This year our Grand Fall Tour returns to Vermont, New Hampshire and the Lake George area of New York. This is a very special tour emphasizing branch line trains, meals in country inns, beautiful lake cruises and continuous views of the vibrant colors that define the New England autumn.

This train journey include a diverse collection of railways, ranging from the steam-powered Mount Washington Cog Railway to Amtrak’s Vermonter. Lake Winnipesaukee provides the background for a wonderful turkey dinner in the Winnipesaukee RR diner. You also ascend the yawning gulf of Crawford Notch on the Conway Scenic RR and ride past covered bridges and waterfalls on the Green Mountain RR. You'll also enjoy an elegant dinner on the Café Lafayette Dinner Train, ascend the tallest peak in New England (Mount Washington) on the world’s first steam powered cog-railway, and take a lovely journey along the Connecticut River on the White River Flyer.

Travel from the Shelburne Museum to Burlington VT on the Champlain Valley Flyer. Cruises include the island-dotted waters of Lake Winnipesaukee aboard the century-old lake-steamer “Mount Washington” and sailing beautiful Lake George to Paradise Bay on the historic lake packet “Mohican”. As always, this tour includes relaxing multi-night stays at charming inns and grand hotels, historic sightseeing, and special meals at unique venues.

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• Amtrak’s Vermonter
• Ride the Mount Washington Cog Railway, Green Mountain Flyer, Winnipesaukee Railroad, White River Flyer and the Conway Scenic Railroad
• Enjoy views from the Frankenstein Trestle
• See the Canterbury Shaker Village
• Visit Shelburne Farms and Museum
• Tour the historic S.S. Ticonderoga
• Have a drink at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill
• Tour Fort Ticonderoga
• Visit the Saratoga Battlefield National Military Park

• 10 Nights Hotel Accommodations
• All Rail Travel
• All Boat Fares
• All Motorcoach Travel
• All Sightseeing as included below
• 21 Meals as noted below
• Luggage Handling
• Professional Tour Manager

Day One
Independent arrivals into Albany
Tour participants can arrive into Albany today by air or rail. A pre-tour night is included at the fine Crowne Plaza Albany hotel in the heart of downtown. The hotel will pick up guests at either Amtrak or the airport on request.

Day Two - (B,L,D)
Green Mountains of Vermont; Green Mountain Flyer; to Meredith NH.
You depart Albany this morning on your chartered motorcoach and travel through the upper Hudson River Valley and the Green Mountains of Vermont to Bellows Falls, where you ride the Green Mountain RR’s Green Mountain Flyer to Chester on the former Boston route of the Rutland RR. En route you pass two covered bridges and cross the Williams River Gorge above a thundering waterfall!

Your Welcome Luncheon is at the Fullerton Inn in the “stone village” of Chester before departing east on the motorcoach. Your final destination today is the village of Meredith on the northwest shore of New England’s largest lake, Lake Winnipesaukee. You stay four nights at the cozy Inn at Mill Falls. Your welcome dinner this evening is at Lago, a fine Italian restaurant on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Day Three - (B,D)
Winnipesaukee cruise; turkey dinner on Winnipesaukee RR.
Today you re-create the Boston and Maine Railroad’s once-famous circuit of Lake Winnipesaukee by rail, lake-steamer and coach. This morning board the century-old “M/V Mount Washington” for a voyage on the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee from Weirs Beach to Alton Bay. You then motor along the shore back to Meredith for free time in the afternoon. This evening ride the Winnipesaukee Railroad along the shore from Meredith south through Weirs Beach to Laconia while enjoying a delicious turkey dinner, carved to order at each table!

Day Four - (B,L)
Crawford Notch Railroad; Mount Washington Cog (steam) Railway.
You motor north to the village of North Conway to board the Conway Scenic RR’s Crawford Notch train. This may be the most spectacular preservation railway line in the Northeast as it ascends past rushing rivers and up very steep grades through Crawford Notch. Enroute, the views of the Notch and Mount Washington from the Frankenstein Trestle (its real name) are wonderful! You'll have a fine picnic lunch on the train. At Fabyans Station re-board the coach and drive to Base Station to ride the steam-powered Mount Washington Cog RY. You ascend to the 6,288 foot summit, the crest of New England. Enroute you travel from deep forests to open alpine tundra. On a clear day, the summit vista encompasses four states and the Canadian province of Quebec! We return to Meredith in early evening.

Day Five - (B,L,D)
Canterbury Shaker Village; Franconia Notch; Café Lafayette Dinner Train.
Today is devoted to views of high peaks and glorious fall colors by coach and train. You travel first to the wonderful Canterbury Shaker Village where you learn about their history and beliefs and see the buildings and crafts in this former Shaker community. Lunch is included here. You then drive the magnificent Kancamaugas Highway to Franconia Notch. Photo stops allow tour participants to view the former site of the famous “Old Man of the Mountain” rock-face and Echo Lake. Your final activity today is a real treat: an elegant dinner on the Café Lafayette Dinner Train. Your ride follows the former Boston and Maine Lincoln branch along the tumbling waters of the Pemigewasset River this evening.

Day Six - (B,L)
White River Flyer; “Northeast Kingdom”; Wolcott RR covered bridge; Stowe or Burlington.
You begin today with a drive to White River Junction VT, a major hub of railway traffic both in the 19th century and now. Your ride is on one of the newer preservation railroads, the White River Flyer, traveling up the highly scenic former joint Boston and Maine/Canadian Pacific “Alouette” line to Norwich. The tracks closely follow the Connecticut River enroute. A scenic drive takes you north into the most unchanged part of the state, the lovely region called the “Northeast Kingdom”. The tour will stop at the beautiful village green in Craftsbury Common. Alfred Hitchcock shot many of the scenes for his black comedy “The Trouble with Harry” here fifty years ago. Those familiar with the movie may recognize some of the locations! A few miles further we enjoy a wonderful luncheon at the Victorian Craftsbury Inn. You then continue along the dormant tracks of the “Covered Bridge Route” of the Lamoille Valley RR, seeing the last mainline railroad covered bridge at Wolcott.

On the September 28 departure, you will stay three nights in the famous resort village of Stowe VT at the beautiful Golden Eagle Resort, located on the Mountain Road near the heart of the village. Many wonderful shops and restaurants are nearby. On the October 5 departure, you stay three nights at the Hilton Burlington Hotel located a block from Lake Champlain and the pedestrian-friendly Church Street Marketplace, filled with interesting restaurants and shopping. Burlington VT is the largest city in the state, with a population of 39,000!

Day Seven - (B,L)
Shelburne Farms; Shelburne Museum; Champlain Valley Flyer.
From Burlington, it is a few miles south to Shelburne. Here you tour the estate of the Webb family, Shelburne Farms, and taste the award-winning cheese still produced here. This afternoon, you can explore the extraordinary Shelburne Museum, with lunch tickets included for the cafeteria. The Museum superficially appears to be a recreated New England village but actually is far more.

Electra Havermeyer Webb assembled a great collection of “Americana” for display at the Shelburne Museum. A horseshoe barn contains a hand-carved circus parade. Another barn houses stagecoaches and carriages. A country inn reveals a collection of ship figureheads and cigar store Indians. Other buildings contain old master paintings, Adirondack guide boats, railway equipment and wooden toys. The former Shelburne depot of the Rutland RR seems to await the departure of a steam train, pulled by the last steam locomotive of the Central Vermont RY. Perhaps the most remarkable treasure is the huge, fully-furnished walking-beam steamboat “S.S. Ticonderoga”, which was dragged overland two miles from Lake Champlain to the museum in the 1950s. You can explore the “Ti” from pilothouse to engine room. Treveler return to Burlington in late afternoon on the Champlain Valley Flyer. Those staying in Stowe travel on from Burlington by motorcoach, arriving in Stowe before dinner time.

Day Eight - (B,L)
Cold Hollow Cider Mill; Birds of Vermont Museum; Trapp Family Lodge.
You leave the rails to enjoy unique experiences on a day devoted to the birds and foods of Vermont. The tour stops first at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury to taste their wonderful apple cider, learn how they make it, and sample New England food products. Fresh apple cider doughnuts usually are for sale! A few miles south in the deep woods, you visit the Birds of Vermont Museum at Huntington. Here, one man has carved all the birds native to Vermont and displayed them in natural habitat dioramas. A visit to his workshop usually is possible. Today's lunch is at the famous Trapp Family Lodge overlooking the spectacular mountains and valley back toward Stowe. There is time to explore the Austrian gift shop before returning to Stowe or Burlington this afternoon for free time.

Day Nine - (B,L)
Amtrak’s Vermonter; Calvin Coolidge Historic Site; to Glens Falls.
Board Amtrak’s Vermonter at Waterbury for a scenic run to White River Junction on the New England Central RR. This is the former Central Vermont RY and includes a crossing of the Green Mountains at Roxbury Summit and the gorges of the Winooski and White Rivers. You pass three covered bridges at Northfield village and see some of Vermont’s prettiest towns from the train this morning. A short drive takes you to Quechee for an included luncheon at the wonderful Simon Pearce restaurant and glass factory. You then drive to Plymouth Notch, a tiny village preserved as a state historic site because it was the birthplace of President Calvin Coolidge. While visiting his father here in 1923, Vice-President Coolidge learned President Harding had died. As the local Justice of the Peace, his father administered the oath of office in the Coolidge home’s tiny parlor! Later you cross into the Adirondack Mountains region of New York for a two-night stay at the landmark Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls.

Day Ten - (B,L)
Fort Ticonderoga; Adirondack Mountains; Lake George cruise.
This morning you drive to the restored stone citadel of Fort Ticonderoga. Ticonderoga was bitterly contested in both the French and Indian and the Revolutionary Wars. It has a beautiful prospect looking across Lake Champlain to the Green Mountains of Vermont. A short drive brings you into the beautiful Adirondack Mountains for lunch at the Algonquin Restaurant overlooking Lake George in Bolton’s Landing. At Lake George village you board the M/V Mohican lake packet for a cruise up “the Lake Lucerne of America” past high peaks, magnificent estates and rocky islands to Paradise Bay, threading your way among the numerous islands. Your return drive is on the Adirondack Northway, which won national awards for its harmonious design in the protected wild lands of Adirondack State Park. Great vistas of Schroon Lake and the surrounding peaks mark the route.

Day Eleven - (B)
Saratoga Battlefield National Military Park; tour ends
The “turning point” of the Revolutionary War was the 1777 defeat of British General John Burgoyne at the two Battles of Saratoga. Benedict Arnold, later the most infamous of traitors, was the hero of the American cause at the second Battle of Saratoga. You see the unique “Traitor’s Monument” to Arnold on the tour of the beautiful National Military Park. You conclude your tour with a 12:00 noon arrival at the Albany airport and a 12:30 p.m. drop-off at the Albany Amtrak station.

   

   

   

 Departure Date:

• September 28 - October 8
• October 5 - 15

 Per Person Rates:

• $2,999 per person (double occupancy)
• $3,749 per person (single occupancy)