Vermont Travel Notes

Photo taken in Waterbury VT, October 27, 2010

One of the great things about Vermont is its natural beauty even in seasons when you would least expect it. Right now is a good example. Most of the colorful leaves are not only past peak, they're lying on the ground. We're transitioning into Vermont's "stick season" where all the trees look like sticks. While it does not have the gaudy color of two weeks ago, the hillsides are still eye catching. At the lower elevations there are splashes of bright yellow and larger patches of rusty reds. It can be quite striking.

Yesterday was a good example. I enjoy this time of year when the sun is low on the horizon in the morning and late afternoon. It makes for dramatic natural lighting and it's especially fun to observe when the sky is a cobalt blue or swirling gray with sunlit highlights.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

I got a chuckle today when Stowe's first Snow Report of the season arrived in my email inbox. But they had a good reason for sending it: over two feet of snow there yesterday. Of course, that's at the top but you can see in the report that they averaged a couple of inches elsewhere on the trails.

Most of the ski areas in the northern half of Vermont will get their snow making operations started in a couple of weeks and they will try to open a few trails by Thanksgiving.

Also, if you are considering a season pass, now is the time to get one. The sale prices will go up substantially November 1.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

Our weather today was not conducive to foliage viewing but it's predicted to be better tomorrow and fairly good on Sunday. Many areas are past peak now plus the wind and rain has knocked off many of the leaves that changed colors. However, there are still some areas coming into good color.

As I've mentioned previously, the Vermont foliage report I think does the best job is on vermontvacation.com where you can find observations by VT forest rangers who know what they're talking about and are not hyping travel to Vermont. Here is a link to the October 14 Foliage Report.

If you plan to tour VT in the next few days, I recommend that you line up lodging reservations in advance. We are nearly full tonight and full Saturday night for example. However, we have many rooms available Sunday night. That is likely the same situation for most Vermont lodging properties but not all. Click this VT Lodging Forecaster link for a useful guide to how busy inns and motels around the state are. It varies by location.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

I've watched Vermont fall foliage reports for a decade and the one I put the most faith in comes from Vermont Department of Forestry rangers. They are out in the field and they know what they're talking about. Heck, they even studied it in college. For years. At great expense.

Their report is available at the Fall Foliage page on the Vermont Dept. of Tourism page.

You will find reports on other websites but if you look closely you will see that they base their reports on the foresters' reports. In other words, they go to the website I mentioned above and rewrite it a bit.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

Fall foliage in Vermont is off to a good start. Small spots of color have been visible for about a week and now they are gradually becoming larger spots. No bright reds yet, mostly yellows showing. It seems a little early to me but I think the foliage should last well into the second half of October because we've had good rain the past few weeks to help the trees avoid stress and thereby not shed their leafs faster.

The photo above is from a newsletter I got from Jay Peak, about an hour's drive north of us nearly on the border with Canada. Their leaves are roughly a week ahead of ours here in the Waterbury area.

So, is it leaves or leafs? Click here.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

I've written previously about how much I enjoy Megapickles, a daily photo blog by John Hughes, a professor at Saint Michael's. The Vermont landscapes and architectural photographs are well done and fortunately they make up the bulk of John's work. If you want to see what Vermont look like to a superb photographer, this is where you can find what you're looking for. The photo shown in the screen capture above is a good example. The reduced size here takes much away from how striking this photo is so please click the link and see the original. In fact, I suggest you go to the Megapickles website and see especially the photos posted between Sept 4 and Sept 11.

When I visit John's photo blog I'm reminded that there are many beautiful places all around the world and I'm fortunate to live in one of them.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus