When is the best time to visit New England?

Visiting New England in April - May

Spring breathes new life into New England, with wildflowers blossoming in the mountains and warming temperatures brightening up the coastline. New Hampshire and Vermont are the main beneficiaries of springtime: alongside the flowering landscape, the maple trees enter their sugaring season. In Boston, baseball fever sparks into life in April as the city’s beloved Red Sox begin their gruelling 162-game season.

Events & Festivals

• The Boston Marathon, which has been running since the late 1800s, takes place on Patriots' Day (the third Monday in April). Now attracting half a million visitors, the event’s recent history has tightened the city’s bond with the race and made it a poignant reminder of Boston’s resilience.

Visiting New England in June - August

The summer months are one of the two peak seasons in New England, when the entire region is in its element as temperatures soar. Visitors can enjoy fully the area’s scenery, from glacial lakes and mountains to the coast and its pristine beaches. Summer is a great time for families to visit, with a plethora of activities to choose from, although this is one of the busiest times of year. For more seclusion, Bar Harbor in Maine is the launch point for the Acadia National Park, where the majority of the state’s 75,000 moose live along with 40 other wildlife species.

Events & Festivals

• Tanglewood — every summer, the Boston Symphony Orchestra relocates to the countryside of the Berkshires and holds a series of concerts on the Tanglewood Estate. One of the best-known classical music festivals in the USA, it typically begins in mid-June.

Visiting New England in September - October

New England’s second peak season is autumn, when the shift to cooler temperatures sets off the glorious fall displays. From mid-September to October, the blanket of reds and golds descends from Canada and falls across New England like a curtain, drawing a huge number of ‘leaf peeper’ tourists. The window for seeing the foliage is quite narrow, and New England’s small inns book up many months in advance. The cooler temperatures lend themselves to walking and hiking, and you can also head to Provincetown for whale watching as the cooling Atlantic Ocean pushes whales closer to the shoreline.

Visiting New England in November - December

The end of October signals the end of the travel season in New England, and many hotels and inns close up until the end of the year. Thanksgiving typically signals the start of ski season in Vermont and New Hampshire, though the snowfall can be patchy.

Events & Festivals

• Thanksgiving Day, taking place on the fourth Thursday in November, is the busiest travel day in the USA as the majority of the country heads home for this public holiday.