According to Hanover Inn employees, the second week of October is usually the most popular weekend for foliage viewing in Hanover, about a week later than at locations farther north. The leaf-peeping season runs roughly from the last two weeks of September through the second week of November, they said. While some visitors come specifically to view the leaves, others incorporate leaf peeping into visits they have already planned, Mysti Wolfe, a guest-service representative at the Hanover Inn, said.
"Some people who stay here doing something affiliated with the College will go leaf peeping while they're here, but the people who come up solely to look at the foliage generally stay in the surrounding areas," Wolfe said. "During that time period, the Hanover Inn definitely fills up, but many of our guests are also here for Dartmouth reunions, football games or other events associated with the College."
The Hanover Inn welcomes foliage-seeking tour groups that stop in for lunch during leaf-peeping season, Wolfe said. Leaf peepers vary greatly in age, but according to Wolfe, a majority of the people coming off the tour buses are seniors. The leaf peepers include both American and international vacationers, Ken Daniels, a bellhop at the Hanover Inn, said.
"I would estimate that maybe 10 percent of the people coming off tour buses are actually international," Daniels said.
For "prime leaf-peeping," Wolfe said she recommends that tourists visit Quechee, Vt., but added that she thinks Dartmouth's campus rivals any other scenic view in the area. Some visitors use the season as an opportunity to enjoy views of both the foliage and the campus itself.
Hongmei Wang said she came to Hanover from Massachusetts this fall with almost 30 other friends and family members because they had heard the foliage at the College is "spectacular" this time of year. Her favorite view, she said, is of the tree next to Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
"The colors are just breathtaking," Wang said. "The view of the leaves with Baker Library as the backdrop is beautiful, but so far my favorite tree is the bright red one next to [SAE]."
Many of Wang's friends brought their children, some of whom are barely old enough to walk, she said.
"Dartmouth is such a wonderful, prestigious school, and it's great for the kids to see how beautiful the campus is at a young age," Wang said.
While some leaf peepers, like Wang, organize their own excursions, others choose to book leaf-peeping vacation packages, such as the "Grand Autumn New England" tour that Tauck, Inc., a tour agency, advertises on its web site. Leaf-peeping vacation tours can range in price from several hundred dollars for a weekend to several thousand dollars for longer stays.
David Dowd '12, from Birmingham, Ala., said he is taking advantage of the opportunity to experience fall in New England.
"I definitely want to enjoy the warmth and the vibrant, changing leaves before the winter cold sets in," Dowd said. "It's so different than home where there's mostly pine needles."
Online forecasts of leaf color are available for those tourists who take leaf peeping particularly seriously. In the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region Foliage Report, the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development suggests leaf-peeping opportunities, updating the web site several times per week. As of Oct. 13, "almost any road in this area is loaded with fall colors, especially Interstate 89," according to the report, which also recommends driving on Route 12A, alongside the Connecticut River. This year, heavy rainfall has produced particularly bright colors, the report said.
Leaf-peeping season is "without a doubt" the busiest time of the year for The Woodstock Inn and Resort in Woodstock, Vt., according to Jim Mangan, the hotel's director of sales and marketing. Rooms for peak fall weekends sell out up to a year in advance, Mangan said.
"During the summer, we're lucky if one bus per weekend comes through the town, but during the fall, Woodstock has anywhere from five to 15 buses a day dropping off leaf peepers," Mangan said.
