Fall in New England
In mid-October Brit and I made our way to New England to embark on a road trip through arguably one of the most beautiful places to visit during the autumn season. Fall has always been our favorite season, so it was only fitting to make our way up north to explore some of the most charming small towns in the country and also visit one of our most anticipated national parks, Acadia. We decided to fly into Boston and then rent a car to road trip from there. We unfortunately only had a couple of nights to explore the city of Boston since we wanted majority of this trip to be spent in nature. Boston is a city that was not very high on Brit and my lists of places to visit for some reason, and it surprised us both with how cool it was. We loved the historic charm of the old brick row houses, cobblestoned streets, beautiful parks and great food. Boston is an amazing city to visit and one that we would definitely like to come back to explore more fully. Although we only got to stay for a short time, we still got to explore quite a bit of the city. Here are some of the top things we’d recommend if you have a couple days to explore:
Beacon Hill: one of Boston’s most beautiful and historic neighborhoods. Here you can meander through cobblestone alleyways and explore many shops and restaurants. Make sure to find your way to Acorn Street, one of the most photographed areas of Boston.
Paul Revere House: Paul Reveres former residence located in North End neighborhood. We did'’t have time to go in to explore the home, but it was still neat to see it from the outside.
Boston Common: the oldest public park in the country. The park hosts many events and activities, but it is also just a great place to come and relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The park is located near Beacon Hill and is a starting point for the Freedom trail.
North End: Boston’s little Italy neighborhood. This area is home to some of Boston’s oldest buildings. There were so many amazing looking restaurants and cafes to explore in this area. Unfortunately, we only had time to walk through quickly so we didn’t stop to enjoy any of the restaurants. Something to add to our list for next time we are in Boston.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Quincy market: Great spot to try some amazing food and dessert. There are many restaurants and dessert stands to choose from. We indulged in some cannoli’s which were quite delicious.
USS Constitution: the oldest commissioned war ship afloat in the world today. During the War of 1812 the ship got its nickname “old Ironsides.” Admission is free to explore the ship.
Strolling through the neighborhoods: One of the best parts of our Boston experience was just getting to meander through the many beautiful streets and neighborhoods which was especially cool this time of year seeing all of the Halloween decor. Boston really knows how go all out for fall and Halloween decor.
Visiting Cambridge: One thing that we highly recommend while visiting the Boston area is to venture about 3 miles north of the city center to Cambridge. Cambridge is home to Harvard and MIT. We explored throughout the beautiful campus of Harvard and the surrounding neighborhood streets. We stopped off at the Charles Hotel patio for an upscale happy hour and then finished the night with amazing pizza and salads at Source restaurant. Cambridge is full of cute shops and restaurants to explore.
As our Boston adventures came to an end, we began our road trip north to New Hampshire. Our first stop was in the town of Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. We explored the cute downtown and stopped in a few shops. The town was painted with beautiful golden leaves.
We unfortunately were only able to stay in Concord a short time as we still had quite a bit of driving and exploring to accomplish before the days end. We traveled farther north to New Hampshire’s famous Kancamagus Highway located in the White mountains. This highway runs about 35 miles and is known as one of the best fall foliage viewing areas in the country. We started the highway in Conway New Hampshire. Soon after starting the drive, we came across the beautiful Albony covered bridge. There is a parking lot here so you can get out and explore around the bridge. It’s a beautiful area and worth the stop. (Many of the parking spots require payment). Another great stop along the highway is at Sabbaday Falls, a short 0.7 mile out and back trail to a waterfall. The entire drive is very picturesque and there are many more scenic stops and hikes to do along the way. We could have easily spent several days in this area but due to timings sake we moved on to our next destination. After finishing our drive on the Kancamagus highway we headed north about 5 miles to Franconia Notch state park. Here we hiked the Artist Bluff trail. This is about 1.5 miles moderately steep hike. This was a great trail but it was also very crowded and made the view at the end a little harder to appreciate with the swarming crowds. I’d recommend trying to do this hike on a weekday if possible. This is another park that we could’ve easily spent much longer at exploring multiple hikes. We’d like to come back to this New Hampshire area to give these parks more of a thorough exploring!
We then made our way to Ludlow Vermont where we spent the night in a cute upscale motel, Main and Mountain bar/motel. The rooms were recently renovated, and a bar is attached at the lobby serving seasonal cocktails and snacks. The next morning, we continued on our adventure traveling to Woodstock, Vermont about 35 minutes away. Woodstock has a very cute downtown with lots of shops and restaurants to explore. Since we were here on a Monday, many of the shops seemed to be closed. So, if you can come on a different day there will be more to explore.
Our favorite part of Woodstock was going to Sugarbush farm right outside of town. This is a farm that produces award winning cheeses and maple syrup. You can take a walk through their woods to see the tree-tapping process where the maple syrup is made. You can enjoy free samples of cheese and maple syrup and purchase cheeses, jams, syrups and other maple products from their gift shop. It is well worth a stop here.
Right outside of Woodstock is a great photo spot of an idyllic New England farm, Sleepy Hallow Farm. Please note that this farm is a private residence. So be respectful and timely if you decide to come for photos.
From Woodstock we made our way to Stowe, Vermont with our main goal of going to the Ben and Jerrys factory. It just happened to be rainy and cold, perfect for going to an ice cream shop. We did not do the factory tour but we explored the grounds where we found the flavor graveyard where all the discontinued flavors lie to rest. We also had to purchase a couple scoops of ice-cream from the shop where you can choose from many different flavors.
Our exploring of Stowe was cut a little short due to the cold and rainy conditions. But we did muster up the courage to hike Bingham falls trail in Smugglers Notch state park. This is only a .5 mile trail and it takes you to an impressive waterfall. Smugglers Notch is a beautiful state park that we would’ve loved to explore more if we had more time and better weather conditions. It’s on the list to come back to one day. We then drove back to Ludlow Vermont to spend our second night in the motel.
The next morning we started making our way to Maine. Our destination was Hope, Maine where our Airbnb was located. About halfway through the drive we stopped for a hike to stretch our legs. We were gifted with some of the best fall colors of the trip.
We continued on our way and finally made it to the coast! Our first stop was at Owl’s head lighthouse and walk along the coast.
We then headed north to Rockland Maine to walk the Rockland breakwater trail. We highly underestimated how long it would take to walk the entire break water trail. It was deceiving how far how away the lighthouse was. We were dedicated to getting a photo of the lighthouse at the end so ended up running the last half of the walk as it started getting darker. We are still unsure if it was worth to go all the way out there, but it made for some fun memories. Rockland also has a cute downtown street with many art shops and restaurants. We would’ve loved to explore this town more but unfortunately arrived when many places were already closed for the evening. Yet another place to add to our list to come back to one day. Our list is adding up already haha.
We then set out to explore Acadia National Park. The drive from our Airbnb in Hope, ME was about 1:30 hours. It is tough to find affordable places to stay closer into the park, so we chose to stay out a bit. The drive wasn’t bad, and we had pretty views along the way. Almost all of Acadia sits on Mount Dessert Island near the town of Bar Harbor. Bar Harbor is a cute town to explore and wind down after a day of hiking in Acadia. We spent an afternoon here checking out a few shops and restaurants. Acadia is one of the most popular national parks but also the smallest. So, expect crowds and waiting for parking spots if you plan to explore the park during peak season. We highly recommend visiting in October as the temperatures and fall colors were absolutely perfect. Here are some of our top highlights during our time in Acadia.
Beehive: One of Acadia’s most famous trails know for its rung and ladders. If you are ok with heights this hike is not too strenuous. It offers amazing views but expect big crowds on this hike. If you are seeking an even crazier adventure with less crowd we recommend Precipice or Jordan cliffs trails. Read further for descriptions of these hikes.
The Bubbles: this is a 1.4 mile relatively easy hike. It is known for the massive boulders “bubbles” that precariously perched on the edge of a cliff. This trail also offers great views of Jordan Pond. You can easily add Jordan Pond path to this trail as well.
Jordan Cliffs: this was a really fun hike and one of our most special we have done. This became our favorite we have ever done together as we accidentally witnessed a sunset at the summit. This is a 5 mile rather strenuous trail that takes you to the summit of Sargent Mountain with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and ocean. This hike has ladders, steep staircases and sheer cliffs to maneuver. We highly underestimated the time it would take to finish this hike due to how long it took to complete the ladder climbing and boulder hopping. Due to our lengthy timing hiking up the mountain we ended up making it to the summit right at sunset. It was breathtaking and such a reward. It was an otherworldly experience getting to be at the summit of this trail surrounded by golden light with nothing but the sounds of the birds and the wind. We wanted to bottle this moment up and live in it forever. Unfortunately the beautiful sunset summit meant that we’d have to trek most of the hike back down in the dark. Luckily the way back down was less treacherous and did not have as many ladders and rocks to maneuver. We should’ve planned this hike with a little more time so we wouldn’t have had to do as much in the dark. But the sunset views we had at the top made everything so worth it as if we had planned it to a T haha. This hike ended up being the highlight of our trip. If you are ok with heights and maneuvering some obstacles like ladders and steep stairs then we highly recommend it.
Precipice: This 2.5 mile loop is the expert’s version of the beehive trail. with over 1,000 ft of elevation gain in under a mile this is an extremely challenging hike with large boulders to climb over, exposed ladders to climb, and steep narrow cliffs to maneuver. This hike felt essentially like rock climbing, just without the ropes and harnesses. So, if you’re scared of heights this is not the hike for you. But if you can muster the courage to tackle this hike you will be rewarded with dramatic views of Frenchman Bay and Porcupine Islands from the top of Champlain Mountain. Be extra cautious and smart on this hike and only complete if you have some more challenging trail hiking experience. We were beginning to learn that this is the park to go to if you want to challenge yourself with a bunch of steap, ladder climbing, boulder hopping hikes. We also learned that we are crazy people and love this type of hiking. The mix of a great physical challenge and breathtaking views was hard to beat for us.
Sand Beach: A beautiful stretch of beach nestled between mountains and rocky cliffs. A great place to relax for a bit after all those crazy hikes!
Unfortunately, our time in Acadia National Park had to come to an end. We could’ve easily spent another week here exploring. But we are thankful for the time we had. Until next time Acadia!