Update on Fall Color – Sun. Oct 16th

Guests this morning who know Vermont well claimed the Lincoln Gap and Route 116 were stunning… just in case some feel the foliage season is over!  “As good as it gets” 

was their quote.  This photo was taken in our gardens on Friday October 14th.

Oct 10th update – The color is absolutely amazing on the higher elevations… and there is still much still to turn and explode.  Colors are the best we’ve seen in several years and with two heavy frosts late last week, change is occuring daily!  This photo was taken 5 minutes from the Inn overlooking Golf Course Road at lunch time on Oct. 10th.  We suspect there is a good two weeks of great color still to come so don’t delay, there is much to enjoy and see as October progresses!

October 5 th – Guests at breakfast this morning were raving about their fall explorations and the color that appeared to be exploding on every elevation.  Route 125 where Phill and I were 10 days ago is apparantly simply gorgeous and the other “gap” roads – App Gap and Roxbury Gap are according to one guest “stunning”.  Still many agreed that the best color was 5 minutes from the Inn at and around the Sugarbush area where locals estimate “peak” will be this coming weekend!  As always happens the more sheltered and southerly facing slopes and roads are turning a little slower so there’s guaranteed to be plenty left to see next week and the week after!

A shot from our gardens on Tuesday, September 27th – the maple at our entrance is just starting to change and the beautiful hardy New England hibiscus (the pink flower) is in full bloom!!

Mad River Glen today reported their opinion that we are approx. 40% of peak.  Not sure we agree but the higher elevations are certainly a little more advanced.

Monday, Sept. 26th  – we, the innkeepers, played “hooky” for half a day and took a wonderful drive on some of our favorite roads in the area.  We started up Number 9 Road, right next to the Inn and saw some of the breathtaking red and orange foliage.  Our adventures took us down Bragg Hill and we marvelled at the patchwork quilt starting to emerge on the mountain vistas.  Blue skies, sun shining… there was no where better in the world and we were 5 minutes from the Inn!  We progressed our tour along the East Warren Road and came across this lovely maple that we aptly named “half and half” starting to explode.  Still in Waitsfield we went down Airport Road, a favorite of Phill’s for its unspoilt nature although on this particular drive a stray cow caused a rather major slow down as she decided whether to stay in the road center or meander into a nearby field!  Airport Road is typically a late fall foliage bloomer and trees here were true to form and barely turning.  Definitely a road to remember in mid-October.

We joined Route 100 South at Warren and took this lovely, new reopened road, from Warren through to Rochester marvelling as usual at Moss Glen Falls and the slowly transitioning foliage through the Granville Gulf.   We digressed a little from our foliage exploration and ate a delicious late breakfast at the Rochester Country Store…a gem with an amazing selection of homemade goodies.  Well fed, we returned to Route 100 and took Route 125 to East Middlebury.  Colors here were gorgeous…like Sugarbush the elevation and north-facing line of this road usually results in some wonderful early color and we were not disappointed.

The church in the center of East Middlebury produced another photogenic opportunity and a lot of promise of much more color to come in the coming days.

Continuing on Route 116 to Bristol, we marvelled at the farming landscapes and simple beauty of the drive.  The general impression along this lovely stretch was of late summer so another great road to keep in mind for mid October scenic drives.  One or two antique shops were also tempting but by now time was in short-supply!

At Bristol we took the Lincoln Gap Road back over the mountain to Warren and Waitsfield.  Some great color was starting to emerge near the summit and the gurgling mountain river that meanders at the start of this scenic road was truly spectacular.  Never realized what huge chunks of granite were situated amidst the waters!  We were certainly not alone in our adventure as where the Long Trail crosses Lincoln Gap, we saw many hikers taking advantage of a wonderful late September day.

We returned to the Inn via West Hill Road and Golf Course Road at Sugarbush where the colors were really starting to pop as shown in the first photo from Sugarbush last week.

All in all a wonderful 4 hour getaway and we can assure all looking to visit that amazing foliage is here in central Vermont!