We are planning a 10-day trip in late Sep/early Oct primarily to see the fall foliage in Canada. Initially we thought of starting in Quebec City and driving to New England, but are now torn since seeing amazing pictures from New Brumswick.We considered two itineraries and are trying to decide between:
A. Mount Tremblant, Quebec City, Eastern Townships, Wine Route and parts of New England
B. Mount Tremblant, Quebec City, Eastern Townships, Wine Route and New Brumswick, maybe New Scotia

Our preference would be not to spend much time in big cities and urban areas as it seems the chances of seeing incredible scenery and fall colors seem to increase in the country side.
I had some questions and was hoping someone could assist.
1. For itinerary A, would starting in Canada and driving to New England be better to increase chances to see peak foliage?
2. Is itinerary B too ambitious for a 10-day road trip?
3. If doable, would it be better to start itinerary B in Mount Tremblant and go East or start in New Brumswick?

I am flying from the US, so no issues but some of us are coming from Brazil. It seems like flying Air Canada into Montreal would be preferable in terms of connections, only clearing immigration/customs once (not sure about the product though as I fly mostly OneWorld but I can burn some Membership Rewards points). Perhaps I should ask in the Air Canada forum, but I thought I'd start here, if anyone has suggestions.

Any help would be much appreciated.

One of the most spectacular drives to see colours is from Montreal to Mont Tremblant after the first frost or two. I had the pleasure of driving up to stay and play golf at Mont Tremblant before a frost when everything (conifer and deciduous trees) was all green and then back after a frost when all the maple trees interspersed between the conifer trees had started to turn red and yellow. That coupled with the rocks of the Canadian Shield and the rivers, lakes and streams beside the roads was very beautiful.

Foliage colors are at their peak locally with the dates partially dependent on the weather. In general, if you are following peak colors you start at the north and at higher altitudes and then go lower and south. Your plans sound random in terms of their direction.Your planning should be based on regional information. Avoiding both Montreal and Quebec City would be a good idea. You might consider a loop east from Quebec City to Gaspe then New Brunswick, Maine and New Hampshire. The colors are excellent everywhere in the region but timing is everything.

Thank you, ProudEdmontonian. If taking Trans Canada Hwy would it still be possible to see this beautiful scenery?

Thank you, B1. I agree, still trying to firm up the planning. I thought of flying into Montreal (quick overnight after flying from Brazil) then heading to Mount Tremblant. Appreciate your recommendation for New Brunswick, it seemed a bit of a stretch driving but I was tempted after seeing some photos.

If you head towards Tremblant from YUL then you are going in the wrong direction for New Brunswick and New England. Instead, continue in the general west and south direction if Tremblant has peak colours. The ride from Tremblant to Ottawa via Meech Lake and Gatineau Park is lovely. Then from Ottawa go along the Ottawa River on 17 to Renfrew. Follow 60 into Algonquin Park. If you like hiking, do the Centennial Ridges Trail on the east end of the park and stay in one of the lodges. If you still want to go further, cross Algonquin to Huntsville and stay at a resort. You are then in Muskoka, which has lots of foliage and is an easy drive to Toronto. You can drop off the car in Toronto and fly home. There will be potential fall colours the entire way and as you travel you are following the peak moving south.

Leaving YUL or Mt Tramblant.....stay on the north shore of the St Lawrence to Trois-Rivieres and Quebec City...... continuing on Highway 138 to the shrine at Ste Anne de Beaupre and into the Charlevoix region at Baie St. Paul and the Manoir Richelieu Resort in La Malbaie. Charlevoix is beautiful in the fall.....the drive along the St. Lawrence reaches 800 meters elev. in places.

http://www.fairmont.com/richelieu-charlevoix/

.....Then take the ferry across the St. Lawrence from St. Simeon to Riviere-du-Loup........Here you are only an hour from New Brunswick.

http://traverserdl.com/english/home

To put it in perspective.....the drive straight thru from Montreal to Nova Scotia take about 12 hours but you would want to spread that over three or four days.

If you do make it all the way to Nova Scotia before heading into New England.....the new Nova Star ferry in now running between Yarmouth NS and Portland Maine.

http://novastarcruises.com/

We thought of starting with Tremblant due to the altitude and having better chances to see the foliage at the beginning of our trip rather than the end. If there's not much difference for the last week of Sep/1st week of Oct, perhaps flying into New Brumswick (skipping New England) and driving west would be better? Let me play with the itinerary a bit and see what we can come up with.

ghYHZ,
Thank you for your tips. I came across this post about New Brunswick and it looked fantastic - not sure if I can reproduce this route though.
http://matadornetwork.com/trips/forg...nswick-canada/

New Brunswick obviously has some nice things to see. The big problem is that lots of the province is owned by Irving Paper and these are evergreen replants of clear-cuts. The central road across the province is dreadful. Algonquin Park in Ontario has a well-earned reputation because it has lots of hardwoods and varying conditions as well great canoe routes. I found this, which is perfect for planning.

I assume you�re talking about the Trans Canada? I drive it monthly and since it�s rebuilding over the past 10-15 years........a real pleasure to drive. It�s now completely twinned for 500 km with wide wooded medians. The new highway is scenic but you would want to get off it and take the parallel old Trans Canada.....the �River Valley Drive�......The fall colours are great along the river and even portrayed on a Canadian postage stamp:


https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8427/7...fa7d3542_z.jpg

http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/Le...nicDrives.aspx


I believe you would certainly enjoy a fall visit to New Brunswick:


http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/Le...sons/Fall.aspx

The road was #17 - not so central.

I'm planning a fall trip around 11/7/2018. Is this too late for the foliage trip? I'd like to ride the Amtrak Adirondack train.

Yes, too late. It depends a bit on the weather, but by November the trees are pretty bare.

Would the region in NY still ok? or also too late? Would late October ok?

When we made to Mt. Tremblant mid October last year, the fall foliage was not ready yet.