Leaf Peeping Road Trip through Vermont and New Hampshire

While the specific origin remains fuzzy, an early appearance of the term Leaf Peeper—or Leaf Peeker, as initially used—is said to have surfaced as a newspaper headline in 1960s Vermont. Foliage tourism is legendary all over New England, but the neighboring states of Vermont and New Hampshire offer up a kaleidoscopic adventure in a tidy nutshell. Their shared border, similar shapes and compact size—respectively ranked as the 45th and 46th smallest states in the nation—is a handy springboard for a wide range of pictorial opportunities.

Above photograph © Adam Silverman

According to New Hampshire-based nature and conservation photographer Jerry Monkman, the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire have very different geographies, which yield fall foliage photos featuring very different looks.

“In the Green Mountains, you can find a lot of forested hillsides sporting colorful foliage, mixed with farms, pastoral fields, and a few big peaks,” he says, “while the White Mountains are made up of a big jumble of forests and mountain peaks without farmland or pastures mixed in, except on the outskirts. It’s just too rugged, and it’s hard to grow anything in New Hampshire besides trees.”

Photographic Opportunities Around Every Corner

Vermont photographer Adam Silverman asserts, “Fall in New England is just spectacular. You have nice long days, and it’s still light late enough for a full day of shooting. It’s not like wintertime when the sun sets at four o’clock, and you’re really struggling to squeeze some photos in before it gets dark.”

Indeed, while the coming of fall signals an earlier sunset and later sunrise, the relatively high latitudes of New Hampshire and Vermont mean that the sun rises and sets at a more oblique angle, which affords photographers more time to benefit from the subtle effects of dawn and twilight illumination. Combine this with the unseasonably warm, dry weather of summer stretching itself into fall, and you have the recipe for an awesome photo excursion. Says Silverman, “When it comes to photography, you really can’t pick a better time of year. It’s not super cold, and the weather is usually cooperative, so your gear isn’t freezing or getting rained on.”

Along the Connecticut River

The mighty Connecticut River serves as a natural dividing line between the two states, with Interstate 91 traversing the region along the Vermont side of the border from the top of Massachusetts, in the south, to the town of Barnet, in the Northeast Kingdom, where the river veers to the northeast along U.S. Route 3 in New Hampshire, and I-91 continues northward to Canada. This route, known as the Connecticut River Byway, feeds into a scenic mesh of smaller roadways and bridges to connect the two states from top to bottom, making it a convenient point of entry for a fall foliage road trip.

In the southern portion of both states, one picturesque photo op that dots the country roads flanking the river are quaint covered bridges, which are plentiful in New Hampshire’s Monadnock and Dartmouth/Sunapee regions, as well as in Vermont’s Windham and Windsor counties.

In the border town of Windsor, Vermont, Route 44 leads you to the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, one of America’s longest historic covered bridges, and the only one with the potential to transport you to another state, offering a direct access to the town of Cornish, New Hampshire.

Gateway to Vermont

Nestled on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River, 18 miles north of Windsor, the village of White River Junction is significant as both a transportation hub, and a gateway to some of Vermont’s most iconic scenes.

This subdivision of Hartford, Vermont sits at the nexus of two major interstates, I-91 running north/south, and I-89 running diagonally from Burlington, Vermont to Concord, New Hampshire. To make the most of the scenery, consider detouring to one of two secondary routes: US 5, which follows the river northward to St Johnsbury, continuing through the Northeast Kingdom to the Canadian border, or US 4, which meanders eastward from Upstate New York, passing through Rutland, Killington, and Woodstock, Vermont, before crossing the river to New Hampshire, where it runs from Lebanon to a terminus just north of Concord.

“Route 4 is a beautiful drive, especially on the Western side,” says Silverman. “Starting at Vermont’s eastern border, you can hit Woodstock, and then go up and over the Green Mountains past Killington. After that, the road leads down into Rutland and ultimately into the lowlands near the southern tip of Lake Champlain, when you get all the way to the west.”

One of the state’s most spectacular natural wonders—the Quechee Gorge—is located along Route 4, near the village of the same name. “There’s a bridge for both cars and foot traffic that goes over the top, and you can also hike down to the bottom,” Silverman notes. Often referred to as Vermont’s Little Grand Canyon, “The gorge is over 150 feet deep, and very rocky,” he adds, “which makes it kind of a unique landscape for Vermont.”

Sunrise and Sunset at Iconic Vermont Farms

Following Route 4 seven miles southwest, the town of Woodstock is a central location for photographing two of Vermont’s most iconic scenes, the Jenne and Sleepy Hollow farms. Silverman suggests making a day of it, noting “You can do both farms in the same day, starting and ending at the same place to capture the different light, since they’re only about a half hour to 45 minutes apart.”

Sleepy Hollow Farm is located a few miles north of Woodstock, in the town of Pomfret. Follow Route 12 north to Old River Road and then onto Cloudland Road. “The farm is in a valley just east of the road, so you’re facing the sunrise,” explains Silverman. “At first the sun sort of illuminates the air and glows behind the ridge, which keeps the farm in shadow. At the right time of year, you can get some frost in the valley and around the barn. The hillside behind the barn usually has wonderful foliage and, eventually, the rising sun peeks up over the ridge and starts throwing down those long rays of sunlight into the valley.”

After the sunrise reaches its peak, Silverman recommends looking for other photographic subjects in the area and returning to the farm in the late afternoon. “Sunset there is also really pretty,” he notes. “The sun is behind you, illuminating everything 180-degrees from where it was in the morning.”

Jenne Farm is located about 15 minutes south of Woodstock, off Route 106. While Silverman has never photographed there at sunrise, the pictures he has seen are busy with photographers setting up tripods on the hillside at dawn. “Since this location is super popular at sunrise, and much less at sunset, it actually might be better to go there later in the day,” he suggests.

Making the Most of Harsh Midday Light

Armed with his Canon EOS R mirrorless, BG-E22 battery grip, EF 16-35 f/2.8L, EF 24-70 f/2.8L, EF 70-200 f/2.8L, RF 24-105 f/4L IS lenses, and a Canon EF to RF mount adapter packed into his Tamrac backpack, Burlington-based Silverman generally plans an itinerary with the goal of where he wants to be for sunset, and then works backward from there.

“When you set out with a sunset in mind, you need to plan for harsher lighting conditions during the middle part of the day, before it gets into the afternoon,” he explains. “I like to spend the whole day shooting, or at least a solid afternoon leading up to evening. Or if I get up for sunrise, I want to shoot for a longer time frame, especially when driving to the other side of the state. I want to get what I’ve set out to capture, but I also want to photograph as I’m driving on various roads. If I see a beautiful vista or a particularly vibrant tree, I want to stop and figure out a way to get some good imagery, even if it’s noon or 1:00 p.m. and the lighting conditions aren’t traditionally ideal.”

He uses a few different strategies when faced with less than ideal lighting conditions. One is to balance harsh sunlight with reflected light from river valleys. During a recent excursion in Central Vermont, along a section of Route 100 called the Mad River Byway, he went into the river itself to shoot. “It was very nicely shaded with trees on both sides, and the light was kind of dappled,” he says. “You can really make some nice images in those lighting conditions, even though it’s not the best time of day. Maybe there’s a stand of trees in the distance that the sun lights up, but everything else is soft and muted.”

For scenes with flowing water, Silverman also likes to play with movement by slowing his shutter speed, using his Magnus TR-13 Travel Tripod, and adding an Ice 10-stop neutral density filter to boost the slow shutter effect. “I use 30-second to 1-minute exposures to smooth out the water and get some colorful reflections of the trees on the surface,” he explains. One easily accessible location he recommends near Route 100 is Warren Falls, a popular summertime swimming hole, where fall color adds interest to the crystalline water flowing through the site’s rocky cliffs, potholes, and pools.

On mildly windy days with intermittent cloud cover, Silverman uses a similar technique to record the motion of clouds streaking overhead. “Letting movement happen in the frame rather than freezing it gives things a very different feel,” says Silverman. “There’s a dynamic quality that you wouldn’t get at 1/100 or 1/200 of a second.”

Another approach he uses when photographing in harsh light is to go close. “Sometimes I like to focus on macro imagery, getting right up next to a tree for shallow-depth-of-field shots with just a couple of leaves,” he says. “Especially early in the season, I do a lot more macro work, because you don’t have the sweeping vista yet, but you can spend half an hour just working one beautiful red tree.”

In these situations, he shoots wide open using his 24 – 70, or even the 70 – 200 lens, to really focus in on individual leaves or an interesting element of the tree. “You can shoot into the sun with leaves as a filter and get some wonderful soft colored light, while also seeing the details in the leaves,” he points out. “You can make those kinds of photos at any time of day.”

In addition to finding workarounds for harsh light, Silverman also advises photographers not to be afraid of cloudy weather or shooting in the rain. “I’ve had some wonderful drives and made some great pictures on gray, cloudy, and even rainy days, capturing low clouds and fog in the mountains, or some raindrops on the leaves,” he says. “Plus, a cloudy situation can act as a giant softbox,” he adds. “The combination between fall foliage and cloudy, low-contrast light can really make the colors pop.”

Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom

The Northeast Kingdom, a three-county chunk of the state’s northeast corner, got its name during a 1949 speech by a former state governor. Roughly bounded by Route 2 on the south and route 100 to the West, this remote corner of Vermont offers breath-taking scenery and authentic New England charm in equal measure.

For the latter, Silverman recommends Peacham, said to be the most photographed town in New England. He describes Peacham, located just west of Interstate 91 and south of Route 2, as, “one of those middle-of-nowhere towns, that almost feels like time travel. There’s a red barn and a white New England church with a steeple that catches the last light. As the sun sets behind you it spotlights the church and the barn, next to a herd of dairy cows in the pasture. At the height of fall foliage season, it’s as quintessential a scene as you could imagine.”

For those who like to mix their photography with a bit of exercise, Silverman suggests two scenic lookouts. The first, Nichols Ledge, is rock outcrop located just outside the town of Cabot, overlooking Nichols Pond. A tiny parking area at the end of a dirt road takes you to the trail head, from which it’s a one-mile hike up to the 400-foot overlook. In late afternoon, “You look right down on Nichols Pond, surrounded by gorgeous foliage as the sun slips down behind the Green Mountains off to the west,” explains Silverman. “It’s just a spectacular location.”

Another idyllic spot is located 12 miles south of Cabot, off route 232, in Groton State Forest. According to Silverman, the hike up Owl’s Head Mountain is similar to Nichols Ledge. “The parking lot is right there, and you can just walk up, along very well-marked trails, with no scrambling or technical ability needed,” he points out. “From the summit, you look down the length of Kettle Pond, which runs east/west along a valley.”

Amid the beautiful foliage on the surrounding hillsides, on a clear day one can see Camels Hump in the distance, Vermont’s third highest peak and one of the state’s most iconic landmarks. Exclaims Silverman, “You have all that Vermontiness there in one spot.”

Setting Sights on New Hampshire’s Rugged Peaks

According to Jerry Monkman, what makes many northern New England roadways into popular foliage drives today is the fact that they were originally constructed to go through mountain passes. Among the most popular, he names Vermont 100, which runs north/south from just below the Canadian border, through Killington down to the state’s southern edge; US 302, a former 1890s carriage road that now extends from Montpelier, Vermont, through the heart of the White Mountains, before descending south to Portland, Maine; and New Hampshire’s route 112, otherwise known as the Kancamagus Highway. “These roads were built to find the way through,” he says. “That’s what gives us these awesome views of the mountains.

As noted earlier, the geography of New Hampshire is considerably different from its neighbor to the west. One of the major differences is the size and age of the Green Mountains in relation to the Whites. The White Mountains are a much younger range,” says Monkman. “We’re still talking a few hundred million years, but the Whites generally top out at a couple of thousand feet higher than the Green Mountains, and they have taller, more exposed peaks.”

This is especially noticeable when traveling along Route 2, which traverses Vermont and then skirts the edge of White Mountain National Forest just north of the Presidential Range. “The foliage here often turns first, before anything else in the mountains,” Monkman says. “And it’s very dramatic, but it’s often hard to find good roadside views to photograph.”

He points out that landscape photographers who are used to shooting traditional sunrise and sunset scenes from the road might find the White Mountains particularly challenging, saying, “It’s a forest, there are trees in the way everywhere, and not many lakes and fields where you can get those big landscape views.”

Presidential Vantage Points

For the best views of the Presidentials from the valley, he suggests heading northwest of the mountains along Route 2, to explore the back roads of towns like Jefferson, or farther east, along Route 16, at the base of the fee-based Mount Washington Auto Road. The 7.6 mile drive up Mount Washington is a popular tourist activity and, weather permitting, it offers a variety of scenic overlooks. Yet given the more than 6,000-foot summit, and the altitude of the other surrounding mountains, Monkman notes, “When getting up high, you don’t necessarily see much foliage, but you do get views down.”

Back in the valley, the Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge offers a haven for expansive landscapes to those willing to do some walking. Located near the Mount Washington Regional Airport, this 6,500-acre tract of wetlands and forest includes a 2-mile flat rail trail, which Monkman describes as having, “one of the best sweeping views of the Presidentials you can find in the Whites. In autumn, you can also see migrating water fowl coming through,” he adds, “and moose are always a possibility anywhere there are ponds.”

North of Route 2, near the town of Berlin, Jericho Mountain State Park offers scenic lookouts and miles of trail riding for ATV, UTV, trail bike, and snowmobile enthusiasts. Says Monkman, “You can actually rent ATVs and drive to some pretty spectacular views of Mount Washington and the Presidential Range from there.”

Yet, when photographing in the White Mountains, Monkman generally prioritizes logistics over local activities or aesthetics. “Typically, I’m either hiking in the dark, or standing in a back-country location so I can be above tree line at golden hour,” he says. “I also photograph a lot during overcast days, where I’m just hiking in the woods shooting waterfalls, forest scenes, and more intimate kinds of landscape work.”

When shooting in these conditions, Monkman’s biggest tip is to make sure to expose your scenes bright enough. “I almost forget how vibrant it gets every year when the foliage is peaking,” he says. “The conditions can be visually overwhelming. The tendency is to look at your LCD and maybe underexpose a little bit because you like the color saturation you’re seeing.”

But rather than trusting your eye, he advises, “Check the histogram and make sure the curve is in the middle or slightly overexposed. You definitely don’t want to underexpose, so you have some extra data to work with.”

Fall Colors for Mountaineers

When heading out on a photo excursion, Monkman loads a MindShift Gear rotation 180° backpack with his Canon 5D Mark IV and three or four lenses. He spends most of his time with wide angle zooms, either the Canon EF 16 – 35 mm f/2.8 or EF 24 – 70 mm f/2.8, but he also packs an EF 100 mm f/2.8 macro lens for close ups, and an EF 70 – 200 mm f/2.8, which he uses with a 2x teleconverter to pull details out of the landscape. Since he is also an accomplished filmmaker, Monkman often totes two Induro Carbon Fiber tripods with different heads. “For stills, I use a Kirk Ball head, and when I’m shooting video I use a Manfrotto Fluid Video head,” he explains. “I strap my smaller tripod to the bag, but the bigger one I just carry in my hands.”

One of his favorite spots in the White Mountain National Forest is the Pemigewasset Wilderness area, “basically 45,000 acres of just woods and moose,” he explains.

A 3-mile hike to Zealand Falls is a popular back-country expedition, which is accessible off Route 302 near Carroll, New Hampshire. “It’s a relatively flat hike except for the last quarter-mile, that’s more or less straight up,” he points out. “There are some nice hardwood forests both at the waterfall and around Zealand Pond just below, which is why you get the pretty foliage. You can even stay overnight near the falls at an Appalachian Mountain Club hut if you make advance reservations,” he adds. “They’ll feed you and give you a bunk.”

Another easy trek in this area is an ascent of Mount Willard, in Crawford Notch. “It’s about an hour up and you get a lot of bang for your buck with that,” says Monkman. “You hike about 800 feet up, but you’re about 1,500 feet above the valley because of how the road drops off on the other side of the cliff. It’s a panoramic view of a classic steep glacier-carved valley with route 302 running down the middle.”

On the western side of the mountains, a 30-minute hike leads to Artists Bluff, in Franconia Notch. “Both of these locations are going to include views of the road, but they’re very dramatic views of the valley, so they’re still pretty and photogenic,” he adds. Finally, in Pinkham Notch, off Route 16, a 20- to 30-minute trek leads to Square Ledge, which offers views across the notch toward Mount Washington and Tuckerman’s Ravine.

The Road through the Forest

Cutting through the southern half of White Mountain National Forest, the 34.5-mile Kancamagus Highway is widely considered one of the best spots for easy access to fall foliage views. Started as a Depression-era public works project, it took 25 years to carve this two-lane highway out of the thick woodlands and boulder-choked rivers between the towns of Lincoln and Conway. “It’s a popular spot with some good pullouts and overviews of the mountains, which I use as a starting point for photography,” says Monkman. “I always want to get on the trail and hike around and find spots that you can’t get to from your car.”

Heading eastward from Lincoln, Monkman suggests stopping at the Lincoln Woods Trail for a walk along the east branch of the Pemigewasset River. “There’s always good foliage in there,” he says.

Eleven miles east of Lincoln, just after a bracing hairpin turn, the Hancock Overlook has breathtaking views of the Osceola Range while, 2 miles farther east, the Kancamagus Pass marks the route’s highest elevation, “Which is where most people stop,” Monkman says. “Both vantage points are really good if you just want to drive up and see sweeping views of hardwood forests with fall colors.

The Swift River flows east along the highway from its start on Mt. Kancamagus to the highway’s terminus, in Conway. Among the many picturesque sites this offers are the Rocky Gorge scenic area, Lower Falls recreation area and several other waterfalls. Monkman says that “Sabbaday Falls is an easy walk, but it gets crowded during foliage season.” A bit farther afield, he also recommends Pitcher and Champney Falls on the Champney Falls trail, which goes up Mount Chocorua.

Seven miles west of the town of Conway, the Albany Bridge offers a quintessential New England autumn scene of a covered bridge crossing the Swift River. “The bridge is tucked down in the river valley, so it never gets great light, but you can get some nice side lighting on the river in late afternoon and the area usually has nice foliage.”

After photographing the bridge, the adjacent Boulder Loop trail offers both exercise and a chance for panoramic views. “It’s a 3-mile loop that gets you up high off the valley,” says Monkman.

Lake Country Color

One of the many factors influencing fall color is moisture. Trees growing adjacent to a body of water get moisture all the time, and this constant hydration generally results in fall foliage that lasts longer than in drier locales.

With this fact in mind, Central New Hampshire’s Lakes region offers a rich palette for fall color. “There are lot of lakes and ponds you can drive to relatively easily,” says Monkman, “so I basically pull out a map, identify a lake or pond facing where I want to go, and find my way there.”

Just to the west of Lake Winnipesaukee, the hike up Mount Major is another of Monkman’s favorite picture destinations. He says, “It’s not a hard hike, but it’s a beautiful treeless summit, with sweeping views of the lake and the Belknap mountain range, which top out at 800 to 1,200 feet.”

On the other side of the lake, he recommends exploring the many little inlets near the towns of Wolfeboro and Moultonboro, as well as the Red Hill Fire Tower Loop Trail, a 3.3-mile hike culminating atop a public access fire tower with a commanding view of Lake Winnipesaukee, Squam Lake and the surrounding mountain ranges.

Fall Foliage Coastal Views

Since Monkman lives near the New Hampshire seacoast, he shoots a lot of autumn scenes in this region, too. “I like to photograph the salt marshes along route 1A during the fall, where you don’t necessarily see trees,” he says.

The peak time for these scenes is in late October and even into early November. “They get that beautiful golden russet kind of hue, and the seacoast has a lot of oak and maples, which turn a similar color as the salt marshes. Early morning light on that stuff is pretty brilliant,” he adds.

One of his favorite spots for these scenes is the seaside town of Rye, around Odiorne Point State Park. “It’s a couple hundred acres of woods and wetlands, which has great access to the coast, and then salt marshes on the other side of the road.”

Another site in Rye that Monkman recommends for sunrise ocean views is Wallis Sands State Beach. “Much of this is just sand, but there are some rocky landscapes I like to shoot north of the beach,” he says.

And for lighthouse enthusiasts, Monkman suggests checking out Route 1B in New Castle, the only town in New Hampshire composed entirely of islands. “It’s a little off the beaten track,” he says, “but there are two lighthouses you can see from Great Island Common in New Castle.”

Portsmouth Harbor Light is on land, yet Whaleback Light is offshore, in the mouth of the river. “If you time it right and use all your apps, you can capture the sun or the moon rising right above the lighthouse,” he explains. “This scene is more about water, and sky and whatever light you get that day than it is about the seasons.”

Parting Tip

As Adam Silverman points out, there’s a lot of beauty to be found in the scenic vistas and iconic landmarks of New Hampshire and Vermont, particularly in autumn. “They are iconic for a reason, and picture postcard perfect under just about any weather and lighting condition,” he says.

Yet in addition to ticking the classic spots off your list, he suggests asking local residents for foliage tips. “They’ll have a pretty good idea of where conditions are good, and where things aren’t so good,” Silverman says, explaining, “New England has a lot of old country stores, and the proprietors see a lot of leaf peepers. There’s nothing wrong with popping in and asking, ‘What are you hearing about the foliage? Where is there some good color?’ They’ll usually point you to a back road, or to a location you might never have thought to explore. I’ve had that experience on more than one occasion,” he points out. “Someone will say, ‘Oh you really want to go up and over this hill, and down into that valley, there are some great pockets of color along the way.’ Don’t be shy. Ask the locals and trust their advice.”

For more articles featuring photo tips for autumn color, click here for our Fall Foliage Landing Page.

Do you have any favorite fall photo destinations in Vermont and New Hampshire? If so, please let us know in the Comments section, below.