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A fall in New England is like something out of a storybook. The air whispers with a light breeze that feels right between the heat of summer and the cold of winter. It becomes a colourful show as the trees change colours from emerald green to burnt orange, crimson, amber, and deep purple. It’s a place where holiday cheer is almost required from Labor Day to Christmas, and where hot apple cider flows like a river as of September 1.
What You Need to Know About New England in the Fall Before You Go
In this story, we talk about New England as a single place, but it is by no means a single thing. New England is made up of more than 70,000 square miles and is home to more than 14 million people. It is made up of the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. So, if you want to go on a trip to New England, you should first decide if you want to go to a specific state or take a road trip through several places.
From Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, to Augusta, the capital of Maine, you can drive straight for four hours, but that won’t give you enough time to explore the area as you should. Your best bet is to choose a place to go to (like Newport, Rhode Island; Salem, Massachusetts; or Stowe, Vermont) or a route (like New Hampshire’s Kancamagus Highway) that will take you to some of the most beautiful places. Or, if you like the outdoors, you can hike a section of the Appalachian Trail, which goes through Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
It’s also important to think about how the weather can change. Things can change quickly from day to day and from state to state. Be ready for mornings that are cold, afternoons that are warm, and nights that are even colder. Bring layers and a hat and gloves. You won’t regret it.
What are the best fall things to do in New England?
All year long, there are lots of things to do in New England, but fall is a great time to go because most places aren’t as busy. It’s right after the summer rush for beach towns and before ski season for mountain towns. That means you can go to many popular places when there are fewer people there.
Go to places like Boston to get hard-to-get reservations at the best hotels and restaurants, like The Newbury, XV Beacon Hotel, and The Langham. Check out The Freedom Trail to learn about the city’s history and see as much of it as possible in one trip.
Apple picking is another fall activity you can’t miss in New England, even though it sounds like a cliche. There are many apple orchards in New England, but some of the best are in New Hampshire. At places like Alyson’s Orchard in Walpole, you can explore hundreds of acres, pet farm animals, and play games. Riverview Farm in Plainfield is also a good place to pick, but it also has a corn maze in the fall.
Fall is also a great time to hike in New England because the weather is so nice. Again, there are a lot of ways to get on or off the Appalachian Trail. You can also go to Maine to see Acadia National Park, which is the only national park in New England. There are more than 150 miles of trails, so you could stay there for a week and never get bored.
New England has a lot of events.
In New England, fall is harvest time, so there are a lot of fairs at that time. This includes the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival in downtown Laconia, the Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, Massachusetts, the Deerfield Fair in Deerfield, New Hampshire (which was proud to weigh the largest pumpkin ever recorded in the U.S. in 2018), and more. Most likely, your state is going to have at least one or two fairs.
Fall Foliage in New England Leaf peeping is a sport in New England, and everyone who gets to do it wins. The end of September through early October is the best time to see the leaves at their best. With this helpful tool from NewEngland.com, you can also track the change in real time. It depends a bit on where you are. For example, the leaves will change faster in northern Maine than in southern Rhode Island, so once you decide where you want to go, check in to find out the right timetable.
You have a lot of options for where to go. Some of the most popular places are the small town of Camden, Maine; the busy city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the cute town of Old Lyme, Connecticut; and the Kancamagus Highway, New Hampshire, which is perfect for those who want to feel like they’re driving through a kaleidoscope. Check out our list of the best places in New England to look at the leaves.
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