New England RV parks in the fall

[ttbulet]

My husband and I and our 19' trailer will be traveling from New Mexico to see the 2016 fall colors in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. We are thinking of using Burlington, VT, North Conway, NH and Augusta, ME as 5-day bases from which to explore each area. Does it sound reasonable to do that starting Oct 1 -15? Are there any other communities that would be better places to see the sites? It sounds like campground reservations are a must ASAP....
Thanks for your insights!

[vermilye]

One of the websites I use to check fall color dates is the Foliage Network. They provide weekly (or more often during the season) updates, ad well as historic data which is useful for planning.

While not New England, if you are in the area, Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania is my favorite place for fall colors. Around 7 miles of trail along 21 waterfalls & many cascades. There is dry camping in the park (bathrooms with hot showers). Some Photos.

If you go, the best way into the park is from the north. If you come from the south, the road between Red Rock & the park includes a 4 mile, 18% grade uphill haul...

[kohldad]

We did the trip last fall going north last two weeks of Sept up to Acadia and south the first two weeks of October. Ideal was over the four weeks, we would definitely hit some color along the way regardless if it was a early or late showing. Having a pickup camper, it was easy for us to move most days. Without reservations, we were able to move faster when we were ahead of or behind the colors and slow down when we found the places in peak. Maybe because we stayed away from towns in campgrounds without hookups, but we never had a problem with finding a site and most of the times the campgrounds were mostly empty. Couldn't even really tell when it was the weekends by the crowds.

Make sure you either bookmark the page or download the apps for each state to track the colors. But I think the best site I found covered the entire New England. Of course, if you have reservations, won't make much difference as you will be stuck regardless of the colors.

[loggenrock]

If you are headed to Maine after New Hampshire, check out Acadia National Park. As others have said, MANY CG's close for the season on columbus Day. We have extended the foliage season by heading to the coast of ME, and Acadia campgrounds (Blackwoods) remain open after theUSFS CG's in NH have closed. Colors are later reaching the coast, too. ST

[tsetsaf]

This Start here and then move over to Burlington. We did this a couple years ago and spent almost 6 weeks in fall colors!

[Padlin]

Think I'd pass on Augusta, maybe head closer to the coast if that's what you want to see. If it's just the colors you're interested in I'd 2nd Drew's suggestion of the Adirondacks. The Green Mts and Berkshires are another option.

[Gene_Ginny]

Keep in mind that in New England most campgrounds are closed after Columbus Day weekend. Columbus Day is October 10 this year. Most campgrounds will be quite empty and you will not need a reservation EXCEPT for the weekend itself.

[DrewE]

Those dates are probably about right for foliage, though the timing does vary from year to year based on the weather, etc. Traditionally Columbus Day weekend is the "peak" of foliage season, at least in terms of tourists if not in terms of colors.

I would recommend reservations, definitely during the weekends but it would not hurt during the weeks as well.

It seems you've picked cities to stay in to see foliage. While there's nothing inherently wrong with those cities, there are more trees, generally speaking, where there are fewer people. If you mean rather staying in those general areas, that might make more sense.

In Burlington proper, the only campground I know of is North Beach campground, run by the city. The campground itself is decent (in the sense of acceptable) but in no way exceptional. The beach is very nice and popular, and the park is right on the bike trail that extends roughly along the shore of Lake Champlain for many miles. There are a couple other (private) campgrounds in the greater Burlington area.

If you don't need hookups, there are a number of pretty Vermont state parks. Mt Philo is in the general Burlington area and has nice views from the top, and at least a couple of the sites would be usable with a 19' trailer. The auto road (that goes up the mountain and also serves as the access to the campground) is tight and twisty, but should be doable with your RV. Do be aware that, unlike most of the other Vermont state park campgrounds, there is no dump station at Mt. Philo.

Another good option not near Burlington are the handful of state parks around the Groton State Forest, which has a network of hiking trails that are not too difficult and would be lovely in the autumn.

North Conway in particular can be somewhat close to a giant parking lot during the peak tourism times, with a lot of heavy traffic and many outlet malls, etc. to entice people. I would recommend not staying in that area, but rather finding a campground in some other town in the White Mountains. The white mountains are a beautiful area, foliage or not.

I don't know as much about the Augusta area. You might also want to consider the Adirondacks of upstate New York; there are some very beautiful areas there, too.

Do be aware that the weather can be rather variable in New England at that time of year. (That's true year round to some extent, but the variation is larger in Spring and Fall.)

[Crowe]

Definitely make reservations for weekends. During the week shouldn't be a problem. It will depends on what sights you want to see. Absolutely love North Conway and Danforth Bay campground, which is about 30 minutes away. If you want to be closer to the White Mountains I'd suggest find a cg that's closer. Can't guarantee when the colors will change and your best bet is to start at your northernmost point and move southward as that's what the colors do. There are multiple websites that follow foliage peak in the fall-this one is one of my favorites: http://www.foliagenetwork.com/~foliagen/index.php. It should also list "normal" times for the change but as we well know, there's nothing average about New England!