Green Mountains, Vt.

“For the quintessential New England experience,” says Jamie Jensen, “head for Route 100, which runs north-south along the spine of the beautiful Green Mountains.” Here you’ll find “classic combinations of rolling pastures, rustic red barns, white clapboard churches, quaint villages and covered bridges.” Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak adds, “Vermont has the most brilliant display of fall colors I've ever seen. Cutting through the Green Mountains on Highway 89 is spectacular.” The authors of "The Most Scenic Drives in America" add another endorsement for this Northeast route; Bob Dolezal (who is also the author of the guidebook "Where the Birds Are") explains that it’s prime avian territory, and says the Green Mountain Audubon Center in Richmond is worth a visit.