Sterling → Saratoga → Stowe → Glen House → Bar Harbor → Portsmouth → Boston → Princeton → Sterling

Open in Maps

Foliage road trip

New England Fall 2026

Scott & Nicole Tesla Model Y Oct 10–20

Interior up through the mountains, coast back for Acadia & Boston — Saratoga → Stowe → Glen House → Bar Harbor → Portsmouth → Boston (HOCR) → Princeton → home

Peak foliage along the mountain roads

Overview

The route

Eleven days · eight overnights · foliage interior, then the coast.

0
Sterling, VA
Oct 10 leave
1
Saratoga
Oct 10
2
Stowe
Oct 11–12
3
Glen House
Oct 13
4
Bar Harbor
Oct 14–15
5
Portsmouth
Oct 16
6
Boston
Oct 17–18
7
Princeton
Oct 19
8
Sterling, VA
Oct 20 home
Route KML Hotel pins KML

Itinerary

Day by day

Top picks only — easy–moderate walks, downtowns, wine, boats welcome.

Sat Oct 10 Sterling → Saratoga Springs Drive day
  • ~7–7.5 hr with Supercharging; evening on Broadway
  • Optional early: Spa State Park geyser loop ($10 car weekend fee)
Top picks Broadway + Congress Park Keuka Spring tasting Spa State Park
Sun Oct 11 Saratoga → Stowe Arrive VT
  • Prefer VT-100 / Green Mountain Byway via Waterbury (Cold Hollow) — ~10–11 mi Waterbury→Stowe; ~26 with Cold Hollow return; up to ~35 if exiting via Morrisville
  • Late day: Stowe Foliage Arts Festival (ends 5 pm, $12)
  • Dinner reservation recommended
Top picks Foliage Arts Festival Stowe Village Cold Hollow Cider Ellison Estate
Mon Oct 12 Stowe full day Foliage
  • Gondola SkyRide or Mansfield Toll Road — confirm still open (stowe.com/alerts)
  • Bingham Falls + Smugglers’ Notch drive
Top picks Gondola or Toll Road Bingham Falls Smugglers’ Notch von Trapp Bierhall
Tue Oct 13 Stowe → Glen House Auto Road
  • Mt Washington Auto Road — no advance tickets; ~$36/adult; hours ~9:00–4:30; call 603-466-3988
  • Backup if socked in: Glen Ellis Falls, Crystal Cascade, Great Glen trails
Top picks Auto Road Drive Yourself Summit + Tip-Top House Glen Ellis Falls Great Glen Trails
Wed–Thu Oct 14–15 Bar Harbor / Acadia Coast
  • Need car (Island Explorer season ended Oct 12)
  • Cadillac Summit timed entry — prefer Oct 15; sunrise inventory releases Mon Oct 13 10:00 AM ET
  • Ocean Path, Jordan Pond + popovers, Shore Path downtown
Top picks Cadillac Summit Ocean Path Jordan Pond + popovers Bar Harbor Cellars Downtown / Shore Path Boats (not booked) Acadian Nature 10am ★ lean Whale Co. Lighthouse $66 Acadia By Sea / lobster-seal
Fri Oct 16 Bar Harbor → Portsmouth Seacoast
  • AC Hotel waterfront; Market Square + Prescott Park
  • Optional: Loyalist to Liberty tour 2:30 pm; Strawbery Banke daytime only
Top picks Market Square Prescott Park Loyalist to Liberty 2:30 LaBelle Winery showroom Boats (not booked) Inland Rivers 11am ★ lean Harbor Cruise 2pm / 4pm
Sat–Sun Oct 17–18 Boston — Head of the Charles HOCR
  • Battery Wharf; Harborwalk; North End Freedom Trail segment
  • Spectate riverside — use T, not car (hocr.org)
Top picks HOCR riverside Harborwalk North End Freedom Trail Beacon Hill + Public Garden ICA Seaport
Mon Oct 19 Boston → Princeton Midpoint
  • Nassau Inn / Palmer Square; campus walk + Art Museum (free)
  • Optional: Unionville Vineyards (open Monday); Tue AM Grounds for Sculpture en route home
Top picks Palmer Square stroll Campus + sculpture Art Museum Unionville Vineyards Grounds for Sculpture
Tue Oct 20 Princeton → Sterling, VA Home
  • ~3.5–4 hr drive; optional Grounds for Sculpture stop outbound

Tesla Model Y · 303 mi

Charging plan

Superchargers only on the road · hotel guest EV overnight · aim ≥15–20% into the next stop · charge to ~80% unless the hop needs more. Verify live stalls in the Tesla app each morning.

Carry: Mobile Connector + J1772 adapter (needed at nearly every hotel). Ellsworth is the Acadia linchpin — no Supercharger in Bar Harbor. Gorham SC (443 Main) helps Oct 13 but is planned to close ~Oct 25 — confirm in-app.

Hotel EV — all 7 overnights

AC Saratoga
Oct 10
EV · J1772

Onsite EV listed — confirm stalls. Nearby Destination at Embassy Suites if needed.

Outbound Stowe
Oct 11–12
L2 · J1772

Universal / ChargePoint L2 in the lot — overnight plug-in.

Glen House
Oct 13
2 free L2

ClipperCreek J1772 at hotel + Tesla Destination across at Great Glen / Red Barn. Ask desk — can be ICEd.

Acadia Inn
Oct 14–15
4 free L2

Complimentary guest chargers — confirm plug type at check-in.

AC Portsmouth
Oct 16
4× J1772

Guests only; valet parking fee often applies. Adapter needed.

Battery Wharf
Oct 17–18
Garage L2

ChargePoint J1772 (~$0.50/kWh reported). Ask valet for EV spots.

Nassau Inn
Oct 19
ChargePoint

On-site ChargePoint. Backup: Monmouth Junction Supercharger (~8 mi) or DoubleTree Destination (~4 mi).

Supercharger legs

DateLeg~miSuperchargersOvernight
Oct 10Sterling → Saratoga400–420Harrisburg Brindle → Binghamton Front St (Moosic only if Binghamton packed; Malta top-off optional)AC Saratoga EV
Oct 11Saratoga → Stowe~160Rutland Stewart’s preferred on VT-100 (or none if leave ≥80%)Outbound L2
Oct 12Stowe local—Optional S. BurlingtonOutbound L2
Oct 13Stowe → Glen~103None required; Gorham SC if open (closes ~Oct 25)Glen House L2
Oct 14Glen → Bar Harbor~190Gorham top-off → Farmington → Ellsworth (Bangor if busy)Acadia Inn ×4
Oct 15Acadia local—Ellsworth if neededAcadia Inn
Oct 16BH → Portsmouth~205Ellsworth → Augusta → optional Wells / Portsmouth LafayetteAC Portsmouth L2
Oct 17–18Portsmouth → Boston~56Optional Portsmouth SCBattery Wharf L2
Oct 19Boston → Princeton~265New Haven or Milford CT → Monmouth JunctionNassau ChargePoint
Oct 20Princeton → home~205Harrisburg BrindleHome

Thin coverage: White Mountains (depend on Glen L2 + Gorham while open) · no SC in Bar Harbor or on VT-100 (charge Rutland before the byway) · foliage weekends = queues at Ellsworth / Rutland / Portsmouth.

Booked

Lodging

All confirmations locked. Cash ~$3,648 · 59k Bonvoy (+ Portsmouth TBD).

AC Hotel Saratoga
176 South Broadway · Oct 10
Bonvoy
71568667
59,000 points

Free cancel by Oct 8

Outbound Stowe
876 Mountain Road · Oct 11–12
Cash
5207738889-1 96841SG021050
$1,178.12

King · Cancel ≥72 hrs

Glen House
979 NH Rt 16, Gorham · Oct 13
Cash
139350-1
~$343

King adv. purchase · Prepaid nonrefundable

Acadia Inn
98 Eden Street, Bar Harbor · Oct 14–15
Cash
1099536969 203666
$817.50

2 queens · tax included · Cancel ≥7 days

AC Hotel Portsmouth
Downtown / Waterfront · Oct 16
Bonvoy
4P747464RS
Points TBD

Rewards redemption · Free cancel to Oct 14 5:59 PM

Battery Wharf
3 Battery Wharf, Boston · Oct 17–18
Cash
72076964800100 38248SG221471
$914.87

Premier King water view · Expedia · Nonrefundable

Nassau Inn
10 Palmer Square, Princeton · Oct 19
Cash
R6564523465 15591799625
$394.29

2 queens · prepaid · Nonrefundable

Optional

Boat cruises

Live inventory checked Sep 6 · not booked yet · base fares may exclude tax/fees.

Not booked

Bar Harbor

Oct 14 or 15 · Frenchman Bay

Acadian Nature Cruises Lean pick
$42/adult · 2 hrs · refund ≥24h
Oct 14/15 · 10:00 AM (prefer) or 1:00 PM
Book Oct 14 10am · Oct 15 10am
Whale Watching Co. — Lighthouse / Wildlife
$66/adult · ~3 hrs · Oct 14/15 9:30 AM
Book Oct 14 9:30 · Oct 15 9:30

Also both dates: Acadia By Sea 1:15–3:15 PM ~$96/couple · Lobster Fishing & Seal Watching 10:30 AM or 1:45 PM ~$92/couple

Not booked

Portsmouth

Fri Oct 16 · cancel ≥48h for full refund · up to $1 fuel surcharge/ticket

Inland Rivers Fall Cruise Lean pick
$76/couple · ~2.5 hrs · 11:00 AM
Book Inland Rivers 11am
M/V Heritage Harbor Cruise
$62/couple · ~1.5 hrs · 2:00 PM or 4:00 PM
Book 2pm · Book 4pm

Money

Cost snapshot

Committed lodging only — food, Supercharging & boats still TBD.

Cash lodging
~$3,648
Stowe · Glen · Acadia · Boston · Princeton
Bonvoy
59k
Saratoga + Portsmouth TBD
Auto Road
~$72
2 adults @ ~$36
Cadillac
$6
+ park pass ~$35
Outbound Stowe $1,178.12 Glen House ~$343 Acadia Inn $817.50 Battery Wharf $914.87 Nassau Inn $394.29 AC Saratoga 59,000 pts AC Portsmouth pts TBD

Open

TODOs

Checklist from the trip packet — tap to check off (saved in this browser).