First trip to VT & NH - any advice for clueless Texans?

Parent Cafe
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<p>My best friend and I are planning our first trip to Vermont and New Hampshire. We decided at the last minute to extend RISD’s Parent Weekend into a week-long trip because neither of us has ever seen a New England fall.</p>

<p>We have visions of riding bikes on country lanes and seeing beautiful fall foliage all around. (Am I crazy?) I haven’t yet researched sites or attractions, but was hoping to get advice from people here who know a lot more about the Northeast.</p>

<p>We fly into Manchester, NH, on Oct 10 and leave from Providence on Oct 16. We’ll spend Fri, Sat and Sun in Providence.</p>

<p>Does anyone have advice or recommendations on what we should see or do in NH & VT? Many thanks in advance!</p>

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<p>No you aren’t crazy. Check on road conditions though. Southern New Hampshire was not hit badly by Irene, but much of Vermont and the northern part of NH was. I love the area around Waitsfield and hiking that section of the Long Trail, but some of the roads were washed out and I don’t know whether they’ve been repaired.</p>

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<p>for sure, if it works out, spend some time in Middlebury. Just the cutest town with a really good fine arts local museum and see if the Storm Cafe is there.</p>

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<p>That is great advice to check every spot before arriving. I was going to recommend the Woodstock Inn in Vermont, but just read on its website that they are closed doing repairs after Irene.</p>

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<p>As your ID suggests you’re from Austin, you may not be used to having an umbrella or raincoat on hand, but bring one! In mid-October it can be gorgeous and sunny, but it can also get cold as well, so check the weather and bring appropriate layers so you don’t get caught off guard. </p>

<p>If you plan to stay in hotels in VT/NH,you should book them now as that is peak fall foliage season. Sounds like a great trip.</p>

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<p>I drove through southern Vermont this weekend.</p>

<p>I was astonished at how quickly they have reopened the roads. </p>

<p>Many businesses were destroyed though. Wilmington, for example, is completely wiped out.</p>

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<p>It sounds like you only have half of a week for this part of your trip. So, don’t do both NH and VT. I suggest VT (am biased!). One doable trip for four days is to make a combination of Mad River Valley (where Sugarbush is located), Stowe, and Burlington. The Sugarbush and Stowe areas are gorgeous mountain areas for foliage, and while rural, both are resort areas with lots to do. You can bring or rent bikes. Stowe even has a bike path. Both have lots of hiking. Both have various foliage and arts events and great dining. You can also drive to the top of Stowe for a great view. You could include one day in Burlington (which is one hour from either Mad River Valley or from Stowe, which each are 40 min. from one another), and enjoy things on and in around Lake Champlain (boat rides, bike path, etc.) and the shops and cafes, etc. on Church Street to contrast with the rural towns. Also, near both Mad River Valley and Stowe (in between the two) are the Ben and Jerry’s Factory and Cold Hollow Cider Mill. There are websites for both the Mad River Valley (or Sugarbush) and for Stowe, and you can find lots of listings of what to see and do. There are usually suggested foliage drives (though both these areas are in the mountains and on the Rte. 100 corridor which is very scenic. There are covered bridges, farm stands, and all the typical VT scenes. The villages have nice shops, crafts, and so on. So, a loop of these three towns makes a nice four day trip. Be aware that you really need to make reservations now as the whole world seems to descend on these areas (particularly resort areas like Sugarbush and Stowe) during peak foliage season. But it is worth it!</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.madrivervalley.com/[/url]”>http://www.madrivervalley.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.sugarbush.com/[/url]”>http://www.sugarbush.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>^^Mad River Valley is the area and Sugarbush is specifically the resort.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.gostowe.com/[/url]”>http://www.gostowe.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://summer.stowe.com/[/url]”>http://summer.stowe.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>^^First link is the Stowe area and the second link is the resort specifically.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.vermont.org/visiting/index.aspx[/url]”>http://www.vermont.org/visiting/index.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>^^Burlington</p>

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<p>leaf peepers will be in abundance. make your reservations now–finding a place to stay might determine where you will visit!</p>

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<p>White Mountain will be beautiful at that time. If you can get a reservation.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/[/url]”>http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The steep terrain going up Mount Washington should be an experience for you and you do get a bumper sticker for the car at the end. Quite cold and windy on the top though.</p>

<p>I like Made River Glen, Stowe and Sugarbush, they are the best ski areas in NE.</p>

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<p>Wow, I dropped my RISD daughter off at the airport this morning, had a good cry, and came back to all this great advice - thank you! Sounds like the first thing to do is look for lodging. I’m going to start with all those VT recommendations. Thank you and please feel free to keep adding any pointers you might have!</p>

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<p>Best of luck to your D at RISD. It is hard for a mom when they first leave but you will fall into a new groove. My D went to Brown and took classes at RISD and it is a neat area for college. </p>

<p>I also want to mention that on the Mad River Valley site I gave you, I see that they have suggested scenic drives and hikes and bike rides and so once you pick where you are going, such resources will help you plan what you might do once there.</p>

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<p>This sounds great … I agree Soozievt about picking one of VT or NH to spend a couple days. Both would be great … the fall foliage actually peeks at different times in different locations (VT tends to peak a little later than most of NH) … so my suggestion is to pick either NH or VT based on where the foliage is apt to be the best when you are in the area. This link may help you pick … [Peak</a> Fall Foliage - How To See New England Fall Foliage at Its Peak](<a href=“http://gonewengland.about.com/od/fallfoliage/ht/htpeakfoliage.htm]Peak”>http://gonewengland.about.com/od/fallfoliage/ht/htpeakfoliage.htm).</p>

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<p>I’d recommend the White Mountains (NH).</p>

<p>A drive along the Kancamagus Highway along with stops along the way and maybe some hikes would be nice.</p>

<p>Just remember to pack appropriate clothes.</p>

<p>Snow and very cold weather is a possibility (I believe that it was Fall 2000 when we had freezing weather and snow in October).</p>

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<p>I drove through Vermont last fall. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Vermont doesn’t have those signs at interstate exits telling motorists which lodging and eating options are available at that exit. This was very frustrating. </p></li>
<li><p>We ran into a local fair that blocked a state highway for an hour. </p></li>
<li><p>The prices at motels were ridiculously high. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Not to burst your bubble, but things to consider.</p>

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<p>For that matter, Vermont has no commercial signs/billboards in the entire state, which is rather lovely, in my opinion. </p>

<p>During foliage season, one MUST have hotel reservations and so finding signs indicating lodging really would not be all that relevant because you have to line up the lodging in advance.</p>

<p>Such a trip should be well planned. So, if one goes to one of the communities i suggested (or some others too), then look at the lodging and restaurant options on the sites for those communities, rather than hope to just come upon a place to eat, etc. In fact, dining reservations during peak foliage season are also recommended, particularly in the resort communities I mentioned.</p>

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<p>Be sure to check road conditions for your planned trip. Some roads and bridges in VT are washed out from the recent flood. For example, US 4 that goes to cute and scenic Woodstock and Quechee is damaged. </p>

<p>Check here for road conditions: [Vermont</a> Agency of Transportation Traveler Information](<a href=“New England 511| 511 Traffic | Commuter Information”>New England 511| 511 Traffic | Commuter Information)</p>

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<p>^^^That is very important to check right now in Vermont. When I first moved to VT in 1981, I actually lived in Woodstock and yes, now there are travel issues in that area. I don’t live there now. The areas I suggested in my post earlier on this thread, while there was flood damage, the roads are open to get to those communities.</p>

<p>The OP was coming up from Manchester, NH and eventually driving back down to Providence, RI and so she would get on 89 North into VT and go to Exit 10 and get on either 100 South to the Mad River Valley (Sugarbush) or 100 North to Stowe (both communities are about 15 min. from the interstate) and can also continue on 89 North up to Burlington. All those roads are open.</p>

<p>From Manchester, NH, it will take approx. 2 1/2 hours to get to either the Mad River Valley or to Stowe and then 4 hours back down to Providence.</p>

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<p>Route 4 is open from Rt 89 to Woodstock. It is closed/limited west of Woodstock. Please consider a visit to Quechee and Woodstock, even if its just for a brief visit. There are lovely shops and delicious restaurants that would really appreciate your business. Its just a short hop off 89. The Woodstock Inn hopes to be open by the time of your visit. The Quechee Inn escaped damage and is open.</p>

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<p>I agree that Vermont’s not having billboards along the highway is very nice. But…those small blue interstate exit signs that just say Lodging with the logo of the motel, an arrow and mileage indicator are helpful and not an eyesore. </p>

<p>We also wasted time waiting for a local fair and parade to be cleared so the state highway could be opened. A detour for through traffic would have been appreciated. </p>

<p>We didn’t have any trouble finding vacancies, but rates were very high.</p>

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<p>At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is peak tourist season in the area. Leaf peepers come from across the country and all of these small, beautiful towns are very busy. The end of September and early October will bring thousands and thousands of visitors for both the foliage and the antique shows that are held in many VT towns. Many people book their accomodations months in advance so I can’t stress this strongly enough, make your plans ASAP!</p>