Photocraig

And continuing the nautical themes, two boat rides in NY City are the Hudson River Day Liner which goes up to West Point and back. The Hudson is a significantly wide River, but with 200mm or so you should get some really nice photos of the shoreline and some historic places. Also, the Circle Line cruise which goes all around Manhattan covering the East and Hudson Rivers and some of the Harbor. You get to see sights not readily view able from the streets.

Cape Cod is very scenic especially this time of year.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

I made this drive the week of 10/12 this year and was a week late to see the full spectrum of fall colors, seemed that all of the red and orange leaves were gone with only some yellows left.

steve49 Loc: massachusetts

Cape ann in mass is a nice seaside stop. Rockport and gloucester have soft light and many great stops. Quarries, coastline small harbors.. worth a look on the way north from boston.

MTG44 Loc: Corryton, Tennessee

The leaves change color in the north first. There are many historical places to see in New England .The list would very long but stop in Hartford and see Mark Twains house. In Nova Scotia stop at Truro and see the tidal bore. Also make sure you drive the Cabot Trail around Cape Breton. One of the best ocean roads in north America.

Mr. B Loc: eastern Connecticut

[quote=Lazy J]I will be taking an east coast and Nova Scotia cruise next year from 10/2 to 10/16. Also plan on driving from Bayonne, NJ to the Boston area taking in the sights. Two questions:

1) With regard to fall colors, would I better to make my drive before or after the above mentioned dates? I am thinking after.

2) Only place on my "for sure" list of places to see is Acadia National Park. Any other suggestions would be appreciated! (FYI - Not really a big fan of the touristy sights such as Paul Revere's house, etc., but rather landscapes, oceanscapes including lighthouses, waterfalls, etc.).



The foliage peak for southern New England is usually about the third week of October. For northern Maine on the coast it's about the second week. Interior northern New England about the first week on an average year.

In Connecticut I would highly recommend Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT.
http://www.mysticseaport.org/

Beagleman Loc: Indiana

Fall colors are all gone in the Midwest, and we are expecting White stuff on the ground today!

--Beagleman

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Your cruise dates cover the best times to see the colors of fall foliage. Earlier would most likely just be way up north towards Canada. Mid-October might catch the best colors south in Massachusetts and Connecticut. If you have not spent time in Boston, a day of walking the Freedom Trail (which includes the Paul Revere House) is really worth the day. Acadia is a must see - I imagine your cruise spends a day in Bar Harbor including tours of Acadia. It is a six-hour drive from Boston, so not a day trip...

Mary Kate Loc: NYC

In regards to when there will be peak Fall Foliage. There is an expression in New England; Hard telling not knowing. Foliage, was late this year due to the climate.
If you do go to Boston. Spend a day walking the Heritage trail. It is clearly marked on the sidewalk.

ronichas Loc: Long Island

i would suggest looking up the lighthouses in rhode island & mass.
rockport harbor is beautiful, especially at sunrise/sunset.

cape cod has some great places to visit, i was there this year the same time, saw many seals around the area. portsmouth harbor is great to explore, they have a 2 hour cruise around the area, past a lighthouse and an old fort. we then went to the old fort and explored that area.

personally i would avoid mystic seaport, i was there this past summer, it was ok, but very touristy. the aquarium was a huge disappointment. the norwalk aquarium has much better exhibits.

MtnMan Loc: ID

And of course the ride out to the Statue of Liberty.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

If you want routing send me a PM, I've done the Staten Island to Acadia run several times, Bayonne is next door for me, Boston is just a couple of turns less, Bar Harbor has some great food and drink places, next trip we will try to stay in town so as to be able to walk to everything after a beer or two, Bob.

Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH

I used to show horses at the Deerfield Fair in NH, which overlapped with the last weekend in September and the first weekend in October. I would always see the earliest and brightest colors that weekend. The location is between Manchester and Portsmouth.

Foliage peaks from North to South, as the temperatures start to drop for the season.

Many years by the time Columbus Day rolls around, and the traditional Leaf Peepers take to the roads in New England, most of the color is already on the ground. The Peepers find themselves sitting in long traffic jams for nothing.

If it was my choice, and I only had a few days on either end of your cruise, I would try to get my Leaf Peeping in before the cruise.

Try the Kankamangus (sp. ?) Highway which runs from Route 93 on the western end to the Conway, North Conway area on the Eastern end of the Scenic Highway. The timing should be just about perfect if you go before your cruise. From the Boston area, this will be a very long all day trip, or you could choose to overnight on either end.

To get there the fastest, take Route 93 North, but for the Scenic Route, I believe that it would be Route 16 through Alton Bay, Wolfborough, and other quaint NH towns on your way up to Conway.

This is a drive that my family has done many years at different times of the year, including during the winter. The only time the Scenic Highway is closed, is during a blizzard because they usually have to bring in heavy equipment to clear the passes.

The views are spectacular, there are pull offs, and parking lots spaced out all along the drive. There is a river which is mainly on the Northern side of the road. There are hiking trails, my favorite is the one up to Mount Oseola, but it's a tough hike. There is a mountain pond about half way up, which is about as far as I have made it on 2 of my 3 attempts. The second time, I made it almost all of the way, but my legs gave out, so I sat on a boulder to rest, while the remainder of my climbing party completed the hike to the summit and returned to pick me up and we returned to the trailhead. There is a split at the pond, that will take you to Waterville Valley Ski Area, but I've never hiked that fork.

There are Bed and Breakfasts as well as Inns or Motels on the the Conway end where you could stay overnight. On the Route 93 end, there are a few Motels. I recommend planning to book your room(s) well in advance to ensure availability at that time of year.

North Conway is a shopping meca, if you're into that kind if gift buying. It used to be a great place to find Christmas Stocking Stuffers. But, I haven't been up there to shop in nearly 20 years now, and I've heard that it has become very commercial. I always prefered the small Mom & Pop shops to be able to find those unique and different gifts.

I wish you well with your fall foliage trip planning.

ceallachain Loc: Cape May, NJ

If your going North from Bayonne go up the Taconic Pkway in NY, cut over into the Berkshires in MA then up to VY on the Mohawk Trail, over to NH Franconia Notch, then up to ME. I would think your cruise will be hugging the coast. If not then take RTE 1 south along the coast of ME, NH and MA. Do this and you'll see exactly why NE in the fall is Gods country. Especially the Berkshires. Enjoy!

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

I took a Princess Cruise to New England & Canada a few years ago. It was my first and best cruise of 2. Alaska was great but N.E. Was better.
Our stops were Newport, RI (cute town...no great shakes. You can see the mansions of the rich along the coast,) Boston, (lots of historic sites and culture there) Bar Harbor, ME, (that's a very pretty area) there and St. John's (New Brunswick(?) have a lot of great nautical opportunities, and we ended in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia, and Peggy's Cove in particular, was probably the most scenic area in North America. You will LOVE Peggy's Cove. It's so photogenic that you CAN'T take a bad picture there.
The UHHer that lives there is a very lucky person.
However, your cruise/drive has a lot more interesting places to visit than my cruise.
I lived in CT, so I know of Mystic Seaport (go during the week when kids are in school...less people traffic,) Gillette Castle along the CT River, Goodspeed Opera House. Before you get to upper Connecticut, try to have lunch at the Silvermine Tavern in Norwalk. It's an historic tavern with a waterfall and plenty of ambiance. I once saw Van Clyburn having dinner there. (Big Deal). While in Norwalk there's also South Norwalk and the Seaport. Actually, Connecticut has many, many sites and photo ops.
C'mon Nutmeggers. Speak up!

There are also many places in Vermont, Mass, and Rhode Island for photographers.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Hi,
I think very late Oct/early Nov may be your best bet. NJ, NY will be on the earlier side, Conn, Mass, and north will be on the later side. I'm sure you can find available data for Canada,..

This US map may provide some useful info. Sounds like a great trip. While in Bayonne, stop by for a glass of wine - I'm 35 min away. LOL
Mark
http://usparks.about.com/od/usstateparks/tp/Fall-Colors-By-State.01.htm