Fall Foliage Scenic Drive – Central Vermont Area

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:32:50 +0000

This fall foliage scenic drive in Central Vermont offers some of the best views in the Green Mountain National Forest.

This scenic drive is a loop tour of about 150 miles. It follows mostly Route 12 south from Montpelier to Woodstock, before heading north on Route 100 and 100B back to Montpelier. There’s a whole bunch of surprises on the way, but it’s no surprise you’ll experience some magnificent fall foliage views all along this scenic drive.

The tour is best done over the course of a weekend or several days, although it’s possible to do the drive in one day and forgo many of the attractions and rambles suggested.

Let’s get going…

Start from Montpelier, a small city on the northern fringe of central Vermont. Montpelier can be easily reached from Interstate 89. Montpelier is 182 miles from Boston and 198 miles from Hartford.

Take Route 12 out of Montpelier and head south to Northfield Falls. Northfield Falls has four covered bridges and the famous Falls General Store. Vermont has some of the finest examples of covered bridges anywhere in New England, but two of them in Northfield Falls can be seen at once, as you look through one to other. This is unique in New England and definitely worth taking the camera out to capture.

Continue on Route 12 making your way to Bethel.

Bethel is one of those Vermont towns that’s a natural part of the scenery. Could this be why it’s home to the White River National Fish Hatchery? The hatchery focuses on restoring Atlantic Salmon to the Connecticut River. It’s open 8:00am – 3:00pm daily.

From Bethel you’ll continue your last piece of the southern route to Woodstock.

The Woodstock area offers a number of attractions, including Billings Farm and Museum, and Quechee Gorge. Woodstock itself is one of those picture-perfect Vermont villages that’s fun just to stroll around checking out the boutiques and restaurants.

The Billings Farm and Museum was established in 1871, and today it’s a working farm, and a museum depicting farm life in the late 1800s.

Quechee Gorge is Vermont’s little Grand Canyon. Not quite as big a hole in the ground as in Arizona, but at a mile long and plenty of hiking and walking trails on offer, it’s a chance to stretch the legs and admire the splendid scenery. Be sure to walk to the picnic area overlooking the falls.

The next 20 miles of the scenic drive takes you cross country on Route 4 to Killington. Killington is a world famous ski area that covers six mountains. And at over 4,200’ offers spectacular views from the summit. There’s very few better places to appreciate the fall foliage than at the top of Killington Peak. If it’s running take the K1-Gondola from base. You can ride the Gondola daily from September 24 – October 10th.

Killington is about the half-way point in this tour, and with the beautiful town of Rutland close-by plenty of lodging if you decide to linger overnight. Just be sure to make reservations during the peak fall foliage season.

The next section of the tour follows Route 100 as it borders the Green Mountain National Forest. You’ll pass through the towns of Pittsfield, Hancock, Granville, and Waitsfield as you cover perhaps the most scenic views and diverse terrain you’ll see on this drive.

Just North of Hancock and close to Route100 on Route 125 is Texas Falls. The trail to the falls is an easy hike and offers marvelous views anytime of the year, but especially during fall foliage season when the colors dazzle.

The larger of the two waterfalls is Moss Glen Falls just north of Granville a few miles up from Hancock. The drive from Hancock towards the falls is a two-lane winding road that passes through a seven mile stretch of untouched wilderness, and worth taking slow and easy.

The final leg of this central Vermont scenic drive from Granville to Middlesex and back to Montpelier continues to provide startling scenery and great photo opportunities. Route 100B connects with Route 100 just south of Moretown village, and you’ll take 100B north to Middlesex and then join Interstate 89 for the quick hop back into Montpelier.

Vermonters quip the state really has five seasons – spring, summer, fall, winter, and the famous mud season. But my personal favorite in Vermont is the fall. Take this tour and you’ll understand why.

By: Cliff Calderwood

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Fall Foliage Scenic Drives in New England – Introduction

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:56:22 +0000

Fall foliage in New England really begins in August. The shortening daylight hours trigger the deciduous trees to begin the process of shedding their leaves. It happens all around North America, and all around the world.

But in New England it’s special.

Why is fall foliage in New England so different and special?

It’s a factor of many things but mostly an abundance of different types of deciduous trees, warm autumn days, and cool - but not freezing - nights. When these and a few other conditions are all mixed in the right proportions, then you get the world famous stunning shades of reds, yellows, oranges, and browns on the hills and mountain sides of New England.

Between mid-September to late-October, visitors flock to New England to see the fall foliage. These six scenic drives offer some of the best autumn views available from anywhere on the planet.

This is an introduction to a series of six articles that provide details and routes on each of these scenic drives.

FALL FOLIAGE SCENIC DRIVE – MOHAWK TRAIL MASSACHUSETTS

The most popular fall foliage scenic drives in Massachusetts are along the famous Mohawk Trail. This trail rolls out through the northwestern part of the state on route 2, and winds through the hills and mountains of the Berkshires, touching picturesque towns like Williamstown, Deerfield, Shelbourne, Colrain, Charlemont, and Shelburne Falls.

Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts, offers spectacular views of the surrounding area and Mohawk Trail.

FALL FOLIAGE SCENIC DRIVE – KANCAMAGUS HIGHWAY NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire has many scenic drives in the White Mountain National Forest but at the top of the list has to be the 34-mile Kancamagus Scenic Highway that runs along route 112 from Conway to White Mountains Visitor Center in Lincoln. This drive is considered by many to be the top fall foliage New England scenic drive. It has beautiful forests ablaze with autumn colors and plenty of photo opportunities with walks along gorges and streams, and with views of the highest mountains in the Presidential Range.

FALL FOLIAGE SCENIC DRIVE – CENTRAL VERMONT AREA

In Vermont nature planted all the high peaks in the south – although the North Kingdom has great color as well. But arguably Vermont’s best loved fall foliage drive is in the Central Vermont area, around Killington, and the towns and highways of Woodstock, Rutland and Ludlow. This is deep in The Green Mountain National Forest area, and not surprisingly offers spectacular fall foliage color and scenery.

FALL FOLIAGE SCENIC DRIVE – LAKES AND LEAVES MAINE

Parts of Maine are the first to display peak fall foliage color in New England. With Maine’s many driving loops to choose from, it’s difficult to single out one. But the Lakes and Leaves drive that touches the shores of Moosehead Lake on Route 15 before heading south on route 201 is ever popular. You’ll see unparalleled fall foliage views of the tree-lined banks of the Kennebec River, and the surrounding mountains on this Maine Scenic Highway.

FALL FOLIAGE SCENIC DRIVE – RHODE ISLAND COAST

Fall vacationers in Rhode Island have open roads and coastal drives to satisfy their leaf peeping. The 61-mile Rhode Island Coast Scenic Drive follows the coastline east from Westerly before turning north along Narragansett Bay, and eventually over Newport Bridge on route 138. The drive finishes over the breathtaking Ocean Drive in historic Newport. A pleasant seaside twist to a fall foliage drive.

FALL FOLIAGE SCENIC DRIVE – CONNECTICUT ROUTE 169

Not to be outdone during fall foliage the state of Connecticut has in its own little corner of popular autumn leaf spotting sites, with some of the most stunning scenic drives being on Route 169 in the glacial plains which are part of Quinebaug River bottomlands.

By: Cliff Calderwood

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England Travel » Scenic Drive

Fall Foliage Scenic Drive – Central Vermont Area

Fall Foliage Scenic Drives in New England – Introduction