Advice/help needed in finalizing itinerary: Oct 3 - Oct 8

[abhi]

Hi all,

I stumbled upon this website last week and what a wonderful resource this site is! I have been staying up late at night, trying to take in all the helpful advice and tips from you all and frankly, I am a little overwhelmed (in a nice way!) by the sheer number of beautiful options there are to explore in VT! So, thank you all for doing what you do and for sharing your knowledge!

This is going to be our second time in VT. me & my wife last visited in 2010 (around mid-October, past peak) and we absolutely fell head over heels in love with the place! There is a charm and beauty to it that we still can't quite describe properly! Unfortunately we haven't been able to visit immediately after that, so the 4 year gap has made excitement levels climb for this year's trip!

I am visiting VT next weekend along with my family. I fly in to Boston on Oct 3rd (night) and fly back out on Oct 8 (night). I am sharing my itinerary below. I want some help/advice from the members here. I'd love it and be really grateful if you could chime in with your thoughts and help me optimize my trip. I have *only* 4.5 days effectively and I want to make the most of it . I have been checking the trackers and all the various posts here and here is what I have come up with:

Oct 3: Fri : land in Boston Fri night. Stay @ Boston.

Oct 4: Sat: Drive from Boston to Lyndonville and stay the night there. I have two options here.
a)I93. ~182 miles. < 3 hrs or,
b)Boston->conway(NH)->Kanc Hwy to Lincoln (NH) -->Lyndonville (I93) ( I guess this is the more scenic option)

Just because we like to stop and take photos (often!), both options mean that it is going to be an all day drive for
us, with the second option involving more stops !

Oct 5: Sun: Do the driving loop (minus Wheeler Mtn Rd) per from_the_NEK's suggestion! (thanks for the google map link!). Again, even though this is going to be a relatively short drive, the number of photo stops mean I think it is going to take me all day to finish the drive I plan to stay @ Lyndon.

Oct 6:Mon: Jay Peak, Drive Rt 108 (Smuggers Notch <--> Stowe); stay @ Stowe (All day trip with sight seeing and exploring side roads thrown in)

Oct 7: Tue: Explore areas nearby Stowe and drive down south on Hwy 100 (Stowe, Killington, Coolidge, Londonderry, Townshend, Brattleboro)

Oct 8: Do some light sight-seeing and then drive to Boston.


Thoughts? Anything you want to change ?
Am I going to be too late for visiting the NEK or should I focus my explorations more to the Southern VT side?

Your inputs are going to be very much appreciated!
Thanks,
Abhi

[abhi]

Sorry, I also had one more question:

I am amazed by the pictures on the gostowe.com website. In particular the tree canopy/tunnel shots on the homepage. The main images are made into a slideshow but there is a small static image immediately at the bottom left where it says Stowe: Specials and Packages and shows an image of a road lined on either side with beautiful trees.

Questions is: does anybody know this location? Hard to tell I suppose, but just checking!

Thanks,
Abhi

[ctyanky]

Abhi: I am about to go out on a day trip but if you are in Jay, take the tram to the summit for a "top of the world" type of adventure. The views are unbelievable all around and you will not regret it! I have included the link here, even though it says summer schedule, they are open till mid-October. Phil (pwt) went and he was even astounded! I think I've been twice and loved every minute of the ride up and down. Amazing views like none of the other mountain trams, gondolas, etc. I'm sure you are going to get a TON of advice here so just enjoy the backroads and relax, don't get too overwhelmed!

http://www.jaypeakresort.com/index.php/ ... ram-rides/

[pwt54]

The foliage up here above Stowe is near peak to peak. It will be a close call for peak foliage up here next weekend. There will still be a ton of color, but the red and orange leaves will be fading. I would stick to your first 2 day schedule. The Kancamaugus Highway will still have good color in the lowlands but the highlands may be gone by. Jay Peak is worth the trip, great foliage or not. Route 100 south from Troy to Hyde Park may be past peak with more yellows than red and orange. But foliage around Stowe was not as advanced as the surrounding areas.
Route 100 is tricky to predict. It runs down the middle of the Green Mountains and will change color earlier than the rest of the State. I haven't been down there yet, but I hope to next week, so keep checking in for reports.
If things don't look good, then head for western VT. Lake Champlain makes that area a warmer climate and foliage is a week later there.

[abhi]

Thank you both ! I wish I could come over this weekend and stay till Columbus Day !! So many beautiful places and so little time :)This weekend and the coming few days should be epic!

For the second half of the trip, we have Stowe as as our "base". Based on how things are shaping up this year, Should I tweak my reservations to cover more of the SE or SW region ?


Thank you once again! Hope you all have a great weekend !
Abhi