Born and bred New Englander and I think it is the best area of the world. That said, I agree flipping your trip would be good. Color times vary but I always think of mid-October as peak. Color moves north to south.

September and October are off season on Cape Cod and there will be more closures than crowds but it can still be beautiful. As someone who vacationed on the Cape for many, many years, the real Cape begins after Orleans-Brewster to Provincetown are much nicer than Hyannis, Yarmouth and even Dennis (which isn't bad) If you haven't driven out past the Orleans Rotary, IMHO you haven't been to the cape.

Weather in New England is tricky. Today was the first day all week we got above 50 degrees F. Monday they are saying we may hit 80. An old saying is if you don't like the weather, wait a minute. September and October can be very nice, hot or cold. A couple of years ago, we got a major blizzard on October 28. We had a bit of snow this past week, although further north in the higher elevations, they had accumulating snow.

I love NH and my favorite places are north of the White MOuntains. We used to go to Errol regularly when the kids were young and always spotted a moose (or two or three). Black bears have made a wonderful comeback and even make their way down to Massachusetts on occasion.

You seem to have an interest in the Ivy league universities. What are you hoping to see? If I had a choice between Brown or going to Newport for a day, I'd choose Newport hands down. (DD is a Brown alum so maybe I am just no longer impressed) Rhode Island School of Design, just next door has a nice museum.

And it only really rains from April to October in the northern states. AS winter begins, snow gets more likely. BUT people in northern New England know how to drive in the snow and the roads get cleared relatively quickly. And it is so pretty everywhere.

Thank you for the amazing reply! It is a shame our dates are set now or I would push it back another week, but it is what it is. I will probably flip it so Acadia and Maine are at the end so I can hopefully see more of the colours.

As for Cape Cod, I don't think I will need that long, but I do want to see it - I will make sure we drive all the way to the end! The weather doesn't bother me too much - if it is dry that would be great, but I will come prepared for all weather!

I am excited about the White Mountains, but not sure I have looked at anything north of there. Where would you suggest? I would love to see some moose and bears! I saw two moose in Canada last year, but it was very fleeting!

The Ivy Leagues have always interested me, I don't really know why! I really like architecture and love the style of the a lot of the buildings at the universities over there... Harvard and Yale are definitely on the list, I could drop the others if something better comes up - will look into Newport, thanks!

Thanks again for the reply - it was so helpful :)

I am hoping to stay in the Conway area - hopefully we have better weather, if not I have waterproofs and hiking boots so we will just get on with it!

Also on my list! I am really excited about Maine :)

Interestingly we had dreadful rain for most of our time in New Hampshire too, we were there in August (except thankfully for the one day that we had booked to go river tubing, which was beautiful weather and an awesome day!) 👍

If you want to see Moose we have found the area around Lake Umbaggog good. The town nearest it is Errol. Pittsburg is the other big town in the North of NH. Bears are much harder to see. Moose walk the roads, bear stay in the woods. We have a few familiies that live in my neighborhood and are seen on occasion. /We leave them alone and they leave use alone. NEVER, EVER feed bears.

You can easily travel to Canada from NH. Quebec City is gorgeous and a short drive.

You can hike in wet weather but you need to make sure you have shoes that will grip. Slipping can be quite dangerous. Two of my kids do winter hiking. All I ask is they call me to confirm they still have 10 fingers and 10 toes when they get down from the mountain.

Good, easy hikes with a great reward at the top are Mt. Kearsage (off 89) and Mt. Major (in the Lakes region.) both are only a few hours and the views from the top are outstanding.

Rain is common year around but it is not usually all day. You can have a bright and beautiful morning with a gray and rainy evening. But it also keeps the green growing.

Come end enjoy this beautiful part of the country.

Thanks again for another very helpful reply! I have added Errol to the maybe list - time dependent :) I have also added Mt Kearsage and Mt Major to the list - I had a quick look and they look beautiful!

We went hiking in unseasonably cold and icy weather in Illinois and Wisconsin in March so we have a lot of the stuff we need already :) Hopefully we won't need them and at least every lake we see shouldn't be frozen this time!

Any other suggestions that come to mind feel free to keep them coming :pgig:

How experienced a hiker are you? I'm seeing both my two younger kids this weekend and I can ask them for suggestions, they all seem the same to me. There is a cog raolway that goes up Mt. Washington and an auto road. My kids think you should only hike on foot. I've seen the cog railway and it is quite verticle. Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the east and has snow year round but can be climbed in the summer, late spring and early fall.

I drive all over the state for work and as I drive, I'll think of you and let you know if something catches my eye. Unfortunately, during tourist season, my thoughts while driving are sometimes not welcoming as I try to get to court on time and someone is driving slowly and admiring the folliage along Lake Winnepasaukee.

I would say we like a hike, but are not the most experienced... Mt Washington may be beyond me, but I have considered driving it (although that also looks scary! ). We managed the moderate trails in Yosemite, but the advanced ones were beyond us! We mostly like to see pretty views without a vertical climb!

We may be one of the tourists driving slowly in October... Sorry in advance to all New Englanders!