New England Travel and Vacation Gazette and Other Wicked Good Content

Article and photo (views from mid-Burke Mountain, Northeast Kingdom Vermont) by Eric H. Vermont is one of those "You had to be there" states. Vermont's incredible mountain and lake scenery is almost impossible to fully describe, and has to be seen to be fully appreciated. The laid-back lifestyle, the quaint, quintessential small towns with tall white church steeples, and the long winding country roads bring back previous travelers, attract new ones constantly, and even prompts many to move to the "Green Mountain State" for its wonderful quality of life. What better time to see Vermont than the colorful fall foliage season? The feeling of staying at a Vermont country inn surrounded by marvelous mountain and lake scenery, taking a leaf peeping driving through the Green Mountains, or going for a walk through the cool crisp fall air, rustling through the leaves, and having a nice warm cup of apple cider makes for a pure New England fall experience. Vermont features ...

Article and 2008 late October photo of Cumberland Reservoir, Cumberland, R.I., by Eric H. Recently, we have received some wonderful feedback on readers' favorite New England fall destinations. We must say that we agree with the choices, as stated below, as each area resonates with traditionally wonderful fall foliage. Readers, we appreciate your feedback, and encourage you to further add to this list with your own comments! Here is the latest fall foliage destinations feedback: From our Facebook New England Vacations Fan Page : Debbie says, "Crawford Notch is gorgeous. I love going through Franconia Notch, too." Debbie adds that the "Kanc'"(Kancamagus Highway) is another favorite, as is Bear Notch Road (near the Kancamagus) and... "everywhere in northern NH!" Marc says, "Route 100 in Vermont (also, the Thirteen Mile Woods section of Route 16 in NH)." Kristie adds, "Quechee & Woodstock VT area, too!" Our NewEnglandInfo Twitte...

Photo of Echo Lake, Franconia Notch State Park, N.H., by Eric H. When you hear the words and phrases "spectacular," "vibrant," and "near peak," that means New Hampshire fall foliage is virtually on your New England travel doorstep. With the Great North Woods and White Mountains Regions showing the most vibrant colors, make no mistake that the rest of the "Granite State" has shown increasing amounts of tremendous foliage. Even the Seacoast Region (Portsmouth, Dover, Rye, Hampton Beach area) -- typically the last to display optimal fall foliage colors -- has shown some brighter moments. Here is the latest New Hampshire fall foliage press release update, courtesy of the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism : Great North Woods Region: Spectacular fall colors are taking over the Great North Woods region. Maple trees which were still green last week are now becoming splashed with bright oranges and vibrant reds. The colors are changing at all ...

Article and photo (of Andrea DiReda Tabor, Ever So Humble Pie Company) by Eric H. Fall time in New England and apple pie have always seemed like a perfect autumn duo. Picking apples at the local farm and then coming home to start the process of apple pie-making truly brings out the best in fall. The unmistakable sweet apple pie aroma resides quite harmoniously with the outside fall colors, the slight chill in the air, a football game on the television, and a roaring fireplace in the living or dining room (in our case, an electrical version). For those who would rather buy an apple pie than make one, we recommend shopping at your local farm stand or bakery over the supermarket -- generally, the fresh taste comes out more when shopping locally. At the top of the pie chain, however, is the local pie shop -- if you are lucky enough to have one near you. In the southwest metro Boston suburbs, we recommend the Ever So Humble Pie Company's, of Walpole, Mass., all-natural version of appl...

Article by Eric H. Photo left: A mix of evergreens and hardwood trees creates a colorful display on Songo Pond along Route 5 south of Bethel. Credit: Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce Maine boasts 7 million acres of forest and more land covered by trees than any other state in the country, so it's no surprise that fall foliage has traditionally held a popular presence amongst locals and travelers. Granted, Maine has a lot of pine trees, but the reality is that you'll find foliage colors in the myriad other tree species that's every bit as good as the prime-time New England fall foliage players, New Hampshire and Vermont. You just have to know where to go, and when. Additionally, Maine shines colorfully, not only with its inland fall colors, but also at the coast. Any part of the state is capable of turning out vibrant yellow, orange, red and purple hues -- great news for those who prefer the Maine coast. Depending upon location, you can expect the best Maine fall foliage ...

One of our favorite local art stores, Village Artisans Collaborative, of North Attleboro, Mass., just sent us a message that they will be sponsoring a fall arts and crafts day at Briggs Nursery, 295 Kelley Blvd. in North Attleboro, Sat., October 3, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. in the beautiful atrium at Briggs Nursery in North Attleboro. The show will feature many works by local artists along with a free raffle for a $50.00 gift certificate to the Village Artisans Retail Store at 21 North Washington St., in downtown North Attleboro (Tel. 508-695-1010). We encourage you to stop by the event to support what we feel is a model not-for-profit organization -- Village Artisans showcases more 30 local artisans at its retail store while working closely with local organizations to foster creative programs. This local cultural vision helps make North Attleboro even that much better than it's already impressive presence as a close-knit, community-oriented town! The Oct. 3 event should be a lot of f...

Article and photo (of Bailey's and Burke country store) by Eric H. Everyone loves a good New England country store with the exception of those who don't love a good New England country store. Not exactly a statement of Mark Twain-caliber there (more like Yogi Berra, perhaps), but the reality is that many country stores remain quite popular in an otherwise modern, "superstore" retail generation. Most people we know especially love going to country stores in Vermont, with the fall being the most popular time to visit these "trip-back-in-time" destinations -- given the accompanying fall foliage colors, community events, a little apple cider and that unmistakable great-smelling autumn mountain air. Yes, some people would rather go to the shopping mall for convenience and love of the modern retail trend of the week, but we believe most New Englanders embrace a country store as part of a New England way of life. It is just part of our traditional fabric. In Verm...

Photo: New Hampshire fall leaves (by Eric H.) One of our readers, Madeleine Clark, recently wrote in to tell us about a fantastic-sounding motorcycle-related Lakes Region, New Hampshire, fall event: Leaftoberfest, a leaf peeping bike rally, will be held Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 3-4, at Laconia Harley-Davidson, 239 Daniel Webster Hwy (Rte 3), in Meredith, N.H. Escorted leaf peeping rides will take off on both days at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.. Live music starts at noon and Laconia Harley-Davidson will be offering demos on the new 2010 Harleys. Participate in The Bike show also offers, on Oct 3rd, the chance to win a $1,000 in prizes. Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant, of Meredith, N.H., will be offering some great food!. For more information on the event, please log onto www.laconiaharley.com What better place to see the New England fall foliage than New Hampshire? Colors have become more vibrant in most sections of New Hampshire as of late, and will continue to do so, especially with some of...

Article and photos by Eric H. Sunshine Farm in Sherborn, Mass., is never out of its gourd(s). Excuse the play on words, but come fall time, gourds play a prominent retail role alongside their famous cousin -- the pumpkin -- at this peaceful road side farm stand, minutes from the more hectic retail shopping pace of Route 9 in Framingham and Natick. Gourds can be used for fall decorations, or for use as sculptures, baskets, masks or musical instruments. Some people even give out gourds for Halloween. Growing up, we had neighbors that gave us hungry kids non-edible gourds instead of candy bars. Place that brilliant 1970s-style idea alongside orange shag rugs, pet rocks and Ford Pintos. If you are so inclined to buy a gourd, Sunshine Farm offers one of the biggest selections in the area. If you are not so inclined, the third-generation, family-owned 100-acre Sunshine Farm offers a wonderful little fall destination experience with a farm market (including a bakery, and a wide variety of on-...

Photo by Eric H.: Woods in Franconia Notch State Park, N.H. Just received an update from Betty Gagne, of the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development, that more vibrant fall foliage colors have graced many parts of the "Granite State." The Fall Foliage Report for Sept. 24 states that "It’s autumn splendor in the Great North Woods region," and the "White Mountains Region is showing a blast of color in and around the area of Waterville Valley." Leaf peepers from The Lakes, Dartmouth-Sunapee, Monadnock and Merrimack Valley regions are also reporting more color, while the Seacoast region (usually the last to reach peak foliage) is showing greater progress than in past years, at this time. For fully detailed fall foliage reports, we recommend calling the New Hamphire Division of Travel and Tourism Development Fall Foliage Hotline at 1-800-258-3608. Follow the prompts to check out the latest reports in each New Hampshire region.

Article and photo (corn maze, Adam's Farm, Cumberland, R.I.) by Eric H. This is your site. We are merely the facilitators! With that in mind, we are looking for your feedback, ideas, suggestions, etc., on where to go and what to do during the New England fall foliage season. Some topic ideas: best leaf peeping spots, apple picking, corn mazes, country stores, scenic drives, hikes, restaurants perfect for an autumn day, and road side farm stands. We also welcome ideas on seasonal events. Whether it's Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont, we'd love to hear from you on what you consider the best of New England fall foliage season travel. Please feel free to post a comment here, or send us an e-mail . Thanks for helping make The Weekly New England travel and Vacation Gazette a community to exchange New England fall travel ideas -- we truly appreciate you visiting our site!

Photo: Early foliage color Tuesday on Munsungan Lake in Piscataquis County north of Baxter State Park. Credit: Maine Department of Conservation Editor's preface: While New Hampshire and Vermont are household names when it comes to fall foliage leaf peeping, we suggest keeping in mind the other four New England states -- that Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have some traditionally mighty fine fall foliage. To keep up to date on fall foliage colors in New England, we recommend calling all the following state hot lines: Connecticut 888.288.4748 , Maine 1.888.MAINE.45,Massachusetts 800.227.6277, New Hampshire 800.258.3600 , Rhode Island (Department of Tourism) 800.556.2484 , Vermont 800.837.666 And now back to our regularly scheduled program... Fall Foliage in Maine! Just got some great news from our New England neighbors at the Maine Office of Travel and Tourism in Augusta, Maine, that fall foliage color in the northern half of Maine is ranging from 30 to 75 perce...

Editor's note: The Weekly New England Travel Gazette is interested in your feedback for New England fall travel tips. Please feel free to e-mail our crackerjack New England news team with your autumn travel suggestions for the six-state region ! Today, Jennifer L., from the Hanover, N.H., region writes us with the following New Hampshire fall travel tip, this one focusing on a special roadside farm stand: "We just LOVE apple picking at Windy Ridge Orchard in Haverhill, N.H.. They have a little store that sells apples, apple cider, cheese, cafe with great food and fresh apple cider donuts and an area where the kids get to play. Really nice family-oriented place!" Thanks so much, Jennifer, sounds like a wonderful New England fall destination!

Article and photo (2008 photo of Big Apple Farm, Wrentham, Mass.) by Eric H. If you're overwhelmed on where to start when traveling the six New England states during the fall foliage season, we have a resource to make autumn trip planning easier. The VisitingNewEngland.com "Best New England Fall Foliage Travel Destinations, Vacations and Scenic Drives" offers tips on places we have been to and regard as scenic, fun and relevant autumn New England fall travel spots. We cover a wide variety of New England fall foliage season information, including our favorite vacation destinations and hotel getaways, dining spots tailor-made for autumn, best leaf peeping spots, driving tours, hikes, day trips, apple picking and apple cider recommendations. Realizing that you might have a limited amount of time to travel -- like, perhaps, a weekend -- we feel that our "New England Fall Travel Guide" acts as sort of a "greatest hits" of New England fall foliage season t...

One of our Twitter followers, http://twitter.com/RuthieB2 , just gave us a great autumn tip, stating the "Connecticut Wine Trail is a fantastic trip for a cool fall day." The Connecticut Wine Trail takes visitors through 20 vineyards in some of Connecticut's most picturesque towns. This eastern and western Connecticut excursion offers award-winning wines. All wineries are members of the Connecticut Vineyard and Winery Association. The wineries include: Bishop's Orchards Winery and Farm Market, Guilford Chamard Vineyards, Clinton DiGrazia Vineyards, Brookfield Gouveia Vineyards, Wallingford Haight-Brown Vineyards. Litchfield Heritage Trail Vineyards, Lisbon Hopkins Vineyard, New Preston Jerram Winery, New Hartford Jonathan Edwards Winery, North Stonington Jones Winery, Shelton Land of Nod Winery, East Canaan Maugle Sierra Vineyards, Ledyard McLaughlin Vineyards, Sandy Hook Miranda Vineyard, Goshen Priam Vineyards, Colchester Rosedale Farms & Vineyard, Simsbury Shar...

Article and photo (2008 photo of Adams Farm, Walpole, Mass.) by Eric H. Fall begins at 5:18 p.m. today in New England! Although the past few weeks have brought us fall-like activities like apple picking, some pockets of impressive northern New England fall foliage and local, traditional autumn-related community events, we can now officially say that summer is in our rear view mirror. In the past few weeks, in preparation for your fall travel, we have presented you some fall travel and vacation ideas. We will continue to do so until late October on virtually a daily basis. For the start of fall today, we bring you a "sampler" of some more autumn travel ideas with many more New England fall travel tips on the way: The Century House bed and breakfast in Nantucket, Mass., tells us that Restaurant Week 2009 will take place, Sept. 28-Oct. 4, in Nantucket, and will feature "special pricing and unique menus" from 30 different local dining spots. Presented and organized by...

Article by Eric H. We've posted before on Phantom Farms in Cumberland, R.I., and will do so periodically in the future. The reason: like everything else we write here, Phantom Farms is a New England destination we love to visit and recommend (without any vested interest, of course). Why write about anything else? That way, we pass along straight-from-the-heart travel recommendations along to you! Phantom Farms is a quintessential New England year-round farm stand that is best visited in the fall, in our opinion. With its apple picking, freshly-squeezed apple cider, pumpkins, and cornstalks, Phantom Farms, for many, seems synonymous with autumn fun in the northern Rhode Island, Blackstone Valley region. Add pies, pastries, jams and jellies, more native produce, a garden center and a beautiful rural location and Phantom Farms is truly a "one-stop" shopping roadside farm destination. Fall events make Phantom Farms even that much more fun. For the rest of this month and Octo...

Article and photos by Eric H. Our latest VisitingNewEngland.com travel review centers on The 123 in York Beach, Maine . Located directly across the street from Long Sands Beach, this oceanfront inn and restaurant features amazing views from each room's own private balcony. The 123 also fulfills a rare York Beach travel feature, offering lodging, breakfast, lunch and dinner under one roof. Formerly the Inn at Long Sands, The 123 carries on the tradition of high quality lodging at this address and, in many cases upgrades over the former facility, including an expanded dining menu and indoor and outdoor dining, as well as memory foam mattresses and wide screen televisions in each room. York is often thought of as a summer destination, but we have always found the community to be a wonderful travel destination in the fall where the crowds lessen and many attractions stay open through Columbus Day. We consider The 123 as a great lodging choice when vacationing in York. For a full revie...

Article by Eric H. If you're looking for an apple picking experience that goes beyond just picking apples, then Belkin Lookout Farm in Natick, Mass., is the place to "pick." In the same town that brings you the densely-populated commercial stretch of Route 9 with just about every store imaginable -- and a seemingly continuous traffic jam -- Belkin Lookout Farm resides on 180 acres of beautiful farm land in a truly quiet rural section of South Natick. Belkin Farm is also one of the oldest continuously working farms in the country, having some form of farming operation since the mid-1600s! It's simply a beautiful fall New England destination, and a true oasis from growing suburbia. You'll feel like you're hundreds of miles away from the shopping mall and center craziness of Natick and neighboring Framingham -- also a bastion of shopping frenzy on Route 9. Not that Belkin Lookout Farm doesn't become overcrowded itself, given its high level of entertaining th...

(2008 photo of Concord, N.H., by Eric H.) Fall Foliage report source: New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism ) The New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development just sent us an update on the latest fall foliage reports across New Hampshire. As could be expected, this is the time of the year when trees start to turn over an "old leaf," many transforming into bright colors. While we still have a ways to go to reach peak fall foliage in the "Granite State," areas like the Great North Woods, the Monadnock and Merrimack Valley regions and, surprisingly, the Seacoast Region have sectors of impressive colors, according to New Hampshire Travel and Tourism. Regardless of level of fall foliage color, anytime is a great time to visit New Hampshire. Personally, we simply can't get enough of the pristine, small lake towns in the Lakes Region (Wolfeboro and Meredith, in particular), the rugged and scenic White Mountains, the charming coastline splendor of Po...

Article and photos by Eric H. Many travelers equate New England fall travel only to leaves turning color, but that would be barking up the wrong tree. While fall foliage colors offer the predominant travel attraction here in the New England autumn, let's not forget the other "parts" that lend a unique and unforgettable atmosphere to our six-state region. In no particular order, country stores, roadside farm stands, apple picking, pumpkin patches, cornstalks and mazes, regional and community fairs and festivals, and cozy restaurants with rural scenery create a colorful destination on their own. Mix in the vibrant colors of the leaves and the "parts" add up to a spectacular sum of vacation bliss. We hope you enjoy our fall travel photo tour on this posting. We incorporate all the aforementioned "parts" into this slide show to illustrate what a special time of the season it is in one of America's great regions of the country. Unlike some other travel...

Article by Eric H. Following up on Tom K.'s excellent article yesterday on motorcycle fall foliage rides in central Massachusetts , we received several other suggestions from our Twitter followers over the past few days. Smugglers_Notch (Smugglers' Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, Vt.) said they see motorcyclists enjoying the drives through Smugglers' Notch Pass on Route 108, heading east to Stowe, Vt., or west to Burlington, Vt., and Lake Champlain. NaswaResort (Naswa Resort On Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H.) states that the the White Mountains, Kangamangus Trail area "are gorgeous!" gilsimmons (Gil Simmons, morning meteorologist for WTNH Channel 8, ABC, New Haven, Conn.) recommends Route 169 in Eastern Connecticut. Good choice, Gil! This is one of our personal favorite scenic drives in New England. We can't get enough of the farms, historic churches and classic Connecticut village green centers along the way. For more information on Route 169, Jeffersonville-t...

Information Source: Maine Office of Tourism . Map - Current Maine foliage conditions for September 16. (Credit: Maine Department of Conservation) The Maine Office of Tourism in Augusta, Maine, just sent us a message stating that all that rain that occurred during the first half of the summer proved beneficial for the impending fall foliage season, as leaf-bearing trees are healthy and primed for their annual color change. "Good foliage development is a prerequisite for good fall color," said Bill Ostrofsky, a forest pathologist with the Maine Forest Service. "The plentiful summer rain allowed the foliage to develop vigorously, and most crowns now appear full, dense, and very lush. All regions appear to be on track for another spectacular season." Aroostook County and northern portions of Piscataquis and Somerset County forest rangers report low leaf color, at this writing -- less than 30 percent peak and low leaf drop. For the remainder of the state, low color and ...

(2008 photo of Franconia Notch State Park by Eric H.) Betty Gagne, of the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development, just sent us some good news on more fall foliage colors arriving in the Granite State's Great North Woods Region. Also called New Hampshire’s "Grand North," this region features swamp maples along the rivers and higher elevations showing "some nice, bright reds" –- indicating that peak fall foliage will be arriving soon. Mountain slopes are showing some fall foliage progress with hints of red and yellow coming to life, also. This official New Hampshire tourism group also states that paddling along the Northern Forest Canoe Trail or driving the Connecticut River Scenic Byway are "great ways to see the early autumn colors." They also recommend Route 26 from Errol to Colebrook as a dramatic scenic drive, especially with the impending peak fall foliage. We recommend logging onto The New Hampshire Foliage Report Web Site for...