Best Hotels For Fall Foliage Sightseeing

Fall is one of my favorite times to travel.  Getting outdoors doesn’t require a first-aid kit stocked with water and Benadryl and the scenery can be breathtaking.

Looking for a little fall travel inspiration?  Book a weekend at one of these hotels for a fall getaway and enjoy some of the greatest views of fall foliage.

3 Hotels For A Fall Vacation

Castlemaine Inn

Castlemaine Inn – Bar Harbor, Maine

Wake up on a crisp autumn morning in a New England bed and breakfast, spend the day driving through Arcadia National Park, and end with a quiet evening in front of your suite’s fireplace.  Add a knit scarf and leather boots and you have the perfect building blocks for a fall getaway at Castlemaine Inn in Bar Harbor.

St. Regis Aspen Resort – Aspen, Colorado

If you prefer decadent luxury over comfortable charm, the St. Regis may be provide a better backdrop to your fall fantasies.  Be pampered with butler services and spa treatments.  Listed on the 2010 Condé Nast Traveler Gold List, the St. Regis sits at the foot of the Aspen Mountain.  Bring your camera and your favorite book.

Glacier Park Lodge – East Glacier Park, Montana

Want to get away from it all this fall?  You can’t get much more away than the Glacier Park Lodge.  Built in 1912, this hotel provides easy access to Glacier National Park, and not much else.  But what the Lodge is (purposefully) lacking in modern technology, it makes up for with rustic charm and sweeping views.  Leave the blackberry at home and let yourself get back to basics for a weekend in this over-sized log cabin.

Photos courtesy of banspy on Flickr, Castlemaine Inn

Autumn Leaves

Budget Travel Magazine published this article a couple of weeks ago, so I thought I’d share! You really can’t beat the prices. Move quickly though, these deals expire soon. Some highlights:

Up for some camping? Fall is the perfect season for it! Nights are cool, days are pleasant, and the leaves make daily hikes unimaginably pretty. Crawford Notch Campgrounds in New Hampshire offers tent sites for only $29 or cabins for $64.

Crawford Notch State Park

Another good bet in North Hampshire is the White Trellis Motel in North Conway, which is offering rooms at $69 during the week and $79 on the weekends. Hurry! Leaves are changing quickly up there.

The next two weeks are the last weeks you can take advantage of the Moose Watching Tour and Lodging Package for $119, at the Moose Mountain Inn.  2 night minimum stay. Sleep in a comfy bed and maybe see some moose! Hopefully not in your room.

A Friendly Moose.

Zoom Zoom – rent a convertible and check out the sights and sounds of Cape Cod. You can stay for two nights at the Hampton Inn in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for $150/night including convertible rental. Fun! I did this sort of thing a number of years ago on my own and it was one of the best weekend trips I’d ever taken.

Happy travels from one autumn lover to the next.

Photos: Cliff 1066, Muffet, Aske Holst

Maine Fall Foliage

It’s August 31, and that means that in the very Northeastern part of our country, including in Maine, temperatures are already starting to drop and leaves will start to change in just a couple of weeks. The first foliage reports for Maine begin around September 15, so you’d better get moving!

Check out these Maine-area hotels and bed & breakfasts for cozy, warm places to stay during your leaf peeping jaunts. I tried to pick ones that have some character.

Northwest and Northeast Maine Hotels (Hurry! Peak foliage is as early as September 30)

Old Iron Inn – adorable B&B, looks like  big red barn!

Northeastland Hotel – great location, friendly staff

Central Maine Hotels (Peak foliage is around second week in October)

Second Street Bed & Breakfast - class Colonial home, about 30 minutes from Augusta

Ware Street Inn – classic bed & breakfast

Mountain Village Inn – more of an estate feel, gorgeous surroundings

Southern/Coastal Maine Hotels (Peak foliage is second half of October)

Greystone Bed & Breakfast – close to the water, 1840 Greek Revival home with large rocking chair porch

Brunswick Inn on Park Row – routinely rated one of Maine’s best

Hopefully, these Maine hotels and Bed & Breakfasts will get you started. Book soon though, the season is changing quickly! Can’t stop thinking about having some clam chowder on a big rocking chair front porch at one of these hotels…

Photo Credits: Flickr (Arindam)

Vermont Fall Foliage

Attention, leaf-peepers! The season is almost upon us. In just a few short weeks, the upper Northeast’s trees should begin to bloom with fiery reds, yellows and oranges. If you’re an autumn-lover and leaf color chaser, you know that Vermont has some of the best color in the country. Your best bed to budget-friendly lodging in Vermont is to avoid the peak leaf changing season, and visit in either earlier September or very late October, depending on the area. And, avoid hotels and bed and breakfasts in Vermont’s “major” cities such as Burlington.

Here are a couple of suggestions where you should be able to get a good deal:

Old Red Mill – Wilmington, Vermont

This hotel is in South-Central Vermont, in an area called Mt. Snow, and you’ll be close to the major highways so that you can visit the state parks and all the beautiful foliage you can handle. It’s a cozy, comfy lodge that’s great to visit in winter, too.

Latchis Hotel – Brattleboro, Vermont

This is more of a conventional looking hotel, but it offers good rates even at the height of leaf-peeping season. It’s actually a very cool Art-Deco structure that was completely renovated and has a movie theater attached – guests get a discount!

Remember, trying to hit the exact peak of the colors is nice, but it can be very frustrating. Just go out and enjoy these hotels and the beautiful surroundings – amazing color, if you hit it right, is an awesome bonus.

Photo Credits: PD Breen