FRANCONIA, N.H. — The brilliant golds and reds of autumn make New England a legendary fall destination, drawing connoisseurs of color from around the world. The entire region shares the bounty, but New Hampshire, with New England’s highest mountains as a backdrop, stands above its neighbors for dramatic scenery.
The rugged granite peaks of the White Mountains, stark and grand, are awesome to behold, rising above vast vistas of color.
The spectacle is brighter thanks to the abundance of hardwood trees, which produce the most vivid hues, especially the bright red sugar maples that yield the region’s famous maple syrup.
Several drives through the mountains are famed for their scenery, and the hiking is so choice that the Appalachian Mountain Club has headquarters here, with several convenient huts and lodges to accommodate visitors on foot. The Appalachian Trail laces through the area. Scenic train and chairlift rides add to the beauty.
Those traveling from afar will find easy access to the mountains from Boston’s Logan Airport. A 140-mile drive on Interstate 93 from Boston leads to the stunning panorama of peaks and valleys, awesome gorges, tumbling waterfalls and ice-blue mountain lakes of Franconia State Park. Franconia Notch within the park is a spectacular mountain pass traversed by an eight-mile parkway running from the Flume Gorge at the south to Echo Lake at the north, winding between the high peaks of the Kinsman and Franconia mountain ranges.
The Flume is a natural gorge whose 70- to 90-foot granite walls extend for 800 feet along the southern flank of Mount Liberty. A wooden walkway crisscrossing the stream leads to the crescendo of sound that announces Avalanche Falls, a torrent crashing 23 feet down the canyon. Another fine walk is the 1 1/2-mile trail to Artist’s Bluff, a rocky palisade with fine views of the Franconia and Kinsman Range.
The view that beats them all is the cable car ascent via the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway to the 4,200-foot peak of Cannon Mountain. This was the first such lift in America and remains one of the most thrilling. The present tram, completed in the 1980s, goes a mile straight up, affording amazing views of the White Mountain ranges in their best fall dress. On a clear day you can see four states and Canada.
More spectacular scenery awaits on one of New England’s most beautiful scenic drives, the Kancamagus Highway (New Hampshire 112), running for 32 miles through the heart of the White Mountains from Lincoln to Conway. To access the highway, drive south from Franconia to Lincoln (17 miles), perhaps making a stop here for another bird’s-eye view from the Loon Mountain gondola, which bills itself as the state’s longest aerial ride.
GLORIOUS CASCADES
The Rocky Gorge area where the Swift River has worn a cleft in the rock makes for a special stop along the highway. Falls Pond is a five minute walk over the gorge via a rustic footbridge. Some other easy walks are to Boulder Loop, with a fine vista of Mount Chocorua and the Swift River Valley and Sabbaday Falls, a picturesque series of cascades in a narrow flume. You could spend an hour here - or a day.
In Conway, the end of the drive, it’s possible to take a break aboard an old-fashioned train on the Conway Scenic Railroad. But an even more memorable ride awaits by taking U.S. 302, the best route back to I-93. This is the major artery of the Mount Washington Valley. It runs through busy North Conway and offers lovely detours through peaceful villages like Jackson and scenic passes like Crawford Notch or the road to Cathedral Ledge in Echo Lake State Park, a park with many leafy hiking paths. The intersection at New Hampshire 16 leads to Bretton Woods and literally one of the biggest attractions in the state, Mount Washington.
The first scientists who set out to measure Washington in 1781 calculated that the peak was some 10,000 feet high. They were a bit off the mark - the actual height is 6,288 feet, but it is easy to understand their error. New England’s tallest mountain has a majesty beyond its measure.The view from the top was once described by P.T. Barnum as “the second greatest show on earth.” The tough climb to the top has long lured adventurers, but you need not be an alpine climber to enjoy the vistas. These days visitors can drive to the top in their own cars via an eight-mile auto toll road or sit back and be driven on a guided tour.
MOUNTAIN RAILWAY
The most memorable way up is the 3 1/2-mile round trip ride on the steam-powered Cog Railway, the world’s first mountain-climbing railway, built in 1869. The safely modernized railway takes off from U.S. 302, east of Twin Mountain, and chugs its way slowly up a right-of-way to the top with plenty of steep grades to take your breath away.
The summit can be gusty; in fact, the highest wind ever recorded, 231 miles per hour,was measured at the weather station here in 1934. Conditions are rarely that brisk, but it is still wise to choose the clearest and calmest of days for Mount Washington and to take a sweater.
In this area, be sure to make a stop to see the Mount Washington Hotel, a grand 1902 classic that is a National Historic Landmark. The image of the white, twin-towered, red-roofed hotel set against the mountains like a fantasy palace makes for wonderful photos.
If it seems time for more worldly pursuits, North Conway can oblige with outlet stores, plus all manner of shops and dining. But back on the road, merging into U.S. 3 to I-93, all is serene once again, and the surrounding color of the White Mountain National Forest will make it clear why New Hampshire should be high on every list of autumn destinations.
Ways and means
TIPS FOR LEAF PEEPERS
The foliage is at its brightest in Vermont and New Hampshire because of the abundance of vivid hardwood trees. The mountainsides in these states act as canvasses displaying the color. Vermont offers soft mountains and quaint villages, while New Hampshire has more dramatic scenery. Both offer beautiful driving routes along the roads known as gaps, notches or gorges that cut across the mountains.
Desirable inns and resorts for foliage season are booked weeks in advance.Late callers have a better chance of finding vacancies by traveling midweek. If no rooms are available, check ski lodges, which are overlooked by many travelers. Big resort areas, like Killington in Vermont or Loon Mountain in New Hampshire, have their own reservation services to help visitors.
Fall foliage begins in late September in northern Vermont and New Hampshire, usually peaking around Columbus Day. Those who miss the show can still find plenty of beauty as the color moves south in mid- to late October to the lower mountain areas of Connecticut and Massachusetts. The timing of peak color varies year to year depending on the weather. Yankee Magazine has a useful site forecasting peak color as it travels: yankeefoliage.com. Individual states also have sites such as visitnh.gov/foliage or Vermontvacation.com/foliageforecaster.
Airfares may help determine a foliage destination, so it can be wise to check several options. Boston serves New Hampshire and the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts, Burlington is the main gateway to Vermont’s Green Mountains, while Hartford is close to scenic Litchfield County, Conn., in the Berkshire foothills. Portland is the nearest access to the mountains in western Maine bordering New Hampshire.
Inns abound in leaf country. The most popular often are those offering mountain views. Without firsthand reports, comments from other travelers on websites such as Yelp.com or TripAdvisor.com may help sort out the many choices.
- Eleanor Berman
Travel, Pages 50 on 09/09/2012