New Hampshire - Vermont Trip for Leaves, Not Birds ~ October 7-8, 2026

My wife wanted to see the leaves in the Northeast, so I wormed in a two-day trip between our other scheduled things, which turned out to be the 7th and 8th.

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

We left very early (4:30 AM) so that we'd be past the New York City area before rush hour. It took us about 7-1/2 hours to get to Conway, New Hampshire where we started driving the Kancamagus Highway towards Lincoln. A short distance up the highway, we stopped at the Albany Covered Bridge.

The Albany Covered Bridge.

This is a view up the Swift River from the bridge.

The Swift River from the Albany Covered Bridge.

A little farther along, we stopped to check out the Lower Falls.

The Lower Falls.

Farther up the road, we hiked the trail up to Sabbaday Falls.

The Sabbaday Falls.

We also stopped at three overlooks giving nice views of the multi-colored mountainsides.

The C.L. Graham Wangan Overlook.

The Pemigewasset Overlook.

Panoramic Overlook.

I had previously purchased tickets for the Loon Mountain Gondola Skyride. We got there a little after 3:00 and took the ride up to the top of Loon Peak, which is 2,733 feet high.

The view to the northwest from Loon Peak.

From the top of the observation tower, there were super views in all directions. The view to the east was the most impressive.

The view to the east from Loon Peak.

The view to the northeast from Loon Peak with Mount Washington in the far distance.

I took some photos from the gondola on the way back down from Loon Peak.

The view to the north on the way back down.

Leaving there, we drove a short distance to the Seven Birches Winery where my wife enjoyed some wine. I don't drink, so I'm always the designated driver.

The Seven Birches Winery.

We tried to find a nice place for a good, sit-down dinner, but all of the places were jammed due to it being the peak period. We started driving towards our motel and ended up having to settle for a McDonald's dinner instead. We stayed at the Quality Inn in Ashland, New Hampshire.

Thursday, October 8, 2026

We got up pretty early. It had rained overnight and was a still foggy in places. We had a continental breakfast at the motel and then headed west towards Vermont. After crossing the state line, we continued west and stopped at the Quechee Gorge, which is Vermont's deepest gorge.

The Quechee Gorge in Quechee State Park, which drops 165 feet down to the Ottauquechee River.

South of Bridgewater, I stopped along the way to Plymouth Notch to take this photo.

A view along Route 100A near Bridgewater.

After reaching Plymouth Notch, we headed south on Route 100 towards Wilmington.

Along Route 100 south of Plymouth Notch.

A few stops at a couple lakes and ponds produced some nice views.

Amherst Lake.

Echo Lake.

Reservoir Pond.

A little farther south, we made a slight detour to Buttermilk Falls. It wasn't that eye-popping, but was still photogenic.

Buttermilk Falls.

Just below the town of Ludlow, we found our most dynamic roadside view of the trip.

Along Route 100 south of Ludlow.

Near Mount Snow, I saw a Pileated Woodpecker fly across the road, and about 40 Wild Turkeys were in a grassy field soon after that. Common Ravens were seen at many spots in both states. Another good view of the leaves was found just south of Mount Snow.

Along Route 100 south of Mount Snow.

It began to cloud over with occasional sprinkles when we got to Big Pond, north of Woodford. We got lucky weatherwise since it rained overnight, cleared up during the day, and didn't start to shower until after we had completed our Route 100 section in the afternoon.

Big Pond near Woodford.

At Wilmington, Vermont, we headed west towards Albany, New York and took I-87 south to New Jersey and then back home. We got back around 6:00 PM. It was a long, but enjoyable trip that covered 907 miles.

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Jacobsburg and the Newburg Road Pond ~ October 4, 2026

I went to Jacobsburg State Park and parked in the Henry's Woods parking lot. As I got out of the car, a Bald Eagle flew by.

Bald Eagle

Soon after, Guy de Bruyn showed up. He was leading a bird walk for the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society, so I tagged along with the group. The area around the parking lot produced a Blue-headed Vireo, chickadees, a Gray Catbird, American Goldfinches, Northern Parulas, a Black-throated Green Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a couple Tennessee Warblers. We then spotted a Merlin near the visitor center.

Merlin

Crossing the road and passed the bird blind, we found a Black-and-white Warbler, a Blackpoll Warbler, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and a good number of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. A female Common Merganser was seen on a log on the creek, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew by. Just past the ampitheater, a Black-throated Blue Warbler popped up into view. Up on top in the field area, a Peregrine Falcon was spotted circling before it flew right past us. Unfortunately, like the other photos, the overcast skies didn't help the photo quality.

Peregrine Falcon

Northern Flickers and several American Robins were also seen there.

On the way home, I stopped at the Newburg Road retention pond, which continued to hold a Belted Kingfisher, a Greater Yellowlegs, and several Killdeer.

Belted Kingfisher

Also found around the pond were 9 Savannah Sparrows, 4 Song Sparrows, a Common Yellowthroat, 2 Palm Warblers, and 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

A Northern Harrier and 4 Ring-billed Gulls were found circling overhead, and a flock of 30 Red-winged Blackbirds.

Northern Harrier

Ring-billed Gulls

The Coyote that I've seen a few times before showed up once again, allowing me to get more photos of it.

Coyote

Around 5:00 PM, I got a text from the McBrides stating that they thought they had found a Sanderling at the Newburg Road pond. It must have dropped in after I was there and when the rain showers started. I drove over there and the bird was still there. I took a bunch of photos of it. The big question was whether it was indeed a Sanderling or a very plump Semipalmated Sandpiper. None of my photos showed hind toes on the bird, which pointed to this bird being a Sanderling, but the head just didn't look bulbous enough for a Sanderling. I leaned toward this bird being a Semipalmated. I sent a message to an ID chat and others also identified it as an atypical Semipalmated Sandpiper.

Semipalmated Sandpiper

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