Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

And if you are thinking of visiting the coast and islands of Maine during the color change time frame - be prepared for bumper to bumper traffic moving SLOW - they bring cruise ships up from Miami full of tourists wanting to see it - so plan well...

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

No matter where you go in New England there are many places, scenes, and events to photograph. Just don’t get overly ambitious and try to see everything. Pick an area and save the rest for another time.

treadwl Loc: South Florida

Drive the Kancamagus highway in New Hampshire. It will be absolutely beautiful.

MarciaES

Also in Concord, Mass. is Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Buried here are Nathanial Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson and other famous people.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

While both make good points, there is a lot to be said about narrowing your plans. You could do extended two week trips to "Northern" New England, "Southern" New England or Upstate New York and not lack for things to do.

My main concern for the OP is late planning and being able to get good accommodations. Another option is traveling by RV. But even then the RV camps book up early as well and Wally's World has been cracking down on overnight parking the last few years.

ctsteps5

Whoa, hold on missy!!!! dont count out us Southern New Englanders. I would not trade RT 169 with any other part of anywhere. Woodstock CT has some of the beautiful vistas. Our lakes are beautiful. western CT covered bridges. Rhode island beaches, Old cemeteries. you can go from the mountains too the beaches in 2 hours. Cheaper prices for everything. There is nothing like fall in New England, but its even more special i the southern parts as well. Oh then there is lake Wachusete what a place to take pictures, and the mountain surrounding it.

Marty Killingly CT

berchman Loc: South Central PA

I use one of their cookbooks.

Stephan G

Photographers live up to the old saw about the eyes being bigger than their stomachs.

Whichever route you take, always keep in mind that there will be the proverbial "gadjillion" things to see and do. And NOT ENOUGH time to take it all in. (I know it's old hat, but even the best of us have to be reminded!) Since this is your first junket into the region, I suggest you take into mind the recommendations given here, develop a primary route that can get you around in a loop and see as many as you can visit during the span of time allotted. Be willing to obtain pamphlets from visitor stations that would not be so readily available at the giant tourists' stops. This is to prep your next swing through the area. A notebook to jot down ideas would be a big help. A voice recorder takes too long to go through and can be frustrating.

Two things to remember on your trip: 1. Unlike in Indiana, you CAN "get there from here". 2. Enjoy yourself. (Oh, 3, you can go back to do other swing-throughs.)

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

I have done many fall foliage trips starting at Bar Harbor heading down to Salem and over to Hartford and then down to Pennsylvania. I followed this route mostly because I have friends in those areas to stay with. I usually started about mid October in the north and by the time I got to PA I followed most of the foliage change.

A big challenge for you is finding places to stay. Being mid-august, it may already be late. Think about working with AAA to plan you a route where you can book hotel rooms at the same time.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Just took a look at the map, driving from Indiana, I'd route through Lancaster, PA, lots to see and shoot there, head to Niagara Falls, NY, again lots to see and shoot in the State Park there, pick up NYS Thruway/ Mass Pike over to about Worchester, MA and angle up to Maine from there, I'd try to get as far as Acadia Nat Park, hit Boothbay Harbor, Portland and Kittery on the way back down. Probably a two day trip to Bar Harbor from Niagara Falls, probably overnight in Freeport, LLBean and good seafood right on main street. I have done the drive from Rochester, NY (Near Niagara) to York, Maine (near Kittery) and we did stop for an overnight in New Hampshire, YMMV. Let me know if I can help anymore, and enjoy, Bob

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

This is a great resource - however in my experience, they do not have the local knowledge of what routes are likely to be nearly impossible at peak season, and may miss some lesser known local attractions. I'd start there and pick an end destination or maybe just a few way points that interest you.

What Linda from Maine says about accommodations and traffic is true, but there's a big "but" in there. Route 1 along the Maine coast will be almost as bad as an LA freeway on weekends during foliage season, but the side and back roads are often relatively clear. Remember that coastal Maine is made up of a series of peninsulas jutting out into the ocean - the main roads travel parallel to the coast but far enough inland that they aren't zigzagging all over the place. I don't think it's impossible to visit popular destinations like Portland, Wiscasset, Damariscotta, Bath, and other coastal towns, but you just have to plan a route that goes further inland (also with some beautiful scenery along the way, then come down to the sea on one of the many secondary coastal routes. We've made plenty of coastal trips at peak tourist times without ever getting on a highway. Your gps will say it's much longer, but that's without the traffic factor. All travelers have different priorities, but personally we never get too discouraged by lack of hotel reservations. We've stayed in some fleabags, for sure, and even a couple of times, just pulled over in a rest area and slept, but that's part of the adventure for us.

As I originally said, my best advice is to pick a few specialty attractions that appeal to you or your wife and string them together via roadtrippers. With the many New Englanders on this forum, I'm sure you can also find some other places and great advice on routes. This sounds like a fun trip!


Andy

matty

My first choice would be Maine. New Hampshire and Vermont are gorgeous too but I haven't spent a lot of time in those states so I'm not qualified to suggest places there. If you head up the coast of Maine through Bar Harbor, perhaps taking the ferry to Acadia and the islands one day, you can't beat that scenery anywhere (You know, the 'Rock Bound Coast' thing). Don't stop at Bar Harbor though, that's only halfway up the coast. Keep going. There will be hills and winding roads, little fishing villages, lighthouses with histories. New England is beautiful any time of year but especially during the fall.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Bar Harbor and Boothbay are the one section I'd try to avoid during prime foliage season. There will be absolutely no places to stay, traffic will be miserable, and it will take two hours to get from Bar Harbor to Acadia. If you drive on the island you will not be able to find parking near any of the more scenic venues. As matty notes, there are many lesser known but equally beautiful places. I would caution a bit on distance, though. That's an 18+ hour drive, and nearly 1200 miles. One thing I would suggest though, is taking the northern route - across New York State on I-90, especially if you're travelling on a weekend. The coastal routes will all pass near NYC, and will be absolutely impossible. Wherever in New England you want to go, I'd start that way....

Andy

matty

Great advice, Andy! My family comes from that area and I love it but haven't been back in years. Hadn't thought of that at all. The northern route through upstate New York would go through Vermont and New Hampshire and so take in some also very beautiful scenery along the way. It would be a breathtaking journey.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

We live in Keene, New Hampshire, and I travel daily to "The Heart of the Commonwealth" in Worcester. One of the great things about New England is the incredible variety of destinations within day trip or weekend distances. These days we are often limited to day trips because of our three dogs and no remaining pet sitters (a/k/a "kids") living with us, but you are SO spot on about the coast past Bar Harbor. Many of the Midcoast towns and villages are also beautiful and less crowded - Camden, Rockport, Rockland, etc. and we can do there and back in a day, albeit a LONG day.

One additional thing for jaymatt to think about has already been pointed out - the different times of peak foliage across the region, which also vary from year to year. Once he decides on his prime objectives and gets some general route advice from roadtrippers, I've got a feeling he's going to get a LOT of suggestions!

Andy