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Working as a travel writer based in Massachusetts, you can imagine how many fall foliage stories I’ve been hired to write over the years. At least 100 articles, with additional chapters on the subject in each of my books for Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, Outside Magazine, Discovery Channel, and the latest, New England in a Nutshell. Name the topic—biking, mountain biking, paddling, driving, golfing, antiquing, hiking, restaurant tours, historical slants, even llama trekking, and I have a story for you. You think I’d be jaded. Yet this past October, Lisa and I brought our friends Holly and Tim from California along with our dog, Theo, on a 5-day fall foliage trip into the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont. We were fortunate to hit peak foliage in the White Mountains and it was glorious!
One magical day, we drove the 34-mile Kancamagus Highway, the legendary route which snakes through the mountains. We would pull over and take walks along the Swift River and to Sabbaday Falls, with leaves of every color falling around us. Theo gleefully ran from leaf to leaf as we took close-up photos of our favorite samples. We would end that day at the outdoor hot tub at Topnotch in Stowe, Heady Topper in hand, looking up at the majestic hillside awash in color. Hard to get jaded seeing this year in, year out.
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It’s not too late to plan a long weekend getaway to Southern New Hampshire with biking outfitter, Ciclismo Classico. Hop on your car on a Thursday morning and in a few hours you’ll arrive in Keene. Their team has taken many precautions to keep you safe while on tour, and carefully planned many iconic and beautiful cycling loops from Keene that include historic architecture, art galleries, covered bridges, abundant lakes, cool forests, zigzagging rivers, farmland and fall foliage galore and daily views of the region’s crowned granite jewel, Mt Monadnock, the second most climbed mountain in the world. Read all about the top cycling loops on their blog, “The Best Bike Rides in Southern New Hampshire.” Tour Dates are October 1-5 and October 8-12 (Women’s Only). If you can’t make those dates, private tours are available through November.
Ciclismo Classico is also still offering their one-day private Story Rides across Massachusetts, with your choice of a guided ride in Boston, Newburyport, or Lexington. Please let ActiveTravels know your date and number of people and we’ll help arrange.
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Conditions need to be ideal to walk the historic Crawford Path through the Presidential Range. Once you venture beyond Mizpah Springs Hut to Mount Pierce, you’re above treeline on a ridge walk, entirely exposed to the weather since there’s really nowhere to hide. In decent weather, you’ll be treated to the views of the bald knob atop Mount Eisenhower while walking in a lunar-like landscape. Bordered by velvety green sedge and moss, you’ll find alpine wildflowers in bloom like bog laurel, white bunchberry, and purple fireweed. Then you spot the Lakes of the Clouds hut and its lofty perch atop a 5200-foot ridge with stunning vistas of Mount Washington Hotel below and the Cog Railroad ambling slowly up to the Mount Washington summit. Spend the twilight hours looking at the glorious view and then peering at the twinkling stars above (no light pollution here). The next morning, after a filling breakfast, climb on the hardscrabble rock the last 1.4 miles to the summit of Mount Washington, New England’s tallest peak.
This entry is excerpted from my latest book, New England in a Nutshell. The book/ebook is slated to published on July 2nd and you can pre-order now at Amazon. The ebook includes all hyperlinks to listings. The paperback includes front and back cover illustrations from Manhattan-based artist, Sarah Schechter, and a small sampling of photos from Lisa, who accompanied me on many of my assignments, resulting in published work for the Boston Globe.
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