5 Easy-To-Access New England Spots For Fabulous Fall Leaf Peeping
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It's mid-October and the New England foliage is at its peak beauty. While visitors come from all over to savor our views, locals do not always have time for long road trips or hikes to enjoy the leaves before they fall.
For these busy folks, New England Today has collected five easily accessible locales where you can leaf peep without ever leaving the comfort of your car!
1. Height of Land
Roxbury, Maine
This spot sits on lovely Mooselookmeguntic Lake, providing gorgeous reflective images of the foliage on the surface of the water. According to the magazine, westerly views stretch as far as the White Mountains on clear days.
Height of Land is located along the 36-mile Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway invites deep contemplation. The turnout and parking area are on the left of Route 17 as you head north towards Rangeley.
2. Miller State Park
Peterborough, NH
New Hampshire’s oldest state park features a twisty 1.3-mile road to the top of Pack Monadnock. With binoculars you can view spectacularly changing leaves, as well as views of Mount Monadnock, and maybe even the Boston skyline 55 miles southeast. Miller State Park is also a favorite spot for bird watchers.
3. Mohawk State Forest
Cornwall, Connecticut
From the 1,683 foot peak of Mohawk Mountain, you can see the tree-lined hills and mountains of the Catskill, Taconic and Berkshire ranges.
"It does not rise in a sharply defined peak," Harrison G. Streeter wrote in July of 1929, "but heaves its huge bulk upward like some great amphibian monster plying upon the surface of a petrified sea of living green. It's forest-clad summit sides and summit may be seen for a score of miles. Tier upon tier of the Berkshires before us until the skyline is reached far up in Massachusetts." Now imagine what that looks like ablaze with fall colors!
4. Mount Equinox Skyline Drive
Sunderland, Vermont
The Skyline Drive to the 3,848-foot summit of Mount Equinox takes 20 minutes of zigging and zagging up a 5.2-mile road, but the spectacular views are worth every nail-biting second. Be sure to visit the mini museum, gift shop and enjoy a snack at one of several picnic areas.
5. Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation
South Deerfield, Massachusetts
This spot offers 360 degree views of the Connecticut River, local farmlands, forests, mountains, and towns. Many visitors bring lawn chairs and pack a picnic lunch for a full day of hiking and exploring the multilevel stone observation tower. If you want to enjoy Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation this fall - hurry! The road to the summit of South Sugarloaf closes to cars any day now!