Tips and Ideas for trip Maine to Niagara Falls thru Canada and back to Maine

[northwind42]

My husband and I are beginning planning a circular trip in the fall from central Maine to Niagara Falls, up to Toronto then on to Quebec and from there returning home. We can go thru VT and stop over in Quechee on the way to the Falls or via I 90 thru Mass and NY State. We prefer 6 to 7 hr legs of the drive. What are interesting spots to be included between VT or Mass and Niagara Falls. It would be great to do this enjoyably but frugally. What other suggestions are there in this circle to make this a great trip. We would probably look at 7 days start to finish.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

That general loop trip has come up before, so be sure to poke around the Forums a bit and follow the links to "Similar Threads" just below the current responses. The highlights of such a trip include (if you get off the Interstates/Autoroutes) the old Erie Canal. the birthplace of the Women's Movement in Seneca Falls, the Thousand Islands area at the head of the St. Lawrence, the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Montréal, the decidedly Francophile Québec, and the rustic northwoods of Maine along US-201. If Quechee Gorge is a fixed location on your drive across northern New England, then I would suggest ME-25/NH-25/NH-104/US-4 as your route of choice, particularly in the Fall when the major routes (I-95, NH-16, I-89 and the like) will be clogged with leaf peepers. Such routes (including US-20 rather than I-90 across New York) have the added benefits of eschewing high speed, high traffic volume toll roads for more laid back and free rural routes through small towns with real local diners and grocery stores rather than exit ramp fast food joints and 'convenience' stores.

AZBuck