Hotels near The Kancamagus Highway, NH Route 112

The Kancamagus Highway is the best of the five and the most famous foliage road in the United States. New Hampshire Route 112 runs 34.5 miles from Lincoln to Conway through the White Mountain National Forest, climbing to 2,855 feet at the Kancamagus Pass with unbroken hardwood on both sides and no commercial development of any kind along its length. Driving time without stops is about an hour; with stops it absorbs a full day. Peak is usually the first two weeks of October, and New Hampshire's foliage tracker updates weekly through the season.

The stops to build in, west to east: the Hancock Overlook and the Pemigewasset Overlook either side of the pass, Sabbaday Falls with a short accessible trail to a flume, Rocky Gorge with its footbridge over the Swift River, and Lower Falls, which is the most photographed water on the road. Trailhead and picnic parking requires a White Mountain National Forest recreation pass, bought from self-service kiosks at the lots, though pulling over at the scenic overlooks themselves is free.

Two honest downsides. There is no fuel, no food, no lodging and effectively no mobile signal across the entire 34.5 miles, so fill up in Lincoln or Conway and download the map before you set off. And this is the single most crowded foliage road in New England: on Columbus Day weekend the overlook car parks are full by 9am, the road slows to a crawl behind vehicles stopping at every bend, and the one-hour drive can take three.

Pro Tip: Drive east to west, from Conway toward Lincoln, starting at first light. The overlooks near the pass face east, so you get the morning sun on the valley rather than into the windscreen, and you clear the busiest section before the day-trippers arrive from the Lincoln end.