Help -New York to Niagara via New England post cruise land trip

We are taking a further 4 nights from New York to travel across to Niagara Falls - but we want to go via New England. Realistically we could get up to the White Mountains and then across to Stowe as part of our travels. We are from the UK so know nothing about NE.

I love white architecture, foliage ( although we will be a little early - end of Aug) plus quaint villages and antique shops - any suggestions please as lovely places to visit ?

Thanks :)

You should consider late september-early october for fall foliage, the drive through Vermont and New York can be spectacular! There is a ferry (carries cars) over Lake Champlain and plenty of views of mountains, cascading water falls and small villages with great food and nice people. We live within 6 miles of the Niagara Falls and you will be breathe taken by its power and beauty. Probably looking at about 450 miles of driving.

Well, New England is in the wrong direction to get from New York City to Niagara Falls. I think you need to pick what trip you want to do, either New England (Boston, MA; Stowe, VT - which is in the Green Mountains, New Hampshire = White Mountains) or Niagara Falls which links Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and is in northwestern New York State. Both locations are lovely but your really can't do both in 4 days and actually see anything but the inside of your car. Take a look at Google Maps. I'm sure that many of us (me included) on Cruise Critic would be happy to map out a good and reasonable trip for you once you narrow down your scope.

We are taking a further 4 nights from New York to travel across to Niagara Falls - but we want to go via New England. Realistically we could get up to the White Mountains and then across to Stowe as part of our travels. We are from the UK so know nothing about NE.

 

I love white architecture, foliage ( although we will be a little early - end of Aug) plus quaint villages and antique shops - any suggestions please as lovely places to visit ?

 

Thanks :)

August will be a couple of months too early for the fall foliage. That said, New England has an abundance of charming small towns & villages that certainly fit your description of “lovely places to visit.”

It’s quite feasible to do a four-day drive from New York City to Niagara Falls via New England. HOWEVER… be aware that you will be clocking lots of miles--easily the equivalent of driving from Land‘s End, say, to John O’Groats. The direct route from Manhattan to Niagara Falls is a little over 400 miles, and doesn‘t take you into New England at all. A detour through some of New England can add another 400 miles or more to your overall journey.

The simplest, most time-effective route that will allow you to see lots of white clapboard houses and churches, antiques shops, farms, and green hills follows U.S. Route 7, an historic road that runs South-North along the western edge of New England from southwestern Connecticut to the Canadian border via Massachusetts and Vermont:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_7

For the most part, Route 7 is akin to a British A-road; there are a few relatively short stretches (notably around Danbury, Connecticut) where it takes on the characteristics of a motorway. Much of the landscape is rural; farmland is interspersed with quaint villages & small-/ medium-sized towns. (Some of the latter, such as Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and Bennington, Vermont, resemble English market towns in some ways. And the plethora of English place names along the way will give you a good clue as to why the region is called New England.)

Occasionally you will have to branch off of Route 7, as some of the most interesting places (e.g., Ridgefield, Litchfield, and Salisbury, Connecticut) lie just to the west or east of that road. Incidentally, I’d wager that Route 7 and its offshoots are home to the highest density of antiques shops anywhere in the United States.

Following a south-to-north route from southwestern Connecticut to southwestern Vermont, you might explore some of the following places:

Ridgefield, Connecticut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridgefield,_Connecticut

http://www.ridgefieldct.org/content/42/default.aspx

Kent, Connecticut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent,_Connecticut

Litchfield, Connecticut (and other towns in Litchfield County)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litchfield,_Connecticut

http://www.litchfieldct.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litchfield_Hills

http://litchfieldhills.com/

Great Barrington, Massachusetts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barrington,_Massachusetts

Stockbridge and Lenox, Massachusetts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockbridge,_Massachusetts

http://www.stockbridgechamber.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenox,_Massachusetts

http://lenox.org/

Note: the aforementioned Massachusetts towns are all in "the Berkshires" (i.e., the Berkshire Hills)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Berkshires

http://berkshires.org/

http://southernberkshirechamber.com/

Bennington and Old Bennington, Vermont

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennington,_Vermont

http://bennington.com/

http://www.bennington.com/history/

From Bennington you could continue north to Stowe, or east into New Hampshire. However, the eastbound route would be taking you further away from Niagara Falls. (Just to put the distances into perspective: the drive from Bennington, VT, to Niagara Falls, NY, is 340 miles. From Bennington to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, it's 200 miles in the opposite direction--and then another 200 miles back to western Vermont before those 340 miles to Niagara Falls.)

Anyway... I hope this gives you some ideas to start with. Do ask if you need more information/advice.

Cheers,

Post Captain

If you decide to go with the 4-day whirlwind trip to Niagara Falls via New England (I think it can be done if you get a really early start on your driving days), and then you end up just a little time to see Niagara Falls, be sure to visit the Canadian side, a much better view from that side. You should stop at Goat Island while on the American Side to see the rapids and a cool view of the brink of the falls, but then cross the Rainbow bridge for the classic view of both falls. There are some nice hotels on that side with nice falls views. (The falls are lit up at night.)

As others have said, keep in mind that it's about an 8 hour drive to Niagara Falls from NYC without meal stops or possible delays due to traffic. New York is a large state!

I agree with the post captain that you can probably fit in a side trip to New England if you don't venture too far east or north. I second the opinion that Rt. 7 would give you a nice taste of New England with lots of antique dealers, and it's not too far from I-90 which can take you to/from Niagara Falls. You can conceivably drive to everywhere you are thinking of, but all you'd be doing is driving and wouldn't leave much time to stop or shop and get as much enjoyment out of those places.

We really like the area around Manchester VT (also on Rt.7), and it's only 1.5 hours to get to I-90 from there (so 6.5 hours to Niagara Falls). I wouldn't try to venture much further north than that if you want to see the falls too.

Have fun planning,

Sue