Leaf-peepers are flocking to see New England’s brilliant fall colors

MEREDITH, N.H. — Browsing in New England season is in full swingas people from Florida and Berlin flock to the region for scenic drives, train rides and bus tours to enjoy the beautiful shades of red, orange and bronze. With quaint towns and covered bridges scattered through swaths of evolving forest, the rural northeast provides an ideal setting to view nature’s annual spectacle.

“Foliage viewing is one of the most accessible tourist things you can do,” says Teddy Willey, general manager of the Frog Rock Tavern in Meredith, New Hampshire. “You don’t have to be athletic to be a hiker, you don’t have to have the money to own a boat.”

You just need to be able to jump in a car and drive north, he said.

“Once you get there, you just take it in,” Willey said.

He spoke just after his tavern was flooded with tourists from Indiana who had gotten off a sightseeing bus.

Among them was Vicky Boesch of Fort Wayne, who made the trip with her sisters.

“We came to the Northeast to see the beautiful foliage and colorful leaves,” she said, adding that she was impressed with Vermont.

“The leaves were very beautiful on the mountains because the sun was shining yesterday, and that makes them stand out even more,” she said.

It wasn’t just the fall colors that contrasted Indiana, she said, but also the region’s distinctive architecture, lakes and towns.

Gordon Cochran of Lake View, Iowa, said he was in New Hampshire to visit his daughter and had a “beautiful ride” on the slow-moving Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad.

Weather events linked to climate change have upset some recent leaf-peeping seasons. One problem is that global warming has led to drought, which causes the leaves to turn brown and wither before they can reach their colorful peak.

Willey acknowledges that he is not a leaf man.

“Not personally. I grew up here, so I think it’s losing its luster a little bit,” he said with a chuckle, adding that the season still has its moments.

“I’m driving somewhere around the Lakes Region and suddenly you think, ‘You know what, there’s a reason why people come here and there’s a reason why I live here. It’s really beautiful,'” he said, referring to a scenic part of eastern New Hampshire.