Anyone cycled in New England during fall foliage Seaosn?

jc4lab

Hoping to do some cycling and a bit of leaf peeping there this October ..Has anyone done any cycling in this area.or simply just visited New england during foliage season....Please share your experiences..

daviesee

Not cycled but in my experience "fall" doesn't last long, at it's peak for around a week and that particular week in unpredictable. If accommodation is flexible then you can head north or south depending on if you are early or late. Good luck!
Also, the leaves fall because the weather has gotten colder (duh!) so be prepared for potentially very cold mornings. Or blazing sun if the wind changes :P

Not much help I know but there you go.........

PS - While New York has the excitement, Boston has the charm. But both have "wrong" areas. Never felt safer than central Manhattan mind you. Police on all corners and zero tolerance policy.

jc4lab

Thank you.Lots of good cycling opportunities but how to handle it all is difficult..The plan is to start in the North on the Canada Border and head down towards Boston chasing the leaves as they change.to peek colour visting the best foliage areas on the way...

PieterM

I have ridden in Vermont during the foliage season. It is pretty but for me really not that much prettier than any other time of the year to make it worth the huge increase in traffic and hiked up prices for accommodation.

raybo

In September, 2010, I did a month long tour from Pennsylvania to Maine and then down to Boston. I live in California, so I was looking forward to "leaf peeping." The colors in the trees were amazing and I'm really glad to have done this.

I wrote a journal, with lots of photos of this ride.

I think that later in October might be a bit late in the season but the locals say the best time to see the trees depends on a number of factors and don't occur at the same time every year.

This photo was taken September 24:



Ray

Hoopdriver

I do not live there now, but I grew up in the White Mountains in New Hampshire (my family was there for many generations) and the fall colours are indeed spectacular. Well worth the visit. Reckon on the first week of October, even up to Columbus Day, for them to be at their best (in the White Mountains at any rate, it varies as you go north or south) and you won't go far wrong.

jc4lab

Hoopdriver wrote:

I do not live there now, but I grew up in the White Mountains in New Hampshire (

Thanks ..Have simple backpackers Accomdation booked in the white Mountains Conway.on Columbus day..I hope to Ride the nearby Kancamagus Highway subject to traffic letting me..which I believe is a stuggle even for the fit.Also On the radar for me are loop rides around Stowe Quechee/Woodstock ,Crawford Notch ,Mount Washingtion valley,maybe The lakes area and Acadia National Park but its a bit too much and too difficult logistcally to do it all ..Any tips on whats best to do in just 2 weeks are appreciated..As you see the pictures areas with Red maples are well worth seeking out

Hoopdriver

Columbus Day weekend would not be a good time to do the Kancamaugus Highway, beautiful though it will be. The traffic will be pretty intense. If I were you I would head a little bit south of there, to the Sandwich, Tamworth, Moultonboro, Centre Harbour area and keep to some of the smaller back roads such as Route 113 and 113-A, and even some of the dirt lanes that meander through the hills. This, by the way, is an area I know EXTREMELY well; I grew up in Tamworth!

It is very beautiful through here and with the lakes and rivers - Squam Lake, Ossipee Lake, Chocorua Lake, Swift River and the Bearcamp - the colours will be especially good; the fall colours are always the most vibrant near water.

Good luck.

jc4lab

Thanks for this warning which i just felt would be the case...I so much want to do the Kanc one way or another and wiil be there before Colombus day.Last resort will be I hire a car(or even a Harley) to do it.My bike is actually a folder(My comfort milage is a loop of 50Miles a day)>Im finding hiring a car is the way most recommend ,carrying the bike in the back..but I prefer to cycle only if possible If it can be done .I would hope to take a shuttle or taxi to the summit of the Kanc and cycle back down to Conway slowly and defensively stopping for photos and side trips into the offroads

I remain open on all ideas how best to see New england.Ive seen red maples before and they are well worth chasing after in full peak

raybo

I rode the Kancamagus Highway on a rainy day and while I enjoyed the ride, I couldn't see anything more than about 500 feet from any viewpoint. I rode it in mid-September.

It was a nice ride with very little traffic but it would have been much better without the rain. In fact, I wouldn't recommend riding it in the rain, not because it isn't safe, but because there isn't any view.

I wrote about it and have photos in my trip journal.

I would highly recommend Acadia National Park.

Ray

jc4lab

Thanks ..the cold rainny day reality looks different to some of the pictures that you see.
http://www.pbase.com/dougsherman/new_england

These two are on the radar if I can somehow get to em
http://www.foliage-vermont.com/woodstoc ... e_tour.htm
http://www.stowebiketours.com

Hoopdriver

Raybo - it rained the day you were there and so you don't recommend a place? I don't get it. That's nuts.

And anyway Acadia National Park in Maine is a helluva long way out of the way to go if you decide you don't take a shine to the Kancamaugus Highway.

If I were to take a cycling trek through the New England fall colours, from Canada down to Boston (which was as I recall the original idea) I'd stick with the White Mountains - from Canada come down through the Northeast Kingdom in Vermont (the part around St Johnsbury) then plot a course into NH and down through the heart of the mountains via Berlin and Bartlett and Conway, keeping to the back roads and off Route 16, then continue down to the Lakes Region via Tamworth, Sandwich, Moultonboro and and along Moultonboro Neck road to Wolfeboro on Lake Winnepesaukee.

raybo

Hoopdriver wrote:

Raybo - it rained the day you were there and so you don't recommend a place? I don't get it. That's nuts.

What I said: I wouldn't recommend riding it in the rain, not because it isn't safe, but because there isn't any view.

I didn't call riding the Kancamagus Hwy in the rain nuts. I just didn't recommend it.

Ray

jc4lab

My own flight is to Burlington on 28th Sept and out of Boston 13th October..Route plan currently is Burlingtton Stowe Woodstock. Then a bit stuck..From there Somehow get to Conway ,then Jackson. Crawford Notch then return southwards to the lakes.Winneseupee...Stuck what next. if theres any time left....the Best trees near water around lakes looks a really good tip..The photos prove that.s right.The maine coast looks a great trip in itelf.Lots of cycling in Cape Cod.Rhode island Nanktucket then up to Boston then beyhond to to Maine. Bar Harbor..Maybe you can visit some Stephen Kings towns and places on that route???

daviesee

jc4lab wrote:

My own flight is to Burlington on 28th Sept and out of Boston 13th October..Route plan currently is Burlingtton Stowe Woodstock. Then a bit stuck..From there Somehow get to Conway ,then Jackson. Crawford Notch then return southwards to the lakes.Winneseupee...Stuck what next. if theres any time left....the Best trees near water around lakes looks a really good tip..The photos prove that.s right.The maine coast looks a great trip in itelf.Lots of cycling in Cape Cod.Rhode island Nanktucket then up to Boston then beyhond to to Maine. Bar Harbor..Maybe you can visit some Stephen Kings towns and places on that route???

You may get a lot of attention in Provincetown if you ride in lycra clad, whether wanted attention or not. :shock:

Hoopdriver

Try following the Connecticut River - which marks the VT-NH boundary - north and go up to Gorham, then drop down through Jackson if you want to go up there. Or do the Kancamaugus. CRossing NH west to east isn't easy, especially up in the White Mountains; there just aren't that many roads and the few there are tend to be busy.

The Lakes Region will be really lovely, promise.

jc4lab

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daviesee

jc4lab wrote:

[
You may get a lot of attention in Provincetown if you ride in lycra clad, whether wanted attention or not. :shock:

Are you saying Beware of Moby Dick!!! .Thanks for the warning but Lyrca for me aint a physical possiblity nowadays..[/quote]

Well that's a new euphinism!

I was told to go there while visiting Cape Cod as it would be "interesting" but it was not explained further.
It was a joke and jokes shouldn't be explained.

jc4lab

Ooops.... removed the post..
Im finding Accommodation costs as warned, high .Is the camping option in the White Mountains in October totally out of the question cos of the cold and possibly wet..?The Kanc has several campsites which would be very handy.

raybo

Are you familiar with couchsurfing.org or warmshowers.org?

I used both of them on my ride in this area.

The only camping I did was in Acadia National Park.

Ray

jc4lab

Thanks but would this type of site cover Vermont and the White mountains?
Ive discovered theres.a daily updated imnformation line on where leafs have peaked locally ..then everyone heads there in a rush ..Its means too theres a race for any accomadation so it will go quick.. ...Campimg would solve the problem.but its frost that turns the leaves red.I ,believe..The alternative is to best guess and just hope t you are there at the right time.

Just receive two books from the USA.25 reccommended bike rides in Vermont & 25 in New hampshire.Carhire , Staying fixed base and just carrying the bike to a start point and doing a loop ride is looking more and more attractive.

Acadia has some of the best foliage pictures I ve seen and I wish I could fit that one in>All up the Maime coastt seems to be bike friendly everywhere with lots of bike hire too...Still it doesnt have to be done in just one trip.

raybo

I had a warmshowers host in Thetford, VT, on the west side of the White Mountains and a couchsurfing host in Conway, NH, on the east side of the White Mountains. I got a motel in North Woodstock as I couldn't find a host there.

I was in North Woodstock on a Sunday night. The weather was bad and there seemed to be plenty of available beds for the night. Keep in mind that the White Mountains are a ski area and, as a result, are set-up to handle lots of visitors.

The sense I got about leaf peeping is that it gets real bad on the weekends and less bad during the week. After my ride, my wife and I spent a week in Burlington, VT with the expressed purpose of seeing the Fall colors. We drove around, using a website like you found, and did our peeping. While riding a bike through the trees would be nice, the distances aren't necessarily short to find what you want.

While I carried camping gear on my bike, I didn't use it very often. I mostly relied on hosts or motels in towns where camping might have involved rain, which almost always eases the pain of motel rates.

Ray

jc4lab

Thats good news Thanks..The coastal run you did looks a good run it in itself inc the islands south of Boston.Nantucjket,Martha vi neyatd and Cape CodI.It all looks bike friendly.(Crude Jokes apart The lonely planet guide has a very detailed colourful diiscription of Provincetown).Think you need a full week for Acadia.alone.New England is barely mentioned on any forum..Hope others are finding the the prospect of cycling there attractve as I do.and its do-able.by bike instead of by a frustrating far too fast coach tour