Peak-Seeking Leaf Peepers - Get Thee to Route 9!

[ixl]

I came up to my place in the mountains a week ago and there was so little color I didn't even bother taking photos.

Gave it a week.. and WOW! It is just GORGEOUS. As good as I have ever seen the color here. I am not sure if it is "peak" or not but it works for me.

If you get a chance, even if your final destination is northern VT, be sure to drive across Route 9. If you can, take Somerset Road to the reservoir as well. Here's a shot I took at the reservoir just a few hours ago.

Route 9 itself is also really pretty.

<img src="http://www.pcguide.com/pers/041229.jpg" alt=" - " />

c

[autzig]

Thank you for your wonderful photo and your suggestion that we try Route 9. For those of us who are unfamiliar, can you give us an idea where Route 9 is? I've been scouring my Vermont map but can't find it. Thanks.

[ixl]

It runs West-East between Bennington and Brattleboro along the very bottom of the state.

While many people don't realize it, Route 9 has probably the longest stretch of very high elevation highway in the state. Between Bennington and Wilmington is about 10 miles of road at about 2200-2400' elevation. --c

[HawkVT]

ixl - that's a great picture - but take it from a long time Vermonter, that is not route 9 this year. Foliage is running 1-2 weeks behind (meaning no peak on Columbus Day weekend unless you head way north - northeast kingdon), due to the uncommonly warm days that we are still experiencing. RT 9 runs from Brattleboro to Bennington along the Vermont / Mass border, and is amount the last area in the state to change. Although there is a stretch of RT 9 (I think it's called the 100 mile view) that will see the color first. Even central Vermont may be iffy this weekend, but I would recommend taking the drive up route 100 from Ludlow, up past where it joins up with rt 4 past Killington and continue on 100 up past Waitsfield to Rt 89 - where you can head south back down to 91. If you have the time, keep heading north on 100 through Stowe and then take rt 108 through Smuggler's Notch for an awesome ride - and I would highly recommend taking the toll road up to the top of Mt Mansfield (Stowe ski area) for the best views in the state. Sorry ixl - that's not really fair to people deciding on when to spend their hard earned dollars to head North.

[ixl]

Hawk -- I took that picture today.

And sorry but you are wrong about route 9 being one of the last areas to change. It actually usually peaks at around the same time as the bulk of the Kingdom, because of the high elevation.

At any rate, it's not necessarily a destination, just something worth passing through on the way up north.

Here's another shot, of Woodford Lake.. just a quickie taken from Route 9 this afternoon. There are other areas with better color.

<img src="http://www.pcguide.com/pers/041188.jpg" alt=" - " />

c

[ixl]

Along the Deerfield River...

<img src="http://www.pcguide.com/pers/041201.jpg" alt=" - " />

c

[sharan]

Your pictures are gorgeous! Please post as many as you can as the season progresses. We cannot make the trip to Vermont and NH that I wanted to this year. So I will just have to get my fix looking at all the pictures you guys post. I am already planning out routes for a trip next year and this is a super place to get good information. Thank you so much everyone!

[pwt54]

Keep us posted. I can't get down there as often as I want. Because of their location and elevation, routes 100 and 9 change earlier than the rest of the state.