5 Things I Learned Planning a Fall Trip to New England

Last updated on January 20th, 2026 at 04:09 pm

When I first started planning my fall trip to New England, I pictured it perfectly in my mind. Our mornings began with coffee and apple cider donuts with afternoons driving through gorgeous colors along winding roads. I planned on cozy evenings in cute local restaurants trying seasonal dishes. What I didn’t picture was all the planning that goes into making this picture-perfect trip happen. I now have our first fall foliage trip under my belt. Here are 5 things I learned planning a fall trip to New England.

Set Priorities

I think this is the MOST important decision to make when planning a fall trip to New England. Make a list of what you absolutely must see. Is there a specific state or states you want to see? How about towns and cities? When you look at pictures or videos, determine if that is experience you are trying to capture.

This next question may sound odd, but is foliage your main focus? Would you be happy seeing your preferred areas if it wasn’t absolute peak season? Are there state or national parks you would still enjoy visiting. Would you be interested in seeing any of the historical sites in New England? If foliage is your sole reason for visiting, plan accordingly. First, you need to focus on the next thing I learned planning a fall trip to New England.

Be Flexible

As much as you need to plan ahead, you also need to have flexibility in your schedule. Of course, this is much harder if you are flying and using a rental car. The foremost reason you need flexibility is because peak foliage can vary from year to year. Case in point, this year there was a drought which caused the leaves to turn earlier and drop faster. I followed a fall foliage tracker to get a good feel of when high color and peak color would occur. I found this to be helpful for watching when the leaves were beginning to turn. Once that happens, you know it won’t be too long before there is moderate to high color.

I actually changed up our route about 3 weeks before we left because I could see that parts of New Hampshire and Vermont were turning. I switched our hotel reservations to begin in North Conway, NH and then we moved to Stowe, VT. Remember, higher elevations turn earlier. This meant the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire would see peak foliage before other parts of the state. This 34-mile scenic highway was one of the main things I wanted to see in New Hampshire.

We still flew into the same airport; we simply drove to New Hampshire first rather than Maine. This worked well for us as we were still seeing all of the areas on our list, just in a different order.

Be Patient

I can’t stress this enough! Be patient! Thanks in part to social media, the entire country is wanting to see fall foliage. At least it feels that way. It is important that when you find yourself in the crowds, just relax. Fortunately, there are a couple of strategies for dealing with the throngs of leaf peepers.

First, go out early. Beating the crowds to popular destinations is the single best piece of advice I can give. It is probably the most obvious. However, because mornings can be pretty chilly and people don’t like getting up early on vacation, it makes a huge difference. Also, go during the week! Seriously, the weekday crowds are much lighter than the weekends.

Second, stay in a hotel or bed and breakfast within walking distance of the center of town. Of course, not everything will be walkable, but being close to cafes and shops will alleviate some of the stress.

Third, research parking. I did this for Stowe, Vermont. We weren’t able to get a reservation in town, so I knew parking would be an issue. Read up online if there is ample parking in town. Is it metered? Can you park in residential areas? This can usually be found with a little searching. We were able to park in a residential area that was only 3 blocks from the town center.

Road trip

I know what you are thinking, isn’t this entire trip a road trip? Well, yes and no. This fourth tip goes hand in hand with Be Flexible.

If you get to your dream location and you find it isn’t particularly dreamy, hit the road. Maybe the colors are past peak or they haven’t turned quite enough. Driving north or south will get you to areas that are full of color. This is where being flexible is a huge help. Don’t lock yourself into only seeing certain towns or areas.

We stayed in Stowe for a couple of days. It was beautiful, but it had already hit its peak color right before we arrived. We chose to drive south to Woodstock for the day. Just by driving a little over an hour, we saw beautiful color and a picture-perfect town. I highly recommend Woodstock!

Get Off the Beaten Path

This last one works well if you are staying in one location for 2-3 days. When you are researching your trip to New England, you are going to find the same locations mentioned over and over. The Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire or TheCold Hollow Cider Mill outside of Stowe. Both are absolutely worth visiting, especially Kancamagus. The Cold Hollow Cider Mill is great for the cider. I will admit, I liked other cider donuts better than theirs.

Dig a little deeper during your planning for the lesser-known state parks. See if there are any lakes or walking trails close by. New England is perfect for finding covered bridges or waterfalls. Often people don’t look closely enough to find all of the hidden gems surrounding them.

You will be rewarded with beautiful scenery and peace and quiet. Take your coffee and drive the back roads. No traffic means you can pull over for a picture or get out for a closer look. We found the state parks are great for this. It just takes a bit of research into where you are traveling. We also found that if a view or waterfall involved any type of hike, it was much less likely to be busy. If you are up for the challenge, you will be rewarded.

Conclusion

I hope this list of 5 things I learned planning a fall trip to New England is helpful to you. It’s not meant to overwhelm you, but to give insight on planning. Have fun picking the spots you want to see and making that trip a reality. Remember, be flexible and patient! Happy planning!