- Not just for kids, not just for families: White Mtn. foliage camp for adults 50+
- Get "found" in the Maine Woods: off-the-beaten path fly fishing, hiking, paddling, and lodge-to-lodge biking
- Explore the outdoors from a "darker" perspective: evening moose tours, stargazing, and nocturnal creatures walks
- Let experts lead (and plan) the way: free guided foliage hikes, interpretive outdoor programs, and skills workshops
- Get your hands dirty: family-friendly volunteer vacations with scenic fall backdrops
- One part hike, one part science: monitoring fall's lifecycle
- Top picks: leaf peeping hikes in New England and the Mid-Atlantic
- A unique fall experience: New England's only full-service mountain huts
- Top ten backdrop for artistic inspiration: photography and painting in New Hampshire's White Mountains
- Rustic weekend for New Yorkers: fall hawk migration and Irish dancing in New Jersey’s Delaware Water Gap
- After the foliage crowds disperse, before the snow flies: Family Camp Weekend at Highland Center
1. Not just for kids, not just for families: White Mtn. foliage camp for adults 50+
Change is a trademark of the baby boomer generation, and slowing down is one thing this generation is not doing. AMC is breaking the traditional kids-only camp mold and expanding its programming this fall to introduce camp exclusively for adults 50+.
This September 23-28, during peak foliage season, AMC is offering
50+ Adventure Camp based at AMC’s
Highland Center in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. The program is tailor-made for adventure-minded travelers ages 50+ interested in a mix of nature walks, half-day and full-day hikes, local and natural history, and the chance to meet new friends against a spectacular mountain backdrop. Highland Center combines doorstep access to many miles of scenic White Mountain trails with the comforts of lodge amenities off the trail, including private rooms/private bathrooms, freshly prepared meals, and a selection of day and evening programs to choose from. Highland Center also provides an award-winning "green-friendly" experience reflected in every detail, from the design of the lodge to daily activities with expert naturalists. A sampling of planned activities includes:
- Hike to Zealand Hut: Take an easy hike to AMC’s Zealand Falls Hut, part of the only and oldest full-service, hut-to-hut hiking chain in the U.S.
- Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge Hike: This National Natural Landmark is considered one of the top birding locations in the Northeast
- Summit a 4,000 footer: Expert-led, moderate to difficult hike to a nearby New Hampshire 4,000-foot peak
- Grand Hotels of the White Mountains: History of the grand hotels in the White Mountain area
- Aprés Adventure Social: Downtime before dinner to talk and socialize off the trail with new friends
2. Get "found" in the Maine Woods: off-the-beaten-path fly fishing, hiking, paddling, and lodge-to-lodge biking
Outdoor enthusiasts who prize remote wilderness experiences, where a moose-spotting is more likely than crossing paths with another human, will find a unique opportunity in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness region. The latter half of September is one of the best times for fly-fishing, and native brook trout are the big draw. Cover up to 18 miles in one day mountain biking lodge-to-lodge between AMC’s Little Lyford Pond Camps and Medawisla Wilderness Camps on a dirt logging road network. Paddling itineraries are many, ranging from one-day trips on Long Pond to multi-day backcountry adventures on the cluster of Roach ponds. Hiking routes are equally as varied, from an easy-to-moderate hike to Gulf Hagas, the “Grand Canyon of Maine,” to a challenging day spent bushwhacking to a nearby summit.
AMC can arrange for guiding services through partnerships with local Registered Maine Guides.
This hidden jewel of land surrounds AMC's traditional Maine sporting camps, Little Lyford Pond Camps and Medawisla Wilderness Camps. Check out AMC's multi-activity itinerary, including the new lodge-to-lodge biking experience, for a glimpse of the many possibilities awaiting outdoor enthusiasts.
3. Explore the outdoors from a "darker" perspective: evening moose tours, stargazing, and nocturnal creatures walks
The daily, expert-led evening program at Highland Center starts at 8:00 p.m. and includes a wide variety of outdoor programs free to guests as part of AMC Outdoor Explorations. Every Wednesday and Friday, buckle up for a chance to see the majestic Woodland Moose in the flesh. Take a one-hour drive through prime moose habitat and hear about life as a moose. The full mix of outdoor and indoor evening programs this fall includes night hikes, nocturnal creatures walks, stargazing, fall colors, tracks 'n scat, gear up for fall, skins 'n skulls, movies, featured speakers, and a focus on AMC topics such as AMC Huts, AMC Maine Woods Initiative, and AMC Volunteer for Trails.
4. Let experts lead (and plan) the way: free guided foliage hikes, interpretive outdoor programs, and skills workshops
The evolving format of AMC's outdoor programs is responsive to feedback asking for even greater flexibility i.e. multi-day options with a healthy mix of daily, one-to-eight hour experiences to better fit today's busy lifestyles. AMC's walk-on Outdoor Explorations programs, introduced this year, are free to guests and offer a wide variety of expert-led activities ranging from nature walks to summiting 4,000-foot peaks. Following is a snapshot of what to expect this fall:
- Free, "Adventure of the Day" two-hour guided programs, including shutterbug hikes, trail running, and trail maintenance offered daily at 9:00 a.m. to Highland Center guests.
- Free, three-to-eight hour guided hikes, including hut hikes, offered at 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays at Highland Center. Four Thousand Footer hike offered every Sunday at 8:00 a.m.
- Free, naturalist-guided tours of Pinkham Notch offered every weekend at 10 a.m. at Joe Dodge Lodge.
- Free, one-hour interpretive outdoor programs offered daily at 1:00 p.m. and skills workshops daily at 3:00 p.m. at Highland Center. Programs offered every Wednesday through Sunday at Joe Dodge Lodge from 8:00-9:00 a.m. Programs vary by location and will include fall colors, White Mountain weather, forest ecology, Leave No Trace, map and compass, trail maintenance, firemaking, nature journaling, edibles, and more.
- Free evening programs offered daily at 8:00 p.m. at Highland Center and on Saturday nights at Joe Dodge Lodge.
5. Get your hands dirty: family-friendly volunteer vacations with scenic fall backdrops
Make a meaningful contribution this fall and learn new skills in scenic mountain settings as part of a volunteer trail weekend. Parents work cooperatively with their children and other volunteers on the trail crew clearing new growth and fallen trees, cleaning drains, and helping with other maintenance tasks on the trails near AMC's Cardigan Lodge in New Hampshire's Lakes Region and Mohican Outdoor Center in the Delaware Water Gap of New Jersey. Each year, the AMC depends on more than 2,500 trail volunteers who contribute their time, energy, and enthusiasm through participation in trail programs.
AMC's Mountain Watch "citizen-scientist" program offers another opportunity to volunteer as a family while enjoying a foliage hike in New Hampshire's White Mountains.
AMC's fall multi-activity itineraries offer a sampling of hiking, biking, and paddling adventures for families to take full advantage of down time.
6. One part hike, one part science: monitoring fall's lifecycle
Want to know when the best time is to catch fall colors in the White Mountains? Take a mountain plant monitoring hike this fall to help answer this question. AMC's Mountain Watch "citizen-scientist" program gives hikers an easy, hands-on way of more deeply engaging in the outdoors by volunteering to help track the timing of fall color change and leaf drop. Simply download a fall foliage survey from AMC's website, take a foliage hike to any view of a forest from an overlook or peak in the White Mountains or other Northeast location, and record observations as part of long-term research examining indicators of climate change.
7. Top picks: leaf peeping hikes in New England and the Mid-Atlantic
Some of the most rewarding views are the sole privilege of hikers emerging from under a forested color canopy to discover their own private vista or 360-degree views from atop bald summits. Following are a few top picks for short-to-moderate hikes in New Hampshire, Maine, and New Jersey. For closer to home excursions from Maine to Washington, D.C., turn to AMC's regional chapters and
guidebooks.
- Mount Willard summit hike from AMC's Highland Lodge is widely considered to have some of the finest views in the White Mountains for the amount of effort required. The 3.2-mile round- trip hike has easy grades and good footing.
- From AMC's Pinkham Notch Visitor Center/Joe Dodge Lodge, short waterfall hikes offer a contrast of vibrant colors against rocky, grey ledges and frothy falls. Crystal Cascade is a short, 15-minute walk, and Square Ledge offers great fall foliage views across and up into Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines on Mt. Washington. Thompson Falls is a series of small cascades near the Wildcat Mountain Ski Area just down the road, and Glen Ellis Falls just over a mile away is a picturesque waterfall that plunges into a pool 70 feet below.
- Mount Cardigan, nicknamed "Old Baldy," is a favorite day-hike offering unobstructed views of the Lakes Region, White Mountains, and Vermont. Just a two-hour drive north of Boston, Mount Cardigan is also a great first "big mountain climb" for young families introducing their kids to the outdoors. At historic AMC Cardigan Lodge, located at the base of the mountain, full-service with family-style dinners and breakfasts plus daily activities is offered through the end of October.
- At Gulf Hagas, a 4-mile-long, slate-walled gorge called the "Grand Canyon of Maine," vibrant fall colors are the backdrop for the narrow chutes, waterfalls, and rapids of the West Branch of the Pleasant River as it drops nearly 100 feet per mile while it works its way through the gulf. AMC's Little Lyford Pond Camps is located about a 2.5-mile hike from the head of the Gulf.
- An ideal jumping off point for a number of Appalachian Trail hikes in the Delaware Water Gap of New Jersey is AMC's Mohican Outdoor Center. For an easier, family-friendly hike past the local waterfalls down to the Delaware River, take the Coppermine Trail off of the Appalachian Trail. Go two miles past the Coppermine Falls and down to the river, where you can see the remains of abandoned mines that date back to the eighteenth century.
- More Mid-Atlantic fall hikes and paddles: "Mid-Atlantic Madness," (PDF format) AMC Outdoors, October 2003
- More White Mountains hikes: "It's Time for a Fall Hike!," AMC Outdoors, September 2004
- AMC Trip Planner offers some top hiking, biking, and paddling picks sorted by state and activity.
AMC's
fall multi-activity itineraries offer a sampling of hiking, biking, and paddling adventures at AMC frontcountry lodges and backcountry mountain huts, all located in or near National Forests and Recreation Areas in Maine, New Hampshire, and New Jersey.
8. A unique fall foliage experience: New England's only full-service mountain huts
Visit in the fall during the final weeks of the full-service hut season for freshly prepared meals, naturalist programs, and fall foliage! For a taste of the backcountry, call Highland Center or Joe Dodge Lodge base camp and spend a night at an AMC mountain hut. Lodge-to-hut hiking to these remote hostelries (located from two to five miles from a roadside trailhead) puts you right in the thick of the forest, where colorful maple, birch, or beech leaves may brush your cheek as you hike by. Spend your first night at either AMC’s Joe Dodge Lodge or the Highland Center at Crawford Notch, then roll out of bed and hike into the backcountry to AMC's White Mountains huts, located along the Appalachian Trail. Link one, two, or more huts together for the only full-service hut-to-hut hiking in the U.S. The food is bountiful, educational programs are offered, and the views cannot be beat! AMC Huts are popular with hikers who want to spend the night in the backcountry without having to carry heavy backpacks, cooking gear, food, and tents.
This fall, join a naturalist-led lodge-to-hut foliage hike that starts off at Highland Center and includes overnights at Zealand Falls Hut and Galehead Hut.
Every Saturday, you can also join a free, guided day hike from Highland Center to Mizpah Spring or Zealand Falls Hut. Enjoy lunch at the hut and the spectacular views of the White Mountains.
9. Top ten backdrop for artistic inspiration: photography and painting in New Hampshire's White Mountains
The beauty of New Hampshire's White Mountains, which inspired an era of landscape art in the nineteenth century, has an especially strong draw for visitors when the region is transformed by vibrant shades of oranges, yellows, and reds. Whether you're a painter, photographer, sketcher, or spectator, come be inspired by the White Mountains this fall and immerse yourself in the season. AMC's Highland Center is located adjacent to the Shapleigh Bunk House, once the home of noted artist Frank H. Shapleigh from 1877 to 1894. Next door is Thayer Hall, which currently features a display of mountain photography by Bradford Washburn. An audio tour brings the images to life, offering personal anecdotes and commentary from Washburn himself about the larger than life images of Mont Blanc, Mt. McKinley, the Matterhorn, Tuckerman Ravine, and Mt. Washington hanging on the walls.
Another option is a multi-day AMC Outdoor Explorations workshop, "Fall Digital Photography," being offered at Highland Center in early October. This workshop is suitable for both beginner photographers wanting to learn the basics, as well as experienced photographers looking for that quintessential "Fall in the Mountains" photograph.
10. Rustic weekend for New Yorkers: Fall hawk migration and Irish dancing in New Jersey’s Delaware Water Gap
Every fall, New Jersey is a paradise for birdwatchers as northern populations of red-tails and other hawks migrate southward starting in late August and peaking in September and October. According to AMC's "Nature Walks in New Jersey" guidebook, one of the best places to view the migration is Raccoon Ridge, a peak in the Kittatinny Mountain Range. The advantage being far fewer people than at the more famous raptor-watching spot, Hawk Mountain, yet with more than 15,000 spottings in a typical migration. From the AMC’s Mohican Outdoor Center lodge, the 5.8-mile round-trip hike along the Appalachian Trail also rewards with a 360-degree view of the Delaware River Valley and the Great Valley of the Appalachians.
This fall, there's also a variety of special, fall-themed Weekend Getaways being hosted at Mohican Outdoor Center. Themes during September and October include digital photography, hiking for mind and body, and Irish dancing, among others.
11. After the foliage crowds disperse, before the snow flies: Family Camp Weekend at Highland Center
Want to get away as a family before the holidays? This fall, spend a weekend at Highland Center's multi-generational Family Camp Weekend, created especially for families with kids ages 5 to 12. The early November weekend is a shorter version of AMC's popular Family Adventure Camps offered during the summer, and it will feature a full schedule of daily, family-friendly activities--including guided programs, outdoor skills, and evening programs. Families will receive a guidebook to the White Mountains and may borrow boots, jackets, backpacks, and more from the L.L. Bean gear room.
