Peak foliage season has begun in Vermont, and one picturesque town is dealing with hoards of leaf-peepers behaving very badly.
Tourists have descended on the small town of Pomfret, Vermont in droves, and the result has caused headaches for locals. Eager to get a perfect pic for the ‘gram, they’ve clogged up rural roads, gotten their cars stuck in the dirt, hopped fences onto private property and left trash in their wake.
Why all the hubbub? Dubbed “Tick Tockers” by the locals, these influencer types are coming for a famous vista in front of Sleepy Hollow Farm. The situation has gotten so bad this year—locals worry that emergency vehicles would be unable to pass through—that officials have banned anyone other than locals from using Cloudland Road—the rural dirt road with the most scenic views in the area and the location of the photo-famous farm—from September 23 to October 15, peak leaf-peeping season.
Pomfret officials tried making the road one-way, with no luck. They even reached out directly to influencers. Some removed their photos and discouraged others from traveling to the town, but the next step had to be a shutdown as the situation worsened. Windsor County sheriff’s deputies will monitor the road to enforce the block.
For leaf-peepers eager to see the best of the season, there are plenty more spots around the country to catch the blazing autumn colors and get great pics.