Festivals, train rides and rambles around New England all offer opportunities for enjoying the region’s autumn color, and the September-October issue of Yankee Magazine lists many suggestions for activities and destinations.
Yankee’s recommendations for fall foliage trains include the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad in Maine; Hoosac Valley train rides operated by the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum out of North Adams, Mass.; the Conway Scenic Railroad based in North Conway, N.H.; the Mount Washington Cog Railway out of Bretton Woods, N.H., and the Essex Steam Train in Essex, Conn., with a riverboat ride option on the Connecticut River.
Events showcased in the fall issue of Yankee range from country fairs to food festivals to the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular, Oct. 5 to Nov. 5 at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, R.I., a display of 5,000 carved and illuminated pumpkins. Other events include Westport, Conn.,’s Oct. 1 Chowdafest; the Pawtucket Arts Festival, with a month’s worth of events in Rhode Island; the Mount Snow Oktoberfest, Oct. 7 to 8, in West Dover, Vermont; Maine’s Fryeburg Fair, Oct. 1 to 8, plus Harvest on the Harbor in Portland, Oct. 17 to 22; the Big E expo in Springfield, Mass., Sept. 15 to Oct. 1, and the Topsfield Fair, north of Boston, Sept. 29 to Oct. 9.