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10 things to do on the hunt for Red October

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

If you think there's only one way to look at the color of the changing seasons, then it's time to get out of the car and see the scenery from a different perspective.

Across New England, there are plenty of options for viewing fall foliage -- from ground level and from above. Here are a few of them:

SKI LIFTS

Many resorts run their lifts and gondolas in the fall, giving you a bird's-eye view of the riot of color spread out below you. This is just a sampling:

• Maine: Sunday River ski resort (www.sundayriver.com) in Newry.

• Massachusetts: Wachusett Mountain (www.wachusett.com).

• New Hampshire: Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods (www.mountwashingtonresort.com), which is adding a zip line canopy tour this fall; also: Waterville Valley (www.waterville.com), Wildcat Mountain (www.skiwildcat.com), and Loon Mountain (www.loonmtn.com).

• New York: Gore Mountain (www.goremountain.com), Whiteface (www.whiteface.com) and Hunter Mountain (www.huntermtn.com).

• Vermont: At least nine resorts offer ski lift or gondola rides in the fall, including Killington (www.killington.com); Stowe Mountain resort (www.stowe.com); Sugarbush (www.sugarwhich also has a zip line; and Stratton Mountain (www.stratton.com).

TRAINS

• Maine: Maine Eastern Railroad (www.maineeasternrailroad.com) serves the states Midcoast region between Brunswick and Rockland with a fleet of restored Art Deco era excursion trains. The Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad (www.srrl-rr.org) operates a restored 1884 passenger coach car pulled by a replica steam engine on a 50-minute ride from Phillips.

• New Hampshire: Conway Scenic Railroad (www.conwayscenic.com) offers three excursions from North Conway in restored passenger cars.

• New York: The Upper Hudson River Railroad runs excursions in the Adirondacks (www.upperhudsonriverrr.com).

• Vermont: Green Mountain Railroad (www.rails-vt.com) offers several scenic excursions, while Amtrak's Vermonter and Ethan Allen Express make daily runs through the Green Mountains (www.amtrak.com).

FROM THE AIR

• Balloons Over New England (www.balloonsovoffers hot-air ballon flights out of Quechee, Vt., Kennebunkport, Me., and the Massachusetts south shore.

• Maine Ballooning (www.maineballooning.com) launches flights from the Lewiston, Maine, area.

• The Penobscot Narrows Observatory, on U.S. Route 1 over the Penobscot River between Prospect and Verona Island, Maine, features the worlds tallest public bridge observatory (www.maine.gov/observatory).

-- MARJIE LAMBERT

BY MARJIE LAMBERT

mlambert@MiamiHerald.com

7. SIP THE GRAPE

Try the Rieslings, Gewurztraminers and dessert wines that do well in places with short growing seasons, but also be sure to sample idiosyncratic wines from local grapes like Cayuga and Niagara that you won't find at your local liquor store. Upstate New York's Finger Lakes region (www.visitfingerlakes.com) has nearly 100 wineries. Massachusetts (www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/wineries.htm) has two dozen. Maine and Vermont also have several wineries.

8. CROSS THAT BRIDGE

Vermont has 107 covered bridges (www.vtonly.com/brdgmap.htm), some maintained well enough to support traffic, others neglected to the point that they are closed. The bridges were covered to protect the wooden trusses that support them from the elements, but the roofs also provided unexpected benefits. Covered bridges were also called ''kissing bridges'' because they offered a couple in a horse and buggy time and privacy for at least one kiss. New Hampshire and New York also have some covered bridges.

9. TAKE TO THE WATER

Most water-related activities close down after Labor Day, but a few remain open til mid- to late October, including day cruises of Lake Winnipesaukee by the M/S Mount Washington (www.cruisenh.com); sailboat rentals on Lake Champlain, Vt. (http://communitysailingcenter.com); paddling tours of the Champlain Valley and Northeast Kingdom by Brooks to Bays Nature Tours (www.brookstobays.com); kayaking or canoeing on Kezar Lake in Center Lovell, Echo Lake in Aroostook State Park, and the Kennebec River between Winslow and Augusta in Maine.

10. SEE THE LIGHT

New York has more than 80 lighthouses; Maine and Massachusetts each have more than 60, although only about a quarter of them are open regularly for public tours; a few more allow tours of the grounds only.

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