New Hampshire is our favorite state to visit during the peak fall foliage season for hiking and photography. It’s home to the magnificent White Mountains, lakes, covered bridges and a small section of Atlantic coastline, all of which make it a fantastic place to visit for lovers of the great outdoors.
We’ve driven through the mountains, visited the lakes and hiked the top trails on our two visits to the state, and we’re sure we’ll be back again to uncover more hidden gems.
In this New Hampshire travel guide we show you the most popular tourist areas to explore, along with an example road trip itinerary and when to visit.

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New England Fall Road Trip Itinerary
Our favorite places to visit along with itinerary examples for 5-14 days.
White Mountains
When it comes to travel in New Hampshire, there’s only one place to kick things off – the towering White Mountains. The three tallest peaks in the US northeast (Mt Washington, Mt Adams and Mt Jefferson) are all located in this spectacular range, but there’s so much more to do and see at a slightly lower elevation!
We considered taking the cog train up Mt Washington, but the only seats left were in the center of the carriage so we drove the auto road up instead. It was one of the scariest drives we’ve ever done, but it was so worth it for the extraordinary summit views we were rewarded with.
Nearby in Crawford Notch, we hiked a fun trail to a staggering viewpoint at the summit of Mt Willard which we highly recommend. Further west in Franconia Notch we walked around Flume Gorge and hiked to Artists Bluff on both our trips to the area because they’re both so amazing.
Connecting both sides of the White Mountains is a half day road trip that has to be one of the most scenic we’ve ever done called the Kancamagus Highway. In the fall, the viewpoints along this drive are of endless fall foliage colors blanketing the hillsides.
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Lake Winnipesaukee
Changing the pace entirely, we like Lake Winnipesaukee as a place to spend a more relaxing vacation. It’s got a few hikes that are worth doing, especially Mt Major, but otherwise it’s a family friendly area with plenty of places to explore on all sides.
We like Meredith most as a place to set up base with a hotel. It’s small, but quaint and has a lovely winery called Hermit Woods. Down in Weirs Beach there’s a classic arcade museum, Kellerhaus chocolatiers and the Mount Washington cruise terminal.
Laconia has rail bikes, a mill museum and a huge antiques center. Wolfeboro is a nice place to stop for a quick walk along the lakeshore, before climbing up Abenaki Tower and driving up to Castle in the Clouds.
Mt Monadnock
We missed Keene in the southwest of New Hampshire the first time we drove around New England. When researching new places to visit for our second trip, we discovered a hike called Mt Monadnock that looked great and nearby Keene was the perfect place to stay.
Both turned out to be even better than we’d hoped. The hike required a parking permit which cost us $10, but it was more than worth it for the adventurous climb and stunning summit views. It’s a short but challenging hike because it’s steep and has a lot of rock scrambling. Nothing serious, but it’s not for beginners.
We ate at Papagallos and visited a ton of wooden covered bridges on the way back to Keene, before popping out for a few drinks around the Central Square in town. If we were to hike it again, we’d probably stay in Concord instead for a change of scenery.
Covered Bridges
One thing we absolutely love to do on our New England road trips is visit old wooden covered bridges in places like Vermont and New Hampshire. Most of them are worthy of being on postcards, so as travel photographers we can’t get enough.
We didn’t make it as far north as Northumberland and Lancaster where some of the most picturesque covered bridge can be found in New Hampshire. And there’s loads more on the western border with Vermont along the Connecticut River, most famous of which is the Cornish-Windsor covered bridge which we highly recommend.
We liked the bridges south of Keene near the border with Massachusetts, but our favorite is the Albany covered bridge on the east side of the Kancamagus Highway. Here’s a map of the covered bridges you can visit.
Coastline
A lot of people don’t realize that New Hampshire has around 18 miles of prime time Atlantic coastline. We haven’t driven it yet, but we absolutely will at some point (probably on a road trip from Boston to Acadia) and when we do we’ll prioritize Hampton Beach and Portsmouth.
Starting in the family friendly Hampton Beach area, we’d drive north on Highway 1A stopping at Fuller Gardens, Jenness Beach, Rye Harbor, Wallis Sands and Odiorne Point on the way to the small hipster city of Portsmouth.
10 Fun Facts About New Hampshire
- New Hampshire’s state motto is “live free or die”.
- Mt Washington has the world’s top recorded ground wind speed at 231mph.
- Skiing is New Hampshire’s state sport.
- The state is named after the county of Hampshire in England.
- It was the first state to declare independence from England.
- The author Dan Brown is a native of New Hampshire.
- New Hampshire’s nickname is the Granite State.
- Concord is where the alarm clock was invented.
- The highest point in the state is Mt Washington summit at 6,288 ft.
- New Hampshire has the 9th lowest population in the US.
Road Trip Itinerary
If we wanted to road trip around the top highlights in New Hampshire, this is how we’d plan an action packed 9-day itinerary starting and ending in Boston (closest major transport hub):
Mount Monadnock – Day 1
- Hike Mt Monadnock and stay in Keene
Lake Winnipesaukee – Days 2 to 3
- Stop in Concord on the way to Meredith
- Hike Mt Major
- Take a cruise on the lake
- Drive to Weirs Beach, Laconia and Wolfeboro
- Go up to castle in the clouds
Kancamagus Highway – Day 4
- Drive to Conway for the east entrance to Kancamagus
- Spend the whole day stopping in the mountains
- Stay in Lincoln
Franconia Notch – Day 5
- Walk around the Flume Gorge and Basin Cascade
- Hike up to Artists Bluff in late afternoon
- Consider taking the Cannon Mountain ski lift
Mt Washington – Day 6
- Breakfast at Polly’s Pancakes
- Either drive, take the cog train or hike up Mt Washington
- Hike Mt Willard in Crawford Notch
- Stay in North Conway
North Conway – Day 7
- Breakfast at Peach’s
- Visit Diana’s Baths, Cathedral Ledge and Echo Lake
- Shop in the outlet malls with no sales tax
Portsmouth – Day 8
- Spend a full day exploring the artsy city
Hampton Beach – Day 9
- Stop along the coastline and end in Hampton Beach
This awesome and efficient road trip itinerary stops at most of New Hampshire’s touristy highlights and hidden gem spots. It’s exactly how we’d do it if we had 9 days spare and wanted to stay in New Hampshire without crossing into any other state.
When To Visit
New Hampshire is a year round travel destination, but it’s busiest and most expensive to visit in the summer months. That said, the two other times when prices inflate each year are during peak fall foliage colors for a few weeks and during peak ski season.
We’ve driven through New Hampshire in September and October during our two New England fall road trips. The first time we had super wet and rainy weather which was great for capturing photos, but the second time we had glorious sunshine which was perfect for hiking.
If we were planning to road trip through New Hampshire for the first time it would have to be the first week of October when colors are in peak. Otherwise, we’d go for June or September for better weather but without the worst crowds in July and August.
Keep Exploring
Are you planning a longer trip with stops in more states? Once you’re finished reading our travel guides for New Hampshire, keep exploring nearby areas by heading over to the following pages:
We hope our New Hampshire travel guide helps with planning your vacation to the American northeast!
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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