leaf-peep this weekend, but first, I need to warn you… if you haven't yet unpacked your sweaters and turtlenecks because of the Indian Summer weather we've been having, you're going to need to do that this weekend. It's going to be mighty chilly here in New England, with temperatures dropping down into the 30s overnight and daytime highs in the 50s, so bundle up, but whatever you do, don't sit at home this weekend!
Let's take a look at what the leaves are up to and where you should head if you'd like to increase your chances of viewing foliage at its peak.
This will be the best weekend of the year to see fall color along the coast of Maine, all the way from Kittery to Eastport. If you're looking for a central place to call home base, Boothbay Harbor is a good choice. Last month, I stayed at Smugglers Cove Inn, which is right on the water, and they have a few oceanview rooms available for this weekend at a great rate of $99 including breakfast and free wireless Internet access. Hurry and call them toll free at 800-633-3008 to reserve your room.
You'll want stay in the southern part of Vermont and New Hampshire this weekend if you're hoping to see peak fall color. In New Hampshire, explore the Monadnock region in the southwest corner of the state. In my book, "Backroads of New England," I wrote about a wonderful drive in this area that begins in Hillsborough, then follows Route 31 North to Route 10 South. You'll see everything from stone bridges to one of New England's prettiest town greens along this drive, but you won't find many places to stop for food. I broke my vow never to eat at a place that also sells crawlers when I was researching this route!
Over in Vermont, a great drive will be Route 5, which follows the west bank of the Connecticut River north from the Massachusetts border all the way to St Johnsbury. Brattleboro is a good starting place if you're hoping to explore this scenic byway, and I checked and found rooms still available for this weekend at The Hampton Inn in Brattleboro. Call them at 802-254-5700 to make your last-minute reservations.
If you're planning to visit Massachusetts this weekend, consider exploring the north central region of the state if you're hoping to see leaves at their peak. Take the kids to Old Sturbridge Village or to Davis' Farmland in Sterling, where you can tell them to get lost—in the Mega Maze!--New England's largest and most challenging corn maze. To check maze conditions, call ahead: 978-422-8888.
Here in my home state, Connecticut, the Litchfield Hills in the state's northwest corner and the northeastern "Quiet Corner" of the state will offer the best leaf peeping opportunities this weekend. I drove to Barrington, Rhode Island, yesterday, and while there is already quite a bit of color in southern New England, there is also enough green to lead me to believe there will be at least one more great weekend of leaf peeping if you can't get away this weekend.
Of course, there's so much more to do in New England than look at pretty leaves. Here are my five picks for this weekend's best fall events:
