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If you know me, you know how much I love Fall. Having spent more than 2 decades of my life in a tropical country, Fall is a season I did not experience during my childhood. So I find fall foliage very fascinating and super gorgeous. If nature is putting up a show, why miss it?
2021 was my fifth Fall season in the New England area. In 2020, we had gone on a road trip to offbeat Fall destinations in Vermont and loved it. So in 2021, we had planned a road trip to offbeat destinations in Northern New Hampshire and Western Maine, specifically around Rangeley Lakes in Maine.
When is a good time to visit?
If you are looking to track peak foliage dates, refer to these foliage reports. Every state in New England has an official foliage report/tracker that gets updated weekly during the season. I usually also look at recent social media posts to track the foliage. If you are not living in a driving distance, you may want to plan your trip much earlier and you could look at the foliage reports from previous years to arrive at your travel dates. After 5 years of living in New England, I could confidently say that the first/second weeks of October are a safe bet.
Day 1: Hiking Mt.Willard in White Mountains
On Day 1, we drove to the White Mountains in New Hampshire, the one place we visited the most during our years in New England. As our itinerary demanded 7 hours of driving that day, we wanted to go for a rewarding but not-so-strenuous hike. I had heard so much about the views from Mt.Willard. It has an elevation gain of ~900ft and is 3.1miles long, I would rate this as a moderate hike. It took us 3 hours to get back to our car. The views of Crawford Notch from the top were breathtaking. We even spotted a train amidst the vibrant colors.
After the hike, we drove to the town of Stratton in Maine.
Where to stay?
Western Maine and Northern New Hampshire are truly offbeat. You wouldn’t find a ton of hotels or Airbnbs. The town of Rangeley has a few accommodation options, but there was no availability for the dates we looked. We found a cheaper option in the town of Stratton called Spillover Motel. It is well maintained, very clean, very economical with access to a shared kitchen/gathering room. It is right next to Bigelow Preserve and is quite peaceful and scenic.
Day 2: Height of Land/ Grafton Notch State Park
Height of Land is a viewpoint on the Rangeley Lakes Scenic Byway offering grand views of the Rangeley Lakes and the surrounding mountains. There are a few pullouts on this byway that allow the visitors to soak in the views. We spent some time admiring the views and then proceeded to Sunday River resort. Many ski resorts in New England offer chairlift rides and offer scenic views of the mountains. In this resort, they call it “chondola”, you can choose to go in an enclosed gondola or an open chairlift. The price of the ticket for 2023 is 27$, you can check this website for more details. I personally enjoy that crisp autumn breeze on my face, so we chose the chairlift.
After spending a good couple of hours in this resort, we made a quick stop at a bridge called Artist’s Covered Bridge that is supposedly the most photographed covered bridge in Maine. There was a wedding happening inside the covered bridge, so we spent some time on the river side taking photographs of the bridge.
We then drove through Grafton Notch State Park. The fog, the vibrancy of the foliage, the cool breeze made our drive through the state park a memorable one. We then stopped at a spectacular spot called, Screw Auger Falls just before sunset. I highly recommend visiting this state park during Fall, it is far less crowded compared to other popular spots.
Where to eat?
A couple of places where we found decent food are Le Mu Eats in Bethel and Furbish Brew House in Rangeley. I was so impressed and happy when I realized Brew House had a vegan pizza on their menu.
Day 3: Quill Hill and Smalls Falls
The last morning, we checked out of the hotel and drove straight to the town of Rangeley. There was an interesting sign that read ‘Doc Grant’s Restaurant’. Elmer Grant was known for his adventurous dives/stunts and one of his restaurants used to be located on the Main Street in Rangeley. Now, the restaurant no longer exists but there is a sign that says “Halfway Between Equator and North Pole”. It is not geographically accurate, but some say it was a marketing tactic and some say it was an observation made by his brother who was an air force pilot at the time.
We got breakfast from a local bakery and took it to the picnic tables in the town’s lake park. After that we proceeded to drive to Quill Hill, a privately owned property with access to vast mountain views, picnic tables and trails. It is open 24 hours from mid-May to mid-October and the suggested donation per vehicle is 10$.
From Quill Hill, we stopped at Smalls Falls, which has to be the most interesting “rest area” I ever visited. You could reach waterfalls after a short 0.5 mile hike into the woods. There is a footbridge facing the cascading waterfall which makes it a great place for photography. We spent an hour exploring the multiple levels of the waterfalls.
If you have more time, you could check out Table Rock hike at Dixville Notch State Park in New Hampshire which is known to offer spectacular views of Lake Gloriette and Square Ledge hike in Pinkham Notch State Park in New Hampshire. Both these hikes are moderate and under 2 miles, so can easily be squeezed into your itinerary.
If you are looking for an offbeat Fall peeping experience, I definitely recommend visiting Rangeley region.