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Ok me and my fiance just moved to New Haven Ct. So, thanksgiving we have decided to take a winter road trip. Yes! it will be cold and frosty..but what the heck. I intend to cover Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont and of course the Boston area.
Any suggestions as I start to plan.
Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forum!
First, here's some suggestions that I offered last spring. They still hold. In addition, you might also like Cape Cod, the Freedom Trail in Boston, and Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth. If you've got particular interests, speak up.
AZBuck
I took a roadtrip this summer that quickly meandered through Upstate NY, Vermont and New Hampshire. It was basically a speed run at that point (I had to get back to LA in time for work on Monday morning).
Anyway, we took US 4 starting at Glenn Falls, NY and into Vermont and NH. It was gorgeous in the summer and we kept talking about how much prettier it must be in the winter. There were lots of ski slopes, covered bridges, shops that sold Vermont cheese, and absolutely wonderful mountainous scenery.
I have no idea what the conditions of the road are like in the Winter, though. I've never driven in snow, which is one of the reasons my roadtrips tend to be summer ones (that plus Tax Season).
New Haven to Bennington Vt. From there to Burlington , Vt. Burlington to Stowe .
From Stowe head towards Maine( which is where I need some help on ).
From Maine go south towards Mass. From Mass back to New Haven.
What do you think is it doable in 4 days ?
What kind of help do you need? A route from Stowe to the Maine coast? Then I'd suggest US-2 to St.Johnsbury, I-93 to Littleton, and then US-302 to Portland. Highlights along this route might be the Cabot cheese headquarters, the lovely town of Bethlehem, Crawford Notch State Park and the Sebago Lakes region. Or are you looking for things to do on the Maine coast. For sure, check out the quaint beach towns when they're free of the summer crowds - towns like Kennebunkport, Old Orchard Beach and York. Be sure to stop and see the Nubble, the lighthouse on Cape Neddick that I'm sure you've seen pictures of. You might also like a tour of Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH.
AZBuck.
We just took a trip up to Maine on Saturday. We drove along US-1 from Kittery up into Wells and Kennebunk. We took a walk along the Marginal Way, which is really nice (and the fog rolled out just for that short period of time, too!) Did some shopping at Kittery Trading Post and ate dinner at Billy's Chowder House in Wells, which is always very good and reasonable.
The roads in VT are usually well kept in the winter, especially those that are near ski resorts (which are just about everywhere.) The Western part of MA tends to get more snow than the Eastern part, and for some reason, I-90 acts as a sort of barrier for the ranges of impact (ie 3-6, 6-12, 12-18 inches). In NH, if the weather is nice, take the Kancagamus Highway (112). US-302 is also quite scenic. Both have their hairy moments, though. Be careful.
For the most part, major highways will be rather clear (barring extreme meteorological events).
Cold and frosty...maybe. Where are you originally from? New England weather might be in the 70s during that time, or, we could be getting a blizzard. So, definitely check the weather continually before heading out.
Definitely doable in four days. - CT & MA aren't exceptionally "tall" states
If you plan to hit Boston, do yourselves a favor & plan at least a day trip to Nantucket. They do a month long "Noel" celebration from November 25 - December 31 with the main event December 2 - 4. Ferries are out of Hyannis, MA (on the Cape.)