Considered as a way to welcome fall, tourists who explore the back roads to enjoy the leaves changing color are known in the Northeast as 'leaf peepers'. New Hampshire leaf peepers come in cars. They come in busses. This year – they visited on hogs!

Last weekend hundreds of bikers enjoyed New Hampshire’s spectacular foliage at Leaftoberfest, the first ever leaf-peeping motorcycle rally. For the first time ever, New Hampshire’s fall foliage season was celebrated through a motorcycle rally, as hundreds converged on Laconia Harley-Davidson’s dealership in Meredith, NH.

The 1st Annual Leaftoberfest event offered bikers an up-close look at fall foliage with escorted rides each day, including a covered bridge ride and a Lake Winnipesaukee ride. The event also featured free demos of new 2010 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, live music, a bike show and food provided by Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant.

“We’re very fortunate that there are three seasons of riding here in New Hampshire – Spring, Summer and Fall,” according to Anne Deli, owner of Laconia Harley-Davidson. “For many riders, this time of year is the ideal time to ride, so we created Leaftoberfest to highlight the natural beauty which the state of New Hampshire is known for.”
 
The fall foliage season is a busy time of the year in New Hampshire with the state's Division of Travel & Tourism estimating 7.5 million people will travel to the granite state during this peak season to take in the sights of autumn and spend over $1 billion.

“In addition to the Laconia Motorcycle Rally, motorcycle tourism in general is a significant contributor to New Hampshire’s economy, generating millions of dollars to the state yearly,” said Alice DeSouza, Director of the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism.

“New Hampshire is very motorcycle friendly and we have one of the highest per capita rates of motorcycle ownership in the country. We’ve created itineraries on VisitNH.gov specifically for our friends traveling on two wheels, and encourage motorcycle enthusiasts to take advantage of great events like Leaftoberfest which highlight New Hampshire’s beautiful fall foliage season.”