Traveling in the time of Covid is a bit complicated: different rules on national and state border crossings; transportation and hospitality operators either closed or barely in business; guidelines left and right on what can and cannot be done; et cetera…
But while complicated, it is not impossible. My general guidelines for discretionary traveling during this period are simple: stay closer to home; travel in your own modes of transport; do some extra research and planning before leaving; and be patience while on the road.
Following these guidelines, last July I grabbed the Li’l Ferrari-Red Rocket (i.e., my Fiat 500) and went for a road trip around New England.
Routing
The overall parameters for the routing were simple: Four to Five days max; Avoid Maine (“closed” to residents of my state); Emphasis on “Nature” rather than “Culture” (as most museums and similar were still closed due to the pandemic); And preference for a loop route (rather than an out-and-back one).
At the end, I decided that the “anchor” of the trip would be the descent of the Connecticut River Valley—from as far north as practical (near the US / Canada border), to the mouth of the river (near Fenwick, CT). To avoid doing an out-an-back, I would go north along the eastern edge of New Hampshire (avoiding going into Maine too many times…). This meant having to cross New Hampshire from east to west on logging roads through the state’s Great North Woods. Fortunately, being in the middle of nowhere on dirt roads is not a problem for me, just the opposite! Lastly, and since I was going to be nearby, on my way north I would make a little detour to visit a bit more of the White Mountains.
So here is what went into my GPS (in a very abbreviated version):
- Day 1 – From home (Kingston, RI), straight north to New Ipswich, NH.
- Day 2 – From New Ipswich, northeast to Epping and north to Conway, both in NH; a little loop through New Hampshire’s White Mountains followed (Lincoln, Bretton Woods and Glen); and lastly, north to Jackson, NH.
- Day 3 – From Jackson, north to Wilsons Mills, ME; then west to US Rte. 3 near Pittsburgh, NH, already on the Connecticut River; then south, staying as close to the River as possible—sometime in the Vermont side, other times in the New Hampshire side—down to Lancaster, NH.
- Day 4 – From Lancaster, south, continuing to stay close to the river, to Amherst, MA.
- Day 5 – From Amherst, south, continuing to stay close to the Connecticut River, to its mouth, near Fenwick, CT, then east back to home.
Highlights
So, here are a few of the highlights from this trip:
- The route, all of it! With a special mention to the following stretches: NH Rte. 153 from Sanbornville to Conway; The Kancamagus Hwy (NH Rte. 112 between Conway and Lincoln); NH Rte. 16 continuing as ME Rte. 16, from Jackson, NH, to Wilsons Mills, ME; the logging roads between Wilsons Mills, ME and US Hwy 3 north of Pittsburgh, NH (between the First and the Second Connecticut Lakes); the Connecticut River Valley, especially between Pittsburgh, NH and Amherst, MA.
- Covered bridges, all of them as well. And there are plenty, of many shapes and colors. Any hypothetical list of my favorites would include the Honeymoon Bridge in Jackson, NH; the Columbia Bridge, near Lennington, VT; the Haverhill - Bath Covered Bridge, Woodsville, NH; and the Cornish-Windsor Bridge—the longest of them all—near Windsor, VT.
- The Mt. Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, NH, the stage for the Bretton Woods Monetary Conference of 1944 that set up the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
- Tiny Jackson, NH, what a beautiful place!
- Crossing the Great North Woods of northern New Hampshire on logging roads.
- Beautiful Hanover, NH, home to Dartmouth College. What a college town should feel like!
- Mark Twain’s home in Hartford CT. The place was closed due to the pandemic, but the building itself and its setting were remarkable just the same.
- The little “port” town of Essex, CT. With a special mention to the Griswold Inn—more below—and the Connecticut River Museum.
- Fenwick, CT, another gorgeous little town at the “corner” of the Connecticut River with the Atlantic Ocean.
Eating, Drinking, and Sleeping
Under this heading, a special mention to the following places:
- Mt. Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, NH. Did not stay here. Nor did I eat here either, as I pulled in too late for lunch and way too early for dinner. So, I just had a beer on the beautiful verandah overlooking Mt. Washington. What a place. One senses history all around the hotel!
- The Wildcat Inn & Tavern, in Jackson, NH. Great service and great food. Yes, I do recommend it!
- The Wentworth in Jackson, NH. Another grand hotel in the White Mountains from bygone eras. Great service and great breakfast.
- The Copper Pig Brewery in Lancaster, NH. Great service and great food in a nice setting—an old red-brick building by the Israel River. Ah, I almost forgot: the beer is also great!
- Amherst Inn, right in front of the Emily Dickinson Museum, in Amherst, MA. Lovely place, meticulously decorated with period furniture. And super nice innkeeper as well.
- The Griswold Inn in Essex, CT. Founded by three brothers in 1776, the Gris—as the place is popularly known—is one of the oldest continuously operated inns in the US. Its bar, the Tap Room, has been picked consistently over the years as one of the best bars in the country.
- And all the following places, where I had somewhat uncomplicated but rather nice lunches: Lino’s, overlooking the rail tracks in Sanbornville, NH; Grampy’s Drive-In in Pittsburgh, NH; and Lou’s Restaurant & Bakery, in Hanover, NH.
Conclusion
Well worth the trip! I will certainly consider doing it again once the pandemic is over, spending a bit more time on the road. That would allow me to devote more time to the extremely rich “cultural” side of the itinerary. Cheers.
