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The Best Foliage Drives in New England
National Scenic Byways for the perfect fall trip
So many wonderful drives, so little time. To select these tours, we went to the real road warriors -- the Federal Highway Administration. They've established a program, National Scenic Byways, that recognizes and preserves roads with beautiful vistas, historic sites, access to public lands, and other qualities that make them more than just a Sunday drive. Throw in spectacular fall color, and you've got a perfect day-trip.
Vermont: Through the Notch
The 18-mile stretch of Route 108 that connects Stowe and Jeffersonville via Smugglers' Notch is a destination in itself, as well as a way to get from one town to another during the spring, summer, and fall. It starts out looking like any other easily negotiable Vermont road, but after it courses past the resort-area businesses that trail north out of Stowe and leaves behind the ski area, it's easy to see why no plow dares make the passage in winter.
Steep slopes crowd close once you reach Mount Mansfield State Forest, and Route 108 narrows to a blacktop corkscrew of a road with a 16 percent grade. On the Stowe side, there's access to the resort's gondola and auto road to Mount Mansfield's summit, along with picnic and camping spots. Near the crest of the notch, where the dark walls of Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak loom above the road, you can pull over and hike to Sterling Pond, the highest pond on the Long Trail. Here it's never fully daylight, especially beneath the 1,000-foot rise that lofts to the stark rock formation called Elephant's Head. Did smugglers really use this route more than two centuries ago to secretly transport supplies to the Canadian-based British army? If not, they should have: Not only is it the most direct way through the northern Green Mountains, but it's also crammed with rocky nooks and crannies.
Vistas broaden after you navigate the sharp summit turns, and the road straightens on the way down past Smugglers' Notch ski resort and into Jeffersonville. Now you're in northern Vermont, where things are just a bit more rustic, and even a sizable ski area isn't beset by bistros and boutiques. Take time to enjoy it before you make that drive back to the other side of the notch.
New Hampshire: Mountains at Every Turn
The most dramatic way to enter the White Mountains region is to follow I-93 and Route 3 north through Franconia Notch, then head east along Route 302 to Route 16. The 75-mile winding drive is one of sweeping views, turnoffs to logging roads and hiking trails, babbling brooks, waterfalls, and covered bridges.
Just north of Lincoln, the road narrows between the majestic peaks of the Franconia and Kinsman Ridges. Cannon Mountain's rocky face drops down to Profile Lake, over which the Old Man of the Mountain once presided.
Here Franconia Notch State Park offers much to explore, including the Basin's glacial potholes, the granite walls covered with moss in the Flume, and the Appalachian Mountain Club's (AMC's) Greenleaf and Lonesome Lake high-mountain huts. The Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway's 15-minute ride whisks you to within a short walk of the 4,200-foot summit, where on a clear day you can see into Vermont, New York, Canada, and Maine.
After the road skirts the Twin Mountains, the grand Mount Washington Hotel -- a fixture of the landscape since 1902 -- comes into view. Stop here, if only to walk the wraparound porch and take in the magnificent view of the namesake mountain.
Now the road widens, edged by wildflower meadows and boggy ditches -- a favorite habitat of moose -- before narrowing again through Crawford Notch. Just before starting the descent to the Mount Washington Valley, you come to the AMC's Highland Center. New trails crisscross the property, introducing visitors to hiking basics and the concept of ecological stewardship. Inside, mountaineering photos by Bradford and Barbara Washburn rival big-city exhibits.
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