Are you planning a trip to New England for fall leaf peeping? Do you possibly need some accessible accommodations? Perfect. Here’s a great plan for you with restaurant, activity, and lodging suggestions.

This trip to Maine to eat Lobster with my mom has been in the works since I was practically 10. Her and I have talked about this trip so much, I was so afraid we’d never actually have the chance to go. Not only am I going to share the special reason we went on this trip, but you’ll also get our itinerary, honorable mentions, and a lot of miscellaneous information you may find helpful if you also want to take a fall leaf peeping trip.

Why We Went

Back in 1976 my mom and her sister took a trip to New England. If you want to know all the details of their trip, I hate to say there are almost none. They remember very little of their time in New England. All I know is they got to see Niagara Falls, my mom hated NYC, they ran out of money and had to go stay at their other sister’s house in Illinois for a little bit, and lastly, and most importantly, my mom absolutely loved the lobster when they were in Maine. There are matching lobster ornaments to prove it.

Hearing that story umpteen times growing up made me fantasize about going myself. With my mom. And when my cousin, my aunt’s daughter, asked me almost a year ago if my mom and I would want to go on a New England fall leaf peeping trip (ending in Maine), we couldn’t say yes fast enough.

My family never took trips growing up. We spend summer vacations with family friends in Lake of the Ozarks. The only times I’ve gone other places for vacations have been after college and with friends. My mom doesn’t travel very often without my dad and my dad is not a fan of flying. All of these things combined made it seem like our Maine trip was just a dream.

So to finally make it to Maine on this trip with my mom, it was truly a dream. And I want to share that with y’all.

Itinerary

I cannot take responsibility for this itinerary. My cousin put so much time and effort into this trip plan, and I made sure she was okay with me sharing it. (Everyone say, “Thank you, Cassie.”) The beautiful part of our trip is how important she made accessibility when thinking about where we stayed and what activities we did. For anyone new, I am an amputee. I also have some back issues because of my prosthetic so doing certain things (ex: hiking) can be a little more difficult.

With that being said, let’s finally get to the important stuff. Our plan.

We flew into Boston and arrived before 3 pm and immediately got our car rental and went straight to Salem. We also stayed on the outskirts of Boston at the Avid Hotel. It was much cheaper than both Boston and Salem. And it was actually pretty nice and — shockingly — had the best shower of all the Inns/Hotels.

Salem

• Ghosts & Legends Trolley Tour – $30 a person. If you are looking for a spooky tour, this wasn’t it. It was, however, really funny and was a great introduction to Salem because it was the very first thing we did. Our guide was Black Mary Widow and she was so much fun. Hot tip, sit on the left side (when you’re walking on, facing the back of the trolley. so the right side when you face the front of the trolley.) for the best views. We were on the opposite side, and based on the route our driver took, we had to look across the trolley for most of the locations the tour guide pointed out.
  • Accessibility note: This is an alternative to walking tours, which I so appreciate. We got the history of Salem without needing to walk the town. I have an inkling the walking tours are a little more detailed, but I still really loved it. Our particular trolly wasn’t wheelchair accessible. I would call to see if there is a trolley that is wheelchair accessible.

• Ledger – This restaurant was seriously so beautiful. As a bonus, they allowed reservations, which not a lot of places do during the fall busy season. It was a fancier place and had a smaller menu, but it was absolutely delicious. The building was so stunning. It was an old bank and the decor included old safety deposit boxes, which was such a cool touch. As for the food, I cannot rave about the Brussels sprouts appetizer enough and I will never for the rest of my life stop talking about the chicken I had.

• The Ugly Mug – I will be perfectly honest about this diner. I wasn’t a fan. I thought for as many lists it’s on as spots to hit in Salem, it could have been cuter, a better vibe, and my food was just okay. My mom, cousin, and aunt all seemed to have liked their food. I don’t have an alternative breakfast spot to suggest because we didn’t eat any other places before we left.

• Shops in Salem – Coon’s Card & Gift Shop, Wicked Good Books, and Trolley Depot

• Hocus Pocus locations – We made it a priority to check out Alison’s and Max’s house.

• Overall Salem Thoughts – Salem is super cute and can be spooky depending on what you decide to do. I wish we had maybe half a day more so I could learn more about the witch trials, but we didn’t have enough time. I will say, the houses around town was actually my favorite part of the whole town. They were so quaint. I loved how much character they all have. I could go back just to drive around looking at the houses for a whole day.

Stowe Vermont

• Green Mountain Inn – When you think of a quaint inn in Vermont, you are probably picturing the rooms of the Green Mountain Inn. There are so many details and quirks in the Inn. There are several different room options and styles, including multiple-room apartments/townhouses. The second morning we decided to eat at the Inn and it was delicious. My mom and I actually were talking about how good the maple breakfast sausage was almost two weeks later.

• Alpine Hall – This is a restaurant in Spruce Peak, which is an absolutely stunning snow lodge with spectacular views and vibes. It’s what you think of when you think of a snow lodge from a Hallmark movie. And I say all this knowing I don’t have as many good things to say about the restaurant itself. Because I don’t like to be completely negative, I will say my food was really good. I had the pork chop and the mustard sauce was delicious. However, for being such an expensive restaurant, the service was not the greatest. When I looked up reviews, I actually noticed most of the good reviews were older. A lot of the mediocre reviews are more recent and I just have a feeling maybe there is some issues. Basically I’m just saying there are other options that I think would be better.
• Black Cap Coffee and Bakery – When I tell you if you get a chance to have Black Cap Coffee, you better take it, I am not saying this lightly. I don’t think I will ever forget my maple latte, or at least I hope I don’t! I want to remember that latte for the rest of my life. The Stowe location has their own bakery as well and the spinach artichoke croissant was perfection. I made my family go back a second time and even when we went to a second location (Waterbury), it was just as good. I higly recommend this coffee shop for coffee and a quick breakfast.

• Smugglers Notch scenic drive – In my opinion, if you want the best leaf peeping views, this was the best way to see them. They were exactly what I was hoping for when we decided to go on a leaf peeping trip. Just absolutely a fall vibe.

• Farmhouse Tap & Grill – If you’re interested in eating local and farm to table, this is a great option. The food was good and the venue was cute.
• Church Street Marketplace – This little shopping area was fun. Plenty of treat shops and stores to do some shopping. We went here before the cheese tour to kill time and it was nice to be outside.

• Shelburne Farms – Going to this farm was by far one of my favorite things we did on our trip. It was not only fun to sample the cheeses, but it was super interesting to learn about the non-profit dairy farm. I have heard there are cheese tours people go on when they visit Vermont and Shelburne Farms is on that tour along with several others. So whether you decide to just go to this farm, or many, I highly recommend eating some Vermont cheese.

• The Bench – One of my favorite dinners of the trip. They had really good wood-fire pizza, and had just a really cozy vibe. I loved sitting on the porch where it was just a little cold and you could smell the fire.

• Cold Hallow Cider Mill – We made a quick stop here because my cousin wanted to try the apple donuts. It was a cute little farm with different pantry goods.
• Overall Vermont Thoughts – I really loved Vermont. It’s so cute and quaint and totally lovely. I would love to go back to Stowe in the winter to see it all snowy.

New Hampshire

• Kearsarge Inn – This Inn was so freaking cute. It had a larger building that was the main Inn, and then behind that were several small houses used for private and separate rooms. We stayed in two connecting separate rooms because we asked for a room without stairs. Honestly, I recommend the separate houses because they made it feel even more quaint and cozy.

• Scenic View Locations – Franconia Notch Parkway, Kancamagus Scenic Byway, Sabbaday Falls, Cathedral Ledge Lookout, Diana’s Baths I cannot say more about these views. It was everything we wanted and more when it came to making this trip. In the attached itinerary, you’ll see the order we went in made it so our travel from Vermont to New Hampshire to Maine was a smooth transition. Along our travels we met with people who were taking similar trips but they were going the opposite order.
  • Accessibility Note: Sabbaday Falls, Cathedral Ledge and Diana’s Baths all have accessible paths of various degrees.

• Muddy Moose – Just a casual dinner place. We picked this off a small list of restaurants. My mom would tell you the haddock dinner was the best ever. Besides the lobster dinners we had in Maine, this was her favorite meal.
• Overall New Hampshire Thoughts – The views are spectacular and I don’t think my pictures even come close to showing how stunning it is. If you are into hiking, you would love this trip.

Maine

• Atlantic Eyrie Lodge – Hot tip: Pay the extra money to get a room on the third floor facing the water. You may not be in your room very much, but when you are in your room, the view is just special.

• Bar Harbor – This area was so cute and I loved that you could smell and almost feel the water everywhere you went. It’s very touristy and has several places to get souvenirs.
• Abel’s Lobster – In 1976 my mom and aunt went to Abel’s Lobster and the whole time we were planning this trip we thought it had closed, but turns out it has been reopened with new owners and so my cousin and I got to experience the “same” restaurant our moms went to when they took the trip. When you think of a lobster shack, you will picture Abel’s. It was absolutely the cutest shack with outdoor and indoor seating. I cannot recommend this place enough. Go. Go. Go!

• Acadia National Park – I didn’t go on this trip to go to Acadia National Park. I went for the leaves and the lobster, but I quickly changed my tune because Acadia National Park is wonderful. My cousin told me people literally go to Bar Harbor for ANP but I had no idea. I thought it was just an extra for us. Hahahahaha. Anyways, here’s all the stops we made during our drive through the park. Pay the extra and do the Cadillac Summit Trail. It was absolutely the best part. I could have sat at the top of that mountain for hours!
  • Cadillac Summit Loop Trail (0.5m)
  • Hulls Cove Visitor Center
  • Park Loop Road
  • Sand Beach parking – Ocean Path, Thunder Hole (0.7m from Sand Beach to Thunder Hole)
  • Jordan Pond House 
  • Jordan Pond loop trail (3.1m)
    • Accessibility Note: This park was super handicap accessible. When we did the Cadillac Summit, for every area they had stairs, there was also a way to take a ramp. Both me, who has issues with walking/hiking, and my mom who has some vision issues, were able to get around perfectly fine.

• Jeannie’s Great Maine Breakfast – Jump on the waitlist. It took us a little while to get seated. But it was worth it.
• The Travelin’ Lobster – We almost missed this because it closed at 3, but I’m so glad we didn’t. This place was all outdoors. We stood in line and chatted with the people around us as you do in lines. The atmosphere was exactly what we wanted from a lobster shack.

• Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse – Okay. Tbh, we didn’t go see this. It was on our list and the road to get there was so long and when we were waiting in line a local walked by and we asked for their honest opinion and they said it’s small and probably not worth the wait. We had wanted to get back to the downtown area to find a few souvenirs, so we decided to turnaround in line. But I wanted to mention it because I know it’s something a lot of people are interested in.

Maine back to Boston – Our last day we spent driving along the 1 off the coast of Maine. It may have been one of my favorite parts of the trip to drive through all the cute coastal towns. Go to Damariscotta during their Pumpkinfest. I promise you will adore it. I am also trying to figure out how I can get back to Camden Maine because it was just so stinking cute.

More ideas for driving down the Maine coast: 

• Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta
• Pemaquid Point Lighthouse – Bristol 
• Cape Elizabeth Light (Two Lights) – Cape Elizabeth
• Portland Head Light – Cape Elizabeth
• Marginal Way (Ogunquit) 
• Nubble Lighthouse – York 

• Red’s Eats – If you want a lobster roll with basically two whole lobsters on it, go here. If you don’t want that, I guess still go here because you’re wrong about not wanting that. This place had the best atmosphere of the whole trip. They have won a bunch of awards over the years and with good reason. I chose the lobster roll with just butter and then I had the mayo on the side. We also tried the fried lobster which was a new menu item at the time and it was delicious. I hope they keep it on the menu.

• Bite Into Maine – Get the wasabi lobster roll. I didn’t get it and I will forever regret it. My cousin did and I tried it and it was seriously delicious. I can’t count the number of times I’ve thought about that small bite since getting home. If you’re worried about it being spicy, it’s not.

• Overall Maine Thoughts – I want to go back and just spend all week traveling along the small coastal towns and look at the cute houses and the shops and then eat lobster daily. Go to Maine. It’s so beautiful. I may even go so far as to say I would want to live there.