aellman wrote:
Before you meet any of the locals, be aware that the region is known as "Upstate NY."
Excellent note. Any New Yorker is likely to take exception to a term that could be misheard as UpperUS!
All the suggestions are great. Please not a few Eastern facts;
1. As you travel from North to South (which I strongly suggest) it is like travelling in Altitude in the West from 12,000 feet to 5,000 and lower.
2. Vermont is easily accessible from parts of Eastern NY via ferry (if they still run) on Lake Champlain and via road at Ticonderoga and Lake George Village and further South. This trek roughly following Route 9 in it's many variants from 9n to (c) (a) and whatever else they invent. It parallels the Northway, but stay on the local slower roads. ON the lakes, try to get onto a boat for unobstructed views of the foliage, and the double treat of the mirror reflections.
3. The Hudson Valley is fantastic and very photogenic. You could spend several weeks here following the footsteps of George Washington's armies and when you got tired, following Washington Irving's Ichabod Crane and that, what seems no longer to be an anomaly, Headless Horseman.
4. New York City, especially Central Park is magnificent in the Fall. Keep your wits about you!!!!
The entire Western NY region is enormous, as well and worth its own trip. But suggesting covering them both in a single Foliage season is like suggesting covering two different states hundreds of miles apart. They're BOTH worth the trip.
Don't miss The Real Maple Syrup--yup, NY as well. And the NY Cheddar Cheese.
Timing is everything. The leaves turn according to temperature and length of daylight. The timing varies from year to year and is a topic of intense speculation. Early October near the Canadian border make general good sense.Starting in September, track the early temperatures and foliage forecasts and make as flexible arrangements as possible given that the leaf Peepers--like you're going to be--sell out the accommodations early. There's nothing more disappointing to hear than, "You should have seen them LAST week." OR "Next week they should be peaking!"
Enjoy what I know will be a great trip.
Craig, a native New Yorker but living in Nevada now.