Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1281965
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 36 SEPTEMBER 2020 FAC E S + P L AC E S A flight of beer at Granite Coast. Foliage tourism never gets old. The sight of individual trees or whole forests flaming with color does the heart good, no matter how many New England autumns have quickened that heart. In fact, fall is the biggest tourist season in New England, surpassing even summer as bus tours flock here like migrating geese in early October. If you live far away, the bus tour is most likely how you view New England's annual pyrotechnic show ; if you live in the area, you will probably drive. Either way, most guides to leaf peeping tell their readers to drive two venerable scenic roads: the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest and the Mohawk Trail in northern Massachusetts. And while these are beautiful drives, they can get crowded, especially on a sunny Saturday in October. Drive, instead, on the roads less traveled, and you will be rewarded with lovely views, a sense of leisurely discovery, charming villages, and foliage that's every bit as dramatic as that along the busier routes. V E R M O N T ' S R O U T E 1 0 0 Free of billboards, Route 100 winds through some of the most quintessentially Vermont villages, with all the cider donuts and country stores that go with them. Wending its way along the eastern edge of the Green Mountains for 216 miles, this scenic two-lane byway runs from Newport, near the Canadian border, to the Massachusetts state line. Though driving the whole length of Route 100 is a rewarding weekend experience, any section of the road is delightful for visitors short on time. Route 100 passes through some of Vermont's most scenic towns, including Wilmington, Ludlow, Killington, Warren, and Stowe. The biggest town through which the road passes is Morristown, with a population of just over 5,200. Leaf peeping via the roads less traveled. REGINA COLE NEW ENGLAND ABLAZE New Hampshire and Vermont's backroads offer breathtaking scenery all year long and vibrant color in the fall. PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHUTTERSTOCK