Best States to Visit This Fall, 3 New England States Made the Cut

Fall Foliage Starts to Color the North East

380020 05: Tourists, known this time of year as “leaf peepers”, stroll arm in arm October 10, 2000 in Minuteman National Park taking in the fall foliage in Concord MA. Regional forecasters say due to New England”s unusually wet summer, the fall foliage season may be the most colorful in recent years. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Newsmakers)

Today is the first day of fall. The leaves are changing. The cider is flowing. Pumpkin spice is all around. We are starting to wear our scarves, our boots and our hoodies. Fall is truly the best time of year. Especially if you're from New England. There are so many things to do in New England in the fall. Simply taking a drive to look at fall foliage can be a fun day trip. The website www.lawnstarter.com has come out with its list of best states in the country to visit this fall. They looked at 20 key indicators of a fun fall trip. Some of which include: number of state parks and hiking trails, as well as fall-themed amusements like pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and hayrides. Of course they also took into account the fall foliage. They ranked in the categories: fall scenery, outdoor recreation, entertainment and safety. The state that came in last place, Hawaii. Believe it or not, Massachusetts came in at #19 which seems to be a tad low for all of the beautiful sites here in the fall. We got a 39.16 overall score. For fall scenery, we scored a 25. For recreation, we scored an 11. For entertainment and safety, we scored a 12.

There were other rankings on this list too. From Most Weeks with Fall Foliage which Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Vermont and Washington all tied for first. Most Scenic Drives went to California, followed by Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Washington. Most Corn Mazes went to Vermont, followed by Montana, New Hampshire, Nebraska and Rhode Island. And for Most Wineries, Oregon was #1, followed by Washington, Vermont, California and Michigan.

So before you make your plans for vacation this fall, make sure you check out this list in its entirety. We'll start with #13 down to #1. Best of luck planning your fall vacation!

380020 05: Tourists, known this time of year as "leaf peepers", stroll arm in arm October 10, 2000 in Minuteman National Park taking in the fall foliage in Concord MA. Regional forecasters say due to New England''s unusually wet summer, the fall foliage season may be the most colorful in recent years. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Newsmakers)