Stress Free Fall Foliage Trip Planning

pemmigewasset river in autumn fall colors — The Pemigewasset River from Route 112, (The Kanc). View in my gallery.

Stress-free fall foliage trip planning

I know, for me, that this is probably one of those, “being between a rock and a hard place things, to try and write about”.

My stress level starts rising in mid-Sept as my friends in Northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, start posting their early fall foliage shots on Facebook and I can’t wait to post my New England foliage FB page. I’m so ready to get on the road!

Most of you may ask, why am I stressed? For one thing, I’m just like you and I have a day job to pay the bills. So I have to wait for a weekend to get out on the road. I may live in a fairly central location in New England but in late September for the early New England fall foliage, I have to drive almost to the Canadian border to see “real” any color. Also, the fall color that shows up is maybe a single tree or a small group of trees around a wetland or pond. We call this stressed fall color or early color

So as much as I want to be out in the thick of it, I have to be patient and wait for the colors to fill in. I do go out but that is to get my eyes on the color and give you personal foliage reports. Since I can’t be everywhere in New England in a single weekend, I do rely on a group of Photographer friends to let me know what they are seeing.

So, yes, DO as I say and not as I DO… 🙂

Here is a shortlist of what I feel are stress contributors, although your list may be different

Driving long hours only to arrive at your desired location but finding little to no color?
If I don’t make reservations will I be able to find a place to sleep at night?
IF the weather isn’t perfect, am I really out of luck???

This is a basic list and if you have other stress factors, let me know…

Number one stress factor – Driving long hours, locating a great spot to photograph but no color! This is Lake Willoughby and not once have I caught it at peak. I try in different years at different times. This does not deter me nor should you be deterred…

Beaver-pond-foliage — Lake Willoughby, lovely spot but still too early.

To me, a stress-free trip means NOT spending the whole day on the road driving and normally, this is exactly what I do. Of course, my mission is to scout out the fall foliage and broadcast what I find through my blogs and tweets so I’m supposed to be doing this. How many of you hear a friend come back from their vacation and say “I need a vacation from my vacation”.

There is NO sure-fire way to beat this one. But you can minimize it in a couple of ways. First, follow my fall foliage blog, where you will find the resources from links to the sites I research from to my posts on real-time reports from photographer friends around New England and my own observations. Use this information to make good decisions.

Next don’t try to cover all of New England in one trip. Look at your dates and pick one or two locations to visit. There are no dates that I can guarantee success. I can say if you arrive around Columbus Day or just after, you will have the greatest latitude for selecting locations to pick from.

The downside and you knew there would be one… [Crowds] During Columbus Day Weekend, everybody always heads into New England for this long holiday weekend.

Reservations… and whether to make them or not

If you want to “wing it” then you need to get here on a Monday and leave on a Friday because everybody who makes reservations arrives on Friday and “usually” leaves on Sunday or Monday. So don’t plan on getting into a place on the weekends. Ok, Could I be wrong? Of course but unless you are willing to sleep in that cold backseat all night, do you want to chance it?

I have a friend who came for two weeks and only made two reservations for one night a piece the entire time. But… you knew there’d be a BUT… somewhere in here, right? He told me horror stories about the places he stayed at. He experienced minor things like taking a smoking room all the way to having small furry guests in the room, all night… His girlfriend who was with him on this trip left him after this… 🙂 Ok, you make your call on this one… Was it the smoky room or the furry friends?

The bottom line is Reservations are best. Nobody wants to be locked into a reservation when it’s totally in the wrong location for the fall colors. But if you choose a good BOP then you’ll have a good chance. What’s a BOP? More on that below…

If you are showing up on Tuesday and leaving on Friday BEFORE Columbus Day weekend… problem solved, you just missed all the traffic and you saw all the foliage they will be seeing from behind their windshields.

The Hills Above the Kancamagus in Autumn Colors

Next, about those windshields, get out from behind them. Yes, leave the car and take a walk and explore. You would be amazed at what you will find if you actually explore the area. To ensure you feel you have time to get out and explore, plan to travel no more than 100 miles in a day. Yes, you can travel safely 300+ miles on the highway but that is getting you from point A to point B in the minimum time.

Plan on getting out at every bridge and scenic outlook and really enjoy them. Plan to watch the sunrise coming over the horizon and standing at the edge of a pond and watching the far bank and hillside light up with those fiery reds and golds of autumn.

If your weather is wicked crappy… is your vacation ruined?

Well to make this easier, you can read this article on ideas and alternatives when the weather just isn’t cooperating.

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Some options for having a stress-free fall foliage trip.

Ideas that reduce stress

BOP – Base of Operations
Central location based on dates
Not trying to drive all-day
Having alternative plans ready in case the weather is “Wicked Crappy” “Plan B locations”
Lynn W. suggests a converted camper van. “you don’t have to worry or pay for a place to sleep! I know from experience” (quote by Lynn)

Choose a Base of Operations:

This one step can solve much of your stress. A Base of Operations (yes, a military term) is nothing more than a location that based on your dates, will be centrally located so you can travel north or south to find color.

First, you don’t have to worry at the end of the day about where you are going to stay.
Second, you’re awake each morning, well-rested. You can start the day with lots of energy and be on your way to having a great vacation.
Thirdly, you are already either in the heart of New England’s fall foliage or very near to it.
- For instance, you arrive on 1 Oct, so you plan to stay at a wonderful B&B in the North East Kingdom (Peacham VT) or somewhere near there. Now for the next few days, you get up in the morning and get reports from the owners where they suggest you should go such as foliage festivals and the like, and then on the 3rd or 4^th day you pack up and travel south (Why south? The color always moves south, so you should too.)
- Maybe over into NH in the White Mountains. You can explore all those towns and some festivals and then you head home. Or maybe a bit further South.

Did you cover all of New England? No! But you might have a really meaningful vacation and you found some great little places to share with your friends, and hopefully, you got some wonderful snapshots of New England fall foliage… No color? Well, that is why they have postcards in the stores… 🙂

Or you can go to my online gallery and purchase a print to hang on your wall. You can say “the next time, we’ll go find where he found this and see what we find”.

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage

Visit my Amazon affiliate store for items that Lisa and I have curated for you. These items are either New England-made or things we think will make your fall foliage trip more successful.

New England Fall Foliage

Exploring New England