Begin in Maine in October

My husband and I live in the southwest and would like to travel east in October. Thinking of flying to (somewhere) in Maine, then renting a car and doing a leisurely drive down through Vermont, NH, MA, and perhaps further. Could spend as much as three weeks. Anyone have any suggestions for where to begin and where to go? Is fall foliage good at that time? We%26#39;ve been to Boston--not interested in driving in that city. Prefer to stay away from giant cities and traffic jams, if possible. Will drop off car and fly back on return.

Ideas?

Begin in Maine in October

October %26lt;is%26gt; the month for fall foliage---exactly when the peak occurs depends on where you are and what sort of weather we have had.

If you want to avoid Boston-Logan (and who can blame you?), there are some alternatives. Manchester, NH is a very active airport--I think that among others SW Air flies in there. In Maine, there is Portland, which gives you ready access to the southern part of the state, and Bangor, which accesses downeast Maine and points north.

Among the things you ought to try to see in your rambles:

Acadia National Park and the general Mount Desert Island area.

Portland--the Old Port area with its shops and restaurants, the area lighthouses, and a cruise on Casco Bay.

The Rockland-Camden area. The Farnsworth Museum in Rockland is a must if you are interested in art and want to see Maine as interpreted by many artists, including the Wyeths.

White Mountain National Forest (NH) and the Kancamagus Highway.

Lately there have been many threads that can be accessed on the Maine forum regarding things to see and do in Maine. For example, check out the responses to lisasal1229. Happy planning.

Begin in Maine in October

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

I would agree with cwvoigt%26#39;s suggestions, and will add to them. October is great. It would be ideal to plan on arriving early in the month. I live in southern NH and the colors are gone by the end of the third week of October. You may still follow them to the NH and MA coast, and into MA and CT or RI. Foliage-wise, your best bet might be to plan on starting in the north early in the month, winding your way across the northern states and end up int he southern portions later in the month.

Some of the larger airports that you might want to look into for arrival and departure - Burlington, VT, Manchester, NH, Portland, ME, Hartford-Springfield (Bradley International) in Windsor, CT. You could also consider Providence, RI as your departure point to return home from, if you think your travels would end at the southeastern coast.

Route-wise, You could fly into Burlington at the beginning of the month, work your way across the the mountains of northern VT and what tey call the Northeast Kingdom, into the White Mountains of NH. You might cross at St. Johnsbury, VT into Littleton, VT, coming in north of the Whites. Or, you could head south on I-89, crossing into NH at White River Junction, VT and Lebanon and Hanover, NH, the home of Dartmouth College. This is a beautiful area.

From the Whites, you could work your way across to Acadia National Park - Bar Harbor - Mount Desert Island. Spend some time at Acadia and then work your way down the coast. Depending on how leisurely you do this trip, or if you keep moving along, if you still have time when you get to southern Maine, you could either shoot down the coast to either or both Cape Cod, Newprot, RI, Mystic, CT, enjoying some historic places along the way, and circumventing Boston.

Or, you could head back inland from southern Maine. In addition to Portland, ME, Portsmouth, NH is a lovely small city. Then, work your way back across the southern tier of NH, through Concord, and head down to the Monadnock region of southwestern, NH, and across to southern VT before heading to an airpoirt for your flight home.

There are a lot of posts that refer to many of these areas on the NH, ME and VT forums. You can search by area, city, etc. There is so much that I and many others could recommend about each of these areas. Fortunately, you are taking 3 weeks, which gives you a shot at covering a lot of territory, being in the fall colors the whole way, and doing it all in a relaxing enough manner without uprooting every other day. Have fun!