Litchfield Hills Fall Foliage Drive: A Season of Stillness and Color

**Photo by Mary Madore-Hickey**
**This is a photo of The** Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut. It is not a place to miss if you are looking for historic sites and beautiful landscapes. Meandering with a camera is such a treat!

There’s something about autumn in the Litchfield Hills that feels like a deep exhale. The air cools, the hills glow, and the rhythm of life suddenly feels slower, softer, and more tender. It’s as if the landscape reminds you to pause, look a little longer, breathe deeper, and remember how simple beauty can be.

The Route

If you want to follow this drive yourself, the stops string together naturally from east to west. Start at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, then walk a stretch of the Farmington River Trail where Route 4 meets the water. Continue west on Route 4 to Hogan's Cider Mill in Burlington, then on to Litchfield and the Little Pond Boardwalk at the White Memorial Conservation Center. Finish in the village of New Preston, where the falls run just behind the shops.

The Litchfield Hills are among the first places in Connecticut to change color, usually in early to mid-October, though it shifts a little from year to year. Check the state's foliage reports before you go.

Exploring Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills in Peak Fall Foliage

Vibrant display of pumpkins in front of an old red farm truck, with the white barn of Hogan's Cider Mill in Burlington, Connecticut, behind it — Photo by Mary Madore-Hickey
This photo is of Hogan's Cider Mill. I have watched this stunning landmark grow over time. It’s filled with beautiful memorabilia, music, delicious cider, donuts, and just plain fun.

One October afternoon, I spent a long afternoon exploring this part of Connecticut that I love so much. The drive started in Farmington, CT, and wound through Litchfield and into the smaller villages tucked among the hills. The trees were painted in ochre, gold, and rust, their reflections mirrored in ponds and rivers that shimmered in the low light.

Along the way, I passed Hogan’s Cider Mill, a small, familiar landmark that always feels like the heartbeat of the season, before continuing toward New Preston Falls.

New Preston Falls: Where Autumn Meets Water and Light

New Preston Falls in New Preston, Connecticut, surrounded by fall leaves. — Photo by Mary Madore-Hickey
This was taken in a little shopping center in New Preston. Behind some of the shops, you can see these falls up close and personal. They are truly stunning, and the shopping is fabulous, with little boutique shops you can meander through.

The falls were breathtaking. The sound of rushing water mixed with the wind and the faint scent of woodsmoke in the air. I stood for a while, watching sunlight slip through the branches and catch the mist. It’s one of those moments that doesn’t need to be photographed to be remembered, but still, I couldn’t resist capturing a glimpse of it.

If you keep going farther into the Litchfield Hills, my post on Le Gamin in Sharon is a lovely next stop.

Walking the Farmington River Trail

A wooden fence along the Farmington River Trail in Connecticut, with deep orange fall foliage behind it — Photo by Mary Madore-Hickey
The Farmington River Trail is one of my favorite places to walk. In autumn, you see beautiful colors. You can often see eagles in the trees, along with other wonderful wildlife. It’s a photographer’s dream!

The Farmington River Trail in Connecticut winding through fall foliage — Photo by Mary Madore-Hickey
Just a shot of the trail on a lovely fall day.

Later, I walked toward the Farmington River Trail, where Route 4 meets the water. The leaves along the path were scattered like brushstrokes, and every step felt connected to the quiet rhythm of the season. The trail followed the river's curve, moving between sunlight and shadow, until it opened to a view that stopped me completely, a sweep of trees blazing with color, reflected in the calm water below.

Reflections on a Connecticut Fall Drive

Bright fall foliage reflected in the water of Little Pond at the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield, Connecticut — **Photo by Mary Madore-Hickey**
The main trail around a lake in Litchfield, CT. The Lake Trail Loop at the **White Memorial Conservation Center is** a 1.2-mile walk that is often stunning in the fall. Many bird watchers come with their binoculars.

Walking at the White Memorial Conservation trail, I thought about how autumn has this way of grounding us. It’s not loud or hurried. It asks for nothing. It simply is. The trees let go, the light softens, and the world feels more honest somehow.

There’s beauty in that stillness, in letting things be what they are and seeing the grace in their impermanence. That’s what this season in New England means to me. It’s a reminder that slowing down doesn’t mean standing still. It means being present enough to notice.