Boston - New England Explorer

New England does autumn better than anywhere, and this loop out of Boston is built for it. Nine days, eight nights and around 1,190 miles across Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, strung together from scenic byways rather than interstates.

Vermont provides the first two days. The Molly Stark Scenic Byway and Hogback Mountain lead to Wilmington, then Route 100 runs the length of the Green Mountains, past Plymouth Notch where Calvin Coolidge was born and sworn in as president in his father’s parlour. It is one of the most pleasant touring roads in the country and almost entirely free of traffic.

New Hampshire and Maine take over. The Kancamagus Highway crosses the White Mountain National Forest with no services along its entire length, then Portland leads to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, where granite headlands meet the Atlantic. The route then follows the coast north towards Calais before turning back through Portsmouth, and the final day takes in Rockport, Gloucester and Salem on the way into Boston.

EAGLERIDER supplies the motorcycle and books all eight nights. Fuel, meals and insurance are arranged separately. Daily distances sit between 79 and 231 miles, with the shortest falling on the last day into Boston. Covered bridges, white clapboard towns, mountain passes and a working Atlantic coastline, in a part of America that most visiting riders never reach. For anyone who has already done the American desert and wants something that looks and smells like the exact opposite, this is it.