Scenes of Vermont Forums

Hi All!

Looking to travel to Quebec for and wanted to know the best route to catch the foliage. My wife and I will most likely be leaving from Oct 4th or Oct 11th depending on the foliage reports. As we'll be driving through VT, we wanted to know from the experts themselves! What's the best route to take for our itinerary below:

Oct 4th- Leave in the morning from Bloomfield, CT and stop the night somewhere in VT
Oct 5th- Leave for Quebec with stops along the way for photography of the foliage
Oct 6th- Leave Quebec for Montreal
Oct 7th- Leave Montreal for CT with stops along the way in VT for photography of the foliage (ideally another route from where we came from on the initial trip)

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

It looks like you are heading to Quebec City. I'm assuming you are driving I-91 to Canada. That goes through Northeast VT which should have great foliage at that time. But lodging is scarce up there, and with foliage season in full mode, it could be hard to find a room. St. Johnsbury and Newport are the best bet for lodging.
Because you are passing through, I hesitate to send you far afield. I like driving route US 5 from Lyndonville to Newport for foliage. Get off I-91 at exit 23 and turn right onto rt US 5 north. Drive north to West Burke and look for rt 5a on the right. Drive rt 5a north to Lake Willoughby. It's worth the trip. At the top of the lake is rt 16 west. That will take you back to rt US 5 in Barton. Drive north to Newport.
I'm assuming that you are driving I-89 back from Montreal. Get off at exit 10 in Waterbury, VT, turn right, and drive route 100 south as far as time allows.

pwt54 wrote:It looks like you are heading to Quebec City. I'm assuming you are driving I-91 to Canada. That goes through Northeast VT which should have great foliage at that time. But lodging is scarce up there, and with foliage season in full mode, it could be hard to find a room. St. Johnsbury and Newport are the best bet for lodging.
Because you are passing through, I hesitate to send you far afield. I like driving route US 5 from Lyndonville to Newport for foliage. Get off I-91 at exit 23 and turn right onto rt US 5 north. Drive north to West Burke and look for rt 5a on the right. Drive rt 5a north to Lake Willoughby. It's worth the trip. At the top of the lake is rt 16 west. That will take you back to rt US 5 in Barton. Drive north to Newport.
I'm assuming that you are driving I-89 back from Montreal. Get off at exit 10 in Waterbury, VT, turn right, and drive route 100 south as far as time allows.

Between Lyndonville and Lake Willoughby, some parts of this more off the beaten path loop might be worth looking into.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3532&p=9105&hilit=nek+central#p9105

From_the_NEK wrote:

pwt54 wrote:It looks like you are heading to Quebec City. I'm assuming you are driving I-91 to Canada. That goes through Northeast VT which should have great foliage at that time. But lodging is scarce up there, and with foliage season in full mode, it could be hard to find a room. St. Johnsbury and Newport are the best bet for lodging.
Because you are passing through, I hesitate to send you far afield. I like driving route US 5 from Lyndonville to Newport for foliage. Get off I-91 at exit 23 and turn right onto rt US 5 north. Drive north to West Burke and look for rt 5a on the right. Drive rt 5a north to Lake Willoughby. It's worth the trip. At the top of the lake is rt 16 west. That will take you back to rt US 5 in Barton. Drive north to Newport.
I'm assuming that you are driving I-89 back from Montreal. Get off at exit 10 in Waterbury, VT, turn right, and drive route 100 south as far as time allows.

Between Lyndonville and Lake Willoughby, some parts of this more off the beaten path loop might be worth looking into.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3532&p=9105&hilit=nek+central#p9105

Thanks for the responses! So I guess it might be a straight shot up to Quebec City if lodging is scarce. I live off exit 37 on I-91, so should I catch 5 north where ever I can and then continue to follow your directions?

Also, is Oct 4th-Oct 7th looking like a good time frame for the leaves or is it going to be too early?

Colors on route US 5 may not be good from Brattleboro north to White River Jct. Keep driving up I-91 until the colors look good and get off onto US 5. US 5 from exit 12 in Norwich, VT to St. Johnsbury is a nice ride. US 5 from St. Johnsbury to Lyndonville is not that great a ride. Take I-91 just south of St. Johnsbury north to exit 23 in Lyndonville and drive US 5 to Orleans, VT and pick up I-91 to Quebec.