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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Leaf-peepers visit Hanover to take in the foliage

The leaves in Hanover drive local tourism every fall.
The leaves in Hanover drive local tourism every fall.

With the change of the seasons comes a photographer’s dream — thousands upon thousands of leaves saturated in the characteristic warm hues of fall. Once the leaves begin to change color, Hanover is swarmed by tourists toting cameras hoping to snap an Instagram-worthy picture of the foliage.

New Hampshire division of travel and tourism communications manager Kris Neilsen said that around 8.5 million visitors are expected in the state this fall. This could mark a 3 percent growth from last year, when the state received 8.2 million fall visitors.

Tourist spending is also expected to rise this year, Neilsen says. From September through November, an estimated $1.3 billion will be spent — a 7 percent increase from 2014.

Neilsen has received positive feedback from visitors who have leaf-peeped.

“The scenery is certainly spectacular, and we are getting reports from folks all over the state that this year has been an exceptional year for the viewing of the leaves — some really spectacular colors, and people love to see the scenic drives,” Neilsen said.

Besides gazing at the fall foliage, visitors have many activities from which to choose.

“It really is a scenic beauty, but there’s also a lot of other activities that happen in the fall that bring a lot of people,” Neilsen said. “There’s a lot of festivals, agricultural fairs, visiting farm stands, picking pumpkins and apples, so it’s really a combination of things that draw people here.”

Hanover Inn general manager Keith Wagner recently joined the staff and has only been in Hanover for two weeks. Having previously lived in Philadelphia, he said that the beauty of New Hampshire foliage is unique to the area.

“Weather is similar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But the colors and the foliage [in New Hampshire] — nothing matches it.” he said.

This year, the waves of leaf peepers coincided with the arrival of alumni for homecoming weekend. This created an unusual boom for local businesses.

“This year they’re both together, so it’s kind of the perfect storm, but when the foliage is earlier we do get a draw of people wanting to see the seasons change,” Wagner said.

For Sixth South Street Hotel employee Chris Calhoun, a New England native, viewing the fall foliage is an annual ritual. This year, however, Calhoun noticed a delay in the changing of leaf colors, which he attributed to the unusually warm weather. Once the season became more temperate, he said, the leaves changed color quite quickly.

Dining room manager at Lou’s Restaurant Donna Langlais noticed the larger-than-usual crowds this year. She also noted that because the leaf-peeping season coincided with Homecoming Weekend — including a football game against Yale University — Lou’s has attracted many customers.

She also said that of the tourists she has seen, some hailed from beyond New England.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in tourists — a lot of people from Canada, people from the south coming up to New England who are just kind of traveling. We’re always busy here, but it just seems more significantly busy this year,” she added.

The benches on the outskirts of the Green are a popular place to admire the foliage.

John Samson, the father of Olivia Samson ’16, enjoyed the view with his wife as they waited for their daughter.

“I try to come up here a lot,” he said. “It’s her last year, so I want to get as much time here as I can. It’s great this time of year — all the trees, the leaves on the ground… makes me wish I was a student here.”