Maine fall foilage and Atlantic coast trip

[wwesthof]

We are planning a trip to the northeast in the early fall from Florida with our 26' Flying Cloud. Since neither of us have been to Maine or New Hampshire we are looking for suggestions on RV sites that would put us in the heart of the foliage during the last week of September and first week of October.
The trip will begin in mid August and then we will return south immediately after our time in Maine. It would also be nice to find another RV site along the Atlantic during mid-September. If anyone has some suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! Wayne

[AlanMcD]

Any of the boondocking campgrounds on the Kancamagus Hwy. We like Jigger Johnson Campground. And for Atlantic coastal camping we've stayed at Salisbury State Park in MA.

[moosetags]

We have camped in Maine and New Hampshire several times. Select a few campgrounds that look interesting and give them a call. There are two issues that you need to consider. One is that new England can get really crowded in leaf turning season. The other is that some campgrounds start closing down for the year on October 1st.

Brian

[depot44]

Originally Posted by wwesthof

put us in the heart of the foliage during the last week of September and first week of October.

Thanks! Wayne

That first week time-frame will likely be a tad early for peak foliage except for far northern NH. Here's a link to a tool that can give you an idea of when foliage will peak across the state of NH:
https://www.visitnh.gov/foliage-tracker
You can move the slider to see where/when peak is expected. Of course, mother nature being a bit unpredictable, it changes some every year.

Many campgrounds remain open till the Columbus Day weekend.

Enjoy your visit, and hope you're enjoying your model 26, we have one on order and are expecting to pick it up in April.

Ken

[Mansderm161]

Originally Posted by wwesthof

We are planning a trip to the northeast in the early fall from Florida with our 26' Flying Cloud. Since neither of us have been to Maine or New Hampshire we are looking for suggestions on RV sites that would put us in the heart of the foliage during the last week of September and first week of October.
The trip will begin in mid August and then we will return south immediately after our time in Maine. It would also be nice to find another RV site along the Atlantic during mid-September. If anyone has some suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! Wayne

Please post how your trip goes. I'm interested in this route too

[Acheron2010]

Two great camps in late September, more than half empty when I arrived.
Feather River Campground in Bethel, Maine.
Jacob's Brook Campground in Orford, New Hampshire.

My route took me up the coastline (mmm, Camden, Maine has a great state park) to Acadia, which was nice, but the horrible roads detracted from the beauty of the place, across the middle of Maine, through the White Mountains of Vermont, then south thru New Hampshire as the weather and campground closures dictated.

[Dexterpix]

Hi Wayne,

What kind of camping do you enjoy? Full hook ups/ some hook ups (electric) or full dry (no hook ups) I can offer experience with dry camping if that's your thing. Also how far north are you willing to go? Maine doesn't really start till you get above Augusta (I think even Bangor) and color starts to come in early SEPT far north thru mid Oct in western MA and northwest CT.

Joe D

Mt Katahdin ME October 2009

[ROBERT CROSS]

I would also consider the Adirondack St Park in NY, largest SP in the Continental US.

Bob
🇺🇸

Piseco Lake, DW has Camped there all her life & Mountain View.

[wwesthof]

Joe D.
We like luxury but also enjoy off the grid! This month we spent a week on our tree farm in north Florida without any connections. But after a few days it does get tiresome to watch the batteries deplete, the water slowly disappear and the tanks filling up!
Probably 3 days of boondocking and then going 1st class is our preferred travel.
Thanks
Wayne

[wwesthof]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

I would also consider the Adirondack St Park in NY, largest SP in the Continental US.

Bob
[emoji631]

Piseco Lake, DW has Camped there all her life & Mountain View.

Bob
Love the Adirondacks!!! I grew up in upstate and miss the mountains. After living in Florida for the past 30 years we bought a 2nd home in the north Georgia mountains. Our neighbors call me a "half back" since I only went half way back to NY!!
Wayne

[dhroberts]

Don't miss Camden Hills State Park near the mid-coast town of Camden!

[wwesthof]

Well, we started making reservations for our fall Maine trip and came to a roadblock! After several attempts at trying to make reservations it seems like the State requires out of towners to quarantine for 14 days!!!!! Anyone from Maine able to confirm this???

[OTRA15]

TBD apparently:

https://bangordailynews.com/2020/06/...tate-visitors/

What are the campgrounds telling you?

[PKI]

There is a lot of territory to leaf peep in New England and the turn will vary every year. Just because you see a forecast in print, does not make it so. The year we went, we were early and saw very little turn.

However, we enjoyed a lot of covered bridges and the Adirondacks were just beautiful ....green, but beautiful. The run down into Vermont through the lake area was stunning as well.

So plan a trip that includes good food, sights other than leaf peeping and a plan that is easily changed to route where the freezing weather hit the week before.

The roads in the North suffer from frost heaving. We crossed off part of our Maine route due to a terrible section of road. We tried to tow and if we had been solo, maybe could have worked. So basecamp and solo trips with tow vehicle would be our recommendation.

Our trip was in 2015. Some day we will try it again. Worth the effort. Besides it's about time for some lobster again.

Enjoy that trip. Pat

[Computore]

I live in Maine. This is a real thing. It is next to impossible to enforce except for campgrounds. By fall it might be relaxed.

I can tell you most locals are not that excited about out of state visitors right now. Everyone here knows our economy depends on tourists but they also know we only have around 300 ICU beds in the entire state. With so few emergency resources people are a bit on edge.

I hope you can come to this beautiful state. Fall is a magical time here.

[Acheron2010]

Originally Posted by Computore

we only have around 300 ICU beds in the entire state. With so few emergency resources people are a bit on edge.

When a new campground project is proposed to a city or county, the respective planning commission ensures it is passed around the various departments for assessment and impact on existing resources. Police figure out if they have enough officers for the expected population. Fire figure out if they have enough equipment and personnel for potential fires, and is any mitigation required for fuel storage or other hazards. The city or county planners review whether there are enough retail stores, schools, hospitals, transportation and infrastructure to support the new project. If not, additional fees and taxes are assessed, and the project may be required to build a store, a school, a hospital, a police station, a waste water treatment plant.
Long story short, people should not worry about transient populations taking up ICU beds. Your elected leaders have taken care of it.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Acheron2010

. . .
Long story short, people should not worry about transient populations taking up ICU beds. Your elected leaders have taken care of it.

And those leaders foresaw -- years ago -- the current assortment of novel viral health risks which transients might be bringing into Maine?



Right!

[Computore]

Unfortunately, even if the city planning got it right when the hospitals be were built, there are so many variables to account for. One of them being if a hospital is designated "Critical Access" they get more money. One of the criteria needing to be met is a max number of ICU beds. This has given incentive to some hospitals to get rid of some beds to get more money after they were built.