The Tuesday after running the Chicago Marathon with my older son, my wife and I headed out to Boston and the New England region on a short leaf peeping trip to check out the foliage. As luck would have it, we caught the foliage in New Hampshire and Vermont just as it was peaking. We drove from Boston to New Hampshire spending a few nights in Meredith, driving along the Kancamagus Highway (from Lincoln to Conway) and then on to White River Junction, Vermont, eventually working our way back to Boston.

Leaf Peeping in Meredith

We stayed along the shores of Lake Winniepesaukee and while the first day was quite gusty with windchill, it slowly got warmer and absolutely stunning. Right next to our hotel was a short nature trail hugging the wet lands.

Later that day we decided to drive around Lake Winniepesaukee and headed out towards Moultonborough. Serendipitously we saw a sign to the Loon Center and decided to check it out. Such a fantastic find! A gushing brook running through a spectacularly colorful forest filled with Maple, Beech and Birch trees all lighting up in the sunlight. We reached the lollipop where the vegetation switched to an Hemlock grove and turned around.

Drove along Hwy 109 past Melvin Village, Mirror Lake and saw a sign to Abenaki Tower on the map. Pulled into the small parking lot and a short hike later we reached a fire tower of sorts maintained by the local community. We climbed up the three levels to the top of the tower for amazing views of the lakes around us.

Ate dinner at Enso Japanese restaurant that night and caught a preview of the super moon rising over Lake Winnipesaukee.

Kancamagus Highway

Next morning we checked out of the hotel and took the scenic route Hwy 175 to Lincoln to explore The Kanc. Hwy 175 is just incredibly scenic and even more amazing if one’s not in a hurry. Covered bridges, brooks, creeks, quaint little houses along the way makes for slow driving! Luckily there wasn’t much traffic either, so we could take our time.

If you are looking for some fun, quirky, amazing fusion lunch, Gypsy Cafe at Lincoln is the spot. They have a great location too, as it’s the start of the Kanc drive. We stopped and explored a few different trails along the Kanc, including Sabbaday Brook Trail (waterfalls), Rocky Gorge and the Boulder Loop Trail, all of them worth making time for. Luckily this was during a weekday and we didn’t have much crowd. Apparently weekends during peak foliage, this place can become a zoo!

We stayed at an inn near Squam Lake that night and managed to catch the super moon rising!

Red Hill Hike

Someone at the hotel recommended this hike and I can see why. It’s a steep 1350ft climb in 2 miles that takes you to the summit to another fire tower with 360 views of Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake. The foliage and “falliage” were so dense that you couldn’t actually see the trails. They were covered in oak, birch and maple leaves!

Vermont Hwy 5

We arrived at White River Junction late that day and spent the weekend with my sister. We checked out both the GOAT path at Dartmouth College as well as Moose Mountain Trail in the Shumway Forest. To get back to Boston, we drove down Hwy 5 to Brattleborot for a lunch stop before entering Massachusetts. Hwy 5 hugs the Connecticut River the entire way and is a very scenic drive. Farmlands, little towns, river views, foliage – you have it all!

Got to spend a night at Acton at my cousin’s house chatting late into the night before flying back to CA. Even if this trip was just a few days, it felt like we covered a lot of ground in New England. And we felt very fortunate, timing the peak foliage (and the weather!). We also learned that there’s such a thing called Inn to Inn in Vermont, where you hike 10-12 miles each day for 4-5 days stopping at little inns and bed-and-breakfast places along the way. Sounds super fun!