Backroads Of New England: Your Guide To New England's Most Scenic Backroad Adventures (Pictorial Discovery Guide)

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Suggestions for Wonderful Winding Drives
Review: When fall comes in New England, the trees turn into a splendid mass of reds, oranges and yellows that temporarily distract us from the coming winter. At the same time, the first fresh snowfalls have a special beauty that New Englanders love as well. But the first blush of spring causes a special joy to burst out from our hearts. In the lazy days of summer, we love to watch the wind blow the grasses and trees from languid poses.

At any one of those times, I find myself thinking how much fun it would be to see some new sights in the context of those favorite New England conditions. In the forty years I've lived in New England, I've found many of my favorite locations purely by accident. The back roads are always the best. But I don't have the time to randomly drive all the back roads to find the best ones.

That's where Backroads of New England comes in. Kim Knox Beckius has found 30 delightful drives over back road that mix scenery, history, culture and just plain fun. I have taken about half of the drives in the book, so I can swear by those. I am looking forward to doing the rest now that I know where to go.

How can I tell I would like the others? First, Ms. Beckius provides helpful essays about where to begin, what to see, and what to stop and do along the way. She even includes some suggestions for hiking to beautiful waterfalls. Second, William H. Johnson's gorgeous photographs colorfully illuminate the main sights for each drive. Whether you love covered bridges, snow-capped peaks, delightful streams, pounding surf, or mysterious vistas, you can page through the book to find the places that speak mostly fervently to your soul.

The book is also organized by state. So if you are planning to go just to Maine and arrive by air in Portland, you can simply focus on the Maine trips and those in New Hampshire and northeast Massachusetts that are not too far away. If you live in New York, and want to drive for no more than two hours, you can focus on that radius in western Connecticut and Massachusetts.

I have been looking at travel guides for New England for many years. I've never seen a finer one for back roads adventures.

Give it a try!