If you follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you probably know that we have been bopping around the New England area for the past few days.  We spent two days exploring the White Mountain area of New Hampshire and another two days checking out Portland, Maine.  These areas are absolutely beautiful in the summer, and you can easily get there using your points/miles!  Come along for our Getaway Guide to New England with points.

Getting There/Getting Around

Great news – Southwest Airlines flies into both Manchester, NH (MHT) and Portland, ME (PWM).  This means you can use your Companion Pass to get 2-for-1 flights into either airport!  If you’re running low on Southwest miles, you can also transfer your Chase Ultimate Reward Points to Southwest to top up your balance.

Our flight from Kansas City to Manchester only cost 8,774 Southwest miles + $5.60.  Then we added the companion for $5.60.  That’s insanely cheap!  If you don’t have the Southwest Companion pass yet, GET IT NOW!

We also used our Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to rent a car.  The Chase Sapphire Reserve card makes each point worth 1.5 cents toward travel, AND it provides primary rental car insurance!  You’ll need a car to get around the area.  If your trip is less than a week long, you may actually be able to save money by searching for a full week.  I found that a 7-day rental was more than $100 cheaper, compared to a 5-day rental!

To learn more about the cards mentioned above visit this link.  

New Hampshire – White Mountains

Our first stop on the trip was a visit to the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  This area is a well-known ski destination, but there are also beautiful state parks to explore during the summer, and all the blueberry pancakes you can eat!

Where to Stay

The White Mountains feature lots of ski lodges and B&B’s.  Unfortunately, there are not many chain hotels in the area, so your hotel points won’t get you very far.  You can, however, use your Chase Ultimate Rewards to book these non-chain properties, via the Chase Travel Portal.  If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, your points will be worth 1.5 cents each toward your lodging expense.

We decided to use AirBNB for our accommodations, and it worked out very well.  If you’ve never used AirBNB before, be sure to sign up via our link to save $40 on your first stay.

Our AirBNB was a private cottage, with a full kitchen and laundry room.  We even had a back deck to relax and enjoy the mountain evenings.  The location in Woodstock also gave us a great jumping-off point to reach the state parks and local attractions.  The dining options nearby were fantastic!  All for only $73 per night!

What to Do

The White Mountains offer beautiful vistas, great hiking trails, and a refreshing river to swim in.  You can ride a lift to the top of a mountain, or drive the famous Mount Washington Auto Road.

Franconia Notch State Park

Pay a visit to Franconia Notch State Park to see Flume Gorge and ride the Cannon Aerial Tramway to the top of Cannon Mountain.  Discovery Passes for both attractions cost $30 for adults and $24 for kids and are well-worth the price, in my opinion.

Flume Gorge is an 800-foot long gorge, carved out of local granite.  Its walls rise as high as 90 feet, and it gets as narrow as 12-feet across.  To reach the gorge, you can either take a bus, or walk a two-mile loop trail through the woods.  Inside the gorge, you follow a boardwalk mounted to the walls.  This allows you to experience the rushing water and local plant life up-close.  We even met a few friendly butterflies in the gorge!

The Cannon Aerial Tramway is an 8-minute, scenic cable car ride to the summit of Cannon Mountain.  It is open from late-May, until mid-October.  At the top of the mountain, you will find a small cafe, with New Hampshire’s highest beer tap.  Here, you can grab a quick lunch, before walking the scenic loop trail around the summit.  Side trails offer great views of the mountain range and valleys below.

Mount Washington Auto Road

The Mount Washington Auto Road offers a thrilling drive up the historic route, winding along the edge of the mountain.  Narrow lanes and hairpin turns make this drive a bit hair-raising, but we definitely felt safe the whole time.  Take in the scenery and listen to the informational CD (provided with entry fee of $31 + $9 per additional passenger) during the drive.

At the top of the mountain, you can see for miles!  Walk around, check out the old buildings, and take a picture with the summit sign.  The view of the mountains as they fade into the distance is one of my favorite memories of the mountaintop.

Kancamagus Scenic Byway

Don’t worry, I still don’t know how to pronounce that K-word.  However, the drive along this scenic byway is fantastic.  Stops along the way include Sabbaday Falls, Lower Falls, Rocky Gorge, and more.  You can even pull off the side of the road and take a refreshing dip in the river.

Sea Dog Brewery

After driving the Kancamagus Scenic Byway, stop by Sea Dog Brewery in North Conway.  They offer very reasonably-price flights and a wide variety of beers.  Their crab dip is also fantastic.  Since this is a Maine-based brewery, you shouldn’t miss their Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale!

One Love Brewery

Sample some locally-brewed beer at One Love Brewery in Lincoln.  I really enjoyed the Amber Lager and the Summer Bock.  Grab a flight and try all of the beers on tap.  We ended up chatting with the bartender and learned about the next to do item…

“Old Hole” Swimming Area

Locals apparently love swimming in an area of Pemigewasset River, known as “Old Hole.”  To reach this spot, you take a side road behind the One Love Brewery.  Continue across a bridge and park in the designated area.  Then follow the J.E. Henry Trail until you see people swimming in the river.  It was about a 3/4 mile walk from the parking area.

Bring along some refreshments and maybe a picnic lunch.  You can sit in the river and let the cool water rush over you, or you can ride the rapids in a tube.  We kicked our feet up and relaxed in a shallow spot among the rocks.  Great way to spend a low-stress day!

Woodstock Inn & Brewery

In downtown Woodstock, you will find a sprawling property called the Woodstock Inn.  Inside, you will find lodging, a restaurant, a brewery, a sports bar, and a gift shop.  Enjoy dinner and a brew on the patio.  I highly recommend the Lemon Blueberry Pale Ale!  After dinner, visit the gift shop and grab a 4-pack to take to Old Hole.

Flapjacks Pancake House

When you wake up, after a long day of exploring, you’ll definitely want a hearty breakfast from Flapjacks Pancake House.  Be sure to get there early, because a long line will form by 8am.  We arrived at 8:10, and we could barely get in the door… on a rainy Friday morning.  We shared a stack of blueberry pancakes, with real maple syrup, eggs, sausage, and home fries.  Mmm mmm good!  We ate it too fast to get any pictures…

Portland, Maine

After a couple days in New Hampshire, we drove out to the coastal city of Portland, ME.  Portland is a beautiful city, with some great dining options, harbor cruises, and lighthouses for DAYS!

Where to Stay

We decided to stay at the Hyatt Place Portland: Old Port.  With rates in the mid $300’s per night, this is a great use of the annual category 1-4 certificate from the Chase Hyatt Credit Card.  You can also book for 12,000 points per night, using the 60,000-point bonus from the new World of Hyatt Credit Card.

To learn more about this card and others visit this link.

Our room was a mini-suite, with a sectional sleeper sofa and a king size bed.  Breakfast is also complementary at this hotel, including eggs, sausage, waffles, fruit, yogurt, coffee, and pastries.  Free breakfast is a great perk!  The hotel is also very well-located in the Old Port area.  We could walk to everything we wanted to do/see/eat within 10 minutes.  If you’re sensitive to noise, be sure to request a room facing away from Fore Street.  The night club across the street gets pretty turnt late at night.

The only drawback is that parking is pricey at $20 for self-park or $25 for valet per night.  I asked the desk agent if she could waive the parking fees for Discoverists during check out.  She told me that was generally only allowed for Globalists, but she was able to remove the charge!  It never hurts to ask nicely.

What to Do

Portland has so many good dining options, that it would be easy to just eat your way around the city, and do nothing else.  We did manage to do some things other than just eat the whole time.  I’ll start with the food/drink options.

Duckfat

When I asked Facebook friends for recommendations in Portland, this was the #1 most popular spot, followed closely by the next on this list.  Duckfat is a small eatery, featuring french fries cooked in duck fat (as the name would suggest), and some excellent sandwich and salad options.  We shared a large fry, with truffle ketchup and thai-chili mayo, and a Cuban panini.  Highly recommended!

Eventide Oyster Co.

Eventide is a super-popular, small plate restaurant.  They also offer a selection of oysters, craft beer, and cocktails.  We shared a bowl of clam chowder, fluke ceviche, and fried oysters with succotash.  The clam chowder may have been the thickest, meatiest chowder I’ve ever had.  We could have eaten a lot more, but we needed to save room for multiple desserts (see next two items).

The Holy Donut

Potato donuts?!  Sounds strange, but trust me, these babies are deeeelicious!  If you want these for an after-dinner treat, you will likely need to stop in early.  They’re open until 5pm most nights, and 8pm occasionally.   They also close when they sell out for the day.  We grabbed a maple glazed and a sea salt chocolate donut.  The sea salt chocolate sounds odd, but the flavors work very well together.  Give it a shot.

Gelato Fiasco

After crushing our two donuts, we had to try the gelato spot next to our hotel.  Gelato Fiasco has won many awards for their Blueberry Crumble gelato.  Unfortunately, they were all sold out by the time we arrived.  We “settled” for the sea salt caramel and lavender honey.  Creamy and sweet… potentially better than the stuff we had in Italy!

Shipyard Brewing Company

Another great spot to visit in the Old Port area is Shipyard Brewing.  When we were there, they had 15 beers and 6 sodas available on tap.  Flights are very reasonably priced, so you can try as many flavors as you like.  We tasted six beers and four sodas.  Favorites were the Finder IPA, Smashed Blueberry, Maui Mango, and the Cola soda.  The new tasting room is great, and the people are very friendly.  If you want to try a beer that’s not on tap, you can likely find it in the gift shop.  Single 12oz bottles are only $3.50.

Allagash Brewing Company

Just 15 minutes outside of Portland, you will find Allagash Brewing Company.  They make a wide variety of Belgian-inspired beers.  Definitely take the tour if you get the chance… tours are free, and they fill up fast.  On the tour, you get to see the whole brewing process, including their barrel facility.  They also give you four free beers during the tour!  This is a great place to try sour beers, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Tandem Coffee

Tandem Coffee is a bakery, coffee roaster, and coffee shop in a renovated gas station.  Pop in for a blueberry scone, a latte, or a great cup of single-origin coffee.

Lobster Shack at Two Lights

When you venture outside of Portland to see the famous lighthouses, the starting point is Two Lights State Park.  Just before the entrance gate to the park, take a left, and follow that road until it ends.  Here, you will find the Lobster Shack.  Try to get there right at 11am, when it opens, because a long line quickly forms.  Grab an authentic Maine Lobster roll, and enjoy it on the outdoor picnic area, with great coastal views.

Bite into Maine

Up the coast from Two Lights State Park, next to the famous Portland Headlight, you will find the Bite into Maine food truck.  They offer a variety of lobster rolls, sandwiches, and local sodas.  We grabbed a lobster BLT with Cape Cod Chips, a Maine Blueberry Cola, and a Moxie Soda (similar to root beer).  The lobster BLT is a great option, if you want the lobster flavor, but don’t want to pay $20 for a little lobster roll.

Lighthouse Spotting

No trip to Portland would be complete, without checking out some lighthouses!  Drive south from Portland toward Two Lights State Park.  You can go into the park if you like, but you don’t have to.  Turn left just before the gate, and follow that road to the end.  Here, you will find the two lighthouses for which the park is named.  Both are privately owned, so you can’t walk up to them.  

Next, follow the coast northward to Fort Williams Park.  Here, you will find the famous Portland Headlight.  This is the lighthouse that you’ve probably seen in most advertisements for Maine.  It is an absolutely picturesque place, with some nice trails and coastal rocks to explore.  

Continue up the coast to the Southern Maine Community College campus and the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse.  This lighthouse is perched at the end of a rocky jetty.  During low tide, you can walk all the way down the rocks to see it up close.  

Finally, drive just a bit farther north to Bug Light Park.  Here, you will find the Greek-inspired Bug Light, with Athenian columns.  You can walk out to the point, where the lighthouse sits, and look back at the skyline of Portland.  

Casco Bay Cruises

Casco Bay Cruise Lines offer a few opportunities to see the islands in Casco Bay from the water.  They sail at 10am, 2:15pm, and 5:45pm (sunset) on an actual cargo ferry.  The tours last between 2-3 hours and give a great view of the island homes.  You can bring along food and drinks for the ride.  We saw people with whole pizzas and packs of craft beer.  If you take the sunset cruise, be sure to bring long sleeves, because it gets quite cool when the sun goes down.

Explore Old Port

Take some time and just walk around Old Port.  It’s a very charming area, with brick/cobblestone streets and historic buildings.  Browse through the shops, pop in for a snack, or just walk along the water and enjoy the breeze.

Final Thoughts

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in New Hampshire and Maine.  The White Mountains offer a lovely escape into nature, to relax and de-stress.  Take in the mountain views and refresh yourself with a dip in the river.  Portland is a charming city, with fantastic food options and scenic coastal viewpoints.  I hope this guide inspires you to use your miles/points to visit these New England states.  Cheers!