New England
A Stone Wall Inn – Windham, Vermont
In Vermont, it goes without saying that the fall foliage season is a big pull. From September through November, tourists from all over the U.S. and Europe descend on the state to take part in biking and hiking tours, attend the myriad of fall and harvest festivals, and set up their tripods for that perfect shot of the majestic leaves. Robert Shannon, owner and architect of A Stone Wall Inn, believes that they've come to the right place. With "more maples, birches, and poplars than anywhere else," he says, Vermont has the best color contrast of all foliage regions.

Vermont 's plentiful harvest from small farms complements this abundance of color, offering a cornucopia of farm-fresh products, such as jams, chutneys, cheeses, and produce, at roadside stands and on-farm markets. The area is "mobbed with people eating little crackers with dabs of this or that on them," says Robert who, along with his co-owner, Steven, goes out of his way to help guests make arrangements for tours and events in the area. One such place that cheese lovers will be sure to enjoy is Taylor Farm, a sustainable dairy farm in nearby Londonderry that opens the barn doors to visitors on September 4th and October 9th this year for cheese tastings and cheese-making demonstrations.

For the four years that A Stone Wall Inn has been open, they've either been completely booked for foliage season or have come very close to it. Located in south-central Vermont , just east of Green Mountain National Forest, the Inn features both passive and active solar designs for heat, high efficiency wood stoves, and air-to-air heat exchangers to provide a constant source of fresh air, as well as other exceptional conservation measures that have been incorporated into each building. The buildings are largely constructed from wood, much coming from local mills and some of it from recycled sources. All soaps and cleaning materials are biodegradable. And herbs, flowers, and fruits used for jellies are grown on-site. Local and regional farms provide the major source for ingredients that are used in breakfasts and snacks.

Inn at Valley Farms – Walpole, New Hampshire
Although the first two weeks of October are her favorite, Jacqueline Caserta, innkeeper at Inn at Valley Farms, believes that mid-October is probably the best time to view fall foliage in southwestern New Hampshire.

According to Jacqueline, the best part of the fall foliage season in this area of New Hampshire , aside from the colors, harvest, and abundance of fall festivals, is that it's relatively quiet. In fact, the area in and around Walpole , which features over seventeen different conservation areas, is called the "quiet corner." Even with nearby Monadnock Mountain, the "second-most climbed mountain in the world" (after Japan 's Mt. Fuji), things just don't get touristy in these parts.

Regardless of its "quiet corner" reputation, fall foliage is the busiest season in Walpole, and there are plenty of festivities to enjoy. Columbus Day weekend abounds with festivals celebrating small farms and artisanal producers. Local cheesemakers and a handful of small "fiber farms"—farms that raise alpacas, llamas, sheep and rabbits for fiber—come together to host open houses where visitors can watch demonstrations, pet the animals, and purchase goods.

Perhaps the most famous draw is the Keene Pumpkin Festival which, since 1991, has been held the weekend before Halloween in Keene, New Hampshire. The festival is currently registered in the Guinness Book of World Records for the "Most Jack-O'-Lanterns in One Place At One Time (28,952)." The current record was set in 2003 and for Halloween 2005, hopes are set on achieving 30,000. Over 80,000 people are anticipated to attend the event and all are encouraged to participate by contributing their own carved pumpkin. The festival lasts all day and culminates in a fireworks display at night.

The Inn at Valley Farms is already booked for the pumpkin festival this year, but openings are still available for the remainder of the season. Situated on 103 acres of certified organic farmland and bordered on two sides by orchards, the Inn provides guests with plentiful opportunities to sample the organic fare from the gardens or walk through the orchard and pluck a Honey Crisp apple straight from the branch. Cottage guests have their own kitchen and are encouraged to gather fresh eggs from the hen house, pick fresh garlic chives, basil, green zebra heirloom tomatoes, Swiss chard or any other produce in season from the extensive organic gardens for an extra special meal. Foliage guidebooks are provided and Jaqueline provides up to date foliage reports to her guests from her contacts throughout the area.

Greenville Inn – Greenville, Maine
On Maine's Moosehead Lake, fall foliage hits its peak early, around the last three weeks of September. The effect is "very vivid," according to Terry Johannemann, who runs the Greenville Inn with her husband Jeff; "it really looks like the trees are on fire."

Located on Moosehead Lake's southern shore, Greenville is the gateway to Maine 's great north woods—an outdoor enthusiast's delight where moose outnumber people 3 to 1 and hundreds of miles of hiking trails snake through the backcountry. Stretching over forty miles in length and extending twenty miles at its widest point, Moosehead Lake is the largest lake east of the Mississippi River contained within one state. Appropriately enough, the lake is featured in just about every seasonal activity, and fall foliage is no exception.

Two annual events at the lake bookend Greenville 's foliage season. The 31st International Sea Plane Fly-In, the world's largest sea plane event, welcomes the onset of fall with hundreds of sea planes competing for "Best Spot Landing," "Best Bomb Drop," and "Best Antique Plane". At the tail end of the season, runners compete against each other and the high winds whipping off the lake in Moose on the Run Road Race, a 5k with unrivaled views and the ever-present possibility of a stubborn moose roadblock.

Greenville is also home to plenty of Maine-certified trail guides, who specialize in "moose safaris." The guide's wield canoes, jeeps, walking sticks, and an uncanny knowledge for locating the large, antlered, ungulates that populate the area. Terry and Jeff are familiar with the guides and can easily coordinate tours for guests. After a full day on the lake, lodgers can settle down in the Greenville Inn's dining room where every table offers a glorious view of the sunset. The Inn typically features a variety of all-natural offerings from grass-fed beef to free-range chicken and locally-raised eggs.