On a road trip through New England in Fall, we definitely wanted to pass through New Hampshire. My first introduction to the state was via the John Irving novel The Hotel New Hampshire, and subsequent 1984 film starring Rob Lowe and Jodie Foster. More recently, a friend travelled on the Conway Scenic Railway and thought I would like it for fall foliage viewing. So we included this in our planning and booked the train. But was it worth it?
Where is New Hampshire?
New Hampshire is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States.
New Hampshire is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and Quebec, Canada to the north. It is easily accessed on a short road trip from Boston if you want to explore the mountains and great outdoors.
The White Mountains
A large part of New Hampshire is filled with the White Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountain Range, and incorporating the Presidential and Franconia Ranges. This means that the state is filled with beautiful mountain peaks and deep valleys, covered in trees, and fall foliage.
North Conway, NH
Our road trip in New England had started in Boston, Massachusetts, followed by an overnight stop in Scarborough, Maine. From Scarborough, we drove 1.5 hours north to the New Hampshire village of North Conway.
The drive was extremely beautiful along tree-lined roads with yellow lines in the middle of the road and light traffic, passing by farms with red barns and logging lorries.
The fall foliage developed as we drive north to become a shimmering mix of colours – green, gold, yellow, orange and small hints of deep red.
Why visit North Conway, NH?
The main reason for our visit to North Conway was to pick up the historic Conway Scenic Railway for a train ride into the White Mountains.
Parking – there is parking behind the train station available for those taking the train journeys, although it can fill up so arrive in good time. As you walk up the hill from the car park you pass through the train yard where you can see various engines.
With a spare hour before check in time at the railway station, we had some time to explore North Conway. What we found was a small but busy village in the White Mountains – train hub and jumping off point for outdoor activities, including skiing.
The village has an array of wooden fronted, colourful shops centred around a small park, and the railway station. There were many community buildings including a small theatre, white clapboard churches, and a white bandstand in the Central Park.
We popped into the New England Ski Museum – a lovely collection of ski paraphernalia, photographs, history and stories from around the different New England states.
Conway Scenic Railway and the historic Notch Train
The train station in North Conway was built in 1874 in a Russian revival style. It ceased being a general passenger service in 1961 before becoming the Conway Scenic Railway in the mid 1970s.
The Conway Scenic Railway offers several trips of differing length and destination, such as, a one hour or 2 hour trip.
We booked the Mountaineer trip which runs from North Conway to Crawford Notch, a 4-5 hour round trip covering 50-60 miles (round trip).
There are several different seating classes for this journey:
- Coach – the cheapest option
- Comfort – mid level pricing
- Observation Dome – most expensive, but best views.
To be honest, if you don’t want to pay a premium for the observation dome, then the other carriages are still great options.
How to book the right Dome carriage
If you’re riding the Conway Scenic Railway then you might want to splash out on seats with the best view in one of the Observation Dome carriages which give 360-degree views from an elevated deck of seating. Apparently, the dome carriages were built in the 1950s, shortly before they stopped making them.
TIP – We were seated at tables of 4 on the upper observation deck, with two seats facing forwards and two seats facing backwards. Make sure you book seats on the right hand side of the carriage and forward facing seats. It’s a long journey to sit backwards, wishing you were in the forward facing seats as you travel towards Mount Washington!
Actually we discovered that there were two dome carriages on our train, and that the other carriage had a different configuration with seats that swivelled so everyone had a window view – I’m not sure if this would have been better or not?
The journey to Crawford Notch
As the train sets off from North Conway station, you roll out of town for a short time, before entering neighbouring Bartlett.
From here, the train passes over streams and creeks on metal box bridges which crisscross above the dome carriage glass roof.
The train travels through forests alight with fall foliage colours – I think I’d expected a wall of red and orange trees (a vision sold by Instagram?), but the colours were more varied, punctuated by evergreens, very pretty.
As the train moves along the Mount Washington valley, it passes over a curved trestle bridge called the Frankenstein Trestle, and a very high bridge called Willey Brook Bridge.
You can look back down the valley and see the path that the railway cuts through the trees, with the River Saco in the valley bottom – beautiful views highlighting why it’s called the Conway Scenic Railway!
Along the journey we enjoyed narration about the history of the railway and how important it had been for the transportation of food and people back in the day. The railway was built on an ancient route used by First Nations people, later discovered by a Cartographer who was following moose in the valley.
Towards our destination, the train chugged uphill through rocky crags next to the road, before emerging at a pretty tree-lined lake at Crawford Notch.
Engine fun at Crawford Notch
At Crawford Notch we were able to disembark and stretch our legs, whilst the engine was ‘consciously uncoupled’ – detached from one end of the train and moved to the other end, to become the front of the train.
This process took around 15 minutes, so we had time to take photos of the train, lake and fall foliage, before we got back on the train and headed back to North Conway.
For the return journey, we were asked to swap sides with the other passengers to ensure everyone had enjoyed good views on the Conway Scenic Railway.
The return journey to North Conway
As we’d swapped seats at Crawford Notch then we had a different view for the return. The majority of this half of the journey looked out on a forested hillside, so fewer sweeping valley views and Mount Washington behind us.
At one point the man opposite us claimed to have seen a bear, but this was not verified by anyone else!
Practicalities of the train journey
Best time – if you’re wanting to enjoy fall foliage, then the best time for the train journey is early to mid October. For trips at this time of year, you should definitely book well in advance to avoid disappointment.
Food – there is a dining car on the train, or if you prefer not to leave your seats in the Dome carriage, you can pre-order sandwiches for the journey (at least 48 hours before).
To be honest, we weren’t massive fans of the food boxes, but they served a purpose of keeping hunger at bay on the 5 hour trip. Bringing your own food on the train is discouraged.
Parking – as mentioned above, there was plenty of parking behind the station, which also gave us the opportunity to view some of the disused engines and vintage carriages.
Reflections on the train journey
We very much enjoyed our train experience on the Conway Scenic Railway in New Hampshire, which felt nostalgic of a time and type of travel gone by.
I felt very chilled after an afternoon relaxing aboard the train, watching the world and fall foliage go by through the windows – a truly lovely way to spend a few hours.
If you’re splashing out on the Observation dome seats then really do make sure you are forward facing to reduce the risk of getting crick in your neck trying to catch the best views!
Where to eat in North Conway
If you didn’t eat on the train, then good options for dinner in North Conway include:
- Peaches
- Vito Marcellos Italian or the
- Muddy Moose Restaurant and Pub.
It’s a good idea to reserve a table beforehand as they were all busy when we visited on 1 October.
Where to stay in North Conway
To serve this ski and outdoor activity area, there are a lot of main brand hotels on the main road into North Conway, such as Marriott (Residence Inn) and Hilton (Home2Suites) options.
We booked the Hilton Garden Inn which was new, clean and functional – perfect for a ‘passing through’ booking.
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