OFF-TOPIC: Connecticut Foliage

[triz]

Sorry for the OFF-TOPIC, but since we have CTYankee (and Loafer) who are CT residents I thought I would take advantage of it

Some background: since 10 weeks ago we had our first daughter, my wife and I had to give up our traditional fall trip to VT this year.

However, I am trying to plan a small trip to New England to breath some of that unique fall atmosphere that you can't find anywhere else!
As you may remember, we live in Philly and since we are travelling with a three month old we are looking for a relatively short drive, let's say 3 hours top from Philly, possibly less.

What we are looking at is a small town with classic New England feel (churches, barnes, New England's architecture etc.) in which we can stroll the baby around and enjoy the atmosphere.
Possibly we would like a lake nearby and of course amazing fall color.

After some browsing around I found the town of Kent and the nearby Lake Waramaug as a potential candidate.

Would you recommend that area? Any lodge you would recommend? What's the best weekend to be there in a normal season and what do your guts suggest you for this specific season? We are having a pretty worm September in Philly and it doesn't feel like fall yet!
Is the town appropriate for a couple with a 3-month old? We would get there on a Friday morning and would leave Sunday night.

Any other alternative?

Thanks!
Triz

[ctyanky]

Hey Triz! I would love to help you! You've hit a travel nerve! I have a TON of places for you to visit! Kent is good/VERY TOURISTY and so is Waramaug. I would highly suggest the town of Litchfield!!!! There is a 3 part spread of the town green and sidewalks everywhere! Amazing places to eat! Barns and backroads galore. You would even see a lot of celebrities in town mixed in with the locals! I'll have all the back roads ready for you! Can you give me some time? There is a famous place to get ice cream near Litchfield (in nearby Bantam) called Arethusa Farm Dairy owned by the guys who own Manolo Blanik shoes! The dairy barn should be open thru October and is world famous for their dairy cows! They also own two other places in Bantam besides the ice cream store, Arethusa a mano and Arethusa a tavalo. You have to decide if you want the northwest corner, northeast corner (Quiet Corner) or the shoreline. The color in the NW hills mimics SW VT. Just give me a headsup what weekend, where, etc. I'll help you find lodging, check the airbnbs first! The shoreline has a very different feel and you would find more barns, a rural vibe and such in the NW corner. It is my weekend stomping grounds!

https://www.arethusafarm.com/

The color SHOULD be peaking around Columbus Day or sooner. I have been up there on numerous weekends lately and the color is popping out like crazy with a lot of reds!

I would also suggest some towns as follows: Salisbury, Lakeville with twin lakes adjacent. NW CORNER
Washington Depot is an absolute must! One of the most beautiful CT towns ever. CENTRAL CT
In the quiet corner, route 169 to Woodstock CT is a must! Yes, sidewalks for strollers! NE CORNER
The town of Sharon has one of the longest town greens in CT and has amazing architecture, places to eat, ok for strollers! Just south of Lakeville NW CORNER

Salisbury is having their fall festival Columbus Day Weekend and I'll be there! It is the best in CT! Very rural feel but in a sophisticated CT town!

http://www.salisburyfallfestival.org/

Visit the Cornwall Bridge in West Cornwall when in the NW zone. The town of Simsbury is great and was just featured in Yankee Magazine!

I can help you decide about lodging once you find a place in the area you want to stay. I know a bit about the places that are recommended....

Ahhhhh, where to start! Keep me posted! I can even meet you somewhere, probably Litchfield or Salisbury!

[ctyanky]

PS the towns of Roxbury and Bridgewater are small, rural quintessential CT towns with excellent colonial architecture. I grew up in the rural areas just south of there and can attest to their beauty! New Preston is very tiny but also a great must stop and see!

Make sure you visit Barkhamsted Reservoir...….. in the New Hartford/Barkhamsted towns.

Just south of the town of Woodstock CT is Pomfret on route 169. Grand private schools line the road and that is where you will see some amazing colonial architecture...…….. That whole area of 169 from Woodstock to Brooklyn is divine!

Ridgefield CT is also perfect for colonial architecture and has some of the finest homes in the state, but more of a "New Yorky" vibe and not what is presented in the NW corner (rural and more "local" feel). The Gold Coast scene starts here even though it is inland and extends to the shoreline to Greenwich, New Canaan, etc. These areas have a lot of rural back roads and small, gorgeous colonial towns to go through, but if I were you, I would head to the NW hill towns!

http://litchfieldhills.com/lodging/opti ... ast#anchor

http://happeninginthehills.com/lodgings/

https://hiddenvalleyct.com/

[triz]

Thanks CT, as always you are amazing!
All of the places you listed sound lovely, the problem is that they are all distant at least 4 hours from Philly, and we still don’t feel comfortable driving this much with the baby.
She is changing every week and she is in a phase in which she doesn’t love the car!

The reason I picked Kent was that it is ~3 hours from home and that would be already a bit too much. Is there anything more towards south that you would recommend?

[ctyanky]

haha I remember those days! hmmm, the only place I could think of south and east a bit that fits your specs is Washington Depot. Just southwest of Litchfield and southeast of Kent. You can find excellent lodging around there and I can still do all your road trips. You will find the town picture perfect! I follow a blogger from a local gal and she has some great places to stay there as well as eateries. Her blog should convince you!

https://www.turquoiseandsunshine.com/bl ... ingtong-ct

If you go any further south, you'll be in an area that is just commuter towns from the city and I feel that you will benefit more in a rural area that is more quintessential Connecticut. Kent is beautiful but it is very touristy and crowded and although I go there for photography and fall back road tours, it is still intense with visitors in the town. The traffic is terrible!

Let me know your thoughts and we'll go from there! CT (3 hrs 12 minutes from Philly)

https://explorewashingtonct.com/

https://explorewashingtonct.com/plan-yo ... s-to-stay/

[triz]

Thanks CT, I will check it out with my wife and will try to understand if we can make it!
What weekend would you recommend for Washington area?

[ctyanky]

Hi Triz! I would say no later than Columbus Day Weekend for color. It would quiet down after that and still have some lingering foliage but you would probably get your choice of rooms after the holiday weekend......I wouldn't hesitate to book later in October if you can't get a reservation, still an outstanding area and you would be very thrilled with the colonial vibe in the small towns! Washington and the Depot is like a step back in time like Peacham. Lake Waramaug is nearby too. The road around the lake is great and there is a summit road above it with impressive views of the valley below. I'm there every fall!

I will help you no matter where you decide to stay, don't worry! I have my CT Delorme all mapped out with roads as I plan trips for people on the sidelines.

Foliage moving fast here in northern CT and the western hill towns a few days ahead of us! Let me know what happens and where you decide, I'm leaving in two days for VT!

[triz]

Hey CT, when you have a chance could you recommend a couple of lodges in the Washington Depot area?
If we go we go there on the Columbus day weekend. We haven't made a final decision, but we will decide soon.

Thanks in advance!

[loafer89]

I just took a drive around my part of Enfield and there are bits of developing fall color. Most trees have lost the Summer time green. There are bits of orange, yellow, red and gold foliage. I'm optimistic that with the colder weather coming in late this week, we will have a good foliage season.

[loafer89]

Frost advisory here tonight, this should advance the Fall foliage along. This is about 3 weeks earlier than normal. Right now it's about 10-15% changed with some nice color.

[ctyanky]

Thanks Loafer. I'm planning on spending the entire Columbus Day Weekend in Salisbury, Lakeville, North Canaan, Norfolk, Goshen and the hamlets of the Cornwalls. If you are interested, the Salisbury Fall Festival is that weekend and is the best in Connecticut! I hope to chase the foliage down the CRV and to the shoreline thru October with 2 more day trips to Southern Vermont mid week as well. Let me know how it goes up in your area! CT

[loafer89]

The foliage here in Enfield is about 30% changed with some areas of nice color. I'd say it's looking like a good Fall color year around here.

[loafer89]

Late day foliage picture from Somers:

[markm]

Late day foliage picture from Somers:

Nice colors in this picture!

[loafer89]

I'm heading out tomorrow to Northeastern Connecticut. Going to go to Stafford, Bigelow Hollow, Coventry, Tolland and Ellington. Hopefully the foliage is good.