New England Fall Colours and Acadia at a slower pace

1. Day 1: Boston to North Conway

   Boston Logan airport to North Conway, New Hampshire, about 2 hours 45 minutes

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Dinner
   • Stay in North Conway
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Boston Logan (BOS) by about noon; there is no reason to take a dawn flight. Your See Sight Tours guide meets you at arrivals and the driver loads the bags into our van. We leave the city on Interstate 95, cross the short New Hampshire coast near Portsmouth and turn north on Route 16 through the lakes and woods around Ossipee, stopping about halfway for lunch on your own, toilets and a stretch. As the road rises, the maples on the hillsides turn orange and red. We reach North Conway, a small town in the Mount Washington Valley, by about 3:30 pm and check in to the hotel for two nights, with a lift to your floor or a ground-floor room. The rest of the afternoon is free: a rest after the journey, or a slow walk along the flat main street to the old railway station of 1874, with benches on the way. The welcome dinner is at about 6:30 pm.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Boston Logan airport (BOS)
   • Welcome dinner in North Conway

   Easier option: Rest at the hotel after the drive.

   More active option: Walk the main street to the railway station and back, about 2 km.

   Free time: Afternoon free from about 3:30 pm

   Activity: Land at Boston Logan by about noon. Lunch is on your own at the halfway stop.

2. Day 2: The Cog Railway up Mount Washington

   North Conway through Crawford Notch to the Cog Railway base station and back, about 2 hours 30 minutes in two legs

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in North Conway
   Day 2 details

   Breakfast is unhurried, and we leave at about 9:15 am for the hour's drive through Crawford Notch, a steep pass where the road runs below granite cliffs and the colour is often at its brightest in early October. At the base station we board the Mount Washington Cog Railway on a late-morning departure. It has carried passengers to the summit since 1869, pushing up three miles of track with grades as steep as 37 percent, over the curved trestle called Jacob's Ladder and above the tree line. The ride is seated both ways. At 6,288 feet (1,917 m), Mount Washington is the highest peak in the northeastern United States, and on a clear day the view reaches into four states and Quebec. You can stay close to the train and the summit building during the hour at the top. Summit trips run only when the weather allows. Lunch is near the base, then on the way back we pause at Silver Cascade and Flume Cascade, two waterfalls a few steps from the road. Back at about 4 pm, with dinner together in North Conway.

   Included

   • Mount Washington Cog Railway round trip to the summit, weather permitting
   • Lunch near the base station
   • Crawford Notch with stops at Silver Cascade and Flume Cascade
   • Dinner in North Conway

   Optional experiences

   • The Conway Scenic Railroad Valley train from North Conway, about an hour in vintage coaches, in the late afternoon (price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Stay in the warm summit building at the top, and see the waterfalls from the van-side pull-offs.

   More active option: A short walk on the rocks around the summit with the guide, weather permitting.

   Free time: An hour at the hotel before dinner

   Activity: About 1 km on foot. Warm layers, a hat and gloves for the summit. Boarding the train is a step or two with a hand from the crew.

   

3. Day 3: Camden and on to Bar Harbor

   North Conway to Camden, about 3 hours split by a coffee stop, then Camden to Bar Harbor, about 1 hour 45 minutes

   • Drive about 5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Bar Harbor
   Day 3 details

   Today crosses Maine from the mountains to the sea, the longest day in the van, about four and three-quarter hours in all. We accept it so that you then have three nights in one place; a stop in between would mean a single-night hotel. We split it with a proper break. We leave North Conway at about 9 am, stop halfway for coffee and toilets, and reach Camden at about noon for lunch by the harbour, where the windjammer schooners tie up. Afterwards the van drives up the road on Mount Battie in Camden Hills State Park to the summit car park, with a view over the harbour and the islands of Penobscot Bay a few level steps away; the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote about this view. The stone tower has steps for anyone who wants the higher view. In the afternoon we follow the coast road through Belfast and Bucksport onto Mount Desert Island and reach Bar Harbor by about 5 pm. Dinner is on your own, close to the hotel.

   Included

   • Lunch in Camden by the harbour
   • Mount Battie summit by road, Camden Hills State Park

   Easier option: See the view from beside the van at the Mount Battie car park.

   More active option: Climb the stone tower on Mount Battie, or walk the length of Camden harbour after lunch.

   Free time: Evening free in Bar Harbor

   Activity: About 1 km on foot. The longest legs are about 3 hours, split by a coffee stop, and 1 hour 45 minutes, with lunch and Mount Battie in between.

4. Day 4: Cadillac Mountain, Jordan Pond and the carriage roads

   Bar Harbor, the Park Loop Road, Cadillac Mountain and Jordan Pond, about 1 hour 15 minutes of driving in short legs

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Bar Harbor
   Day 4 details

   Acadia National Park takes up much of Mount Desert Island, and today we see it by van with short walks. We leave at about 9:15 am for the Cadillac Summit Road, with summit road access booked by us for mid-morning. At 1,530 feet, Cadillac is the highest point on the Atlantic coast of the United States, and from the summit car park a short paved loop with benches looks over Bar Harbor and the islands of Frenchman Bay. Then the Park Loop Road along the coast: a stop above Sand Beach, and Thunder Hole, where waves boom into a slot in the granite when the tide is right; where the group prefers, we watch from the railing at the top rather than the steps down to the rocks. Lunch is at Jordan Pond House, where hot popovers with strawberry jam have been served for more than a century, on the lawn above the pond. Afterwards a horse-drawn carriage takes us for an hour along the broken-stone carriage roads and over stone bridges. We are back in town by about 3:30 pm.

   Included

   • Acadia National Park entry
   • Cadillac Mountain summit, road access booked by us
   • Sand Beach overlook and Thunder Hole on the Park Loop Road
   • Lunch with popovers at Jordan Pond House
   • A 1-hour horse-drawn carriage ride on the carriage roads

   Easier option: Stay on the Jordan Pond House lawn after lunch, and, where the group prefers, watch Thunder Hole from the railing at the top.

   More active option: Walk a level stretch of the Ocean Path from Sand Beach to Thunder Hole, about 1.5 km, and meet the van there.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free from about 3:30 pm

   Activity: About 2 km on foot in short stretches. Climbing into the carriage is a step or two with help from the driver.

   

5. Day 5: A lobster boat and a free afternoon

   Bar Harbor harbour and town, on foot and by boat

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Bar Harbor
   Day 5 details

   No van today. After a late breakfast we walk a few minutes to the harbour for a mid-morning trip on a working lobster boat, a little under two hours on Frenchman Bay. Seats are on deck and in the cabin. The captain hauls a few traps, measures each lobster with a brass gauge and explains why the small ones and the egg-carrying females go back into the sea. Harbour seals often rest on the ledges, and seabirds work the water around the boat. Back on shore by about noon, the rest of the day is yours. Many guests walk part of the Shore Path, a level gravel path beside the water that starts at Agamont Park with benches along the way, or sit on the village green with a coffee. Others take a nap, browse the shops or book the optional whale cruise. In the evening we meet for the farewell lobster dinner, with time to say thank you to the guide and driver.

   Included

   • Lobster boat trip on Frenchman Bay, about 1 hour 45 minutes
   • Farewell lobster dinner in Bar Harbor

   Optional experiences

   • A whale-watching cruise from Bar Harbor in the afternoon, where the season still runs (price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Sit in the boat's cabin out of the wind, then rest at the hotel in the afternoon.

   More active option: Walk the whole Shore Path and back, about 2.5 km, or cross the sand bar to Bar Island at low tide.

   Free time: Afternoon free from about noon

   Activity: About 1 to 2 km on foot. The gangway down to the boat can be steep at low tide; the crew lend a hand.

   

6. Day 6: Bar Harbor to Boston by way of Freeport

   Bar Harbor to Freeport, about 2 hours 30 minutes, then Freeport to Boston Logan airport, about 2 hours

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   Day 6 details

   The second long day of the trip, about four and a half hours in all, and like day 3 it is split by a sit-down lunch so no leg runs over about two and a half hours. After breakfast we leave Bar Harbor at about 9:30 am, cross back to the mainland and drive south on Route 1 and Interstate 295, with a short stop for coffee on the way. We reach Freeport at about noon for lunch together and an hour to stretch your legs in the flat, compact centre around the L.L.Bean flagship store, which has benches outside and a giant boot by the door. At about 1:30 pm we carry on south past Portland and Portsmouth to Boston Logan, arriving at about 3:45 pm. Please book a domestic flight leaving after 6:30 pm, or an international flight leaving at 7 pm or later, since check-in opens about 3 hours ahead. If you would rather not fly the same day, ask us about a night in Boston before you go home.

   Included

   • Lunch in Freeport
   • Drop-off at Boston Logan airport (BOS)

   Easier option: Stay at the lunch table with a coffee instead of walking the shops.

   More active option: A walk along Freeport's main street before we leave.

   Free time: An hour in Freeport after lunch

   Activity: Book domestic flights leaving after 6:30 pm and international flights at 7 pm or later (about 3 hours for check-in).

Wildlife and weather: Late September and early October bring crisp days, with afternoon highs of roughly 13 to 18°C (55 to 65°F) in the valleys and on the coast, cold nights in the mountains, and ice or even snow possible on the summit of Mount Washington. Mornings on the coast can start foggy and clear by midday, one more reason we do not start early. Harbour seals and seabirds are likely from the lobster boat. Moose live in the White Mountains but are not often seen from the road.

• North Conway2 nights
• Bar Harbor3 nights