Falling for foliage in New England
You’ve heard about it of course, you’ve probably seen displays in photographic magazines and National Geographic, but nothing actually prepares you for the heartstopping sight of a forest, a hillside, ablaze with crimson, scarlet, orange, and yellow. It simply takes your breath away.
You’ll find yourself pulling up with a screech of brakes as one vista gives way to another, as the road dips or rises, revealing another splendid palette.
A single scarlet bush stands by a tiny white church, a graceful tall maple bends over a log cabin, brushing the shingles with its orange leaves. A still lake reflects hundreds of colours in its unruffled surface. Your camera is likely to get plenty of work.
Then there are the old-fashioned villages, with cosy local shops selling home baking, the enchanting covered bridges, tiny schoolhouses – and then another corner, and another kaleidoscope.
It has to be admitted that New England – which encompasses the four states of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont – does autumn rather well.
Not just that heartstopping foliage, but the whole harvest thing which is celebrated everywhere with pumpkins on doorsteps, cornstalks tied to pillars, piles of apples, squashes, corncobs displayed at roadside stands.
When you see ghosts waving from windows, witches posed on rooftops with their brooms, serious toddlers engaging on the very demanding task of choosing their very own pumpkin from the display outside the village church, ladders propped against apple trees, and old men in plaid shirts splitting logs outside their cabins, stacking the timber high against the coming winter, you realise that they aren’t just celebrating the single festival of Halloween, but the entire end of the productive year.
At one roadside stand in the tiny village of Bethel, Maine, a large floating ghost suspended from a tree caught the eye. Written across its snowy robe was: “Joe, we miss you always.”
Yes, said Ed Swain, his father had died the previous year, and they were remembering him at this time, as you should do with those who have gone before. “We’re carrying on the market stall just as he would have wanted, and I like to think he’s looking down and smiling right now.”
Near Franconia in New Hampshire stands the remote woodland cottage of Robert Frost. One of America’s best-loved poets for works like Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, and The Road Less Traveled, he spent much time here, capturing the beauty of nature perfectly in his words. There is a simple route through the woods behind his cottage where you can walk among the trees and read different poems on boards in the ideal setting.
Further down the road, a black bear crosses thoughtfully and unhurriedly in front of the car, pausing to gaze incuriously before moving into concealment once more. There are constant warnings about hitting moose at night – they aren’t renowned for their intelligence and tend to spend dark evenings mooching around the roads.
You need to be aware of a couple of important facts. Book accommodation ahead, especially at weekends. It’s New England’s busiest time of year, and places fill up fast. Avoid the big attraction areas like Franconia Notch and Mount Washington at weekends, whatever you do – the crowds are suffocating.
But go during the week and you’ll have it almost to yourself. And having all that beauty to yourself is something to remember far into the future.
New England in the fall. If you hurry, you can just make it.
Couldn’t be easier. You can fly to Boston from Shannon and Dublin. Next year, all going well, you should be able to fly from Cork too with Norwegian Air. A round trip costs from around €400 with Aer Lingus. Pick up a rental car (from about €200 for a week) and it’s an easy drive up through New England. Go as little or as far as you feel like, depending on the foliage. The fall colours will be coming down to meet you at this stage – the leaves start changing in the far north of Maine around the end of September, getting into New Hampshire and northern Vermont in early October, and then heading down to turn parks in Boston and New York into rainbows of scarlets, oranges, and yellows by November.
You don’t need to be reminded, do you, that a B&B in New England (indeed across America) is not the cheaper option? In fact it’s usually way more expensive than a good motel. If you like staying in a private home, often with four poster bed and patchwork quilts, and enjoying a generous breakfast en famille, then it can be a lot of fun. Otherwise, hotels and motels are everywhere, and vary in price from as low as €50 for a double or twin up to – well, the sky’s the limit in some of the fashionable areas. Take the time to search around online and don’t neglect helpful sites like Booking.com, Expedia or Trivago – they can often get you a good reduction on the hotel’s own prices.
Well you’re there for that stunning colour explosion, so you want to make sure you see the best places, where it’s at its peak. Fortunately there are now dozens of websites and even apps you can download to your phone or tab to tell you exactly where to go for the maximum experience on that particular day. www.yankeefoliage.com/, www.visitnh.gov/vacation-ideas/Foliage-Tracker/, www.vermont.com/foliage.cfm, are just some.
Plenty for the whole family to try out on the occasional wet day (although the New England fall is generally bright and clear and crisp). The major routes through this region are studded with railway trips, aerial gondolas, water slides, museums, and lots of other amusements. Climbing (or driving) Mount Washington is a popular option too. The kids won’t know what to demand next.
The Americans make a feature of huge outlet complexes offering large discounts on designer brands, and there are plenty all over New England. Again, just check online to see which are closest to your route. Freeport on the Maine coast is the home of legendary L. L. Bean, provider of some of the world’s best travel gear. Their main store and the discounted outlet there have grown and expanded until L. L. Bean actually is Freeport (with the inevitable associated crowds). Be aware that their full price clothing and footwear is pretty expensive (plus our rate of exchange is at an all-time low), and make sure you’re headed into the outlet rather than the main shop, for starters anyway.
Breakfast in a hotel or motel is often just Danish pastries and endless coffee from a dispenser. Everybody goes to the little local cafes for a large and cheerful helping of eggs, bacon and toast, or a stack of pancakes with maple syrup (about €6-€10). If you find one of those old-fashioned diners do grab the chance to eat there. These have been around in the North-East since the 1870s with the first railway-car style, called the Streamliner, coming along in the 1930s. The original Salem Diner is still in the same position in Massachusetts, likewise the Modern Diner in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. On the fall foliage trail, there is an amazing 1920s vintage diner in Bellows Falls, Vermont, which is always crowded for breakfast.
For dinner, seafood is on every menu, trucked in fresh from the Atlantic every day. Clam chowder makes a delicious starter, while in Maine, lobster is practically compulsory. Big American steaks of course, and, if you’re lucky, a really good example of what an American burger should be like. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, cider, even pumpkin beer, brewed specially each autumn. Expect to pay more or less Irish prices for a good meal with wine or beer.
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