Businesses in the hospitality, retail, and outdoor activities sectors are expecting a busy few weeks — potentially a record-breaking stretch, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce said — with Vermont’s iconic fall foliage season now underway.
When the state’s hillsides catch the sun just right this time of year, they really sparkle with the reds and yellows of fall — a spectacle that draws travelers like Allan and Terrie Stephens, from the panhandle of Florida.
"The trees where we live are palm trees," Terrie Stephens noted. "And up here, of course, you see the beautiful red maples — which are gorgeous — that you don’t see where we live, at all."
Other parts of the country get colorful foliage, too — the Rockies, for example — but Commissioner Mike Snyder of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation told NECN & NBC10 Boston that Vermont is a standout for a variety of reasons. He said Vermont’s diversity of tree species, the weather and soil conditions here, and our density of deciduous trees — the ones that lose their leaves — create an intense and varied fall tapestry that’s hard to match elsewhere in the U.S.
Those who come to see it mean a business boost for Jim Rose.
“As soon as foliage picks up, it pretty much doubles, I would say,” said Rose, who owns Lamoille Valley Bike Tours with his wife, Yva.
Rose rents e-bikes with pedal-assist from a location right on the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail in Johnson. He often points his customers to towns along the trail that are home to stores, breweries, and restaurants.
“Whether you’re a local or a tourist, it’s a really unique view of Vermont,” Rose said of the rail trail, after a couple from California departed his shop on a pair of e-bikes.
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Amy Spear, who focuses on tourism issues for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, said she has heard reports from around the state of strong bookings this foliage season.
The state generally expects 1-million travelers and $300-million in consumer spending during the month or so that foliage season lasts, Spear said, pointing to data from the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. That department offers free weekly foliage reports you can sign up for through this website.
However, this year could be bigger for visitation, Spear told NECN & NBC10 Boston Tuesday, citing how gas prices have been coming down and lingering pent-up travel demand from the pandemic as two reasons why.
“A lot of industry folks that we have spoken to have said that they are anticipating a potentially record-breaking season,” Spear said, adding that Vermont sits within a day’s drive of 80-million people.
The Vermont Chamber of Commerce recommended exploring back roads throughout the Route 7-to-Route 2 corridor between Middlebury and Alburgh in the weeks ahead for a foliage tour.
As for Allan and Terrie Stephens, they said they are also checking out New Hampshire and Maine, before circling back to Vermont in a week. The Floridians said they were eager to see how the trees change in that time frame, the couple said.
“We can see trees down home but they’re not as pretty as they are [here], or as bright,” Allan Stephens said. “They’re bright up here.”
To start planning your Vermont vacation, visit this state website: https://www.vermontvacation.com