Five Faves: Fall for Foliage

Porthole’s Five Faves

Fall for Foliage

’Tis the season for some great leaf-peeping shore excursions

If you’re cruising on a Canada/New England itinerary this fall, consider yourself lucky! The region offers some of the world’s best fall foliage scenery, and visiting cruise passengers get to experience one glorious port after another. If you’ve never experienced fall in the Northeast, be sure to put it on your wish list. Here are five amazing things to do ashore to get the most bang for your leaf-peeping buck.

Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

Acadia National Park is beautiful any time of year, but come each fall, thousands of visitors descend on the park to witness its forests of stunning colors. Mid-October is typically peak foliage time, but you can check the status of colors throughout the state by visiting Maine’s fall foliage website, which is updated every Wednesday during the season. Whether you chose to hike, bike, or boat in the park, you will be immersed in the most breathtaking fall scenery. 

Duck Tour, Boston, Massachusetts

Perhaps the best way to get a good sense of Boston is by taking a Duck Tour, riding an amphibious vehicle that takes passengers on both land and sea adventures. You’ll pass by some of the city’s most famous sites on land, such as Christopher Columbus Park, Boston Common, and Quincy Market, and will also take in amazing city skyline views from the Charles River. Along the way, admire the foliage as you learn about the city’s history and attractions.

Prince Edward Island, Canada

PEI boasts one of the longest fall-foliage-viewing periods in northeastern North America, mainly due to the influence of the warm ocean waters that give the island a relatively moderate climate. The forests on Prince Edward Island show an exceptional and brilliant variety of autumn colors. View the foliage from one of the many walking and biking trails. Or traverse the Scenic Heritage Roads that were carved from red clay and hardwood forests before the first bicycle was invented. These roads take you through farmland and woodland and provide an excellent opportunity to experience the region’s beautiful nature.

Cliff Walk, Newport, Rhode Island

Take in the foliage during a stroll along Newport’s storied Cliff Walk, a 3.5-mile National Recreation Trail with the ocean and rocky shoreline on one side and the famed 19th-century mansions, including the grandest of Newport’s “summer cottages”—The Breakers—on the other. Most of the walk is paved and offers beautiful vistas, tunnels, and long-winding pathways, so it’s no wonder that the walk remains one of the top attractions in Newport.

Quebec City, Quebec

All along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec you’ll find stunning vistas booming with color this time of year. Why not take to the water for a boat tour excursion that leaves from the Old Port of Quebec for some unbeatable views along the river, from the Château Frontenac to Montmorency Falls Park to other parts of Quebec’s gorgeous countryside?

— Jodi Ornstein

^{Photos: Newport; Cliff Walk – Six Local}