You just need to be able to jump in a car and head north, he said.
The Associated Press livestreamed the colorful landscape on Tuesday.
“Once you’re there, you just take it in," Willey said.
He spoke just after his tavern was flooded with tourists from Indiana who had stepped off a sightseeing bus.
Among them was Vicky Boesch, of Fort Wayne, who had made the trip with her sisters.
“We came out to the Northeast to see the beautiful foliage and the colorful leaves,” she said, adding the she was impressed with Vermont.
“The leaves were very pretty on the mountains because the sun was out yesterday, and so that makes them pop more,” she said.
It wasn't only the fall colors that provided a contrast with Indiana, she said, but also the region's distinctive architecture, lakes and towns.
Gordon Cochran, of Lake View, Iowa, said he was in New Hampshire to visit his daughter and had a “beautiful ride” on the slow-moving Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad.
Weather conditions associated with climate change have disrupted some recent leaf-peeping seasons. One problem is that global warming has brought drought that causes leaves to turn brown and wither before they can reach their colorful peak.
Willey acknowledges that he's not a leaf guy.
“Personally, no. I grew up here, so I think it loses its luster a little bit,” he said with a chuckle, adding that the season still has its moments.
"I’ll be driving somewhere around the Lakes Region, and all of a sudden, you're like, ‘You know what, there’s a reason why people come here and there’s a reason I live here. It really is quite beautiful,’” he said, referring to a scenic part of eastern New Hampshire.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP