Vermont in Full Color — 7 Fall Days in New England

We’ll start the trip in Burlington with a walk along Lake Champlain. The waterfront has views across the lake toward the Adirondacks, and the path is an easy way to get outside after arriving in Vermont. The timing works well for an early-October trip. Vermont’s September 30, 2026 foliage report showed strong colour in northern Vermont, with the Green Mountains approaching peak conditions and southern Vermont beginning to change.

From the waterfront we’ll head to the University of Vermont for a short walk around campus. Phish formed here in 1983, and the band played its first show in the Harris-Millis cafeteria. Trey Anastasio’s early search for bandmates included flyers posted around campus. It is a small piece of Burlington music history that fits easily into the first afternoon.

In the evening we’ll walk through Church Street Marketplace and have dinner in central Burlington. Honey Road is a good option for a longer dinner built around Eastern Mediterranean dishes and shared plates. After dinner we can head back toward the waterfront for a drink at Foam Brewers. Its calendar regularly includes local DJs, jazz, indie, folk, punk and bluegrass, so it is worth checking what is on during the trip.

We’ll drive south on Route 100 toward Stowe, passing forests, farms and small towns as we enter the Green Mountains. This section forms part of the Green Mountain Byway and is especially scenic during the fall foliage season. Once we arrive in Stowe, we can have coffee, walk through the village and then continue toward Mount Mansfield for the main activity of the day.

Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont at 4,395 feet. In October, the forested lower slopes are covered in autumn colour while the upper ridge has an exposed alpine landscape. If the gondola is operating, we can use it to reach the upper mountain and continue on foot toward the Chin via the Cliff Trail and Long Trail. The summit area can be cold and windy even when Stowe is mild, so it is worth carrying an extra layer and checking conditions before setting out.

After Mount Mansfield we’ll visit the Trapp Family Lodge in the hills above Stowe. The von Trapp family bought a farm here in 1942 after leaving Europe, and the Vermont mountain landscape reminded them of Austria. The property later developed into the lodge that operates today. We can walk around the grounds, have a drink or stay for dinner while taking in the views across the surrounding hills.

We’ll start the third day with a drive through Smugglers’ Notch on Route 108. The road passes through a narrow gap between Mount Mansfield and Sterling Range, with large boulders, steep forested slopes and tight bends. There are several places to stop for a short walk and photographs. The road closes when conditions become unsafe, so we should check the current road status before leaving Stowe.

From Smugglers’ Notch we’ll continue toward Waterbury Center and stop at Cold Hollow Cider Mill. The mill operates in a historic dairy barn and farmhouse and produces fresh apple cider on site. We can watch the cider press when it is running, try fresh cider and pick up the cider donuts from the bakery. There is also a hard cidery next door if we want to stay a little longer.

We’ll spend the evening in Waterbury and keep the schedule simple after two active days. This is a good place to check in, rest for a while and make dinner the main plan. Hen of the Wood is one of the best-known restaurants in town and focuses on ingredients from Vermont and the surrounding region. Prohibition Pig is a more casual option for beer, barbecue and comfort food.

Day four is the longest hike of the trip. The Burrows Trail to Camel’s Hump is about 4.8 miles out and back with roughly 2,400 feet of elevation gain, finishing on an exposed summit with wide views across the Green Mountains. The upper mountain has fragile arctic-alpine vegetation, so we should stay on the marked trail and rock surfaces near the summit. Starting early gives us plenty of daylight and time to stop for the views.

After the hike we’ll drive into the Mad River Valley and spend the rest of the day around Waitsfield. Grace Potter grew up in this part of Vermont, and the valley remains closely connected to her music and creative work. For food and drinks, we can stop at Lawson’s Finest Liquids or head to American Flatbread at Lareau Farm for wood-fired pizza. Noah Kahan’s Stick Season also belongs on the drive: he has explained that the phrase is used in Vermont and New England for the period after the leaves fall and before winter settles in.

On day five we’ll drive east to East Corinth, the small Vermont village used for exterior scenes in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. The production returned to the area in 2023 for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The village streets and church are the main locations we can see today. The Maitland house facade and the covered bridge were temporary sets built for filming.

From East Corinth we’ll continue to Woodstock for a relaxed afternoon. The village is known for its historic houses, covered bridges, white churches and tree-lined streets, and October adds some of the strongest autumn colour of the trip. We can walk through the centre, stop for coffee, browse the local shops and stay for dinner. Woodstock is also a good place to book a comfortable hotel and leave the rest of the evening free.

If we want another walk before dinner, the South Peak route on Mount Tom is a good option. The National Park Service route is about four miles and passes through the historic forest plantations of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. South Peak has a clear view back over Woodstock and the surrounding valley. The route is shorter and easier than the hikes on Mount Mansfield and Camel’s Hump.

We’ll start day six in Manchester with coffee and some time at Northshire Bookstore. The flagship shop has new and used books, vinyl, author events and a café, so it is an easy place to spend a slow morning. This is also a good place to pick up a copy of The Secret History before we continue to Bennington, where Donna Tartt began writing the novel.

Donna Tartt studied at Bennington College and began writing The Secret History while she was a student here. The novel is set at the fictional Hampden College in Vermont, and Tartt developed the book while living in the small college community at Bennington. We can walk through the public parts of the campus in the afternoon and see the wooded setting and buildings connected to this period of her life.

On the final morning we’ll walk in the Equinox Preserve near Manchester. The preserve protects more than 914 acres on Mount Equinox and has around 11 miles of trails through forest and around Equinox Pond. A route around the pond with a visit to Robin’s Lookout gives us a final autumn walk and views over the surrounding hills. It is a good length for the morning before driving to Shaftsbury.