Comparisons & rankings

Best fall foliage drives in Vermont, ranked

The 6 leaf-peeping routes worth burning gas on, from Smugglers' Notch to Route 100.

cheaphotels · 18 January 2026 · 5 min read

The unbeatable two

Route 100 from Waitsfield to Weston is Vermont's foliage spine — 70 miles of sugar maples, covered bridges and roadside cider donuts at Cold Hollow. Do it northbound on a weekday in the last week of September to dodge tour buses. Smugglers' Notch (Route 108 between Stowe and Jeffersonville) is the shorter, more dramatic pick: 8 miles of narrow granite hairpins closed to trucks and, from November, closed entirely. Both peak color-wise around October 5-12 most years.

Underrated alternatives

The Molly Stark Trail (Route 9, Brattleboro to Bennington) gets skipped because it's an east-west slog, but the Hogback Mountain overlook shows 100 miles of ridgelines lighting up. Route 125 over Middlebury Gap is my quiet favorite — Robert Frost country, a Bread Loaf detour, and almost no traffic. Skip Route 7 unless you enjoy staring at pickup bumpers. If you only have half a day, do the Waterbury-Stowe-Morrisville loop and stop at Cabot Creamery for cheese samples.

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Plan your days here

📍 Places to visit

Walk the Church Street Marketplace end to end

Bike the Island Line Trail to the Colchester Causeway

Dinner at Honey Road on Church Street

Sunset from the ECHO Center breakwater

🥾 Walks & outdoors

Waterfront to Old North End loop (5 km)

🍽 Eat & go out

Walk the Church Street Marketplace end to end

Dinner at Honey Road on Church Street

What Vermont hotels actually cost

In Burlington, expect $130-170 in April and November, $180-240 in summer and $240-320 in foliage weeks. Stowe runs $160-220 shoulder, $280-450 during Christmas week and early October. Killington ski-in properties hit $320-500 on Presidents Day weekend but drop to $110-140 in May. Woodstock inns like the Woodstock Inn command $350-600 in October and $220-280 off-peak. Rutland, Bennington and St Johnsbury motels stay in the $75-120 band nearly year-round.

Vermont adds a 9% rooms tax plus a 1% local option tax in Burlington, Stowe, Manchester and a handful of other towns, so a $200 nightly rate becomes about $220 at checkout. Small B&Bs often quote inclusive of breakfast; ski condos usually do not. Two-night minimums are standard September 25 through October 15 and on any winter Saturday at Killington, Stowe, Sugarbush or Jay Peak.

Getting around and when to go

A car is effectively required outside downtown Burlington. Amtrak Vermonter runs once daily between Washington DC and St Albans, stopping at Brattleboro, White River Junction, Randolph, Montpelier, Waterbury (for Stowe) and Essex Junction (for Burlington); the Ethan Allen Express reaches Burlington from New York Penn Station. Interstate 89 runs Burlington-Montpelier-White River Junction; Route 100 is the scenic north-south spine through the Green Mountains. BTV rental cars start around $55-75/day off-peak.