Peak Foliage Season on the Kancamagus Highway

There’s nothing like fall in New England. And if you’re from here and have never lived anywhere else, you won’t know what I mean until you experience this magical season in a place that doesn’t allow for the leaves to change color, leaving you disappointed.

Being from New England, it’s easy to take the foliage season here for granted. I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was until a few years ago, when I moved to the south and expected to see shades of red, orange, and yellow in a climate that doesn’t experience a drastic change in weather like Massachusetts does. Maybe I needed a reality check, or maybe I just didn’t realize that this doesn’t happen everywhere. Can you blame me though? It’s the only thing I knew.

So I told myself that before I move south again, I must cherish this colorful season for one last time. Hence, my trip to the Kancamagus Highway (Route 112) in New Hampshire. Remember my blog post about the White Mountains back in August (if you don’t, see here: https://www.visionbalm.com/blog-1/2018/8/17/one-day-in-the-white-mountains)? Well, the Kancamagus Highway is the main road within the White Mountains that takes you between all of the scenic areas I talked about in that post. Only this time, I’m exploring it during peak foliage season.

For those of you who still don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t really care (stop reading this then!), or don’t understand why I am bragging about a funky-named road, here’s a link to its website: http://www.kancamagushighway.com/.

Every year, thousands of people from all over the world take the drive along the Kancamagus Highway through the White Mountains to see the famous shades of color peaking in October. It’s kind of sinister if you think about it - people basically pay lots of money to see trees dying. And with this death later comes the evil New England winter…..but that’s another story. I digress.

My parents and I spent a couple of hours traversing the Kancamagus Highway and taking photographs. It was just as beautiful as I remembered when I went there four years ago.

Alright, enough gibber-gabber. Here are some pictures for ya’ll!

As a note: it was very crowded. So it was difficult to take pictures without people in them, and there was a lot of fuss to find parking at each of the spots. Therefore, I recommend visiting in the early morning if you can. The evening can be even more crowded than during the day. On our drive home, we went through North Conway and were stuck in traffic that added another hour to our commute. Plan wisely my friends! And try to avoid driving through North Conway if you can…..

I know I didn’t go into too much detail with this post like I did for the last White Mountains post, but if you have any questions or need tips about this area, leave a comment below! I hope you decide to visit next year based off these photos.

Until next time my friends.