Fall In New Hampshire: What To Do
It's our first official Fall season as New Englanders and we are making the most of it! We decided to head to Northern New Hampshire for the peak autumnal colors and they did not disappoint. In true Steve and Gentri fashion, we stuck to more of the less popular areas, but in our minds that is where the best experiences are found!
We started our day at 6:30am, hoping to beat some of the crowds. We took backroads the entire way to Crawford Notch State Park, which made for a very quiet morning. Along the way we stopped anytime we found something that caught our eye. From beautiful roadside streams to a local church having a yard sale. We also love a local farm and made sure to stop when we saw the quaint farm stand of Bly Farms.
Bly Farms is run by an adorable couple who have been doing this their whole lives. The wife grew up in the house next to the farm stand, and was so kind and helpful. At the end of our visit she gave Steve and I a hug, before sending us on our way with our fresh apple cider and baby bell peppers. We highly recommend a visit if they’re open!
Before entering the park we stumbled upon an adorable gift shop called the “Covered Bridge Shoppe”, which is a fitting name as the shop is literally in a covered bridge! It’s a very picturesque stop if you’re in the area. I couldn’t stay inside long, as the building does move slightly and I’m very sensitive to motion sickness. But it was definitely worth a visit.
We spent the rest of the day driving from Crawford Notch to Franconia Notch State Parks. Initially we took the back road, but decided to try the Kankamagus Highway before heading back. The highway is not for those who are in a rush and visitors should expect very heavy traffic. It took us 2 hours to drive 15 miles, and we ended up losing the light and missing the shot we were hoping to get. We drove home the opposite/longer way, which worked out for the best, in the end.
On our second day in New Hampshire, we knew we wanted to visit a local apple orchard before heading home, and so we could stock up on fresh apples and get our fill of apple cider donuts. I found Gould Hill Farm while looking at my maps app and immediately fell in love. The farm is situated in the rolling hills of New Hampshire, near Manchester. It’s an idilic scene and their apple cider donuts were some of the best I’ve had!
Places we visited:
Gould Hill Farms: https://bit.ly/3evzi2J
Bly Farms: https://bit.ly/3exKaNx
Crawford Notch State Park: https://bit.ly/3CCCCAX
Franconia Notch State Park: https://bit.ly/3CYcp1c
Covered Bridge Shoppe: https://bit.ly/3yJ0IsC
How to get to the Willey Brooke Trestle train crossing in Crawford Notch State Park:
Park near the AMC Highland Center and locate the train tracks. Walk along the train tracks, heading south, away from the station. Follow the tracks for about a half an hour/one mile until you come to the trestle. There is a walking path on the bridge with a hand rail so you can cross to the other side for the perfect photo, safely.
The hike will be flat the entire way, however, it is made slightly difficult by the loose rocks along the tracks. We spent the hike switching between walking on the tracks or on the rocks and recommend that you wear sturdy shoes.
The train usually goes across the trestle around 1:30pm and 4:30pm. We missed the perfect trestle photo with the train but it did pass us as we were hiking out. The trail has plenty of room to safely stand on the side of the path while the train passes. It’s also moving slow enough that you have plenty of warning to move before it passes by.
