2024's Towns In New Hampshire That Come Alive In The Fall
The glowing gold of turning trees, crisp cool evenings, warm mugs of cider, laughing children chasing each other around a pumpkin patch... fall in New Hampshire is simply magical. The New England state has some of the most spectacular fall foliage in the country, from the picturesque peaks of the White Mountains to the forested shores of Lake Winnipesaukee.
Plan your trip between mid-September and mid-October to catch the best colors. Conditions vary yearly, but this is typically peak time for leaf-peepers looking to experience New Hampshire at its glorious, autumnal best. Below, you’ll find a list of charming small towns that provide the ultimate fall base camp, acting as a gateway to some of the state’s most scenic spots and offering lots of fall-themed festivals, fun, and foliage.
Lincoln
A former logging town, Lincoln is a pretty community on the Kancamagus Scenic Byway in the White Mountains. The 34.5 mile route winds through the White Mountain National Forest, past the Swift River, and climbs over 2,500ft to the Kancamagus Pass on the slopes of Mount Kancamagus. Known as one of the best drives for fall foliage, it's an incredible journey through classic New Hampshire scenery with breathtaking views of the colorful canopy and diverse landscape around every corner.
Suppose you’d prefer to explore on foot. In that case, Lincoln is central to several beautiful trails, including the Lincoln Woods Trail, which follows an abandoned railroad and starts at the Pemigewasset River suspension footbridge. The Lincoln Woods Trail is part of a well-signposted 6.4-mile trail network that is accessible for all hiking abilities, so you can extend your walk if you can’t get enough of the autumnal scenery.
Try something a little different and keep the kids entertained at Alpine Adventures on Main Street. This leafy playground is an outdoor adventure park featuring rope bridges, ziplines, and treehouses, making it perfect for kids or the young at heart. The company also offers off-road tours to the top of Barron Mountain, which promises stunning views of the fall canopy and, if you’re lucky, an up-close encounter with local wildlife, including moose, deer, and turkeys.
Fall isn’t just a great time to be outdoors, it’s also the perfect time to party. Visit Lincoln in October, and you can attend one of the state’s largest Oktoberfest gatherings, the White Mountain Oktoberfest at Loon Mountain. This three-day event features live music, lively beer gardens with seasonal brews, brewing workshops, axe-throwing tournaments, and more. Make space on your schedule for more cultural fall fun for the New Hampshire Highland Games, the largest Scottish festival in the Northeast. Held in Lincoln in September, the games bring together thousands of visitors and locals to enjoy Scottish food, music, games, and art.
Warner
The town of Warner, in the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region of New Hampshire, loves the fall foliage so much, it has a festival named after it. The annual Fall Foliage Festival, which takes place in October, celebrated its 77th anniversary in 2024 and is a seasonal tradition beloved by locals and tourists. Featuring live music, parades, a busy midway, food vendors, crafts, and more, this three-day party is the perfect end to summer as attendees gather to celebrate the changing season.
If you’re looking for the quintessential fall photoshoot, there’s no better picture-perfect spot than one of Warner’s iconic covered bridges. The historic Dalton Bridge on Joppa Road was initially built in 1853 and has a classic red roof and dark wood beams that look incredible against the backdrop of the gold and red forest canopy.
Warner is also the home of Rollins State Park, a recreation area on the southern slope of Mount Kearsarge. The park entranceway is a 3.5-mile scenic route from the gates up toward the summit, traversing dense forest and wooded glens. From the parking lot, hikers can take the 0.5-mile trail all the way to the top of the mountain to see a stunning vista over the New Hampshire hills, the Merrimack River Valley, and Massachusetts in the distance.
Laconia
In the heart of New Hampshire’s lake region, Laconia is a popular destination in the summer. Still, in the fall, it becomes a hidden gem where you can escape the crowds while enjoying the vibrant fall colors alongside the glassy beauty of Lake Winnipesaukee. You’ll find the best views onboard the M/S Mount Washington, a 230-foot excursion ship that has been ferrying passengers around Lake Winnipesaukee for over 150 years and offers a 2.5-hour narrated scenic tour departing daily from Weirs Beach.
For more dazzling scenery, pick up the Lake Winnipesaukee Loop, a 75-mile scenic byway that starts in Laconia and heads north to wind around the shoreline, past charming small towns, picturesque picnic spots, and scenic viewpoints across the water. From cars to boats to…planes. Laconia has a small airport, out of which several tour companies offer scenic flights of the area, so if you’re feeling adventurous and want to see the autumn colors like you’ve never seen them before, you can fly over and see the lush forest canopy unfold below.
Laconia has a busy seasonal calendar. At this time of year, the highlight is the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival, which takes place at the end of October. Downtown is overtaken by the fall squash for the event, with pumpkin displays, carving, and parades.
Jackson
Jackson is classic fall, a rural village on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. From its storybook tree-lined streets to its quintessential New England-covered bridges, there’s a photo opportunity everywhere.
The town has a quirky fall tradition, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The Return of the Pumpkin People is a month-long event in October during which pumpkins take over the town. Local businesses and institutions try to outdo each other with inventive pumpkin-people displays, leading participants on a ‘scavenger hunt’ as they take the walking tour to see every spectacle and vote for their favorite. Pick up a map at the Jackson Chamber Office to join the fun and win some of the prizes up for grabs.
There’s more fun outside town, too. Just north of Jackson, the Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center offers an exciting fall challenge perfect for outdoor enthusiasts. From early September to early October, the Center hosts its Fall Trail Running/Walking Series, where participants can run, race, or just walk a selection of courses through the stunning fall landscape. The event runs for several weeks, although visitors are always welcome to stop by for the day, and ends on the final race day with a potluck dinner, prizes for the best runners, and a raffle. If running isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other activities on offer at the Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center, including cycling the trails or kayaking the Androscoggin River.
You can’t leave Jackson without making the short drive north to Pinkham Notch via Route 16. A deep mountain pass formed by ice age erosion, the notch lies on the eastern side of New England’s highest peak, Mount Washington. As you’d imagine, the views are stunning. It’s easy to see why the Mount Washington Valley was named one of the top five fall foliage destinations in America by USA Today.
Franconia
Tucked into the gorgeous scenery of the White Mountains, Franconia is a laid-back small town that’s beautiful in every season but exceptionally breathtaking in fall. Home to the northern section of the Franconia Notch State Park, this is the place to be when the leaves start turning and the countryside bursts into reds, golds, and yellows. Hike the two-mile, self-guided nature trail through the Flume Gorge to enjoy incredible views of the mountains. The trail also passes a scenic natural pool, waterfalls, and rustic-covered bridges.
If you want all the beauty of autumn without the effort, glide up the forest-covered slopes in the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway. A beautiful ride over the canopy, the tram goes all the way to the summit of Cannon Mountain, a 4.080ft peak with views stretching into Vermont. There’s an observation deck and a cafe at the top to relax and sip cocoa while marveling at the vista below. The ride can get busy in the fall, so you may want to reserve your ticket ahead of time and take advantage of the early bird discount offered for advance bookings.
At the foot of Cannon Mountain lies 38-acre Echo Lake, another sightseeing highlight in autumn. Hike the trails to see the peaks from the water — on a clear, sunny day, the reflection of the autumnal colors makes for a great vacation shot. Echo Lake has a wide, sandy beach, but bear in mind that the beach isn’t staffed in the off-season, typically starting in mid to late October.
Keene
In 2013, the small town of Keene in southern New Hampshire broke the Guinness World Record for the most lit Jack O’ Lanterns after carving and illuminating over 30,500 pumpkins. It’s fair to say this is a town that takes fall seriously. The Keene Pumpkin Festival is still going strong today, shutting down Main Street in mid-October for food, games, and many fall-related festivities.
The Pumpkin Festival may be the largest event in Keene’s fall calendar, but it’s not the only seasonal celebration. Nearby, Granite Gorge Mountain Park hosts Fall Fest, a one-day event in late September with live music, pony rides, face painting, and more family-friendly fun on the mountain.
Create more fall memories at Alyson’s Orchard just outside town. At this 50+ acre farm, you can pick your own deliciously ripe Heirloom apples through late fall or prepare for Halloween by visiting their pumpkin patch and selecting the perfect gourd. When you’re tired of picking fruit and vegetables, send the kids to say hi to the friendly goats and meet the rest of the gang at the orchard petting the zoo.
While in Keene, take the opportunity to visit New Hampshire’s largest state park, Pisgah. The park contains six trails, seven ponds, and four highland ridges. Hike or bike the trails in early October to see Mother Nature put on a vibrant autumn show.
Portsmouth
Steeped in maritime history, Portsmouth is a busy waterfront town on the New Hampshire coast that was first settled in the 1600s. Fall is a great time to get to know the town when the summer crowds have gone and the foliage along the coast is at its luminous best.
Plenty of activities occur around this vibrant town in October. In the middle of the month is the annual New Hampshire Brewfest, which attracts craft brewers from all over New England. Get samples from around 50 local breweries while grabbing a snack from food vendors and listening to live music, all on the grounds of beautiful Prescott Park.
Later in the month, families can gear up for Halloween with some spooky fun at Ghosts on the Banke, a Trick-or-treat event that takes kids through Portsmouth’s historic district. They walk a waterfront trail lit by jack-o-lanterns, encountering pirates, fortune-tellers, games, and spooky stories.
The waterfront in Portsmouth is a beautiful place for a stroll in the fall, but being out on the water on a crisp autumn day is even better. Portsmouth Harbor Cruises offers a 2.5-hour Inland River and Fall Foliage Cruise, which glides past the harbor and up the Great Bay or the Cocheco River (depending on tide conditions) into the port town of Dover for a one-of-a-kind voyage to see the spectacular New England coastal and riverside scenery.
What does the perfect fall day look like to you? Perhaps you want to be hiking the trails, hearing the crunch of leaves underfoot, and marveling at the dazzling canopy overhead. Maybe you want to take a special someone for a fall photoshoot at a New England-covered bridge or snuggle up in a gondola with a bird’s-eye view of fiery Maples, vibrant Oaks, and glowing Birchs. Or maybe your happy place is the pumpkin patch, playing games with the family and getting spooky for Halloween. The good news is that you don’t have to choose in New Hampshire. With so much on offer in these inviting small towns, you can enjoy autumn your way, creating memories of the season that will keep you warm until summer comes around again.
