The Best 5 Drive-to Foliage Views

New England’s primo fall scenery isn’t reserved solely for those who are prepared to spend a few hours trekking through the woods or are willing to hop an ATV and go off-road. Some of the finest color can be had without ever leaving your car. In fact, if you turn your wheel toward any of these easily accessible overlooks, do plan to stay awhile: Rather than fast-food drive-bys, these are filet mignon views that beg to be savored. 

Height of Land(Roxbury, ME)

What do you see in the blobular shape of Mooselookmeguntic Lake, which spills out, inky blue, below this high vantage point? Like some nature-made Rorschach test, the pinnacle sight along the 36-mile Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway invites deep contemplation. Even locals tend to slow down here, particularly when sunsets gild the water and the preserved forest-lands and mountain slopes cradling this pool are ignited in late September’s fiery palette. Driving north toward Rangeley on Route 17, watch for the turnout and parking area on the left. On a crystal-clear day, westerly views stretch as far as the White Mountains. 207-864-7311; rlht.org

Miller State Park(Peterborough, NH)

Bring the binoculars. When you drive the twisty 1.3-mile road to the top of Pack Monadnock in New Hampshire’s oldest state park, there’s more to zoom in on than just the luminous leaves that carpet valley floors and dramatic Mount Monadnock in the distance. If traffic (which backs up on peak October weekends) slows your ascent, that’s even more reason to get the most out of your admission fee by walking well-marked trails, climbing the fire tower, and vigilantly surveilling the surroundings. You might make out the Boston skyline 55 miles southeast or even the snowcapped shape of Mount Washington 100 miles north. But the ultimate sightings are of migrating birds of prey. New Hampshire Audubon staffs a raptor observatory daily each fall, and you can help count the thousands of hawks, ospreys, and falcons that wing this way. 603-924-3672; nhstateparks.org

Mohawk State Forest(Cornwall, CT)

Mountain-climbing Toumey Road is lined with vegetation that’s so lush, you’ll get the distinct sense that camouflaged creatures are peering at you while you’re busy leaf peeping. At the summit of Mohawk Mountain, you’ll feel the presence of unseen others, too: the Tunxis and Paugussetts and Schaghticokes, who lit signal fires here to warn native peoples to the south that the warring Mohawks were advancing. Or maybe couples in Victorian garb, who first scaled this hillside for horse-and-buggy picnics in 1882, and who might inspire you to pack your own alfresco dining provisions. Sitting at a picnic table, gazing out at purple mountains silhouetted between vibrant foliage and wispy sky, you’ll find it’s no easier to look away than it would be to turn your back on an art museum masterpiece. 860-491-3620; ct.gov/deep

Mount Equinox Skyline Drive(Sunderland, VT)

From up in the clouds, the rounded peaks of the Green, White, Adirondack, Berkshire, and Taconic mountain ranges look like the world’s largest paint-by-number project when they’re mottled in yellow and orange. Only 20 minutes have elapsed since you paid the toll and began the zigzagging 5.2-mile drive to the viewing center at the 3,848-foot summit of Mount Equinox. But when you stand on the lower or upper deck and feel the brisk, 10-degrees-cooler air tingling your face, you’re in an alternative universe. A mini museum illuminates this roadway’s fascinating backstory, which begins with an atomic bomb scientist’s desire to retreat and atone and now stars reclusive Carthusian monks, who call this enchanting realm home. 802-362-1114; equinoxmountain.com

Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation(South Deerfield, MA)

Visitors bring lawn chairs and lunch grub to grill. They crowd the multilevel stone observation tower, pointing and searching through binoculars and camera lenses. It’s as if a fleet of ships is about to break the horizon, or a rock band is ready to take the stage. But all that’s here—aside from hiking and mountain biking trails—is the view. And in the few weeks before the road to the summit of South Sugarloaf closes to cars in mid-October, 360 degrees of visual splendor is plenty to justify the parking fee. A ribbon of the Connecticut River draws the eye, shimmery water mirroring cloud-streaked sky. Farmlands, forests, mountains, and towns: It’s one-stop aerial access to an indelible autumn montage. 413-665-2928; mass.gov