I travel to the Mt Washington area each October. The mission is to fly gliders in the mountain wave conditions that are common here (motorless flight to over 25,000 ft is normal on a good day). The fall foliage is also an attraction - Columbus Day weekend is reckoned to be about peak time here.
It’s a drought year, which conventional wisdom says produces poor color - but that wisdom has been confounded. The hillsides are simply stunning, especially viewed from above. Indeed, there seems to be general consensus that the foliage displays this year are among the best ever. Local residents say they can remember nothing as good over the past several decades.
I don’t know whether this will be the case for places south of here. But if you have the chance, this could be the right time for a visit to New England.