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"Leaf-peeping is one of the most accessible tourism things that
you can do," said Teddy Willey, the general manager of the Frog
Rock Tavern in Meredith, New Hampshire. “You don’t have to have
the athleticism to be a hiker, you don’t have to have the money
to own a boat.”
You just need to be able to jump in a car and head north, he
said.
“Once you’re there, you just take it in," Willey said.
He spoke just after his tavern was flooded with tourists from
Indiana who had stepped off a sightseeing bus.
Among them was Vicky Boesch, of Fort Wayne, who had made the
trip with her sisters.
“We came out to the Northeast to see the beautiful foliage and
the colorful leaves,” she said, adding the she was impressed
with Vermont.
“The leaves were very pretty on the mountains because the sun
was out yesterday, and so that makes them pop more,” she said.
It wasn't only the fall colors that provided a contrast with
Indiana, she said, but also the region's distinctive
architecture, lakes and towns.
Gordon Cochran, of Lake View, Iowa, said he was in New Hampshire
to visit his daughter and had a “beautiful ride” on the
slow-moving Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad.
Weather conditions associated with climate change have disrupted
some recent leaf-peeping seasons. One problem is that global
warming has brought drought that causes leaves to turn brown and
wither before they can reach their colorful peak.
Willey acknowledges that he's not a leaf guy.
“Personally, no. I grew up here, so I think it loses its luster
a little bit,” he said with a chuckle, adding that the season
still has its moments.
"I’ll be driving somewhere around the Lakes Region, and all of a
sudden, you're like, ‘You know what, there’s a reason why people
come here and there’s a reason I live here. It really is quite
beautiful,’” he said, referring to a scenic part of eastern New
Hampshire.
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