10/12 report. (rte 30 NOW! NOW! NOW!)

[Snookman2]

Yesterday was our last day. I saw that there was snow in the forecast for higher elevations and an early morning check of the Killington webcam showed snow on the ground. So we rode the gondola up and it was snowing up top with an inch or two in the ground. Tons of fun for our Florida kids to play in the snow! Killington looked like it was killer about 5 days ago.

From there we headed down 4 to Rutland. As soon as we arrived there we said wow this is a different ball game down here. Color looked nice after spending the last couple days seeing drab colors and past peak along 100 and in Woodstock.

Took 7 North and color got better as we went. In Brandon we took 53 up to lake dunmore. This whole drive was excellent. The view from the north end of the lake was breathtaking.

Hopped back on 7 into Middlebury. Pulling into town there is an orange tree on the right that is so vibrant it's almost hard to look at.

Headed back south on rte 30 and this stretch of road was straight fire! Best color we saw on our 5 day trip. Outstanding down to maybe Sudbury. Good but not quite as great from there down to 4.

4 back to Rutland then we took 103 and 131 east and out of vermont. Had fading light but 103 and 131 looked like a few trees with color mixed with a lot of bare trees and drab color.

If I was still in Vermont today I would go right back to 30. With the cold night and sunny day today it'll probably be even better. North of Middlebury I'm assuming it's probably excellent too, but we didn't have time to head up that way.

Thank you everyone for all your advice and help on our trip. Because of this forum I always felt like I knew more about the foliage than anyone I encountered, including the locals! A great resource you guys have here.

[ctyanky]

snookman, I'm so happy for you that this forum was helpful for your family's Vermont foliage vacation! Just by reading this post, I can tell you had a wonderful time with the kiddos playing in the snow and seeing excellent foliage. Glad you were able to do the gondola ride too. I hope you all come back next year for a longer period and experience the wonders of Vermont in all of its autumn glory. Isn't Middlebury a wonderful town? I stayed there last fall for a weekend and truly enjoyed the area. Lake Dunmore is so gorgeous, you certainly made good use of the time you were in Vermont.

Again, it was nice of you to mention the value to you of this forum as well as the locals who also advised you.

Please come back again! CT

[Snookman2]

Thanks ct! Unfortunately we were unable to make it to the Townshend festival. Read the reports on the board that the color wasn't great in that area. So we had a choice between hitting the festival or chasing color elsewhere. There's always next time!