'GMA' List of the Day: Best Fall Foliage Drives and Lodging
Find out where to see amazing fall foliage and where to stay in your area.
Sept. 16, 2010— -- "Good Morning America" today shared the top three drives for seeing fall foliage this year, from Budget Travel magazine.
1. Vermont's Route 100:
Stamford, Vt., to Newport, Vt., 216 miles
Snaking through the center of Vermont all the way from the Massachusetts border to the Canadian one, Route 100 feels less like a state highway than one long, rambling backcountry path. A strict billboard ban preserves every vista as the road winds between the peaks of Green Mountain National Forest and passes through quaint valley towns like Hyde Park and Weston (population 631). With only farm stands, country stores, and covered bridges breaking up the landscape, you'll consistently feel 200 miles from the 21st century.Don't miss: The seven-mile stretch through Granville Gulf State Reservation, a favorite for leaf peepers, is also home to the multitiered, 35-foot-tall Moss Glen Falls, which can be seen from the road.
2. The Blue Ridge Parkway
Waynesboro, Va., to Cherokee, N.C., 469 miles
One of the New Deal's most ambitious endeavors, this curvaceous "park-to-park highway" links Virginia's Shenandoah National Park with North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains National Park via dozens of hairpin turns and 26 tunnels cut through Appalachian granite. Spot a 19th-century farm or postage-stamp-size town at the bottom of a verdant mountainside and you'll realize how seemingly unchanged the road remains since its inception in 1935.
Don't Miss: Concerts of traditional Appalachian banjo and fiddle music start at 10 a.m. Sunday through Thursday at the Blue Ridge Music Center, located in Galax, Va.
3. Route 66
Immortalized by John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath, this original mega highway has long personified the American dream of escaping hard times and making it big out West. Although you won't find the 84-year-old road on maps anymore (it's been replaced by segments of the Interstate Highway System), you can still follow the classic drive from the small towns of the Midwest and Great Plains through the deserts of the Southwest and on to Los Angeles.
Don't miss: The 400-mile-long Oklahoma portion best embodies the retro spirit most 66 travelers are looking for, with ghost towns such as Texola and Americana-rich sights such as the 66-foot-tall soda bottle marking Pops restaurant in Arcadia.
CLICK HERE for more on Fall Foliage Drives from Budget Travel magazine.
Six More Great American Drives:
Great Lakes Seaway Trail
Massena, N.Y., to West Springfield, Pa., 518 miles
Florida's Overseas Highway
Key Largo to Key West, 113 miles
Monument Valley
Kayenta, Ariz., to Mexican Hat, Utah, 43 miles
Going-to-the-Sun Road
Glacier National Park, Mont., 50 miles
Mount Evans Scenic Byway
Idaho Springs, Colo. to Mount Evans Summit, Colo., 28 miles
California Route 1
Orange County, Calif., to Mendocino County, Calif. 655 miles
CLICK HERE for more on Fall Foliage Drives from Budget Travel magazine.
CLICK HERE for more on their Great American Drives.
CLICK HERE for the Budget Travel magazine homepage all of their travel tips and deals.
Fall Foliage Drives: Where Should You Stay?
Route 100
The Old Red Mill Inn, in the heart of Wilmington, retains rustic charm from its previous life as a sawmill (18 N. Main St., Wilmington, oldredmill.com, from $70). Homemade cookies and intricate quilts create a homey vibe at the Brass Lantern Inn, but be sure to leave the property from time to time to explore Stowe's award-winning restaurants (717 Maple St., Stowe, brasslanterninn.com, from $99).
Great Lakes Seaway Trail
The Georgian-style Hillcrest Inn (1 Hillcrest St., Niagara Falls, N.Y., hillcrestniagara.com, from $119) sits on a quiet block just out of earshot of the boom of Niagara Falls; guests can eat breakfast on a private balcony with views of the upper rapids. The Boothby Inn is a restored 1888 Victorian home in the heart of downtown Erie, mere minutes from the bay (311 W. 6th St., Erie, Pa., theboothbyinn.com, from $130). In the aptly named Shakespeare room, the decorative tiles lining the fireplace depict scenes from some of the Bard's famous plays.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Step back in time with a visit to the Mast Farm Inn, where you can admire the meticulously kept grounds and gardens from a porch rocking chair or sharpen your culinary skills at the Mast Farm Inn School of Cooking (2543 Broadstone Rd., Banner Elk, N.C., mastfarminn.com, from $99). The Bearskin Lodge on the River is situated along a trout stream on the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (840 River Rd., Gatlinburg, Tenn., thebearskinlodge.com, from $45). Log and stone accents give the property an appropriately rustic look.
Historic Route 66
Wicker Park Inn's brick rowhouse has been a fixture of Chicago's leafy Wicker Park neighborhood since the 1890s (1329 N. Wicker Park Ave., Chicago, wickerparkinn.com, from $139). The eight themed guest rooms—from Cape Cod to Provence to Tuscan—are appealingly understated, not kitschy. On the Oklahoma leg of Route 66, the two buildings that compose the present-day Pollard Inn (124 W. Harrison Ave., Guthrie, Okla., pollardinn.biz, from $150) were christened as the Guthrie Savings Bank and the W.N. Wallace Pharmacy in the early 20th century. The bank's original vault stands among multitudes of other historic relics that decorate the halls and guest rooms.
CLICK HERE for more on Fall Foliage Drives from Budget Travel magazine.
CLICK HERE for more on their Great American Drives.
CLICK HERE for the Budget Travel magazine homepage all of their travel tips and deals.