Fall roadtrip through VT/NH/ME

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I haven't been to New England since 2007 so I think this would be a great time to return, especially since I've longed to visit in fall. I was wondering what people's favorite drives for foliage are. I was thinking US 3 in northern NH would be great, as well as US 1 in Maine and perhaps others.

Bonus points if anyone can recommend apple cider.

[Rothman]

Growing up in western MA, the leaf peeping trip we took was:

MA 2 (Mohawk Trail), from Greenfield west to Williamstown, up US 7 to VT 9 and back east and down I-91.

I also really enjoy the west side of the Taconics from MA/NY 2.  The maples on it turn a fiery orange which is enhanced when the sun is setting.

...

Did the Kancamagus one year, but getting through Lincoln, NH in particular is awful on Columbus Day Weekend due to some absurdly popular craft fair they have there.  Local police have no problem holding up traffic from the middle of that miserable little town all the way up and onto the mainline of I-93.  It's a nice drive, but there's no way to avoid that mess if its Columbus Day Weekend.

VT 100 is also one of my favorite typical New England drives.

[Pete from Boston]

I haven't been to New England since 2007 so I think this would be a great time to return, especially since I've longed to visit in fall. I was wondering what people's favorite drives for foliage are. I was thinking US 3 in northern NH would be great, as well as US 1 in Maine and perhaps others.

Bonus points if anyone can recommend apple cider.

This meaning now?  I'm sure you know it's not fall but it sure doesn't read that way.

I recommend the cider at Bolton Orchards in Bolton, Mass.  So fresh it is clear and unoxidized, and you can even fill a little 4oz cup yourself from a tap for 5¢.

If driving the Kancamagus (remember not to insert an extra "n" as is the lazy custom) keep going to the west of 93 where the road has a different name but is no less scenic.

100 in Vermont north from Killington up through Granville Gulf and the Mad River Valley is a great drive.  Lots of places to stop (surely with cider) in Waitsfield, Waterbury, and Montpelier.  Pick up a tasty pack of Lawson's for when you get home.

[froggie]

Bonus points if anyone can recommend apple cider.

Cold Hollow, VT 100 in Waterbury Center (not to be confused with Waterbury along the US 2/VT 100 concurrency).  Also makes the best cider donuts in the area.

Living in Vermont, there isn't any one route I'd recommend.  Pretty much any road will give you decent fall color in season, especially the backroads.

[Alps]

Second Cold Hollow, it's a regular stop for me. Go earlier in fall for prime cidering.

VT 100 is a good north-south road for foliage that compromises getting places and dealing with traffic. Stretches of US 5 along the CT River are also beautiful, and I-91 takes all the traffic away. NH 16 is the classic north-south mountain route; heavily traveled, but great scenery and Mt. Washington if you're so inclined.

East-west, start with VT 9 or US 4 for through roads. NH 25 (sort of diagonal).

Other notes: A ton of smaller NH and VT highways have great scenery. Look at anything that goes over a mountain ridge or down a valley. Maine is generally flatter but you have a ton of vistas over lakes, if that's your thing. Just about any route will pass a lake with a place to stop for photos.

[paulthemapguy]

I just went on a New England trip like this last October.  If you can, make your way to Acadia National Park in Maine.  It's a random geologic anomaly where a few mountains sticking out of the ocean forming an island (you can reach it by a small bridge; it barely qualifies as an island).  Cadillac Mountain, on the island, might be the best panoramic view I've ever experienced.  Fall colors + rocky coasts + ocean + mountains all around you = amazing.  So many places in the vast expanse of Adirondack park serve as fantastic autumn drives as well.