Vermont Travel Notes

VermontVacation.com Foliage Forecaster Map

The leaves started to change here about a week and a half ago when we had a short cold snap. I would guess about ten percent of the leaves in my area have changed so far. I think this weekend should be pretty good for color especially at the higher elevations and in the northern part of Vermont about a hour's drive from us.

Our inn has been fully booked this coming weekend and the next. You will find that is true of virtually all lodging places in the northern half of the state. However, weekdays are only partially booked so you should be able to find a room if you can take a day or two off from work. We are about half booked for the second weekend in October but that will be filling in soon.

If you would like to travel to Vermont for one of our most amazing transitions, plan to come midweek or from the second weekend on to the end of the month. However, you should get on the phone and get something pinned down now.

We got a call from a very nice California gentleman this evening who said he was planning to fly in here and drive around New England for a few days without any itinerary. He was just calling to see if fall foliage is a popular time to visit Vermont. We told him it is our busiest time of year. He also wanted suggestions on which dates he should be here which we were happy to give him. We also told him he really, really needed to make reservations now but we were unsuccessful in convincing him. I hope he enjoys his trip to Vermont but I suspect he will not because he will likely have an awful time trying to find a place to stay.

The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing website has very good updates on the progress of foliage change. It's compiled from reports by state forestry rangers so it's highly reliable.

The same page has an article about why leaves change color and also an animated foliage forecaster that is very helpful in seeing how the foliage changes throughout Vermont during the season. Note the dates to the right of the illustration. You can click on them to freeze the animation.

(c) 2007 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus