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I'm trying to figure out a 2-night destination for our last leg of our trip to New England in early October (weekday nights). Our goal is to be 6 hrs or less from Arlington, VA (our final destination), and we'll be traveling with our 16-month old son.
Criteria for location: quiet, scenic, not crowded, plenty of parks nearby (maybe canoe/kayak trip to look at foliage), apple farms to pick apples, cider, etc, affordable accomodations (hotel or rental home 175 or less per night). We can stay centrally and drive to some locations.
My initial thoughts are the Catskills or Poconos, and I'm curious if you have suggestions for either (towns to stay in or places to stay near/visit, places to avoid), or which one may suit us better.
You might look into Manchester VT. It is a nice place to visit, although anywhere you go during "leaf peeping" season is not going to be quiet. The Olympic or Olympian Lodge is a nice place to stay and breakfast used to be included.
I'm trying to figure out a 2-night destination for our last leg of our trip to New England in early October (weekday nights). Our goal is to be 6 hrs or less from Arlington, VA (our final destination), and we'll be traveling with our 16-month old son.
Criteria for location: quiet, scenic, not crowded, plenty of parks nearby (maybe canoe/kayak trip to look at foliage), apple farms to pick apples, cider, etc, affordable accomodations (hotel or rental home 175 or less per night). We can stay centrally and drive to some locations.
My initial thoughts are the Catskills or Poconos, and I'm curious if you have suggestions for either (towns to stay in or places to stay near/visit, places to avoid), or which one may suit us better.
Thanks for your time!
S
How early in October? If it's not the first 2 weeks, there's a very good chance you'll miss it. Some years it comes early and others it's later. Some years the autumn storms all but wipe out the best leaves. It's far from an exact science. It's beautiful when the season is great!
I've been through the Poconos the first week of October and it was peak. The Capitol Region usually - remember this isn't an exact science - peaks around Columbus Day. Much like Tulip Fest had few tulips this year because they peaked so early, who knows how early peak foliage season will come this year!
There's lots of media coverage about foliage season once we hit September.
You may be able to do both, as they aren't too far from each other.
Perhaps you could do the Route 20 corridor in the. Apple Valley in towns like LaFayette or Onondaga south of Syracuse. There is an Apple Festival in LaFayette that can cause some traffic: LaFayette Apple Festival
There are other apple farms close by and there are accommodations potentially in Tully or closer to Syracuse. Skaneateles has some and is a great place to check out. Owen Orchards in Cayuga County is close by too. Skaneateles Area Chamber Of Commerce - Welcome to Skaneateles
I'm trying to figure out a 2-night destination for our last leg of our trip to New England in early October (weekday nights). Our goal is to be 6 hrs or less from Arlington, VA (our final destination), and we'll be traveling with our 16-month old son.
Criteria for location: quiet, scenic, not crowded, plenty of parks nearby (maybe canoe/kayak trip to look at foliage), apple farms to pick apples, cider, etc, affordable accomodations (hotel or rental home 175 or less per night). We can stay centrally and drive to some locations.
My initial thoughts are the Catskills or Poconos, and I'm curious if you have suggestions for either (towns to stay in or places to stay near/visit, places to avoid), or which one may suit us better.
Thanks for your time!
S
Avnwx, since you will be visiting New England, I may have an idea for you.
Take I-90 to go home through the Berkshires in western Massachusetts and into the Hudson Valley of NY. Then take I-88 from the Albany area toward the Binghamton, NY area.
I-88 will take you to some tourist spots that are north of the Catskills; like Cooperstown (baseball) and Howes Caverns. This is a beautiful area in the fall, still has lots of farmland mixed in with the hills & forests and is also alot less crowded with leaf peepers than New England proper. The Schoharie valley is beautiful. And better yet, you can grab I-81 south at Binghamton so you can travel all the way home through the scenic countryside of central Pennsylvania instead of the crowded coastal cities.
So I recommend I-90 west to I-88 to I-81 south back to Virginia. You may want to make pittstops at Cooperstown, NY and/or Hershey, PA. Whatever you decide, enjoy!
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I-88 will take you to some tourist spots that are north of the Catskills; like Cooperstown (baseball) and Howes Caverns.
So I recommend I-90 west to I-88 to I-81 south back to Virginia. You may want to make pittstops at Cooperstown, NY and/or Hershey, PA. Whatever you decide, enjoy!
Just an FYI....Cooperstown isn't right off of I-88. It's about 40-45 minutes off of I-88. It's a beautiful drive, but if you're pressed for time, it may not be possible. It's a great little town with a lot more than baseball.
I'd say the Shawangunk Ridge is a good choice. It's fairly far south in NY, so getting there will not be an issue and it's right off of 87. You will be able to see the foliage contrasting with 250' white cliffs, ridgetop lakes that you can boat on and look down on the valley below without having to hike to get the view. Here's an example. It's not going to be completely isolated, but on weekdays it will be easy enough to find your own little piece of nature. The only issue is that some of the land either requires a long walk to get to for free or a fairly hefty fee. It's $12 per day per person at Mohonk preserve and a $20-25 dollar fee for adults at the Mohonk Mountain House land. If you go to the Mountain House, you can go for breakfast for a total of $70 dollars and that includes access to the land, as well as the meal in an historic hotel built on a beautiful ridgetop lake. The largest land parcel in the area is Minnewaska state park, which is $8 per car, and has two very large lakes you can kayak on. Other good pieces of land for foliage viewing are Sam's Point Preserve, which is $10 per car, the Shawangunk State Forest and Bear Hill Preserve, which are both free.
The town you'd likely stay in is New Paltz, which is a hippieish college town and has plenty of dining (by foliage peeping standards), and some presumably decent B&B's in your price range. The hotels are all interstate rest stop type deals as far as I know, but they are probably cheap. I've driven by plenty of apple orchards in the area, so I'm sure there are places to go picking within 10 miles.
If coming from New England near Albany you could also drive down the Taconic Parkway to Rhinebeck area, a pretty little town, then cross over the Hudson and go to New Paltz and the Catskills. Or continue south pass Rhinebeck on the Taconic to I-84. I-84 west to Route 17 takes you to the Catskills. Or I-84 west takes you directly to NE PA and the Poconos. But the Hudson Valley has many attactions including apple farms, wineries and historic places. FDR's home etc. Plus many leaves along the Taconic to peep at too.
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