MORRISVILLE, Vt. – Throughout Vermont, flares of color are beginning to emerge in typical fashion across higher elevations and in the red maples found in swampy areas.
A palpable sense of the fall season is evident along the hillsides throughout Vermont. Even the maples surrounding the spacious lawn of the Vermont State House are displaying a variety of early fall colors.
The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing advises making advance reservations because the most popular lodgings may fill early on busy weekends in late September and the first two weekends in October. Some innkeepers may require a minimum two-night stay, especially on busy weekends. Foliage viewers can avoid the reservations’ squeeze by visiting mid-week.
Best Bets: Splashes of red can be seen across the northern reaches of the Northeast Kingdom. Vermont Route 114 from Island Pond through Norton and up along the border to Canaan offers some great early season opportunities for color. Look for low-lying hardwood swamps where cold night air settles, producing the brilliant red flares of the swamp maples.
Also, Route 12 between Morrisville and Montpelier is showing some bursts of color, and some color is emerging to the north on Elmore Mountain, Belvidere Mountain, Smugglers’ Notch, and Mount Norris.
In southern Vermont, early fall colors can be found around wetlands and bodies of water at higher elevations. In Bennington County, roads through the Green Mountain and Taconic Mountain Ranges are showing some reds and yellows in individual trees and small pockets.
In general, higher elevations will offer the most panoramic views of emerging color across the valleys, and many swamp or marsh areas will offer some of the most vivid and varied early season change.
Dozens of continuing and special events listed for the coming week and weekend are listed
in the Vermont Travel Planner, check the Events Calendar in the Travel Planner for interests from foot races to corn mazes, and farmer’s markets to crafts fairs.
Also available on this Web site are several tools for planning a Vermont Fall Foliage tour:
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