WOODSTOCK, Vt. (WCAX) – As the leaves start to turn, fall foliage traffic in Woodstock is picking up. But, once again, two popular roads in this region will be closed this year to out-of-towners.
Foot traffic on Main Street in Woodstock will increase in the next several weeks. Fall foliage is the shortest tourism season in Vermont but it accounts for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual economic impact.
“Oh is beautiful. It’s so different than anything else we have ever seen,” Stephen Adamson said.
“And it’s our 50th state,” Sarah Adamson added.
Sarah and Stephen Adamson are visiting Vermont from Florida. Sarah loves the architecture and Stephen is all about the outdoors.
“I just love the mountains and the foliage, it’s just beautiful. The bridges and just a beautiful state,” Stephen Adamson said.
But there are two roads tourists won’t be able to travel again this season: Cloudland Road between Woodstock and Pomfret that leads to the Sleepy Hollow Farm and the Jenne Road in Reading with sweeping views of the Jenne Farm. Both will be closed next week. They were shut down last fall due to increased traffic on the roads over the years.
“In the past, people park on both sides, people double park. Trying to get a fire truck, ambulance or police vehicle up there would be difficult if people were just walking. If you have cars, if you have people changing clothes for pictures,” Woodstock Town Manager Eric Duffy said.
The popularity is likely attributed to social media.
And safety concerns aside, it has also become a nuisance. A neighbor up the hill from the Jenne Farm told me tourists would often drive across her fields and even climb on her farm equipment.
Another local who declined to be interviewed joked that his fingers are crossed his road doesn’t go viral next.
“Any dirt road you turn off on you are going to see amazing views, beautiful color,” Duffy said.
The Adamsons hadn’t even heard of the two closed roads and aren’t leaving disappointed.
The Cloudland closure begins on Sept. 25 and will continue until Oct. 16.