Very hard winters there,... Winter starts in late Oct and last into early May...
This winter (here in Maine) has seen more rain than snow, although there is a big snowstorm due to arrive tonight and tomorrow.
Some winters are bad, others are mild.
There is very little snow on the ground at this moment.
The snow usually all melts during April. March is mostly a winter month here. Last March was the worst winter month of the 2017 - 2018 season.
And almost the only thing you will see on that drive will be trees and lakes. There are parts of Maine where you can still get lost and perhaps never get found if you don't keep your wits about you.
As you point out, the winters are long and brutal, especially as you get up north. Summers, short as they are, are made miserable with clouds of mosquitoes, hordes of ticks and about a half dozen types of biting flies including deer flies, horse flies, and the especially fearsome blackfly. By mid-August, you are praying for the cold and snows of winter to return.
It is a generally conservative place though but as with most states in the Northeast, the ghetto cities like Bangor, Lewiston, Augusta, Portland outdo the rural areas with voting, which is 80-90% in favor of Democrats.
Sounds like NYS.