190 around Sterling, when a glider passes low over the highway.

trees outside

Thanks!

“Opinion on what’s best”

I wasn't sure that was helpful, but I do love the fall views from 190, and it's right nearby.

Take a drive up north in NH and Vermont this weekend because it'll be at peak color in the mountains. Specifically go toward the white mountains in NH or toward Stow in vermont. Central/South Massachusetts is about 2 weeks behind in peak leaf color. If you just want to drive around locally, I'd advise taking weekend drives on back roads around northern to western mass for the best color. Like around the Nashoba Valley, head toward Nashua, or take route 2 west toward Pittsfield.

The nice thing about New England foliage is that it peaks north to south.If you drive through southern Maine, mid New Hampshire and Vermont this weekend they'll be at their peak. Coming back through the Berkshires in Western Mass the foliage is starting to develop and the whole state will be at peak next weekend, Connecticut and Rhode the weekend after. Around here my favorites are the Brookfields, New Braintree, Hardwick, Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs. Northeastern Connecticut through the Woodstock area. Mt Sugarloaf out by Amherst has some nice views.

The Quabbin

Mount Wachusett in Princeton—hike or sky lift to summit. Priceless!

I’ve heard the peaks are very short. In your experience how does it look a few weeks after peak? My mom is coming around the 20th and what her to have a good experience.

Thank you!

It looks like a blanket of brown. And not pretty brown. Past peak is very blah.

Edited: maaaaybe you’ll have some luck driving her south on 395 into CT. It depends on how quickly things change. Most of the bright maples are popping now in Worcester, so expect a week or two of foliage.

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On horse back riding through the foliage

Sounds like a movie!

I could see that. I flew out of Worcester and was glued to my window.

Things should still be colorful, the post peak wane is gradual, temps and precip factor in but rainy days can also add a nice contrast and make the colors pop. New England has some of the most capricious weather anywhere but in my opinion this was a very good year. We had a few hot days this summer but overall it was nice and the rainfall seemed adequate. I don't know what the balance point is but I think we came close. The reason I say this is that a lot of what grows on my property is on average just ok to struggling. This year everything bloomed and held. I've got a mature dogwood that bore fruit for the first time ever, biennial wildflowers that bloomed last year, made a show this year. The other indicator was the number migratory birds hitting my feeders, saw a lot of new comers this year. Anyway so far the color is nice and it looks like it'll stay that way a while.

Old Stone Church on the reservoir on the West Boylston / Sterling line.

I see you're from CA. Welcome to the best coast. No more unlivable droughts or giant wildfire outbreaks! You get seasons now and in 2hrs of driving you can be in 4 different states. Don't be discouraged by the New Englanders who get salty about the winter. People who never lived in a place where water restrictions were the norm and lakes permanently dried up, don't know how good they have it. New England is a good choice to transplant yourself.

Excellent!! Thanks for sharing this info. I’ve been enjoying having actual seasons.

Thanks! The only drawback so far seems that cars rust with the salt on the roads, I’ve been trying to prepare myself. The seasons really have been beautiful. Can’t wait to explore everything now that I’ve settled in.

Also loving the history of New England!

Cathedral in the Pines is a relatively short drive, great view of Mount Monadnock

Ehh people can be grumpy about that. A NE pro-tip that will save you lots of money down the road on car maintenance: get a monthly subscription to a car wash place. Go whenever there is a dry day and always get the undercarriage wash. Honestly, a monthly pass equals about 3 washes without the pass...so it's a deal to get the pass during winter months. The key is to time it after a snow storm (or a rain that rehydrates the road salt) and as soon as the roads dry out...get a wash. This is so you don't kick up more salt on your drive home in a freshly washed car. Why not a DIY? Go for it if you buy yourself an undercarriage roller that fits onto a hose, but you'd have to deal with mitigating a hose and faucet from getting frozen. The easiest is going to a wash facility.

My three favorite car wash locations (choose whichever washing style you prefer i.e. no touch vs touch):

Clean and Green car wash in Shrewsbury on rt20

Bonus is is a large number of car vacuums (free) that are strong. Clutch for winter grit getting into car carpets.

Ernie's touchless car wash

Scrub-a-dub Shrewsbury location on rt9

Take me with you to see colors. I used to live in Worcester up until a year ago.

NH, VT are good places. The Berkshires , Mt Wachusett too

Wow, definitely saving these for future reference. I bought a car just for my move to MA, would hate to see it rust.

Between clean green and scruba a dub which is better for undercarriage wash in your opinion?

I am super particular about my car and kinda OCD about keeping it clean. So I got you.

My favorite is probably the Clean & Green on rt20.

Bonus for this location, it's near the almost-ready-to-open Market Basket. MB is a NE specific grocery chain known for their great product and deals (there is a serious amount of customer loyalty too with the store). We're all excited for it to open. Clean&Green is also super close to my oft go-to grocery store, Wegman's. If you haven't been yet, I describe it as bougie-but-with-deals. Like if Wholefoods wasn't "whole paycheck". Extensive and very good quality produce. Excellent seafood and meat department. They have "Wegmans brands" which is a bit like Costco Kirkland branding. Has a liquor store extension with a huge variety of craft beer and ciders (both which we're known for in NE). It's, uhhh, also really close to a couple cannabis retailers like The Botanist.

I've lived on the west coast, midwest, and east...and by far MA is my favorite. Which is why I've lived here the longest and consider myself a fully adopted masshole. All of the NE mannerisms will seem grumpy or curt to you at first (like no one's going to be smiling at you or saying hello)...but it's because we don't deal with fake friendliness. We figure you are doing shit out and about and we're not going to get in your way because we have shit to do too. But new englanders are super genuine. If someone is friendly you can trust they're being real about it...and not doing it to blow wind up your skirt. Like if someone says they'll help you clear some snow off your driveway with their snowblower, they'll absolutely show up. If after a nor'easter storm, a tree falls down in your yard, someone will come over with a chainsaw asking if you need help clearing the mess. I think the cranky grumbling is part of the charm around here. Especially around Worcester, where cranky is an art form (but it wouldn't be Worcester without it).

Both equally regarding undercarriage washing. IMO it's up to you how you like the final wash. Like I'd advise getting a single wash at both places then just taking a look at the results. Then compare that to other stuff like location convenience.

Like I appreciate all the great free vacuums at Clean&Green. Also as an aside, not everyone cares...but clean&green uses less than 15gal/car wash and uses earth friendly chemicals and solutions.

Vermont

Hah! I have seen the market basket satire videos. I need to try both market basket and Wegman’s though.

I heard someone say that the difference between New England and CA is that NE is kind but not nice while CA is nice but not kind.

I have nothing but positive experiences with all the locals I have encountered. I bought furniture on Facebook market and I couldn’t fit a couch in the back of my SUV. I offered to rent a moving truck but the guy would have none of it. He put it in his truck along with a shelf I thought was cool and delivered to my place in the snow for free. Couldn’t believe it.

Yeah, absolutely go to Wegman's if you haven't been there. Probably the best local Indian restaurant is also in that shopping plaza down by the Ulta.

>I heard someone say that the difference between New England and CA is that NE is kind but not nice while CA is nice but not kind.

As once living in CA when I was a kid, this hits the truth so hard.

It's like the difference between a friend who is nice to everyone's face and is super sociable but will talk gossip behind everyone's back to stir the drama...vs...the friend who is aloof and hard to read but ends up being a loyal friend for life and is the one who will get your drunk ass home safe.

>I offered to rent a moving truck but the guy would have none of it. He put it in his truck along with a shelf I thought was cool and delivered to my place in the snow for free. Couldn’t believe it.

Hahaha....yeah litterally the least surprising thing to hear honestly. Like...my neighbor randomly called me last February at like 10pm because he made a chance purchase on a large screen TV at Best Buy for a ridiculously good open box deal....but has a sedan and couldn't fit it in his car. So he was in a precarious position on a cold night and definitely needed help to get it home. I was like, yeah that's fine. Like I didn't get an suv to NOT load random shit in it. It was random but kinda fun.

What’s the name of the Indian restaurant? I just got Bollywood grill a few days ago. It was pretty good, I was surprised how negative the reviews were.

Kumars, but the Northborough location not Boston.

This was a tip originally given to me by a high school student who was doing an internship in my lab (and who was Indian and said when her family just wants something easy and takeaway that they go there).

Negative reviews are the norm because we are cranky and locals will always know of "that one other place that is a little bit better". Negative reviews sometimes are just a reflection of NE crankiness. Wait until to see someone post here on the local page asking for "the best local steak place in central MA" and it will look like a hilarious shit show.

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The 20th would be a great time to ride through Woodstock, Thompson, Putnam CT area. lots of farms and places to get pumpkins and cider and all that fun stuff.

I’m going to say, outside…

Rt2

Hike Wachusett Mountain. Seriously, it blows my mind that the trails up there aren’t swarmed with leaf peepers.

190 towards Leominster is a beautiful commute right now

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As others have mentioned, just take a ride up I-190 towards Leominster… Wachusett Mountain and the roads around it are very nice for fall leaf peeping.

Who cares about car rust!

That thought pattern is akin to worrying about quicksand near desert areas in California….

Look around… there are MANY 20 year old cars still in the road…

Enjoy where you are.. there is no perfect place!

If you’re into hiking, you’ll love the view atop the most climbed mountain in the world: Mt. Monadnock, about an hour and fifteen minutes north in Jaffrey, NH. It’ll be crowded, and you need to purchase a parking pass in advance.

If you want to avoid the crowds and get the absolute best view, summit a little before sunrise. This time of year, you’ll have to start climbing by about 4:45/5 to make it in time.

It is already peak in NH north of Lake Winnipesauke. Was up there yesterday. Over the next week it will move south. The summit of nearby Mt Wachusett will be a nice place to see it in the coming week, as will be Mt Watatic and Mt Monadnock.

They don't really rust much these days. That was more when cats were all metal. Mostly plastic now.

Just go west on 122 south on 202 and back west on 9. Really nice views.

Go for a walk around Wachusett Reservoir in Clinton. Park by the high school and walk through the trails to the top of the dam. I love doing that walk every year at least once or twice.

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They change color slowly, so there’s no real great place to watch then change

There are some very nice scenic drives south of Worcester through the towns near the MA/RI/CT line.

I just went up to brattlefield vermont and it is definitely not peaking this weekend. Did see more towards the coast. I would suggest going to Brattleboro and go back through Route 9 >12>140> and route 2 back to Worcester. Took me 3 hrs round trip so not much driving.

Western Mass especially the Amherst area

I drove west on the pike today and a lot of the leaves are almost peak there. I drive 495 during the week and it is not very impressive because there are a lot of evergreens along that route. There are noticeably less to get in the way on 90 heading to the Berkshires.

A last thought, take mom to Concord, was just there and there's still a lot of green that will turn in the next two weeks or so. It's an easy drive via I 190 to Rt 2 east, under an hour and there's so much to see and do. The Old Manse, home to Emerson and Hawthorne is in walking distance to the old North Bridge where "The shot heard round the world" was fired. Authors Ridge in Concord's Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is not far from there, Emerson, Thoreau and Alcott are buried there. Walden pond is a few minutes drive from all of that.

Appreciate the idea!! She was an English major in college, so this could be perfect.