I am planning a 10 day trip for this fall with my girlfriend to the NE states for a mix of beer and fall scenery. The current plan is to leave on Friday and be back Sunday during the first few weeks of October. Below is my first draft of a route. We seem to have 1-3 hours of drive time each day to allow for plenty of stops for beer and sites. I am going this direction as hitting VT first puts us there at a part of the week where Hill Farmstead is closed. Unfortunately going the route I chose might make for a miss on TreeHouse depending on how quickly we can make the ~17 hour drive from Iowa. Any thoughts on the route, any breweries I am missing or ones I have that I should maybe skip? I don't want to over pack each day but also want to make sure I don't miss any must see stops!! Also, Any insight on alternate routes for scenery along the way or any cool tourist stops would be awesome!! Trip Map https://drive.google.com/open?id=16kkdrgR_R4x8s-Qxr8vpjS-UlKg&usp=sharing Cheers!
Re: Tree House, the new brewery in Charlton will very likely be open by the fall, and hours/ days of operation may be expanded, so keep an eye on that. Look into Prison City or Suarez Family to break up the long drive across New York.
I know there are a lot of great breweries on the way to Portland from Boston, like Banded Horn and Barreled Souls. You wont need to stop at Trillium in Boston if you're going to the Canton brewery. Also I hope that the starting/end point isnt your actual address.
Looks like a great trip. You don't really need to go to both Trillium locations. One will suffice (inventory is the same at both), and I'd recommend Canton since the Boston location is too small to hang out at and they don't offer onsite pours there. Without deviating much from your existing route, here are some other good breweries to consider: MA - Cambridge Brewing Company, Mystic, Exhibit A, Springdale, Castle Island NH - Deciduous, Stoneface ME - Oxbow Portland, Austin Street, Barreled Souls VT - Lost Nation, Four Quarters, Burlington Beer Co., Zero Gravity/American Flatbread
There's pros and cons to hitting Canton Trillium instead of Boston Trillium. Canton is in an industrial park. Nothing scenic there. Fort Point in Boston is really nice. Lots of walking around there and maybe Trillium's taproom (and restaurant?) will be open by then. Or you could just buy your beer to go in Boston and then hit Row 34 for Trillium on tap and excellent seafood. Fort Hill Brewery at the base of Mount Tom in East Hampton seems pretty close to your route too. Supposed to be very picturesque... definitely in the autumn. Very jealous of your vacation.
FYI, Sept 26 is the Beer Meets Wood Event in Portland Maine. I am actually thinking a similar vacation but shorter. Starting in CT, hit RI, MA, ME, NH, VT, then back to CT.
Route looks good to me, as have been the suggestions from others here. From a scenic drive standpoint, Columbus Day weekend tends to be the standard for "peak" foliage, but obviously that can swing earlier/later based on how hot/dry the summer is, and how quickly the cold arrives in September/October. Rumor is that Tree House's new spot in Charlton will be open in June/July, so as long as that holds true they should be close to full speed by October and will probably have very different hours than they currently do. You can also work in a lunch/dinner stop at Armsby Abby in Worcester - it's only about 20 minutes off I-90 and they'll have HF on tap for you to get a sneak preview of your VT leg.
Based on your route you will drive through Littleton, NH. Stop at Schilling. Good spot for lunch. You will drive by Lost Nation and Rock Art on the way from Hill Farmstead to Alchemist. Lost Nation is a pretty good meal option. Burlington Beer Company is a pretty good stop. Looks like a great time! Have fun. Based on your route, River Roost is a bit out of the way, but they make some great brews in White River Junction. You may be able to set up an IP trade for while you are in the area.
Prime leaf peeping season. Depending on the days around Columbus day weekend, many of those roads will turn into linear parking lots. Take it into consideration if there are any hard deadlines to get a specific place at a specific time.
Excellent feedback so far! Thank you all for the additional options for drinks and food. I will see what can fit in the route. I have a feeling this rout may adjust several times before October. LOL! It is really good news to hear there is a possibility of not missing Tree House with their new brewery. Was a little bummed I might miss it but was not wanting to give up Hill Farmstead in exchange.
Foliage is one of the main reasons we picked this time. Is traffic really that bad? Right now we are leaning towards leaving Oct 6th ad working out way through the next 9 days. That puts us in Boston on Columbus day and VT/NH/ME that next weekend.
Weekends can get particularly bad in "touristy" spots like Stowe, and what really makes it tough is most roads in VT other than the main highways are 1-lane each way with minimal ability to pass slow drivers, farm equipment, etc... As long as you give yourself plenty of time, and are prepared for longer than average drive times (and lines), you'll be fine. If there's any way you can configure the trip to hit HF/Alchemist on Thursday or Friday instead of Saturday, the crowds will be significantly easier.
Last year peak was post mid October, like 3rd week in October. It does vary, but later can be better sometimes (and less crowds after Columbus).
Instead of going up across i-90 in ny. I'd take i-80 thru PA. Pick up I-287 and take the palisades parkway thru bear mtn park to make a stop at industrial arts. From there, head up to i-84, stop at hudson valley brewery in Beacon, and then up the Taconic parkway, stopping at suarez joining I-90 south of Albany. Or just continue on i-84 since it's terminus dumps you out pretty much where the new TH brewery will be.
On your drive through Portsmouth NH consider stopping at Great Rhythm, like 2 mins off I-95. Also, not far away from that (40 mins total off your route round trip) is Garrison City.
